Rogue trader prosecution In this feature | rogue traders | vulnerable victims | evidence gathering An insult to cowboys Thats how the judge described one of the worst rogue-trading cases West Yorkshire Trading Standards has ever seen. lucy Norton gives an account of the case D escribed by a judge as an insult to cowboys, the behaviour of Robert Morrison and Paul Towers towards the elderly, vulnerable and infirm was despicable. Operating under the guise of Resinways, the rogue traders often targeted those who had Alzheimers and dementia, pushing them into paying thousands of pounds for shoddy work on driveways that contrary to the companys claims did not make them non-slip. The investigation into the driveway companys poor workmanship and failure to refund deposits turned out to be the worst case of roguetrading that officers from West Yorkshire Trading Standards had ever come across. Several large evidence bags of lead sheets, contracts, computers and mobiles were seized, which showed the disgusting way in which the men described the elderly and vulnerable people they weretargeting. One of the worst instructions found read: Kick the f*** out of her, shes weak as p***. (See panel, Analysing the evidence.) During sentencing, Judge James Spencer QC imposed the longest sentence for a West Yorkshire Trading Standards case of this nature, under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008(CPRs). The beginning A NALYS INg THE EvIDENCE We first met Morrison and Towers the owners of Resinways in March 2013, The lead sheets uncovered during the investigation during an advisory visit. We had received showed that nearly all of Towers and Morrisons complaints about the companys failure potential customers were aged 60 or above. Their to refund deposits within the then sevenstaff had used derogatory descriptions, such as Raver and 85 years old, goes along with whats day cooling-off period, and to rectify said to her. defects with newly laid drives. We gave The computers and mobiles were found to the pair advice and warned them that contain a wealth of damning evidence against complaints against their business would Towers and Morrison. In the previous six months, be monitored. Towers had sent 5,000 text messages directing However, we made a further visit in sales staff to appointments and detailing that one October 2013, because complaints were householder had Alzheimers. One text stated that escalating. Customers said: they had he loved Alzheimers leads, lol. fallen on their anti-slip drives; deposits Despite Morrison denying he acted as a were still not being refunded; guarantees salesman, a text message exchange between him were not being honoured; and complaints and Towers was discovered, about an 84-year-old woman with Alzheimers, in which Morrison wrote: to the business fell on deaf ears. Shes f****** gone, she keeps asking me who I It was also noted that Morrison and am, Ill feel tight if it sells, but I need the money. Towers were continuing to use the Guild Morrison later sent a text to Towers, showing a photo of Master Craftsmen logo when they of the contract for 6,510 and a cheque that he had were no longer members, and their written on the customers behalf. paperwork did not display the names of the business owners. We gave detailed guidance to the pair during the meeting and the advice was confirmed in a letter, stating that legal action could be taken if the behaviour continued. The advisory meeting had no effect on the level of complaints being generated, so we launched an investigation in September 2014. gathering evidence During this evidence-gathering period, the nature of complaints worsened: one person broke their ankle after falling on the anti-slip drive, and another customer said Morrison threatened he would pull his workers off the job and leave her drive unfinished if she didnt pay immediately, in full. Some complaints were out of our county, so we asked other trading standards departments if they could obtain statements on our behalf. Some were able to oblige, but others were unable to assist because of staffing issues. We took the decision not to take out-of-county statements by telephone, because we had already documented a large number of similar complaints. In total, we spoke to 26 victims, who felt so aggrieved that they were more than willing to give witness statements, to be used as part of our prosecution file. We also captured evidence from the Resinways website and from Morrisons and Towers Facebook pages. One five-star review commented: Two days to do the job asked; very clean and polite; would recommend. Morrison later admitted to placing this review. We became aware that Resinways had ceased trading in autumn 2014, when consumers started complaining to Citizens Advice that the company had gone out of business. We then started to receive complaints against a company called Drive-Ways. One involved a 94-year-old man, with a significant visual impairment, who was threatened with full contractual costs when he tried to cancel his contract. Drive-Ways was based at the same address and used identical