Combat the rise in roofing scams by checking before you hire

NFRC provides security for homeowners and roofers. 

Citizens Advice has revealed that roofing complaints rose by around 10% year on year, from 8,136 to 8,985 between September 2025 and August 2026. Of these, 2,205, roughly a quarter, were suspected scams, most involving doorstep sales tactics.

NFRC’s sympathy is with everyone who has been targeted. These incidents can leave people out of pocket and feeling unsafe in their own homes. NFRC’s desire to combat this behaviour and provide homeowners with a trusted way to secure roofing work sits at the core of our work as the U.K.’s largest and longest-standing roofing and cladding trade association. Homeowners can protect themselves, and we want them to know how.

What NFRC membership actually means

Every NFRC member must pass a site and office inspection before joining. Members then undergo site and office inspections every three years to maintain their membership. Inspectors assess technical competence and commercial capability.

To maintain membership NFRC businesses must meet high standards, including:

• Comply with relevant Building Regulations, British Standards and other national standards, and follow NFRC technical guidance
• Meet mandatory health and safety requirements set out in NFRC guidance, including requirements under the Building Safety Act
• Be independently reviewed for their financial standing
• Evidence adequate annual employers’ and public liability insurance
• Meet waste and pollution regulations, and show they can manage recycling and product procurement
• Provide evidence of the skills, employment and training of their workforce

A complaints process that works

If a customer is unhappy with work carried out by an NFRC member, they can raise a complaint with NFRC free of charge, and we will then attempt to resolve disputes between the dissatisfied customer and our member company. Participation in this process is a mandatory condition of membership. The number of complaints NFRC receive through this avenue is orders of magnitude lower than that which Citizens Advice sees, despite our members completing 70%+ of roofing activity in the U.K. It is so much lower because we do the initial work of ensuring the business operates to a high standard before they are granted membership. 

Find NFRC roofers on the NFRC website only

The only reliable way to find an NFRC member is the directory on the NFRC website: https://www.nfrc.co.uk/trade-member-directory.html

A business may claim NFRC membership, or be listed on another website as a member. There is no guarantee it is genuine. NFRC is aware of firms making false or misleading claims about their status and is regularly stamping out this behaviour.

Homeowners should:

• Find a contractor through the NFRC website directory
• Check the company name, address and contact details match the directory entry exactly
• Contact NFRC on 020 7638 7663 or helpdesk@nfrc.co.uk if they are unsure or cannot find a match

Many websites claim to list trusted or vetted traders. Most do not check the competency of a firm’s workforce or the quality of its work. NFRC does, through inspection of members before they join and every three years after.

NFRC Policy and External Affairs Manager, Gray Gibson, said:

“Roofing is a high trust trade, and scams remain common. Homeowners should not have to guess who they can trust. NFRC members are inspected, insured and held to recognised standards, with sanctions for breaches of our Code of Practice and Terms and Conditions. If something goes wrong, our free complaints procedure helps resolve disputes between dissatisfied customers and our member companies. We urge anyone looking for a roofer to find them through our directory, get multiple written quotes and check every detail before agreeing to work.”