A ROGUE trader who swindled vulnerable, elderly people in Warrington out of hundreds of pounds has been jailed for 12 months.
Jason Armstrong, 42, was described as “thoroughly dishonest” by the judge following a trial at Chester Crown Court.
He appeared for sentence after being convicted of six separate offences of fraud in August.
The court was told that Armstrong, from Cheltenham Road, Blackpool, was prosecuted following an investigation by Warrington trading standards officers.
He cold-called at the home of an 87-year-old Warrington woman in June 2015 and told her that the ridge tiles on her roof were damaged and needed to be replaced. He offered to do it for £140, telling her he worked for A1 Roofing.
After claiming to have completed the work Armstrong insisted on payment and offered to drive the victim to the bank to get the money saying that he couldn’t take a cheque.
Fortunately a passing police officer intervened and the victim didn’t lose a substantial amount of money.
A second victim wasn’t as fortunate and ended up losing £900. The 72-year-old Orford man called A1 Roofing in October 2015 after seeing an advert in a local newspaper. He said he wanted to have guttering repaired.
The following day, Armstrong, and another man, met the householder and told him that the ridge tiles needed to be replaced. The defendant quoted £1,800 for the back of the house and £2,000 for the front and back. This was despite the fact that there had been no mention of damage to the ridge tiles when another workman had repointed the chimney a few weeks
earlier.
Armstrong dropped the price to £1,500 and drove the man to the bank to withdraw the money.
During the journey back to the house Armstrong said that work on the roof had already been carried out, claiming 14 ridge tiles had been replaced at a cost of £60 each. Trading Standards estimated the cost at around £6 per tile.
The victim said that Armstrong “went mad, shouting and swearing and was very angry.” He ended up handing over £900.
Sentencing Armstrong to 12 months in jail for fraud offences, Judge Patrick Thompson said that advertising in the press and travelling such a distance to carry out the offences showed clear evidence of premeditation.
He told the defendant: “You preyed on the vulnerability of your victims as it was obvious when you met them that they were elderly. You thoroughly intimidated and bullied an elderly man.”
He said Armstrong had shown no remorse and was a “thoroughly dishonest man”
The defendant was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £100.
After the hearing, Cllr Judith Guthrie, Warrington Borough Council’s lead member for public protection, said: “This sort of crime is despicable and causes a great deal of anguish and loss to vulnerable people. Our trading standards teams will investigate these cases and the courts take a very dim view of rogue traders who prey on elderly people.”
