The short answer
Do not agree to anything on the doorstep, and do not let anyone start work that day. Thank them, close the door and look at the roof yourself from the ground. If you do sign a contract at home, the law usually gives you 14 days to cancel, but not in every case, so read what you are given. Citizens Advice can check your position if you are unsure.
What to say to a cold caller who tells you the roof needs work, how to test the claim, and what the law says about contracts signed at home.
What to say at the door
You owe a stranger no decision. A polite "no thanks, I will arrange my own survey" is enough, and a genuine tradesperson will accept it. Be more careful if the caller says they were working nearby and spotted your roof, that you must act today, that the price is only good right now, or that cash is needed up front for materials. Those are pressure tactics, not reasons.
Do not let anyone onto the roof, and do not treat pictures on a phone as proof. A caller can show you photographs of any roof in the country. Ask for a business name, a landline and a written address, and say you will ring back. If they will not give them, that tells you what you need to know.
If you feel threatened or the caller will not leave, ring the police. For a calm check on whether anything is wrong, look at the roof yourself or book a survey with a firm of your own choosing. Our guide on how to tell a dodgy roofer sets out the checks in full, and our roofing services in Crawley overview shows how we work.
Checking the claim yourself
Stand in the garden or on the pavement and study each slope through a pair of field glasses, or by zooming in with your phone camera. You are hunting for obvious faults: missing or slipped tiles, a broken ridge, gaps around the chimney. Look at the upstairs ceilings for stains. If you find nothing, the claim is probably empty. If you do see something, you now hold your own photos and can ask a roofer you have chosen to survey it.
Our guide on what happens at a roof survey describes a proper visit. Citizens Advice suggests asking at least 3 traders for a written quote, requesting recent examples of their work and phoning those customers yourself, because a written reference can be faked. It also warns against a trader whose only contact detail is a mobile number.
Write down what happened while it is fresh: the time, a description of the caller, any vehicle, and the exact claims made about your roof. If neighbours were called on too, compare notes. A record like that is useful if you decide to report the visit later.
Moss, stained tiles and a weathered look are not faults in themselves. A caller who points at them and calls the roof dangerous is selling worry, not repairs. A roof that has stood through years of weather is rarely about to fall in because a stranger says so.
Your cancellation rights at home
Sign for work in your own living room and the law treats it as a contract away from the trader's business premises. The 2013 consumer contracts regulations let you cancel such a contract without giving any reason, and for services the cancellation period ends at the end of 14 days after the day you entered the contract. If the trader never gave you the cancellation information, that period can stretch by up to 12 months.
There are exceptions. Where you yourself asked a trader to call out for urgent repairs, those cancellation rights do not reach that work, although extra jobs sold during that same call can still be covered. A trader who wants to begin inside the 14 days needs your request to start early on a durable medium, such as a signed form or an email.
This is general information, not legal advice. Read whatever you are given, keep copies, and never pay on the doorstep. Our answer on paying a roofer a deposit covers what is fair.
Where to get help
If you have already signed or paid, move quickly. Write to the trader cancelling the contract if you are still inside the cancellation period, and keep proof of posting or sending. Ask your bank what can be done about the payment. If work has been done badly, our guide on how to complain about a roofer sets out the steps.
For individuals the place to begin is the Citizens Advice consumer helpline, open on weekdays. Its consumer service is able to pass details of a complaint to Trading Standards, which you cannot do for yourself. Do not wait for anyone to call you back before acting, because the cancellation clock keeps running.
When you want a proper look at your roof, a survey comes first, with pictures of your own tiles and timbers sent to you, and one written figure follows. There is no hurry to decide. Attach any photos you already hold to the enquiry form, and tell us what the caller claimed, so the survey can test that claim directly.
More on this in Roofers in Crawley: the full guide
Two doorstep questions
Is it illegal for a roofer to knock on doors?
Not in itself, and some trades do introduce themselves that way. What matters is behaviour: pressure, no written details, cash up front or starting work uninvited are all warning signs. You are free to say no and to arrange your own survey with a firm you have checked yourself.
Can I cancel if I let them start straight away?
It depends. If you asked for work to begin within the 14 days, and said so on a durable medium, you may owe for what was done. If you were not given the proper information, your rights can last longer. Call Citizens Advice before you assume either way.