Rogue builder fined and ordered to fork out £1,000 over Brierley Hill incident

Timothy Dickens, of no fixed address, contacted a resident in Brierley Hill after they made a request online for the work in June 2021.

The defendant, who was the sole director of the now dissolved Diamond Landscapes Limited, verbally quoted £850 with £200 upfront.

The resident stated they would probably go ahead with the work but later in the summer, with Dickens saying he could reduce the price to £700 after consulting with his "business partner" – despite him being a sole trader – to land the job.

And at the time the work was being undertaken, the trader was asked about some further landscaping work to the garden – which he could do for a special price of £1,700 with £100 up front for materials, which was agreed.

The work stalled as Dickens was having issues with no labourers and several no shows, with the defendant insisting he could undertake the work but if the resident didn't want to proceed he would cancel the materials and refund them £500.

The consumer decided to cancel but the builder failed to issue a refund despite attempts made by the consumer and Dudley Council Trading Standards to resolve the matter. Dudley Magistrates Court also heard how he had not given the costumer their statutory cancellation rights when he was required to do so.

Dickens, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty at the same court on January 18 to offences relating to false and misleading representations made to the consumer, and for not issuing cancellation rights to them.

He was fined £120, ordered to pay £500 towards Dudley Council’s costs and £500 compensation to the resident.

Councillor Ian Bevan, cabinet member responsible for trading standards said: "We will not hesitate to take legal action when traders break their contract or fail to deliver on a customer’s statutory consumer rights.

"This is another successful prosecution by our trading standards team, bringing a rogue trader to justice."