In the quiet suburb of Winston Hills, Western Sydney, Dominic and Barbara May opened their home and trust to a group of tradespeople who came knocking on their door with promises of necessary home repairs.

A cautionary tale ensued that nearly left the elderly couple in financial ruin.


The Mays' ordeal began innocently enough in April when they agreed to what seemed like a straightforward service: cleaning their gutters.

However, the situation quickly escalated.

'They constantly gave up the up-sell. We jumped from cleaning the gutters to repairing the gutters to replacing the roof,' Dominic recounted.


The tradespeople convinced them that they had active termites.

Before they knew it, half of their roof was torn off, and during the process, a worker's misstep caused a foot to pass through the ceiling.

The emotional and financial toll was immense.


'You feel stupid for falling for these kinds of things,' Dominic said.

The Mays were fortunate to get their deposit back, but they were still left with a $20,000 damage bill.

In a heartwarming turn, licenced roof restorer Beau South heard of their plight and stepped in to replace the tiles free of charge.

South, who has rectified 17 similar cases of older individuals taken advantage of by unscrupulous tradespeople, said:


'[There was] no evidence of termites at all.'

‘I was more than happy to put a few jobs on hold and restore it for free,’

‘People need to be aware that it can be a cowboy industry.’

Brian Seidler from Master Builders offered some advice: never accept tradespeople at face value.


He suggested asking for recommendations and checking licence numbers through the Office of Fair Trading, which is a straightforward process.

‘If they say they have just come from a home in the area, ask for the recommendation.’ Seidler said.

‘The Office of Fair Trading makes it quite easy to search for licence numbers,’

'The majority of builders and tradespeople are good. It is unfortunate that some of them make it bad for a lot of us in the industry,'

The Mays are struggling to afford a lawyer and are still saving to repair their gutters.

'It really messes you up for a long time,' Dominic shared.


In other news, an Australian couple discovered extensive termite damage in their new multi-million dollar Sunshine Coast home shortly after purchase.

Despite having a pest inspection conducted by a reputable company, the damage was missed, leading to nearly $100,000 in repair costs. Read more about this news here.
Have you or someone you know ever had a similar experience? Share your stories and tips in the comments below.