LOL, that's what I tried to explain to them! Unfortunately, the easiest way to prove whether it's Whitebellied or Polywhite is to breed to a Polywhite, which isn't possible yet in the UK. To breed to prove it's Polywhite, not Roan, will take many more hamsters (without breeding two together obviously) and it definitely becomes a project.
When I see an "ee" hamster marked like this:
I immediately think "carrying Polywhite" before I'll ever think "Roan". The photos of the two Roans I spoke of had even less white than the photo above. All of the Roans I've seen have significantly more white than this, to the point that their bodies are practically all white and many of them have a white spot on their foreheads.
We can definitely agree to disagree. In the future, if you, or anyone else, come across a "poor Roan" that more resembles the photo above than the typical Roan, you're welcome to contact me and I can suggest some possible breedings for you to do that could help determine whether it's truly a poor Roan or really heterozyous Polywhite. The odds are high it's in the UK as if you saw the hamster above in a UK pet store, would you have thought Polywhite? What about three years ago or ten years ago? Heck, 4-5 years ago I saw what I now know were Minks carrying Polywhite in pet stores and even posted to a forum telling breeders to be aware of the poor Roans!! When you don't think it's possible, it's hard to consider it being anything else other than what you already know.
-Janice