AN Ammanford Builder has been fined and ordered to pay compensation to a woman for a driveway that was unfit to park a car on.
Peter Roberts, pleaded guilty to two offences that trading as P. Roberts Building & Roofing Contractor, he carried out work on a driveway at the woman’s home in Tycroes that was exceptionally poor, patently sub-standard and not fit for purpose, and that he omitted to provide the customer with written documentation informing her of her legal right to cancel the contract within the seven day ‘cooling off’ period.
Carmarthenshire County Council Trading Standards Service brought the prosecution under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 at Carmarthen Magistrates Court last Friday.
Kelly Byrne, prosecuting, said the householder, who lived in Tycroes with her disabled son, had received a flyer advertising Roberts’ firm. She contacted him and explained she needed a hardstanding area in front of her home to park her car.
He said it was £1,800 and he would need £900 in advance for materials. At no point was she given any paperwork.
The work was carried out by a man called Roy, who said he was his nephew, and it took four or five days to complete. It involved digging out in front of the property and removal of the front wall. When the work was finished Roberts called to drop off the invoice and said she should pay Roy, which she did.
Ms Byrne said: “When it dried she realised the surface was poor and began to crumble. She tried to contact him on several occasions. She left messages but he did not respond. She contacted the Citizen’s Advice Bureau and on their advice sent a letter by recorded delivery to Mr Roberts saying she was unhappy with the standard of work.”
Roberts called and behaved in a defensive and aggressive manner. He asked where she had been for the last three weeks. She stated she was unhappy with the work and he said he could not see anything wrong with it.
Roberts stated that things could be patched up easily. He said he would not give her money back. He returned later with Roy who remained in the vehicle. He agreed it should be dug up. She said she did not wish him to carry out any further work and he said he would pay another builder to do it. He left and that was the last she heard from him, she said.
A qualified surveyor said the work was substandard and would not support the weight of a car for long. Roberts had no previous convictions but had been spoken to in the past by Trading Standards and advised about paperwork and the need to provide a seven day cooling off period for contracts made in a customer’s home, she added.
David Williams, for 69-year-old Roberts, of Nant y Wrach Cottage, Saron Road, Ammanford, said: “His biggest worry is that at his age he will be thought of as a rogue trader who has behaved in this kind of way throughout his working life.
“He was for all his working life a self-employed roofing and building contractor working in this general area. He’s now in very poor health. He’s not now the man in charge.”
The company was now mainly his nephew’s and he would distribute flyers, respond to enquiries and meet potential customers, for a small income. The work had been carried out by his nephew and Mr Roberts found himself being prosecuted because he had made the first approach to the customer, he added.
Roberts was fined £200, and ordered to pay £900 compensation, £700 prosecution costs and a victim surcharge of £20.
Executive board member for public protection Cllr Jim Jones said: “It is important that traders carry out work to the proper standard and that they inform customers about the seven day cooling off period. When any agreement for over £35 is made ‘face to face’ with a consumer in their home, they should be provided with a written Cancellation Notice informing them of their right to change their mind within seven days.
“Trading Standards will bring prosecutions against traders who fail to do so especially having already been advised.”
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