Are all travellers/gypsies rogue traders?

Our former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said we must not let political correctness prevent us from tackling difficult issues (he was talking about sexual offences by ethnic minorities). So here we go…

In this post I will be talking about travellers and rogue traders – and providing some tips on what to look out for.

Are all travellers/gypsies rogue traders?

Of course not.

But the majority of serious organised rogue traders that we tend to deal with in Trading Standards tend to be people from a gypsy or traveller background. I can tell you that because we see regularly see intelligence documents from Trading Standards and the Police relating to rogue traders. Very often there may be a network of 5+ people involved.

We don’t use the word gypsy anymore – it is not politically correct. We use traveller or itinerant trader.

Many people have an idea that a traveller is someone who has a really strong Irish accent or lives in a caravan. The reality is that a lot of travellers live in traditional housing or static housing and speak with common English/Welsh/Scottish accents – so if you think you think all travellers look or behave in a certain way you are mistaken.

We traditionally found that rogue traders would get their work from cold calling on the door. But Covid really changed this and accelerated rogue traders to using online sites like Checkatrade, Quotatis, Bark.com, Trustatrader, RatedPeople and so on. I can guarantee you there have been rogue traders on all of these platforms as I have dealt with them myself.

We even know that rogue traders have set up their own ‘approved trader’ websites and them given themselves approval.

When I say rogue trading what do I mean? This phrase can mean different things to different people. I use it widely to cover:

• doing very poor-quality work
• taking the money and running away
• doing work that is not necessary
• using threats or aggression to get work
• grossly overcharging
• increasing the scope or price of work after its started in order to get more money

Other issues are

• not complying with legal requirements around paperwork/information and the 14 day cooling off period for contracts agreed at the consumers home
• using false addresses
• not complying with common standards for the work or legal rules around building control/planning
• offering warranties that will never be honoured
• pretending to be approved by the council or some other body
• charging VAT when they don’t pay VAT
• no health and safety provision for their staff (e.g., working on a roof with just a ladder in the rain)
• not paying their staff the minimum wage or even worse, using slave labour (which is quite common).

What industries do they operate in?

• roofing
• gardening and landscaping
• paving
• tarmacking
• general building

Those tend to be the main ones for travellers.

Unfortunately, rogue trading is something that seems to be ingrained in their culture. Young kids will often drop out of school and then shadow their family to learn the trade. Many don’t see what they are doing as dishonest. We have attended many rogue trading incidents where the children are with their parents (when they should be in school).

Very often it will be vulnerable elderly people that they will target and they will share their victims’ names so that person is then subjected to repeat visits. The victim might have their roof replaced every year by a different rogue trader. And we are not talking small sums – think £50,000 to £80,000 for a bog-standard roof, which should probably cost no more than £15,000 (if it did need doing in the first place).

Do not be fooled by a fancy website, nice looking paperwork, a new van or shiny uniforms. All of these things can, and are, set up within a few days.

It is very easy for someone to register a Limited company and it offers you no protection as a consumer.

Where we really see the patterns with travellers is organised crime. We are not just talking about one bloke on his own here. We are talking about organised groups that will literally move around the country week to week or month to month. They will change their business name each time to try and avoid detection. They will have someone who supplies the website, someone who supplies the company set up, someone who does the paperwork, someone who receives all the payments. It’s a complex web to trey and hide identity and confuse the authorities.

Very often the traveller rogue traders will do the initial visit to get the work and then they will send over lower paid workers to do the actual work. We are finding these workers can often be from Eastern Europe or Asia – and usually not being paid enough. The work will be done very quickly to prevent giving the customer the time to think or cancel.

If you agree to work whilst the trader is at your home and it’s for over £42, then you are entitled to a 14-day cooling off period. This information should be given to you in writing. You still have the right to cancel if they do not give you the information in writing or if you cancel midway through (but you may be liable for work done to that point). Look up The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 if you need more information.

Money laundering is very common amongst rogue traders. Be very wary if you are dealing with ABC Ltd or Alan Smith but you are then asked to make a cheque or bank transfer to another person. This is a way of trying to hide their activity. It goes without saying not to pay large sums in cash.

If you are concerned you have been ripped off by a rogue trader, report it to the Police and Trading Standards.

Note down any vehicle registrations and descriptions of individuals. Take photos. Keep copies of all paperwork.

Are all travellers rogue traders? No. But they make up the majority of organised criminals who are out there causing real harm on a big scale. Most Politicians or organisations will be too afraid to discuss this publicly – but as the former PM says, we shouldn’t let political correctness stop us from debating and addressing issues.

I think people would be surprised at the sheer scale of rogue trading/fraud that occurs. It is a crime that is not well reported. I can guarantee you that every week, up and down the country, there are hundreds of vulnerable people being ripped off for tens of thousands of pounds. It is almost certainly happening near where you live.

BUT – do not fall into the trap of thinking it is always vulnerable people who are the victims. Yes they tend to be the victims that lose the most but there are plenty of people who are very intelligent/capable and who wouldn’t be considered vulnerable that are tricked by these fraudsters.