Two Wiltshire rogue traders have avoided jail after pleading guilty to fraud over an “abysmal” roofing job which could have collapsed.
35-year-old John Sykes and William Birch, 38, both pleaded guilty to one charge of fraud and two counts of unfair trading offences in April.
This came after the Chippenham based pair, who traded under J’s Roofing and Building, carried out a roofing job in 2021 which was judged to be “of an abysmal standard” by a chartered surveyor.
Sykes and Birch were each sentenced to a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, on July 4 at Swindon Crown Court.
Both men were also ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work.
Their victim had agreed for the work, which involved the replacement of a flat roof and the installation of a Velux window, to be carried out after flyers were posted through their letterbox.
A chartered surveyor later claimed the pair displayed “no evidence of any basic skill, competence or understanding of work of this nature”, and that there was a strong possibility the roof could have buckled and collapsed in the event of rainwater ingress.
The conviction came after Wiltshire Trading Standards officers were notified of the incident by concerned staff at Lloyds bank.
They launched an investigation into the quality of the work and informed Sykes and Birch they would not receive payment for the job.
Councillor Nick Holder, cabinet member for public protection, said: “Rogue traders are often an individual or company who offers services on a doorstep, often with very little means of identification.
“They can go on to cause misery and problems by cutting corners and carrying out work to unacceptable standards.
“We want to warn residents to be cautious of anyone who turns up on their doorstep offering to do work and to be aware that photos used on websites or social media may not be the trader’s own work.
“We hope that this sentencing sends out a clear message to any traders contemplating similar treatment of consumers and empowers any other victims of such activity to report it in confidence to our teams.”
Those who believe they have been a victim of rogue traders should call the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 0808 223 1133.
Trusted traders can be located through approval schemes such as Buy With Confidence.
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