10 months imprisonment for rogue trading
At Shrewsbury Crown Court yesterday (Tuesday 5 January 2016), Affordable Property Solutions Ltd and its sole director Frederick Marsh were sentenced to a £4,000 fine and a custodial sentence of 10 months imprisonment respectively, following the conclusion of a public protection investigation into their trading activities.
At an earlier hearing, Mr Marsh and his business pleaded guilty to offences under the Fraud Act 2006 and Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 in respect to a number of rogue trading-style offences which were committed against Shropshire householders. Mr Marsh will serve half of his sentence in prison, with the remaining half on licence.
A complaint about work undertaken at the home of a 75-year-old widow in rural Shropshire was received in March 2014, where Mr Marsh had taken £800 in cash to treat what he was claimed was woodworm in the loft of her home. Subsequent enquiries indicated that no such wood worm was present and the treatment was wholly unnecessary. Whilst at a second property, Mr Marsh dishonestly promised to a retired couple that he would supply and fit solar panels to their home. Having taken a payment of £7,750 no such panels were ever supplied, despite the householders’ repeated attempts to contact Mr Marsh. Mr Marsh and his company also admitted that they failed to complete work at a third property in Ludlow. Despite costing the homeowner approximately £16,000 much of this work has now been redone.
In sentencing Mr Marsh, Judge Barrie referred to the woodworm treatment as barefaced trickery and it being a straightforward deception of a vulnerable 75-year-old lady. He spoke of how Mr Marsh repeatedly gave false assurances with regard to the delivery of the solar panels; and how the standard of workmanship at the Ludlow address was appalling and that Mr Marsh cannot have believed it was proper to keep taking money from the consumer. He acknowledged the profound effect behaviour of this kind has on the victims – it is upsetting, distressing and disturbing.
Paul McGreary, Shropshire Council’s head of business support and regulatory services, said:
“Shropshire Council takes incidents of rogue trading extremely seriously, and we will continue to use the full weight of the law to bring to justice any trader found defrauding customers. Rogue traders are a blight on our communities, often targeting elderly and vulnerable people. It is pleasing to see that the Court has clearly recognized the seriousness of the activities undertaken by Mr Marsh against vulnerable members of our community, and hope that the sentence that has been handed down by the court will deter others from undertaking such illegal activities in the future.”
Mal Price, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for regulatory services and housing, said:
“I would like to extend my sincere thanks to all the witnesses who helped us bring this case to court who have remained both patient and supportive throughout the investigation. For anyone thinking of having work undertaken on their house, the advice from Shropshire Council is to carry out as much research as possible before agreeing to a trader doing the work, and always obtain more than one quote for the job. When checking potential traders, we would always advise consumers to consider traders who belong to the Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin Trader Register – www.traderregister.org.uk/shropshire.”
Consumers who have concerns about any product or service where they feel they have been misled or defrauded in any way should contact the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 08454 04 05 06, with whom Shropshire Council works in partnership. Information can be given anonymously, and will always be treated in line with the council’s information governance policies.
