Cowboy builder who wrecked house then disappeared with £5,500 of customer’s cash as he duped nine victims out of £20,000 is jailed for 19 months

• Are you the victim of a cowboy builder? Email [email protected]

A cowboy builder who wrecked people’s homes and duped nine victims out of £20,000 has been jailed for 19 months.

Ian Smith would agree a price with customers, demanding a significant deposit up front, and then fail to turn up to do the work.

When victims did manage to get in touch with the 44-year-old he would then fob them off with a series of excuses as to why he had not started the job.

In total, he duped nine victims out of £20,497.26 between 2012 and his arrest in 2021. Now Smith has been jailed for 19 months at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court.

In one particular circumstance, the builder from Tunstall, Staffs wrecked the house of one person and disappeared with more than £5,000 in stolen cash.

Ian Smith, 44, who is from Tunstall, duped a total of nine victims out of £20,000 in cash

The victim used the ‘myjobquote’ website to find a builder for significant alterations at her home in October 2020. The work included knocking down an internal supporting wall and installing a steel joist. The defendant responded and quoted £9,130. He asked for a £3,060 deposit, which was paid.

Work was due to start on November 16, 2020 but Smith failed to respond to calls or messages. As a result, the witness contacted her bank to freeze the bank transfer.

Have you fallen victim to a cowboy builder?

Email: [email protected]

Smith then got in touch and proposed a new start date of November 23 and on that date Smith and another man knocked down a wall. Miss Brannan said: ‘Smith asked the victim for more money for his father, saying his bank account had been locked due to the witness’ earlier actions. The defendant gave the witness details of his ‘father’s account’. The witness transferred another £2,500.

‘But on December 1, 2020 she visited her house, following a lack of communication from the defendant. The house was a wreck. There was rubble and loose bricks everywhere and wires hanging down.

‘She contacted the defendant. He claimed he had been having trouble with his daughter which had proved very serious. He also said he had split from his partner. Promises were made in lengthy texts, in which he made excuses and begged to be allowed another chance.

‘The witness had changed the locks but allowed him back into the property to enable him to keep his promise to put the work right. Over the next few days the defendant made further excuses as to why he couldn’t come round. He then asked for a further £1,500 for further materials. She said she would buy them herself.

‘She returned to her house on December 14. The state of the house was worse, with cracks in the wall. She contacted the defendant who told her not to worry about the cracks. He said he was getting an engineer.

‘The witness informed him she would be reporting him to Trading Standards. After that, she heard nothing more from him. She realised that she had been scammed. Another builder was contacted who told her £5,000 initially was needed to make the property safe.’

The 44-year-old has now been jailed for 19 months at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court (pictured)

Prosecutor Maria Brannan said how a businessman who buys and renovates properties was quoted £6,200 by Smith to make and install gates. He paid a £2,065 deposit in September 2012 and after planning permission was granted in January 2013 he called Smith and asked him to do the work.

Miss Brannan said: ‘He phoned and emailed Smith but got no response. He eventually visited the defendant’s business premises in Longton but found they were deserted.’ The court heard the victim pursued the matter through Fraud Action UK, Trading Standards and the police.

In July 2018 another man approached Smith’s company, Opal Design and Build, and was quoted £9,000 for alterations to his home. Emails were exchanged and a start date for work confirmed as August 6, 2018, with a completion date of August 22. A £3,000 deposit was agreed and paid.

Smith called to say his laptop had been stolen. He later made further excuses saying he had been in hospital and was receiving treatment. The defendant sent the victim images of his medications.

Four months later, on December 28, 2018, the man asked for his deposit back. On January 11, 2019 Smith said he had been unwell over Christmas and promised to reimburse him in instalments – but no payment was ever made.

Another offence involved Smith quoting £9,250 to carry out a renovation on January 18, 2019. A deposit of £2,500 was stumped up on March 13, 2019. Work was due to start two days later but Smith never arrived. Miss Brannan said: ‘Various excuses were given, including family illness. The victim never saw Smith again.’

The court heard the fourth victim lost out to the tune of £1,433. He wanted work done on his house and entered the details on ‘mybuilder.com’. Smith responded using the company name, ‘Steeltec Design and Build Limited’.

A price was agreed of £4,300 and Smith said work would begin in the first week of April, 2020. The man paid a £1,433 deposit.

He visited on March 13, 2020 to confirm everything was ready to start on April 16 but the man did not see Smith again. Miss Brannan said: ‘Numerous calls and texts were exchanged, in which the defendant claimed his family had been the subject of threats, and also that preparation work on steels had been done, but they had been incorrectly used for another job.’

Smith stole £20,497 between 2012 and his arrest in 2021. Pictured: Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court

Smith was arrested and interviewed on July 7, 2021. He answered no comment to all questions asked and pleaded guilty to nine charges of fraud.

Andrew Molloy, mitigating, said Smith expressed his remorse. He said Smith had been on remand in prison since May 31 and had served the equivalent of a 12-month sentence.

Judge Michael Maher said: ‘Your scams took place over an eight or nine-year period, from September 2012 to January 2021, although the lion’s share was between 2018 and the early part of 2021.

‘You used several companies as vehicles for the fraud. You quoted for building work. Initially you were professional in providing the quotes you did. Your professionalism was a little more than a veneer.

‘Once you obtained a substantial payment you failed to carry out the work, or you would carry out a small amount of work to a dreadful standard and leave it unfinished. You put the occupants at the final property at risk. This was fraudulent activity over a substantial period of time.’

Have you fallen victim to a cowboy builder? Email: [email protected]

Source: Read Full Article