How to Choose a Roofer in Shropshire: Checks, Warning Signs and Who Is Liable

This guide exists for a plain reason. Roofers Telford passes enquiries to an independent local roofing firm, and we don't inspect, approve or check that firm. We would rather hand you the checks than claim we've done them for you. Every one below can be done from home in an evening.

The Checks

Look the Firm Up on the Trading Standards Accredited Register

Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin share a local approved-trader scheme called Trading Standards Accredited, or TSA. It is run by Telford & Wrekin Council's Trading Standards Service and is open to businesses in Telford & Wrekin and Shropshire. The register is at tsaccredited.co.uk.

Search it for the firm's name before you let anyone start work. If the roofer is listed, you know they have joined a scheme run by the council's own Trading Standards team. If they aren't, that's not proof of anything bad, since plenty of small firms never sign up to any scheme. It simply means the other checks below carry more of the load.

Check TrustMark

TrustMark describes itself as "the Government Endorsed Quality Scheme" for work in and around the home. Its website lets you search for registered businesses by trade and area. A listing is a second, independent place where the firm's name should turn up.

For a Re-Roof, Ask Whether They Can Self-Certify the Work

Replacing a whole roof is not like fixing a few slipped tiles. Under Approved Document L, renovating more than half of a roof brings in a requirement to upgrade its insulation, and the job comes under Building Regulations.

There are two ways to handle that. A roofer who belongs to a competent person scheme, such as NFRC CompetentRoofer, can self-certify re-roofing work. GOV.UK lists CompetentRoofer as a scheme for replacing roof coverings on pitched and flat roofs. If the firm isn't in a scheme like that, building control has to be notified before the work starts. Ask which route the roofer will take, and who deals with the paperwork. You want the answer written into the quote.

Ask for Both Insurance Certificates

Ask for the firm's public liability insurance certificate and its employers' liability certificate. Read them rather than just glancing at them. Check that the business name matches the one on the quote, and check the dates: a certificate that ran out last spring does you no good this autumn. A roofer who is properly set up will send both without fuss.

Get a Written, Itemised Quote

A price on the back of a business card is not a quote. A proper one names the materials that will go on the roof, says how the roof will be reached (scaffold, tower or ladders), explains what happens if hidden damage such as rotten timber turns up, and states whether waste removal is included. It should also say what guarantee comes with the work. With two or three quotes laid out like that, you can compare like with like instead of guessing.

Settle the Payment Terms Before Work Starts

Agree in writing how much is paid, and when. A modest deposit can be reasonable, particularly where materials are ordered for your job. Paying the full amount up front is not. Keep the final payment until the work is finished and you are happy with it, and pay in a way that leaves a record.

Ask for References and Local Work

Ask for the addresses of two or three jobs the firm has done nearby, and for the name of someone you can speak to. A roof is easy to look at from the pavement. A firm with real local work behind it will not mind you going to see it.

Doorstep Warning Signs

Most roofing problems start with a knock on the door rather than a search online. Be wary if a caller:

• turns up uninvited and says they noticed a loose tile or a problem with your chimney while passing
• pushes you to agree today, perhaps with a price that is "only good this afternoon"
• asks for cash, or wants the full amount before starting
• gives no written quote, no landline and no business address
• climbs onto the roof and then comes down with news that the job is much bigger than first thought
• offers to drive you to the bank

None of those proves someone is a rogue trader, but each one is a reason to stop and run the checks above. You can close the door and say you'll think about it. A genuine firm will still be there next week.

Your Rights If It Goes Wrong

If the work is poor, your rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 are against the trader you made the contract with. Put your complaint to them in writing first, with photos and a copy of the quote.

If you agreed the contract at home, rather than at the firm's premises, the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 normally give you 14 days to cancel. There is an important exception. When you specifically asked the trader to come and carry out urgent repairs, that cancellation right does not apply to those repairs. So an emergency call-out you asked for is treated differently from a job someone talked you into on the doorstep.

How you pay matters too. Under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, paying by credit card for an item costing more than £100 and no more than £30,000 can give you a claim against the card provider as well as the trader. If you paid by debit card, ask your bank about a chargeback.

For help, contact the Citizens Advice consumer helpline, which can pass a complaint to Trading Standards. If you think you've met a rogue trader, report it that way even if you didn't hire them.

Who Is Liable If a Roofer Falls Off Your Roof?

This is one of the questions homeowners worry about most, and the law gives a clearer answer than many people expect.

Work at height. The Work at Height Regulations 2005 exist "to prevent death and injury caused by a fall from height". The duties they create fall on the people who control the work, and when you hire a roofing firm, that is the firm. It plans the job, chooses the scaffold or ladders, and decides how the roofers will work safely.

Construction rules. The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 apply to building work at people's homes as well. The Health and Safety Executive puts the position simply: "A domestic client's duties automatically pass to the contractor." As a homeowner having work done on your own house, you don't take on the site-safety role yourself.

Your duty as the occupier. The Occupiers' Liability Act 1957 sets out what you owe to people on your property. Two parts of section 2 matter here. Section 2(3)(b) says an occupier may expect a person, in the exercise of their calling, to guard against the risks that normally come with it. A roofer is expected to manage the risks of being on a roof. Section 2(4)(b) says that where damage is caused by a contractor's faulty work, an occupier who took reasonable steps to check the contractor was competent is not, without more, answerable for it.

What that means in practice. The checks in this guide are the reasonable steps. Seeing the public liability and employers' liability certificates, with names and dates that match, is the most useful single thing you can do. It shows you chose with care, and it means the firm has cover in place if one of its people is hurt or your property is damaged.

Read this as general information, not legal advice. If someone has been injured at your home, or you are facing a claim, speak to a solicitor about your own situation.

Getting a Quote in Telford

Roofers Telford passes your enquiry to an independent local roofing firm, which then quotes you direct. We don't do the roofing work, and we don't inspect or approve the firm we pass enquiries to. That is exactly why this guide exists: the checks above are yours to make, and we'd encourage you to make every one of them before you agree to anything.

When you're ready, get a quote takes about a minute. If you have other questions first, the faq page covers how the service works.