Reform UK’s Derbyshire County Council leader's home damaged by 'rogue traders'
A Derbyshire council leader says his wife was left “shaken and frightened” after alleged “rogue traders” operating from a Leeds storage unit damaged their home.
Reform UK’s Derbyshire County Council leader, Cllr Alan Graves, who lives in Barrow-on-Trent, said the traders, operating under the company name JR Property & Maintenance, visited his home on May 18 to quote for a roof repair.
This was after he requested a quote from companies via the trader directory website, MyJobQuote.
The trader directory relayed interest from JR Property & Maintenance, which it said was linked to James Liams, including an email address containing the name Jasmine, and operated from a self-storage facility in Leeds.
Companies House shows JR Property & Maintenance is registered to Jolanta Zielinska and Rafal Zielinski, in Peterborough.
The white van, which arrived at Cllr Graves’ property, had used a number plate not linked to the vehicle. Footage of the van arriving at Cllr Graves’ house and the events that followed have been viewed by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).
CCTV footage shows three young men arriving at the property and talking to Cllr Graves’ wife.
After saying they would take a look at the roof first before providing a quote, two men use a ladder to get onto the roof while a third man unhooks a further ladder from the van.
The two men on the roof then ask for “two teas and two sugars” and confirm they will then provide a price for the repairs.
Cllr Graves claims that the two men on the roof, instead of simply assessing the repair, chose to rip off lead flashing around the chimney, causing further damage.
He claims the men then asked his wife to pay them £150 in cash upfront, plus a further £300 in cash to fix the damage, but she refused and called her husband, who asked the men to leave the property.
Cllr Graves said he has now had the work repaired by a different company, with the initial repair costing £350 to fix. But work to repair the additional damage allegedly caused by the “rogue traders” cost a further £400 – bringing it up to £750 in total.
He described the men as “hostile and menacing” and claimed they were part of a “criminal gang”, with police visiting the property in response to the incident on May 27, more than a week after it took place.
Cllr Graves, who is also a Derby city councillor, urged residents to exercise caution and to be accompanied during trader visits.
He has reported the incident to the police and the county council’s Trading Standards team, who are investigating.
At the time when the LDRS spoke to him, Cllr Graves said MyJobQuote had not sought to accept any responsibility for the trader’s actions and said that all liability is on the customer, as laid out in their terms and conditions, along with rejecting a request to remove the trader from their directory.
He recommended that people do not use MyJobQuote and instead use the county council’s Trusted Trader directory of local, approved companies, which he said he ought to have taken the time to use.
However, after the LDRS reached out, MyJobQuote confirmed on Tuesday (June 2) that the trader’s account has been disabled on the website.
Commenting on the “rogue trader” incident, Cllr Graves said: “This is not a tradesperson getting a bad review. This is a criminal gang operating with a practised, organised method.
“The website profits from making these introductions. When those introductions lead to criminal damage and intimidation, I do not accept that a disclaimer in the small print ends their responsibility.
“Had this been an elderly person living alone, I have no doubt they would have handed over the cash.
“This is happening on a website actively marketing itself to homeowners across the country.
“Residents of Derbyshire — and everywhere else — need to know.
“My wife was left shaken and frightened in our own home — and the website that sent them takes no responsibility whatsoever.”
In response to the LDRS, a MyJobQuote spokesperson said: “I was very sorry to read about the upsetting experience Mr Graves had, and I can only imagine how much concern it caused.
“MyJobQuote.co.uk was established not only to make it easier to find an available tradesperson, but also to reduce the chance of being matched with a rogue trader.
“Unfortunately, it isn’t possible to remove that chance entirely. The trade in question, JR Property and Maintenance, joined at the end of March 2026, and we have now disabled their account.
“We always advise homeowners to carry out their own due diligence before choosing a trade, just as they would if they found a trade through a newspaper or Google Local.
“That said, I accept that we should have shown more empathy and confirmed to Mr Graves that we would be removing this trade’s access to our site.
“I would like to apologise once again for what happened, and I will be reaching out to Mr Graves personally to express this myself.”
It comes after MyJobQuote said in a previous response via email to Cllr Graves: “Whilst I appreciate where you are coming from, we do require verifiable evidence of criminal activity in order to have this trade considered for removal from the system.
“As we have mentioned in our initial response to you, we do not take responsibility for the trade’s workmanship. [James Liams] (like all of the trades that use our platform) is a self-employed contractor / business owner.
“You entered into an agreement with that trade of your own accord and I would hope your own due diligence.
“In addition to this it is expected that you have read and understood our terms and conditions prior to using our service.
“Within these terms I would like to bring your attention to: Limitation of our liability – It is your responsibility to select a tradesperson to carry out any works you post jobs for and you accept that any arrangement entered into in respect of any job is a completely separate contract between you and the chosen tradesperson and that we are in no way liable to you under any such contract.”
A Derbyshire police spokesperson said: “Officers are investigating an incident of criminal damage at a property in Twyford Road, Barrow-on-Trent, at about 11am on Monday, May 18.
“A group of men reportedly attended the address in a van and caused damage to the property. Enquiries into the incident are ongoing.”
The police reference number for people who may have information is: 582-190526.
A county council spokesperson said: “We’re very sorry to hear about this distressing incident which must have been terrifying. We will be making further enquiries of those concerned.
“If any Derbyshire residents are thinking of having any work done to their properties we recommend they use our Trusted Trader scheme which was launched to help local people find traders and businesses who agree to do a good job at a fair price.
“With more than 900 traders signed up to our online directory, it also protects consumers by making it easier for them to find traders they can trust. Find more details here: www.derbyshire.gov.uk/trustedtrader
“The Government also has its own TrustMark and Buy with Confidence schemes. Schemes such as online trader matching sites often act as intermediaries only.
“If you are approached by a suspicious trader, do not agree to any work and ask them to leave.
“Anyone who feels threatened or believes a crime is taking place should contact the police on 999 immediately.
“Residents are also encouraged to seek advice and report concerns to Trading Standards via the Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 0808 223 1133.”