Two bogus builders have been jailed after taking advantage of a vulnerable pensioner during visits to his home in West Berkshire.

Daniel Fidler, 31, of Fletcher Road Bournemouth and Aaron Civil, 34, of Grantham Road, Bournemouth pleaded guilty to all counts on October 19, 2023.

They appeared at Reading Crown Court where they were sentenced on December 6, 2023.

The incident occurred when they made two cold call visits to a West Berkshire home on December 29, 2021 and February 2, 2022.

During the first visit, false claims were made that the drains at that address needed repairs costing the victim £3,890.00.

When the men visited in February, the men made false claims again that the damp proof course had perished and that there was excessive damp in the property. The victim was conned out of £9,650 to supposedly fix the problem.

Mr Civil failed to provide information about a consumer’s right to cancel.

Following the visits, Trading Standards confirmed that the work carried out was wholly unnecessary and poorly executed.

According to the authority, there was no evidence that the drains required repair and the work done was not to an acceptable standard.

Fidler was jailed for 15 months for fraud, suspended for two years, and ordered to pay £4,000 towards the prosecution costs.

He has previously been investigated by PPP and convicted of fraud and consumer offenses 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.

Civil was sentenced to nine months imprisonment for consumer protection offenses, suspended for 18 months and penalised with 100 hours of unpaid work requirement plus 20 days of a Rehabilitation Activity Requirement.

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.”           

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.