'NASA' roof paint con cheated elderly out of thousands, court hears
Elderly residents were conned out of thousands of pounds by representatives of a roof coating service, who overcharged them for a special thermal paint they said was used by NASA, a court heard.
The trio from Therma Seal (Thermal Coatings) UK Ltd made bogus claims and used a range of deceptive tactics to try to convince the Dudley residents, some of whom were in poor health, to buy the paint for their roofs.
They produced glossy brochures and leaflets containing a number of boasts about the thermal coating, including that it had been developed by space agency NASA to protect space shuttles from extreme temperatures, that it could reduce heat loss through the roof by 25 per cent and that they were members of the Guild of Master Craftsmen.
Alan Wilson, aged 54, of Fazeley Road, Tamworth, Julie Barrett, aged 50, of Hewell Avenue, Bromsgrove and Christopher Wilkes, aged 45, of Tanworth Lane, Solihull, appeared before the court charged with a combined 15 offences related to fraudulent activity, with Barrett facing 11 of the charges and four counts for Wilson and Wilkes.
Mark Jackson, prosecuting, said a 91-year-old woman received the largest bill, as she was persuaded to part with £13,000 to have her roof coated, when the actual cost of the work should have been no more than £1,050.
Mr Jackson said the cost of a completely new roof would have been no more than £9,100.
He added a number of the victims, some of whom were not in the best health, were told they would receive a pensioners discount if they agreed to let a sales person into their home after being cold called, while Mr Harding was duped into paying £4,032 for work that should have cost £872 despite having poor eyesight.
However, a number of the complainants decided to cancel their orders after becoming suspicious of the claims made by the sales staff.
Mr Jackson said tests conducted by academics at Salford University on the thermal coating were cited to back up the claims of a 25 per cent reduction in heat loss, but the actual study stated the best that could be hoped for in laboratory conditions in terms of an 'increase in thermal resistance' was 5.3 per cent, while the heat loss savings on a roof structure would be less than one per cent.
He added: "This was all part of an attempt to bamboozle elderly people with faulty diagrams and a faulty logo into buying a product."
The trial continues.
