Rogue builder handed court bill and 220 hours community service for swindling customer
A rogue builder has to serve 220 hours of community service after swindling a former friend of £900 for unfinished building work.
Terence Rose of Best Street, Cradley Heath who traded as Cradley Building and Landscaping pleaded guilty to stealing £900 from a consumer who’d given him money to buy scaffolding and to carrying out building work which was sub-standard.
The case was brought to Dudley Magistrates' Court by Dudley Council’s trading standards following an investigation.
Officers found that in May 2021 a consumer asked Rose, who was previously a friend, to re-point the gable end of their house and two chimneys.
The consumer paid Rose £900 to buy scaffolding to allow him to carry out the re-pointing but he kept the money, and never supplied the scaffolding.
The re-pointing work he did carry out for the consumer was inspected by a chartered surveyor and was found to be below the standard expected from a competent contractor and needed to be redone.
Rose was sentenced to carry out 220 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay compensation of £1,300 and costs of £2,987.
Councillor Ian Bevan, cabinet member responsible for trading standards, said: "Let this case be an example to others who think they are above the law.
"We will take issues reported to us seriously, we will investigate thoroughly, and we will take people and businesses to court to get justice for people who have been deceived by rogue traders."
