East Lancs tradesmen fined following trading standards prosecutions

The action follows investigations by Lancashire County Council's trading standards team.

Tyler Cullen of Nelson runs One Stop Roofing. He was convicted by Lancashire Magistrates Court, Burnley, on 3 November for failing to provide three consumers with the correct legal paperwork, including the right to cancel for work carried out on their properties. The work was of poor quality and excessively priced.

Mr Cullen pleaded guilty to three counts of contravening regulation 6 of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 and was fined £120. He was ordered to pay compensation of £1,350 and £970 to two of the victims and to pay a £500 contribution to the local authority costs.

Andrew Piner of Hurst Green, Clitheroe runs AP Property Maintenance. Piner pleaded guilty to 10 Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations offences and was convicted by Blackburn Magistrates Court on 1 November for failing to provide cancellation rights to consumers and failing to put his full business name and address details on his invoice.

The court fined him £1,000 and ordered him to pay compensation of £7,280 to be shared between five consumer witnesses. He was also ordered to pay a contribution of £720 to the local authority's costs.

County Councillor Michael Green, cabinet member for health and wellbeing, said: "It is vital for traders to provide the right paperwork. The law sets out that they must provide their customers with important information, including the business trading address and consumer cancellation rights. If they don't do this, they can face hefty court fines as these cases, brought by our trading standards team, both demonstrate.

"The cases also show how important it is for consumers to check the paperwork provided by traders for work done on their property.

"Traders should give consumers a 14 day right to cancel a contract, if the contract is for more than £42 and made in the consumer's home. This gives consumers time to think about the work they have agreed to without any pressure and allows them to shop around and get other quotes.

"Our trading standards officers work hard, protecting the most vulnerable in our communities. We will investigate and take court action against those deliberately flouting the law.

"Anyone searching for a reputable trader should visit the County Council's Safe Trader Scheme webpage."

You can search for a trader by selecting the following link Lancashire – Safe Trader Scheme.

Anyone wanting to report a business to our trading standards team can do this on our Citizen's Advice Consumer helpline by calling 0808 223 1133.