A ‘prolific’ cowboy roofer who targeted elderly and vulnerable residents, and overcharged them for unnecessary work, has been jailed.
Quenton Allen lied to homeowners by telling them their chimneys or roofs needed urgent work carried out on them in a bid to con them into paying for unneeded work.
The 37-year-old then carried out the jobs to a ‘very poor standard’, with some posing a risk to the homeowner’s lives afterwards, Lincolnshire County Council said.
The rogue builder, who committed the offences between 2018 and 2020, left one chimney as a fire risk and asked another customer to pay for the work with their vintage car.
Experts found that all six properties targeted by Allen, who has now been jailed for almost two years, did no need work doing to them in the first place.
It was found that on one occasion Allen, of Mill Lane, Wrangle, Lincolnshire, rebuilt a homeowner’s chimney, only for an expert from the council found it was much shorter than the original and posed a safety risk if they were to light a fire.
Sally Gray, a senior Trading Standards officer, said: ‘The leaflets handed to them – despite looking legitimate – had a fictitious company name on them, so none of them really knew who they were dealing with.’
One customer was asked to part with their vintage car as part payment for the work that had been carried out.
It had also not been carried out to the expected standard, considering the price he was charging.
Allen pleaded guilty to professional diligence for all six properties involved in the case on November 23, 2023, at Lincoln Crown Court, after the Covid-19 pandemic delayed proceedings.
He was sentenced to 20 months imprisonment on Thursday, January 19.
Half of it must be served, and he was handed a criminal behaviour order that will run indefinitely.
Ms Gray added: ‘This sentence acts as a warning to others and should provide some level of justice to those who suffered, who will be pleased to see Quenton Allen behind bars.’
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Matthew Lodge
