Roofing has more than its share of poor traders because the work is out of sight and most customers cannot inspect it. These checks protect you. We are happy to be measured against every one of them.
- A real trading address and company number. Check it on Companies House. A mobile number alone is not enough.
- Public liability insurance, with the certificate shown on request. £2 million minimum; £5 million is better.
- Reviews you can trace on Google, Checkatrade or Trustpilot, with real names and dates, not just quotes on the roofer's own site.
- A written, itemised quotation. Materials by name, scaffold, disposal, guarantee period. Never a figure on the back of a card.
- Photographs of your roof showing the problem they are quoting to fix. If they will not show you, they may not have looked.
- No pressure. "This price is only good today" is a sales tactic, not a quotation.
- A sensible deposit. A materials deposit on large jobs is normal. Full payment up front is not.
- A written workmanship guarantee, ideally insurance-backed for larger jobs so it survives if the company does not.
- Membership of a trade body such as NFRC or CompetentRoofer, which vet their members.
- They did not knock on your door. Reputable roofers are busy enough not to.
Red flags
- Spotting "urgent" damage from the pavement.
- Cash only, no VAT, no invoice.
- Foreign-registered or unmarked vehicles.
- A price far below everyone else's.
Our quotes include our company number, insurance details, itemised materials and the guarantee in writing. Ask for anything else you would like to see.
One more check: the quote itself
A good quotation names the materials by brand and type, states the guarantee in years, says who is doing the work, and gives a start date and a duration. If any of those is missing, ask. A roofer who will not put it in writing before the job is unlikely to put anything right after it.