A roofer who was an accomplice in a scam that saw pensioners charged £7,000 for work that should have cost just £60 has been ordered to pay back thousands of pounds. 

Sukhdeep Singh, of Amersham Road in Chalfont St Peter, works as a roofer and has a company called Roof Masters West London Ltd, and would also often work as a subcontractor for others.

On one occasion, while working as a subcontractor for James Smith, 28, from Cranleigh in Surrey, and Timothy Draper Smith, 52, from Staines, an elderly pair were charged thousands of pounds for work. 

The fraudsters would usually target different premises with elderly and vulnerable owners, offering to clean their gutters, and the victims on this occasion were aged 82 and 89.

The elderly residents lived together in a detached house in Great Bookham, Surrey.

They received a leaflet from a roofing company in November 2018 offering gutter cleaning for £39, and reached an agreement with Smith and Draper Smith to carry out these works.

Mr Singh was the lead roofer for this project. 

However once on the roof, workers began damaging tiles before later charging £7,000 to rectify the damage they had caused.

The cheque was made out in favour of Mr Singh’s company and the work took less than a day to complete.

The prosecution expert assessed the market rate value of the actual work done at the property to be £60.

Smith and Draper Smith were jailed for 36 months and 31 months respectively in January 2021 for scamming residents. 

Mr Singh, 43, was the final person to be sentenced, appearing at Amersham Crown Court on April 19. 

He was ordered to pay a fine of £2,250, costs of £7,000 and a victim surcharge. 

It comes after an investigation by Buckinghamshire and Surrey Trading Standards. 

Kevin Deanus, Surrey County Council Cabinet Member for Community Protection, said: “I am pleased this reckless and irresponsible individual has been brought to justice.

“Both Mr Smith and Mr Draper Smith got the punishment they deserve last year, and I’m glad now that Mr Singh has too. As this proves, traders cannot escape criminality by saying they were only involved as a sub-contractor.

“This case started back in 2018, and its conclusion is thanks to the hard work and dedication of our Trading Standards officers.”

Find a trusted trader by visiting the Trading Standards approved website www.traders4u.co.uk.

Advice to avoid getting tricked out of your money is:

• Be sceptical, don’t be afraid to shut the door
• Take your time, don’t be rushed or confused by technical jargon
• Know who you’re dealing with, if you need help talk to someone you know or get in touch with your council
• Protect your financial information, especially from people you don’t know
• Never engage with someone or allow them access to your home unless you can verify their authenticity and who they are