In-person · doorstep tradie scam · 3 min read · names changed
The tradie who kept finding 'urgent' problems
He knocked on the door, pointed at the roof, and quoted $6,000. By the time he left, the job was a $40,000 nightmare.
The tradie who kept finding "urgent" problems
A young couple in Sydney's west answered the door to a friendly roof restorer who'd "just finished a job down the street" and noticed their roof looked in bad shape. He was on the roof within minutes, pointing at crumbling tiles and quoting $6,000 for a fix.
Once the cash deposit was paid, the problems kept multiplying. Water damage. Structural issues. Urgent code violations. The price climbed to $40,000 across a week of "emergency" work. He was paid in instalments, always before the next stage, always in a hurry.
The final invoice arrived, the work stopped, and the phone number went dead. A real inspector found patchwork repairs worth maybe $3,000.
The lesson
- Never pay for unsolicited work. Legitimate tradies don't knock on doors finding "urgent" problems.
- Three quotes minimum for anything over a few hundred dollars, and never pay more than 10% up front.
- Check the licence. Each state has a public register — look up the ABN and licence number before handing over a cent.
Been through something similar? Report it at Scamwatch (scamwatch.gov.au/report-a-scam) or ReportCyber (cyber.gov.au/report) — and if money or identity documents are involved, call your bank and IDCARE (1800 595 160).