Newbury resident awarded £40,000 after 'cowboy builders' devalue home
Contractors knocked £500,000 off family home and left it unsafe
COMPANY directors have been ordered to pay £40,000 in compensation to a Newbury resident after bungling contractors hired to improve his home knocked £500,000 off its value.
Nicholas Ford, of Picton Way, Caversham, and Michael Evans, of Kew Gardens, Marlborough, trading as Rivar Hill Holdings Limited, were sentenced at Reading Crown Court on February 25.
The investigation started after a complaint from a Newbury resident revealed work carried out by the company’s contractors was so substandard that it posed a safety risk to the homeowner.
Works to a gas boiler were carried out by an unqualified plumber and left an immediate danger to life, and the homeowner had received an electric shock from damp plasterboard attached to a newly-built wall.
Trading Standards’ own expert witness was so concerned about the safety of beam installations that he advised the resident to install temporary building rods to prop up the steel beams.
Other work conducted was also of a poor standard and contravened the requirements of professional diligence.
The defendants admitted that they recklessly failed to exercise the standard of special skill and care commensurate with the provision of project management and were ordered to pay £20,000 in compensation each, plus £9,000 towards prosecution costs - the total amount in the company account.
Both directors pleaded guilty to offences under sections 3 and 8 of Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.
The convictions followed an investigation by the Public Protection Partnership (PPP) Trading Standards Service working with the PPP Joint Case Management Unit and West Berkshire Legal Services.
Chairman of the Joint Public Protection Committee, Iain McCracken, said: “The Public Protection Partnership will always investigate such complaints by the public and legal action will follow where appropriate. This kind of offending that leaves people with unsafe property and out-of-pocket is completely unacceptable. We believe this sentence sends a clear message to would-be perpetrators.
“All Bracknell Forest, West Berkshire or Wokingham residents that have concerns about activity of this nature, or any other trading standards or public protection matter, should contact the service on (01635) 519930 or email tsadvice@westberks.gov.uk”
The Public Protection Partnership is a shared service of Bracknell Forest Council, West Berkshire Council and Wokingham Borough Council and delivers trading standards, environmental health and licensing functions.
