Herefordshire Council’s environmental health and trading standards service has prosecuted a local rogue trader who offered fake 50% discounts in local publications and falsely claimed to hold a Trustmark accreditation.
Roofing contractor Robert Christopher Hughes, 25, traded as R Hughes Roofing from a false address in Pershore, Worcestershire. He placed large advertisements in local publications offering 50% discounts for roofing work and falsely claimed to have a TrustMark accreditation.
The court heard that his advertisements attracted numerous requests for him to fix simple problems, such as leaking gutters. However, once at a property, he would falsely claim there were other serious problems which needed urgent attention – such as deteriorating roofing felt which needed to be replaced, however roofing tends to be extremely durable and rarely needs replacing.
Hughes would then charge up to four times the going rate for this unnecessary work.
The court heard that he would always start the proposed urgent repairs immediately, failing to give homeowners the legal 14-day cooling off period, or time to obtain a second opinion and quote.
The majority of his victims were vulnerable and elderly – the court held this as an aggravating factor in the offences. A 78-year-old victim had paid £36,000 for wholly unnecessary roof repairs, which left their roof in a far worse state than before, the court heard.
Herefordshire Council’s trading standards team requested that Hughes compensated his victims accordingly, but he claimed to have little or no money, so chose not to.
The court heard that, over a two-year period, every time a customer paid him – usually via a money transfer – he would immediately withdraw the money in cash. Trading standards alleged that within this period, Hughes withdrew £300,000 in cash, which is still unaccounted for.
At Worcester Crown Court, Hughes was convicted on nine counts of rogue trading in the course of his roofing business – including fraud against five victims. He was sentenced to four years in jail.
Herefordshire Council’s head of development management and regulation, Marc Willimont, said:
“The council has a zero tolerance policy on rogue trading – and our trading standards team will work with police colleagues to crack down on anyone preying on vulnerable residents.
This case clearly demonstrates that the courts also take rogue trading very seriously – and this sentence should act as a significant deterrent to others who exploit vulnerable residents”.
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