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£15,000 fine for contractors who misled elderly customer (11 January 2016)

Date: 11/01/2016
Duncan Lewis, Legal News Solicitors, £15,000 fine for contractors who misled elderly customer

Dorset County Council Trading Standards have prosecuted a plumbing and drainage company for making misleading claims.

Plumbers 24/7 Ltd and one of its subcontractors, Russell Stephen Lane, were found to have misled a 72-year-old customer over drainage work which they said needed to be carried out at her home in Kington Magna in North Dorset.

The customer, Mrs Binks, contacted the company after finding them in the Yellow Pages directory, after she discovered a blocked drain at her home.

After two men arrived in a van and took a quick look at the drain, they told her it was too dark to continue the work and arranged to return the following day. The court heard that one of these men was Mr Lane.

The following morning the men produced some paperwork, which they initially asked Mrs Binks to sign.

The documents had no details of pricing – and the men told Mrs Binks that if she did not sign, they would not be able to start the work.

The men then carried out some work, including unblocking the drain and lining some of the pipes in the drainage system.

The men were at the property for approximately five hours and the final bill for the work carried out was £7,800.

Mrs Binks felt obliged to pay there and then, as she felt intimidated and threatened. She also stated that, just after she had paid, she witnessed the two men “laughing and doing a little dance” in the garden.

Trading Standards had the works examined by an expert, who estimated that £2,083 would have been a reasonable charge – and noted that some of the work carried out had been unnecessary.

On Thursday 7 January at Bournemouth Crown Court, Plumbers 24/7 Ltd was ordered to pay £15,000 for misleading an older customer about the price of drainage work – and the fact that they had claimed work was required, when it was not.

The jury agreed with Trading Standards that the price charged by Mr Lane was so significantly above what a reasonable charge would have been that the demand to pay that amount could only have been made dishonestly.

Mr Lane’s sentencing was adjourned.

Plumbers 24/7 Ltd submitted mitigation in court which acknowledged that, while the company could not know exactly what had happened at the property, their due diligence had fallen short of what was necessary and that the company itself had not acted dishonestly.

The trial judge, Judge Johnson, agreed that these circumstances were at the lower end of culpability for the company and imposed a sentenced involving a fine of £1,000 per offence, also ordered it to pay £5,000 to the victim and £8,000 in costs to the county council.

After the hearing, principal trading standards officer, Richard Herringshaw, said:

“I am pleased with this result, especially for the victim, Mrs Binks.

“It takes courage to make a statement and give evidence at court. Without her evidence we would not have been able to take this prosecution and the company and Mr Lane would have simply got away with it.

“This will have been a costly episode for the company and will hopefully ensure that it takes more care – especially with the pricing of the work it carries out.”

“Anyone who suspects they may have been scammed in a similar way should contact the Citizens Advice consumer service on 03454 04 05 06.

“This is the first point of contact for any consumer wishing to complain about a business or wanting to know what their rights are. All complaints from Dorset residents are assessed by the Trading Standards service to see if they should be investigated further.”

Dorset County Council’s Cabinet Member for Economy and Growth, Councillor Colin Jamieson, added:

“Traders who mislead vulnerable individuals and families and charge them excessive amounts are deplorable. Our Trading Standards service makes investigating these cases a priority.”


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