Rogue traders sentenced after Dorset fraud

A couple who ran a fraudulent roofing business have been sentenced after targeting vulnerable residents across Dorset.

Christopher Call, aged thirty-six, of Horsham, Surrey, and Georgia Smith, aged thirty-three, of Cranleigh, West Sussex, operated under the name Your Roof Buddy Ltd and caused serious distress to customers aged between sixty-five and ninety-three.

At Bournemouth Crown Court, Call admitted carrying on a business for a fraudulent purpose, while Smith pleaded guilty to offences under consumer protection laws. Their business carried out poor quality roofing work at inflated prices and falsely claimed to be a member of Checkatrade, despite being removed from the scheme.

Victims, who responded to leaflet drops, were told minor repairs had escalated into full roof replacements. When they refused to pay, Smith threatened legal action. Across four victims, the total quoted for work reached one hundred and nineteen thousand six hundred pounds. An expert surveyor later found the work was unnecessary, incompetent and worthless.

Call, who has previous convictions for dishonesty, was sentenced at Teesside Crown Court to two years and three months for fraudulent trading, to run consecutively with a separate four-year three-month sentence for a betting fraud conspiracy.

Smith, as sole company director, was sentenced at Bournemouth Crown Court to carry out two hundred hours of unpaid work, repay five thousand pounds, and was disqualified from being a company director for three years.

Councillor Gill Taylor of Dorset Council said the case showed the damage rogue traders cause and praised Trading Standards for their work in bringing the pair to justice.