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A builder has been ordered to pay £15,000 by magistrates after admitting a string of charges under consumer protection law.
David Hughes, 50, of Pen-y-Cwarel Road, Wyllie, was also given a four-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, when he appeared at Newport Magistrates’ Court on November 11.
Hughes, who traded as DH Builders, previously admitted five charges under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 and two charges under the Companies Act 2006.
For the consumer protection charges, Hughes was ordered to pay £12,500 in compensation to his two customers and £2,500 in costs to Caerphilly County Borough Council Trading Standards, which brought the prosecution. No further penalty was imposed for the Companies Act offences, which related to receipts Hughes issued which did not have his name or address. He was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £115.
Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Trading Standards Team received a complaint from a resident in Llanbradach in early 2019 about work Hughes had carried out for them. He had been paid £2,500 upfront to build a garden wall and a patio. Not all of the work was completed and the paving was not up to standard.
During the investigation by Trading Standards, a complaint was also received from a resident of Kilgetty in Pembrokeshire. In this case, Hughes was paid £10,000 upfront for a loft conversion. The work however was never started and Hughes did not respond to requests for a refund.
The 2008 Regulations Charges related to failing to give consumers Notice of Cancellation Rights, failing to undertake work that had been paid for and in relation to work that was carried out, that it was not carried out with professional diligence.