A rogue roofer who "bullied" a vulnerable man and charged him for shoddy roofing work has been put behind bars.
Kenan Samme attempted to charge the man more than four times the price he’d quoted for roof repair work. The 24-year-old had turned up to the man's home in Newton Hall, County Durham in February 2021 and told him he needed repairs carrying out on his roof.
When the victim asked if the repairs were really needed, Samme and an associate told him the tiles could fall off and hurt someone before quoting him £180 to carry out the work. The next month, Samme, trading as Premier Home Improvements, called the man and threatened to report him to the council if he didn’t agree to have the work done.
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The man agreed, and Samme and two associates turned up that day to start work, finishing two days later. They then presented the victim with a bill for £828 and said he must pay up urgently. But when he headed out to get the cash, he informed a neighbour about what was going on and the police were called.
Samme and his two associates were still at the man's home when the police arrived. But when they were asked them to leave they threatened to remove the tiles from the roof and unloaded the waste from the job and left it in the man’s garden.
Samme, of Weardale Walk, Shildon, appeared at Durham Crown Court on Friday, February 3, to be sentenced for fraud by false representation. He had pleaded guilty to the offence. Durham County Council prosecuted Keenan after an investigation, during which an expert found the shoddy work will cost the victim around £520 to correct.
The court heard that the victim no longer answers the phone and finds himself “keeping an eye” on any trucks when he’s out shopping as he’s worried he might come across the men again.
In mitigation, Samme’s representative said he’s remained in employment since the offence and complied with the terms of his suspended sentence, including unpaid work. Samme was jailed for 20 months, with the court rejecting an application for Samme to compensate the victim.
Following the sentencing, Joanne Waller, Durham County Council’s head of community protection services, said: "The judge was of the view that this was very clearly a case of Samme bullying a vulnerable man. He targeted his victim, was persistent in his approach, and deceived him by pretending to carry out more work than he’d actually done.
"The work that was done actually caused more damage to the property. He then insisted on being paid immediately. We’re only thankful that the victim’s neighbour was vigilant and soon realised what was going on. The victim’s comments tell you everything you need to know about the distress this callous and despicable behaviour has caused him.
“We will always take action against anyone employing such underhand and dishonest practices. We hope the custodial sentence will serve as a warning to any rogue traders who are thinking of operating across County Durham.”
Robert Luke Harvey, who was also involved in the dodgy work, was convicted of a single count of contravening professional diligence. He was fined £120 and ordered to pay the victim £200 in compensation as well as £100 towards prosecution costs.
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