Plumber fined for misleading customers

A KIDWELLY plumber has been ordered to compensate elderly customers who weren’t told how much they would be charged for work carried out in their homes.

Philip George Booth, trading as Crystal Plumbing, pleaded guilty at Llanelli Magistrates Court to two charges of Misleading Pricing under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.

The customers involved were an elderly couple from Pencader and gentleman from Llanelli and the call outs were for a dripping toilet and a dripping tap. The customers contacted Booth through an advertisement in Yellow Pages.

On both occasions Booth failed to inform the two consumers of his charges before carrying out the work and then charged a £49 call out fee and £190 per hour thereafter.

Fifty year old Booth, of Water Street, Kidwelly, was fined £300 and ordered to pay £249 compensation for each offence, and was also ordered to pay £1,250 prosecution costs.

Trading Standards Service Manager Roger Edmunds said: “Unfortunately, there is an increasing trend of complaints about some unscrupulous tradespeople overcharging customers, especially vulnerable persons.

“This case is typical of the type of unfair trading practice that we prosecute and it also shows how magistrates will deal with convicted offenders.

“There are many reputable tradespeople operating in the county, but I would recommend that when a minor repair or improvement is needed at someone’s home, the householder should obtain several estimates beforehand in order to compare prices and standards of service.”