A cowboy roofer found guilty of trying to rip off an elderly Dudley couple for almost £10,000 has been jailed for two years.

Dudley Council led the prosecution against Lyndon Paul Pardoe, trading as Multicare Roofing and Building Services, who quoted spiralling costs to the pensioners and replaced their roof with a substandard version.

The 51-year-old, from Hazledene Road, Sheldon, Birmingham, was sentenced to two years after previously being found guilty of three counts of fraud and a further two offences under the Consumer Protection and Unfair Trading Regulations at Wolverhampton Crown Court. 

The court had heard how Pardoe cold-called the couple, aged 81 and 82,in 2013 claiming the roof on their semi-detached Dudley home needed repairing at a cost of £1,540, to which they agreed.

He returned to their home in 2014 claiming the whole roof now needed replacing and quoted £3,800 which later rocketed to £9,800. Pardoe started the work inside the statutory seven day cooling off period without giving any paperwork or cancellation rights to the couple.

The couple’s daughter raised the alarm with Dudley Council’s trading standards who immediately stopped the work. However by that time Pardoe had removed most of the old roof and begun putting in the new one. A Chartered Building Surveyor inspected the roof and found the work was so bad it had to be scrapped altogether.

On sentencing, Recorder Julian Taylor said Pardoe’s conduct resulted in terrible work being carried out at the home of the elderly victims.

He branded Pardoe’s conduct ‘disgraceful’ and said he hoped Pardoe would never work in this area again.

Councillor Rachel Harris, cabinet member responsible for trading standards, said:

“This was an appalling case that caused a huge amount of distress to the victims. This prosecution sends out a clear message that Dudley Council will not hesitate to take action and ensure those who are flouting the law are brought to justice.”