‘Bitumen bandits’ strike again in Adelaide

Bitumen bandits are “roaming, unlicensed traders who travel from town to town targeting both homes and businesses, claiming to have leftover bitumen from a previous job and offering to do cheap work”, said the consumer watchdog.

“However, the work is substandard and often leaves consumers out of pocket as they struggle with the cost of remedial work to fix the mess they are left with.”

Consumer and Business Services is currently working with both state and federal agencies – including the South Australia Police and Australian Border Force – to “identify bitumen bandits and gather evidence of their offences”.

The watchdog urges all consumers who encounter these scam artists to contact Consumer and Business Services as soon as possible, in order to help regulators catch them early before they move onto a new patch.

Alarm bells over bitumen bandits were first sounded last year, when Western Australian officials warned consumers of an “international organised scam” targeting local homes and businesses, with directors often based in the UK and Ireland.

Western Australia Commissioner for Consumer Protection, Trish Blake, stated: “These con artists posing as tradespeople have a blatant disregard for the law and use completely unethical business practices that prey on innocent people, tricking them into a ‘good deal’ but ultimately charge highly inflated prices for shoddy work.”

Last September, one Derby consumer was invoiced for $33,000 for bitumen that washed away with rain the next day.

Just months later in November 2023, locals in Fleurieu were targeted by the itinerant tradies who used “high-pressure tactics” to extract money from consumers.

Dini Soulio, South Australia’s then-commissioner for Consumer Affairs, warned that unsolicited offers to do bitumen work are “a huge red flag”, and consumers “should never accept offers of this nature without doing their homework first”.

“Before agreeing to anything, people should check to make sure the business is licensed and get multiple quotes. If any one quote comes in at a considerably lower price than the rest, there is often good reason to be sceptical,” Soulio said.

“Importantly, no matter how much pressure someone places on you, never agree to an offer on the spot.”