On the 6th December 2023 at Reading Crown Court two Bournemouth-based traders appeared for sentencing, after pleading guilty at a previous hearing. Daniel Fidler, aged 31 of Fletcher Road, Bournemouth, was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment for fraud, suspended for 2 years, and ordered to pay £4,000 towards the prosecution’s costs. Also in the dock was Aaron Civil, aged 34 of Grantham Road, Bournemouth, who was sentenced to 9 months imprisonment for consumer protection offences, suspended for 18 months, and penalised with 100 hours of unpaid work requirement plus 20 days of a Rehabilitation Activity Requirement.
On the 19th October 2023 Mr Fidler had pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud under the Fraud Act 2006 and Mr Civil pleaded guilty to two counts under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.
The prosecution followed an investigation by officers from the Shared Trading Standards Service supported by the Joint Case Management Unit and West Berkshire Council’s Legal Services.
The case concerned two cold call visits to a West Berkshire resident’s home, made on 29th December 2021 and 2nd February 2022. The resident was in his mid-eighties at the time and his vulnerability was considered a significant aggravating factor in this case. During the first visit, false claims were made that the drains at that address needed repairs costing the victim £3,890.00. In respect of the second visit, false claims were made that the damp proof course had perished and the dampness in the property ranged from 30% to 89%. The victim was charged £9,650.00 to fix. Both times Mr Civil failed to provide information about a consumer’s right to cancel.
Trading Standards obtained expert evidence that a damp reading at 30% would be for wet walls and that the values claimed for damp in the walls would be practically impossible. The work carried out was wholly unnecessary and poorly executed. There was also no evidence that the drains required repair and the repair done was not to an acceptable standard. None of the work had any value.
Mr Fidler has previously been investigated by PPP and convicted of fraud and consumer offences committed between 2018 and 2020, resulting in an immediate 38-month prison sentence. This was prosecuted by the Joint Case Management Unit on behalf of Bracknell Forest Council.
Commenting on the case Cllr Lee Dillon, Leader of West Berkshire Council and Executive Member with responsibility for Public Protection said “I would like to thank officers for their efforts in achieving this outcome. This prosecution shows that we take illegal business activity very seriously and we will not hesitate to take action against fraudsters especially where they deliberately target our more vulnerable residents.”
If you have concerns that you or friends, relatives or neighbours in Bracknell, West Berkshire or Wokingham, may be victims of trading related crime to contact the trading standards service on 01635 519930 or e-mail tsadvice@westberks.gov.uk
