Two Leighton Buzzard homeowners got back £142,000 paid to doorstep roofers for work they did not need. Here is how your 14-day right to cancel works.

Two Leighton Buzzard homeowners have got back every penny of more than £142,000 they paid to doorstep traders for roof work they did not need.

Central Bedfordshire Council’s Trading Standards team announced the refund on Tuesday. It followed what the council called extensive work by its officers and the banks involved.

The council has not named the traders, the street or when the work was done.

What happened

The council’s account of the case is short. The traders:

  • called at the house uninvited
  • claimed they had found urgent defects on the roof
  • pressured the homeowners into agreeing to costly roofing work

The work was later found to be unnecessary.

Trading Standards investigated and found “a range of consumer protection concerns”. These included failing to give the homeowners their cancellation rights, and “practices commonly associated with rogue traders”.

The money was recovered through “sustained engagement with the relevant financial institutions”, the council said. It did not say whether anyone will be prosecuted.

Councillor Liz Childs, the council’s executive member for public protection, called it “a complex case that required detailed investigation and persistence to achieve a positive outcome”.

“Rogue traders can cause serious financial and emotional harm, often targeting people in their own homes and pressuring them into making quick decisions,” she said.

What it means for you

If someone knocks and says your roof needs urgent work, the council’s advice is:

  • do not decide on the doorstep, however urgent they make it sound
  • get independent advice and several quotes before agreeing to anything
  • report the trader to the Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 223 1133, which passes reports to Trading Standards

Your right to cancel

The law gives you more protection on the doorstep than in a shop. A contract agreed at your home is an “off-premises contract” under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013.

  • You have 14 days to cancel a contract for a service, such as roof work, from the day you agree it (regulation 30).
  • The trader must tell you about that right. If they do not, the cancellation period runs for up to 12 months longer (regulation 31).
  • Failing to tell you is a criminal offence for the trader, punishable by an unlimited fine (regulation 19).

If you have already paid by card or bank transfer and think you were misled, contact your bank straight away. In this case it was the banks that returned the money.