WCYT

Colin Welch, of Hillingdon in Uxbridge, was approached by three men claiming to be from a building company that had taken over the business that had previously fitted cladding to his house (IPP Building Maintenance).

The three men told Mr Welch that the materials the previous company has used were sub-standard and therefore needed replacing or the new company would be liable.

"They said that the work would take a few hours and the story was plausible," he told uxbridgegazette.co.uk. "They didn't ask for any money up front, and said that it would just be a quick job at no cost. They had all of my details, and knew that I had used IPP before."

Mr Welch believed their story, swayed by the fact that the men told him that the job would be done at no cost to him. He opted to allow them to carry the work out straight away and not take the time to look for trusted tradesmen.

Once the group had hacked the cladding from the wall, they told Mr Welch that they'd found underlying damage that needed repairing before any new cladding could go back on and that he would have to pay for it.

"They told me that all sorts of things were wrong - loose bricks, damp, you name it, and they quoted me £20,000 to fix it," he said.

"I later called IPP and found out that they were still trading as before. I went up onto my roof and had a look for myself, and of course I couldn't see any of the problems they had said were there."

WCYT

A community interest company keeping vulnerable residents in Essex safe from rogue tradesmen and doorstep conmen

www.whocanyoutrust.org.uk

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