Ask around Heavitree or St Leonard’s about getting a roof done and you’ll hear a horror story soon enough — a deposit taken, a van that never came back, flashing bodged with self-adhesive tape instead of proper Code 4 lead. TrustMark launched a consultation on 22nd September aimed squarely at that problem, and it’s worth knowing what’s actually being proposed.
The figure behind it is stark: consumer detriment across home improvements in the UK runs to more than £10 billion a year, according to TrustMark’s own numbers. Charlotte Carter, the organisation’s Chief Operating Officer, put it plainly — consumer protection in this sector needs to change, and standing still isn’t an option. The consultation closes at 11.59pm on 27th October and covers simplifying how homeowners complain, making TrustMark itself the single point of contact rather than bouncing people between scheme providers, and stronger financial protection if a firm goes under mid-job.
For a firm that’s been doing this 40 years, none of it is controversial. And being insurance-backed and accredited already means jobs get checked, guarantees actually mean something, and a customer in Exmouth or Crediton has somewhere to go if a job isn’t right. What the changes mostly tidy up is the paperwork trail behind that — fewer forms, one complaints route, more consistency between different accreditation bodies.
It matters more in Devon than people think, because so much of the housing stock here is older — Victorian terraces with slate roofs, cob outbuildings, the odd listed farmhouse on the outskirts. Work on that kind of roof needs someone who understands lime mortar bedding and breathable membranes, not just a quick tile swap, and accreditation schemes are one of the few ways a homeowner can check that before the ladders go up.
Bailey & Sons Roofing has been fitting and repairing roofs across Exeter and South Devon for four decades, family-run throughout. If you’d like a quote for new roofing in Exeter or a repair on an older property, the details are on rooferexeter.co.uk/.