From Adrian Lane, Exeter 383262, July 16, 2008

A BRIDGWATER man has today been sentenced to a community order of 100 hours unpaid work at Exeter Crown Court after pleading guilty to making a false representation on the price of work he carried out at the home of a vulnerable 81 year old woman.

William Birch, aged 36 of Whitegates Caravan Park, Cossington Lane, Bridgwater, was prosecuted under the Fraud Act 2006 for falsely over-charging the elderly woman for work on her roof that should have cost substantially less. He was ordered to pay a £750 contribution to the prosecution costs.

The case was brought by Devon County Council's Trading Standards Service, after it received a report from the Police. An officer had been called to the woman's home in Uplyme, East Devon, in response to a tip off from a concerned member of the public.

The court heard that Birch, trading as 'Roofline Building Plastics', made an uninvited visit to the elderly woman's home in February 2007 and offered to carry out work to her roof. After meeting the woman, Birch invoiced her for an excessive £4,250.

Later challenged by the woman's carer, Birch agreed to reduce the price to £3,750. An expert later examined the work carried out by Birch and concluded that the cost should have been in the region of £562 plus VAT. Fortunately the cheque was stopped on the advice of the attending Police Officer before Birch left the property.

Birch pleaded guilty at an earlier appearance before Cullompton Magistrates Court to the offence of not providing a written cancellation notice to the elderly woman as a result of his cold call and received a £130 fine.

Councillor Brian Berman, Devon County Council's Executive Member for Communities, said: "This was clearly a despicable attempt to take advantage of a very vulnerable person."

Consumers should be aware that if a trader cold-calls and offers goods or services for over £35, they must give the customer a copy of the written cancellation rights, including the right to a cooling off period of seven days. If they don't provide this document then they will have committed an offence.

Devon Trading Standards Service recommends that before agreeing to any building work you should:

• Obtain several written quotations
• Speak to friends who may be able to make recommendations as to suitable businesses they have used
• Check for 'Buy With Confidence', a Trading Standards Approved Trader Scheme with members in the Devon area. Go to www.devon.gov.uk and click the approved trader scheme link
• Check any references and claims of trade association membership
• Never pay all of the money before work starts - agree to make 'staged' payments dependant on satisfactory completion of key parts of the work
• Ask for written details of any additional work and its cost before any such work progresses

Consumers can get free advice on a range of consumer issues by calling Consumer Direct on 08454 040506 and by logging on to the Devon County Council Trading Standards Service website at: www.devon.gov.uk/tradingstandards

Notes for Editors:

For further information contact Peter Greene, Fair Trading Manager, Devon County Council Trading Standards service on 01392 382728 or 07890 540784 (mobile).

Councillor Brian Berman, 01626 891871.

Background

Devon Trading Standards Service is part of Devon County Council. Its aim is to protect consumers and maintain a fair trading environment in which local businesses can thrive. The Service offers free help to businesses on the full range of consumer legislation it enforces. Its work includes routine inspection of business premises, responding to complaints from the public and businesses and investigating breaches of consumer criminal legislation. Full details can be found on its web pages at www.devon.gov.uk/tradingstandards