A ROGUE trader who used 'aggressive' techniques to make customers pay for unnecessary and over-priced work through his firm has been jailed four four years.

Robert Hughes, 25, was sentenced yesterday at Worcester Crown Court on nine counts of rogue trading in the course of his roofing business, including fraud against five victims.

Hughes, trading under an address in Pershore as R Hughes Roofing, placed large advertisements in newspapers including the Admag and Malvern Gazette offering fake 50% discounts for roofing work, whilst falsely claiming to have a ‘TrustMark' and that he was a member of the Federation of Master Builders.

The court heard his advertisements attracted 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 deteriorated roofing felt which needed to be replaced.

He would then charge up to four times the going rate for this unnecessary work.

The court heard that Hughes, of Lower Priest Lane, Pershore, always started the 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. One 78-year-old victim, for example, paid a total of £36,000 for wholly unnecessary roof repairs, which actually left his roof in worse state than before.

However, the fraud charges Hughes pleaded guilty to last October related to roofing felt works - which in the above case amounted to a total of £26,700.

The total amount paid out by victims for the works was £50,000.

Christopher Smyth, defending, said guilty pleas were entered at Hughes' second hearing on October 1, following discussions after the first hearing.

“This is not a case where there has been cold calling," he said.

"With the exception of one person, everyone else has responded to an advertisement. This is not a case of going to the victims, they have responded to his advert."

He had previous convictions for similar matters, the court heard, and had responded well to the community orders he had been sentenced to.

Hughes had been living in Cornwall with his family but had returned when his wife's mother became unwell. 

When he returned to the area, he 'foolishly' started his own business, Mr Smyth said.

"There are other customers who had work done and had no complaints. "It’s not the case that all work he does is poor quality or overpriced."

Hughes was sentenced to a total of four years in prison and was told he would serve half behind bars and half in the community on licence.

Marc Willimont, Herefordshire Council’s head of development management and regulation, 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”.

The council’s trading standards team advise never to deal with cold callers on the telephone, via e-mail or at the door.

Rogue trading involves charging excessive prices for unnecessary and often poor quality work and, as this case demonstrates, is not always restricted to cold calling.

A number of rogue traders will use flyers and conventional advertising, so members of the public need to be aware when looking for work to be completed.

It is also often the case that a rogue trader will attempt to propose extra work, once a small job has been agreed or completed, particularly for roofing.

Herefordshire Council operates a trader register of local businesses, which can help identify reliable trade companies at traderregister.org.uk/herefordshire.

Residents can also request a ‘no cold caller’ poster for windows and doors, by contacting the council’s environmental health and trading standards service on 01432 261671 or ethelpline@herefordshire.gov.uk