Thousands of householders* are fleeced every year in Britain, mostly over the summer months, by rogue door-to-door home maintenance traders masquerading as professionals, selling anything from roofing repairs, guttering and gardening services to path or driveway work. These rogue callers frighten their potential targets by suggesting they have loose tiles, problems with pointing, damp or guttering, or that their driveway is in need of repair. They lie and cheat to extort money in return for little or no work at all and last year stole over £1.36 billion** from unsuspecting homeowners across Britain. Anyone who turns up at the door and tries to frighten you into having work done is a crook. A decent tradesperson will have a queue of customers waiting for them to start work on their home – they won’t have time to knock on your door. Only ever employ builders who have been recommended to you or who are proven members of a reputable trade association such as the FMB, and who can provide you with references, which you should check out. The Federation of Master Builders says it’s time for UK homeowners to wise up to bogus builders, and advises homeowners to “Never, ever, buy from someone offering building services at the door,” a message endorsed by Trading Standards. The FMB has produced a useful leaflet explaining how best to deal with these unwanted cold callers and the steps you should take to find a reputable tradesperson. Here are some of the lines that rogue doorstep callers may use to frighten you into doing business with them: You have loose tiles on your roof I see cracked brickwork on your house I'm doing free property surveys to check if you have any rising damp These are some of the things rogue doorstep callers will say need doing: Roofing repairs Path or driveway work Guttering repairs * Consumer Direct (Office of Fair Trading) figures for 2006-7 ** Figure supplied by Trading Standards.   If you think your house needs work, findabuilder.co.uk is a completely free service that anyone can use to search the FMB member database for builders in their area. By simply entering your postcode, then selecting the type of builder or specialist trades person you require, you can generate a list of up to 15 FMB members in your locality.