Conmen tradies stealing thousands of dollars from Melbourne retirees

Rogue tradies have left an elderly Deepdene woman more than $7000 out of pocket for a dodgy guttering job that should have cost much less. But an 81-year-old man who was targeted in a similar, separate incident has turned the tables on would-be scammers.

Rogue tradies have left an elderly Deepdene woman more than $7000 out of pocket for a dodgy guttering job that should have cost much less.

And a South Yarra retiree narrowly escaped being swindled when two rogue “tradesmen” with northern Irish or London accents demanded payment for roof work he said they didn’t do.

Val Walton, 84, and Rob (surname withheld), 81, contacted Leader after reading police warnings regarding scam tradies.

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Ms Walton said she didn’t bat an eyelid when Irish-speaking Terry, who had left a flyer in her mailbox, said fixing her drain pipe and guttering would cost $7300.

She handed over the cash but when it rained water drained onto her front step, creating a slipping hazard.

A reputable tradie, John Clarke, from Bentleigh’s Roofing Direct, had told her to beware of rogue operators before she hired Terry.

Mr Clarke said Ms Walton’s job should not have cost $7300, but conmen in the industry were rife.

Rob said a tradie named Alex knocked on his door last month to say he’d seen a few cracked roof tiles.

He agreed to let Alex and a workmate look, but when Alex said the job was done within two hours and he owed $1750, he saw red flags.

“He claimed they’d done the job, lifted 35 tiles at $50 a tile, and a couple of extra things — they couldn’t possibly have done all that in that time,” Rob said.

“I told them I wanted to go to Consumer Affairs and I think they took fright.”

He warned other retirees to be on the lookout for the tricksters, who he believed targeted older people.

The Leader called both tradesmen on their mobiles.

Terry did not return calls while Alex’s phone number was disconnected.

Consumer Affairs Victoria director Samuel Jenkin urged residents not to hire door-to-door tradies, and to phone [phone] to report anything that seemed dodgy.