Security camera video of the alleged British roof scammers in action in Auckland has been shown for the first time by 1 NEWS.
The men were filmed just before Christmas at an elderly victim's house, the victim telling 1 NEWS they fleeced him of almost $19,000.
The video shows tradesmen engaged in water blasting the back of an Auckland house in what looks like a typical pre-Christmas clean-up.
But it's allegedly all part of a scam that has left a 79-year-old man thousands of dollars out of pocket.
No one in his family wants to be identified.
"When I heard the news, I was in absolute disbelief. I was shocked, mortified, so upset," the victim's daughter, "Jo", told 1 NEWS.
It all started when a man, seen in the video, who called himself "Tim", knocked on the victim's door offering to clean the house and the roof.
The elderly homeowner said "no thanks". But "Tim" was persistent, returning a further two times that day.
"Within the hour, the price had dropped. And then on the third visit that afternoon there was a lower price which was put on the table and Dad accepted that," Jo said.
“It's a large sum of money unfortunately, money that Dad has saved.
The elderly man withdrew $1100 in cash from an ATM.
While two men seen in the video were waterblasting, another man was on the roof inspecting the chimney. The next part of the alleged scam was being hatched.
The homeowner was told his chimney was unstable and for a further $2500 deposit they could arrange for an assessment from an expert.
The demands for cash ramped up. In all the elderly man handed over $18,800, the men never returning to fix the chimney and roof.
"It's a large sum of money unfortunately, money that dad has saved. He feels obviously deflated and perhaps a bit foolish. He's been duped," Jo said.
What has further frustrated the 79-year-old victim was that he notified police of the incident on December 18 and a month later police told him they still hadn't assigned an officer to investigate it because of a shortage of staff over Christmas.
Police say they had identified multiple reports of similar scams by mid-January and referred them to their fraud team.
Two British nationals, who 1 NEWS can't identify, appeared in the Whanganui District Court on Friday charged with deception. They are expected to reappear in the Auckland District Court tomorrow.
Police are still hunting for two men, Tommy Ward and William Donohue, also in connection with roofing scams.
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