Unchecked UK traders leave couple's roof 'shoddy'

A Guernsey couple have been left with "shoddy" roof repairs after hiring UK company My Clean Gutters, they say.

Carole Cook and her husband contracted the company after struggling to find a local firm to fix the damage from Storm Goretti in January.

They dismissed the company part-way through after a local roofer warned the couple the work was defective, the couple said.

My Clean Gutters, which has contact numbers based in Birmingham and Redditch, declined to comment after being approached by the BBC.

Cook said the couple initially contacted a local roofing firm but the work was repeatedly delayed.

She said: "They said they couldn't do it straight away... We explained we were away and they said they'd do it when we came back. [They] never did."

Cook said her husband filled out an online inquiry form for a roofing company he saw advertised on social media.

"They said they'd be around within a couple of days, which they did," she said.

After workers came to look at the job, the Cooks then gave My Clean Gutters £9,500 via bank transfer for materials, including tiles and a skip.

Mrs Cook said the workers were all "really quite pleasant".

"They weren't pushy or any of that because that would have had my hackles up anyway. I'd say sometimes they seemed over-friendly," she said.

The Cooks did not realise there was anything wrong until local roofer James Le Flem approached them after driving past and noticing defects.

Le Flem said: "They were really grateful [I intervened].

"The battens weren't staggered, they weren't even on rafters. [The workers] all came around and I explained why it's not right, I said I'd be back at four o'clock and I'm going to make sure everything that was wrong is rectified."

Le Flem said there were still major issues when he went back, which would mean things "would eventually leak over time".

"It was just really bad workmanship," he said.

Le Flem then spoke to the Cooks to let them know his concerns.

After looking at photos of the work, an independent building consultant highlighted the same issues to the BBC.

Cook said they then decided to dismiss the workers, as "enough is enough and I didn't want them to do any more work".

She said the foreman phoned his management who asked for further payment of £4,500 for the day's labour, but she refused: "I said there is no more money."

There is not any way the States can keep checks on UK companies operating in the island for a period that does not require a permit from the island's Population Management Office.

People employed by UK companies can work in the island for a period of 10 days in a 30-day period, but not more than a total of 90 days in any one year period before needing a work permit.

Checks by the BBC showed staff stayed in Guernsey for at least five nights.

States officials have told the BBC that authorities such as Trading Standards and environmental health staff were unable to pursue companies once they left Guernsey.

After My Clean Gutters left the site, the couple and Le Flem also noticed issues with the waste that had been put in the skip.

"In the ridge, there was bits of asbestos, small, its only very thin going across, and we spotted some in the skip," Cook said.

Island Waste, which the skip was hired from, confirmed asbestos was present and it had contacted a regulated contractor to dispose of any hazardous material, and had reported My Clean Gutters to the Office of Environmental Health and Pollution Regulation.

Le Flem said he was now offering to complete the repairs free of charge.

He said: "I just didn't want someone getting ripped off. It wasn't a fair price and it wasn't a good job.

"I'm glad I had the courage to speak up."

Follow BBC Guernsey on X and Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to channel.islands@bbc.co.uk.