paperwork as Resinways; its website was also identical and featured the same testimonials. Enquiries made by our accredited financial investigators (AFIs) revealed that the business did not have a bank account, but was cashing cheques via a local shop. Morrison and Towers cashed 2.5m over a two-year period without paying a penny in tax. During 2014, Resinways/Drive-Ways was the most complained about business nationally in the tarmacking and paving category. Shocking find During 2014, Resinways/ Drive-Ways was the most complained about business nationally in the tarmacking and paving category SAfEguArDINg rEfErr ALS Search warrants were executed in January The lead sheets containing information about 2015, and Morrisons and Towers homes customers having Alzheimers or dementia were searched, along with the business prompted us to see if safeguarding referrals were premises. Towers was arrested and his required, and our work on this is ongoing. We mobile seized. We intended for the police cross-checked the list of victims with our National to arrest both men, but Morrison could Scams Team to see if any were listed (they werent). not be located. He was arrested a few days Unfortunately, we do not have capacity to visit later, after failing to attend voluntarily. these householders, but we are currently liaising Itwas discovered that the business was in with the local police so visits can be made by crime the process of moving to new premises, so prevention officers to establish if they are victims of that building was also searched. doorstep crime or scams. At both premises, we seized hundreds of lead sheets detailing potential customers. The contents were shocking. They revealed the true nature of how the businesses operated and how the pair deliberately targeted the elderly, vulnerable and infirm. We also seized 70 contracts; we contacted each of the customers by telephone to establish if they were happy with the work, to follow a reasonable line of enquiry. None of these consumers had contacted Citizens Advice to make a complaint, so it was difficult to persuade them to assist in our enquiry. Some were pleased with the work done, so we had to divulge that we spoke with satisfied customers as part of the disclosure of unused material on the case. However, many were unhappy with their drives, but did not want to get involved or be called to court to give evidence and, unfortunately, only three were prepared to give usstatements. We now had 29 witness statements from consumers who had paid a total of 72,000 to Resinways and Drive-Ways. Offences under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs) and the Fraud Act 2006 were laid in July 2015, and the case was scheduled for trial in February 2017. Because of the age and vulnerability of the witnesses, we spent a lot of time before the trial explaining the court process to them and reassuring them when they raised worries. They were all concerned about attending court and giving evidence. In the end, none of the witnesses had to attend court to give evidence because guilty pleas were accepted from Morrison and Towers on the first day of the trial at Leeds Crown Court. Morrison pleaded guilty to 12 offences and Towers admitted to 10 offences under the CPRs. Both pleaded not guilty to two section 1 fraud offences and two fraudulent trading offences. We felt their pleas sufficiently reflected the offending and would result in a good sentence. During sentencing, prosecuting barrister James Lake told the court: The evidence demonstrates the unscrupulous, disreputable and persistent manner in which they conducted their business. Rather than taking care to avoid entering into contracts with vulnerable and elderly people, Morrison and Towers sought out these people as customers, as they were easy targets. Morrison and Towers were each sentenced to four years and three months imprisonment, with Judge James Spencer A PPEAL AT TEmP T QC stating that the starting point for sentencing was five TS Today originally ran this years, which was reduced by 15 per cent for their early plea. story in May 2017, but had to He said: This kind of commercial activity is sometimes retract it after the defendants given the sobriquet of cowboy builders. Well, that would launched an appeal against be an insult to cowboys, Im afraid, because this was much their sentences. This appeal worse. The only way people like you will learn that this is not was overturned in December 2017, so we can now report acceptable is if the penalty issignificant. on the case. Assets are now being sought under the Proceeds of Crime Act. 29 people gave statements to help prosecute the rogue traders Credits Lucy Norton is an enforcement officer at West Yorkshire Trading Standards, and trading standards lead officer on the West Yorkshire Financial Exploitation and Abuse Team. Images: iStock.com/DOUGBERRY iStock.com/Willowpix Robert Morrison pleaded guilty to 12 offences under the CPRs To share this page, in the toolbar click on Paul Towers pleaded guilty to 10 offences under the CPRs You might also like Stopping the scammers February 2017