Rogue trader jailed after scamming victims out of more than £63k

Billee Hopkinson was the sole company director of Ultra Restore Limited, a home improvements business, from its creation in 2013 until it was wound up on 30 December 2021.

This prosecution came about following an investigation into consumer complaints received by Lancashire County Council's Trading Standards.

His fraudulent activity had such a dire impact for one victim that she had to miss out on a transplant.

Hopkinson, 35, from Tag Lane in Preston, pleaded guilty at Preston Crown Court earlier this week to offences under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. 

In early 2020, one customer applied for a grant from South Ribble Borough Council to convert her garage into a bedroom and wet room for her disabled daughter at a cost of £17,500. This was due to begin in August, to be completed by Christmas but she had concerns with the standard and amount of time it was taking. 

Despite Hopkinson having received £13,500, there were a number of major issues with the work including a shower tray and a standard height sink installed, which were unsuitable for her daughter to use with a wheelchair.

South Ribble Borough Council sent out a building control officer round to inspect the work and he discovered issues, including that the bathroom was not waterproofed, the ramp and doors were unsuitable, and deemed the work unsatisfactory. The remaining grant amount was put towards rectification work by other tradespeople. 

The impact was described as 'substantial' on the family as the customer's daughter had to cancel a transplant.

In June 2021, another customer enquired through the Trustatrader website where she had seen that Ultra Restore had 5 star reviews and was quoted £24,000 for a loft conversion.

She shelled out £17,550 in instalments between September and October but the work was slow and so badly done that it was even causing damage to her neighbour's properties.  In November 2021, Preston City Council Building Control inspected the property and called the work to a halt.

In December 2021, she was told that Ultra Restore Limited was going into liquidation. At this stage, Trading Standards became involved and instructed an independent surveyor to inspect the work in February 2022.

The surveyor said that the work done had caused an extensive amount of water to enter the property and caused internal damage to ceilings in main bedroom and bathroom, which would need repairing and rooms redecorating. He found that the roofing works completed by the contractor were incomplete and defective throughout.

He summarised: "The works have been so poorly executed that one could arrive at the conclusion that the person carrying out this work possessed no knowledge or skills in not only construction work but general building standards."

All of the work carried out would require redoing, and on top of this, "the cost of rectifying the damaged and defective work will be more than the monies currently paid out," he said.

In August 2021, another customer contacted Ultra Restore Ltd after seeing them on Trustatrader.com.  Hopkinson priced a three-part extension at £78,000. 

He said he'd start on 1 November 2021 and that the first phase of work would be finished before Christmas. 

She paid £28,200 in instalments to Ultra Restore Limited's business account.

Ultra Restore Ltd went into liquidation in December but the customer was not informed of this and she was asked to pay a further £4,000 into a different bank account in Hopkinson's own name. Shortly after she'd paid this, she found out that the firm had folded.

She doesn't believe much work has been done. She says that the orangery extension at the back and foundations and drainage were done and that partial walls have been put up for the kitchen, but that they appeared to be quite wobbly and were built with non-matching brick, so will need to come down.

Speaking after the case, County Councillor Michael Green, cabinet member for health and wellbeing at Lancashire County Council said: “The Trading Standards team have put a lot of hard work in to investigate this case and we’re pleased that justice has been done.

"Rogue traders can cause mental anguish and distress to their victims and families, some of whom lose vast amounts of their savings for work that is poorly done or incomplete. This prosecution sends out a clear signal that we won’t tolerate rogue traders and scammers and we’ll do everything we can to stop them."

To report a rogue trader, contact the Trading Standards Service via the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 0808 223 1133.

Lancashire County Council’s Lancashire Safe Trader scheme lists details of reputable traders in the area at safetrader.org.uk