Latest news with #cowboybuilder
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Yahoo
Crying cowboy builder on benefits can't repay victims but wants to go on holiday
A cowboy builder who is on benefits and has no money to repay his victims asked to go on holiday the day after narrowly avoiding jail. Mark Carey swindled people who contacted his MTC Landscaping and Solutions business on Facebook. It was estimated he caused six victims a loss of more than £11,000 in total by promising work by either never showing up or delivering a substandard service. READ MORE: Judge accuses mum of getting pregnant to avoid jail in blast over contraception The 42-year-old, from Hazelwell Drive, Kings Heath, broke down in tears in the dock at Birmingham Crown Court as he was spared jail on Monday, June 30. He was handed an 11-month sentenced suspended for two years including 30 days rehabilitation activity and a two-month electronically tagged curfew between the hours of 10pm and 7am. Recorder Fiona Clancy asked if the latter requirement would cause any difficulty to Carey. Joey Kwong, defending, explained that 'before his family found about this case' a relative had booked a flight for Carey to depart the UK tomorrow to attend his nephew's wedding. He said: "Mr Carey is well aware he does not deserve to go on this trip but for the sake of his nephew..." At that stage Recorder Clancy interjected and told him: "There is absolutely no way this defendant is going on a holiday abroad when he has defrauded those individuals. "He is lucky to keep his liberty, there's no way. The electronically monitored curfew is going to be imposed." The judge had earlier declared she was 'disgusted' by Carey's offending and expressed 'surprise' he had attended court without belongings to take to prison. She told him he had avoided being jailed by 'the skin of your teeth' after hearing the loss of an unborn child had caused a significant downturn in his mental health, prompting him to abuse alcohol and painkillers at the time. Recorder Clancy also stated she was 'displeased' she could not order Carey to pay compensation to his victims or contribute towards prosecution costs because he was currently not working and only receiving Universal Credit. She reserved any future breaches of the suspended sentence order to herself and said: "If I find out he has breached the order he can attend next time with his bags packed." Addressing Clarey directly Recorder Clancy added: "You are incredibly fortunate not to be going down the stairs today, incredibly. "You turned up without bags, there must have been some expectation of not going down the stairs today. "Don't in any way have sympathy to yourself for the fact you are missing out on a holiday. That's the punitive element required."
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Yahoo
Cowboy builder hit with £16k fine after taking money for work he never carried out
A cowboy builder has been slapped with more than £16,000 in court costs after misleading a couple over brick work to their property. Thomas Hickin, aged 38, was approached by the Stourbridge to install brick slips to the front of their property in 2021. Trading under Brickslip Brothers, he quoted them £4,250 for the work and took a deposit of £3,187.50 but provided no receipt. READ MORE: Man, 23, stabbed in Midlands town as police issue appeal Get breaking news on BirminghamLive WhatsApp, click the link to join The work was due to start in June of that year but it was delayed until September as a result of delays related to the Covid-19 pandemic. Hickin then made several delays due to personal circumstances and the couple eventually asked to cancel the work in December 2021. But they were informed the contract could not be cancelled as the materials had already been cut to size. However despite repeated attempts from the homeowners to get the work done, the service and materials were not provided. The couple subsequently contacted Dudley Council's trading standards team in March 2022 when the work had still not stated. Hickin advised that as trading standards were now involved, he would not carry out the work but would drop off the materials, which he never did. Trading standards then visited Hickin's trading address and it was discovered he had not been based at the address since March 2021. When the team contacted Hickin to ask where materials were stored, he said they were at his business address, but officers advised him they had visited that site and no materials were found. Hickin continued not to cooperate with trading standards, other than arranging a delivery date for the materials, which were eventually delivered in October 2022. However, he did not supply the correct number of brick slips and the ones that were delivered were of poor quality. A Member of The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors was instructed to examine the materials delivered, who confirmed there were not enough brick slips and those supplied were not the correct size or quality. The materials estimated value was believed to be around £615. Appearing at Walsall Magistrates court on June 19, Hickin pleaded guilty to a single offence contrary to the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPUT 2008). The magistrates said before sentencing that they noted Hickin had delayed and mislead the homeowners, putting forward excuses that were not credible and that as work had not been carried out, it had caused a lot of stress and anxiety to the Stourbridge couple. The court sentenced Hickin, of Long Itchington in Southam, to a fine of £1,350, compensation of £3,500 to the victims, a further compensation of £500 for stress and anxiety, a victim surcharge £540 and costs totalling £10,480. This amounted to a total of £16,370. Cllr Phil Atkins, cabinet member for development and regulation, said: "Our trading standards team works tirelessly to seek justice for our residents and this case is a reminder that we will not hesitate to act against rogue traders. "It was clear that Mr Hickin had no intension of returning the deposit or delivering the correct materials but when our team got involved he supplied useless materials, so they investigated and carried out this successful prosecution."
