'Home Safe Home'

13 November 2025

Trading Standards Wales (TSW) warns that whilst rogue traders carrying out work on your home could leave you out of pocket, there is an increasing risk that they will also leave your home unsafe.

Trading Standards is commonly seeing unsafe work carries out by traders who have previously run compliant local businesses, but are tempted by the opportunity to earn big money and take on large scale projects that they are often incapable of doing, lacking the expertise or resource.  Investigations often uncover an underestimation for work cost, which results in deposits from new customers being used to cover earlier underfunded contracts, in a 'robbing Peter to pay Paul' situation.  This quickly spirals out of control and consumers are left with work that is incomplete, misdescribed, dangerous and of very little value, and facing not only financial hardship but also embarrassment and mental anguish.

Trading Standards also notes that the consumers are no longer limited to your typical vulnerable consumer associated with this type of crime, but are often much younger, more savvy and have spent time researching traders before entering into the contracts.

Examples include:

• A consumer's skylight secured with what appeared to be mastic sealant and consequently blew off in high winds smashing against another garden building;
• A consumer being left with no warm water, a cold, unsafe house, no kitchen, no dining room and a house open to the elements for a year;
• A consumer living and cooking in his lounge with live electrical cables dangling from the ceiling. The trader had left the electrics in such a state that when an electrician attended in his view the house had been left like a ticking time bomb.

Increasingly, court cases brought by Trading Standards in Wales are resulting in custodial sentences, but a lack of available funds or assets means that consumers are not able to recoup money through the criminal or civil courts.

Trading Standards Wales is offering caution to consumers when they are looking for tradespeople to carry out work in their home, with messaging to:

• Obtain a written quote and description of works to be done in advance
• Obtain the full name and address of the business
• To obtain information about the statutory cooling off period, during which you can consider both the cost, the work involved and whether that trader is right for you
• Agree that any further work that is found to need doing, is communicated to allow you to make a decision if you want to progress
• Paying by credit or debit card will offer additional protections should anything go wrong
• Obtain full names and note descriptions of people working on your home, as well as registration number, description and any signage on vehicles used
• Consider searching through an approved trade body, which often offer mediation if things go wrong

Trading Standards Wales is launching the all-Wales Buy with Confidence scheme during Trading Standards Spotlight week.  We know there are many genuine businesses out there, whose name is being tarnished by those less than honest operators in trade. 

To coincide with Trading Standards Wales Spotlight, we are offering a first year fee discount for Welsh businesses who sign up to the Buy With Confidence scheme between 13^th November and 31^st March 2026, using the offer code 'Spotlight'.

Businesses can find out more via the Buy with Confidence website which can be found here: Buy with confidence and can find out more details about the Spotlight week offer on the TSW website.

For further information, please go to: www.tradingstandards.gov.wales/en/tswweek