Fraudster rogue trader swindled £10k out of victims for 'entirely worthless' work

Lancashire County Council's Trading Standards team uncovered that Collins either abandoned jobs entirely or delivered work that was incomplete, substandard or misrepresented.

Preston Crown Court handed him an 18-month suspended sentence on March 24 after he admitted to four counts of fraudulent trading under the Fraud Act 2006.

The investigation revealed that every victim ended up worse off financially, facing additional costs to complete or rectify the botched work Collins had been paid to carry out.

Collins operated under an elaborate web of deception, adopting multiple false identities to evade detection.

He presented himself to potential customers as Chris Taylor, Ryan Taylor and John Wilkinson, while trading under fictitious company names including Ideal Landscapers, New Age Roofing Specialists and Greenacre Landscape Services.

The court heard how he sourced his victims through online platforms where homeowners seek tradespeople for domestic projects.

Websites such as Bark.com and My Builder provided Collins with a steady stream of unsuspecting customers searching for legitimate contractors to handle landscaping and roofing work.

His scheme relied on collecting upfront payments before vanishing once the money was secured.

In several instances, a small quantity of materials would be delivered to maintain the pretence of legitimate work, before Collins disappeared entirely.

One case highlighted the extent of Collins's fraudulent practices particularly starkly.

A Chorley homeowner hired him to repair a leaking roof, paying £1,400 for work that took fewer than four hours to complete.

When Trading Standards commissioned a consulting surveyor to assess the job, the expert's verdict was damning.

The surveyor concluded that "every element of the roofing work was either not attempted or incompetently performed" and that the work was "entirely worthless".

Collins employed a consistent pattern across his landscaping scams, collecting money for materials shortly before or after beginning preliminary clearing work.

Once he had secured initial payments, and sometimes additional funds, he simply failed to return.

The total sum Collins obtained for minimal or abandoned work amounted to approximately £10,600.

Collins now faces a three-year Criminal Behaviour Order that prohibits him from offering or undertaking any work at residential properties until after March 23 2029.

Paul Noone, Head of Trading Standards at Lancashire County Council, said: "Our Trading Standards team works tirelessly to bring rogue traders to justice.

"By scamming honest, hard-working residents out of thousands of pounds, they cause stress and financial burdens to their victims and families.

"This prosecution and the Criminal Behaviour Order sends a clear signal that we won't tolerate rogue traders in Lancashire, and we'll do everything we can to bring them to justice".

Noone confirmed that Collins is now barred from continuing his fraudulent activities thanks to the efforts of council officers.