The Independent
30-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Pensioner ‘devastated' after losing his £17,000 retirement savings to ‘cowboy builder'
A pensioner says he has been left unable to 'trust anyone' after being scammed out of £17,000 by a cowboy builder. Eric Jordan, 70, was cold-called at his home in Kettering, Northamptonshire, in October 2024 by a builder who pointed out a loose ridge tile on his roof and offered to fix it for £3,000. After seemingly fixing the roof, Eric claims the builder then carried out additional work without permission, damaging the bathroom ceiling and leaving the house in a "right state". Despite the work being incomplete, Eric claims the builder then demanded £17,000, which Eric paid despite it being most of his retirement savings, forcing him to continue working. The builder soon stopped showing up to complete the work. A few weeks later, Eric said the builder returned, demanding an extra £10,000 in cash, which Eric refused to pay, and he has not heard from him since. Eric believes the botched job worsened his health, as he suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and was hospitalised for a week in November 2024 after struggling to breathe, which he attributes to the stress and the builder's failure to use dust sheets. His partner, Lorna Campbell, 69, who has been out of work since 2016 due to diabetic neuropathy, has also been very 'stressed' and said she hates her life because of 'what they did'. 'I'm just absolutely devastated, I'm lost for words – it's made me and my partner ill,' he said. 'We feel like we can't trust anyone. I was planning on retiring at the end of last year but now all this money has gone for nothing and I have to carry on working so we have enough money to live.' In October 2024, Eric stepped outside his house and saw a builder knocking on his neighbour's door. With no answer, the builder instead approached Eric and pointed out a ridge tile on his roof that was poking in the air, allowing water inside, which Eric had not noticed. Eric agreed for the builder to fix the roof, which ended up costing £3,000 and was completed without any issues. He said: 'There was definitely a tile sticking out, I just did not notice it until he pointed it out… I think he saw an easy target.' Then, Eric said the builder suggested additional work. Eric claims the builder said he noticed a piece of concrete missing on the gulley of his house and that he could 'repoint the walls' by scraping out the mortar from the bricks, and redoing it to look neater. Eric said that, without asking for permission, the builder proceeded with the work. 'Without saying yes or no, he started doing it, but he's ripping out the original plaster that was in the joints, and started just pushing stuff in it,' Eric explained. 'Basically, it looks like a right mess. 'I've got all one side of a wall that looks like a kid's been around there with Play-Doh and been filling in holes.' Despite his frustration, Eric asked the builder to fix a hole in the bathroom ceiling. 'He pulled at the hole, and pulled the rest of the ceiling down,' Eric said. 'He disconnected the electrics so the shower can't be used, and it was half painted, and there's dust everywhere – it's in a right state.' Lorna added: 'It's diabolical, when I go into the bathroom I want to scream…my life has gone from happiness to sadness because of this, I hate my life because of what they did, it's making me feel seriously ill. 'I'm fearful of them coming back or if I report them, what they'd do. 'They left plaster everywhere and there's still so much dust. 'We pulled up the carpet in there because they got plaster all over it.' Eric claims the builder then began demanding money before finishing the additional work. Feeling he had no choice, Eric paid a bill of £17,000, which was most of his savings. However, after receiving the payment, Eric said the builder stopped turning up. Eric said the builder returned to his door a few weeks later, demanding an extra £10,000 in cash, which Eric refused to pay. At the time, the builder parked his van outside Eric's home and police walking by asked him to move it, and the builder saw this as a sign to leave, driving off. Eric said police informed him they had contacted Trading Standards, having received multiple complaints about the builder in the area, and advised Eric to report any further contact. Eric said he has not heard from the builder since. He claims to have since discovered that several neighbours were also scammed by the same individual, who cannot be named for legal reasons. The individual has gone by many different names, closing down one business only to set up another, and Eric said one neighbour told him they understand the individual has even changed his legal name by deed poll. Eric said: 'He was also very careful to not give us anything with his name on it and he changed his phone number – he never came back to finish the work and we couldn't contact him.' In November, Eric said he was taken to hospital after he suddenly became unable to breathe – his partner called an ambulance, and he remained in hospital for one week. Eric has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and believes the stress and dust from the work triggered the episode – the builder did not put any dust sheets down while working. 'It was very scary, I literally could not get a breath,' Eric recalled. Eric's partner, Lorna, has been 'suffering a lot too' and is 'stressed' because she wants the work repaired and completed, but 'won't trust any builders'. In the meantime, Eric has set up a fundraising page to cover the costs of future repairs and get back some of the money 'wasted' on the builder who did not complete the work.
