Rogue trader caught on camera

CAUGHT out . . . Lee Chadwick at work in the property

TRADING standards officers set up surveillance to snare rogue traders in Oldham — and caught a man in the sting that uncovered dodgy practices.

In a scene reminiscent of TV shows like “Rogue Trader” and “Watchdog”, Oldham Council’s Trading Standards team created faults in a house to catch out untrustworthy tradesmen.

The undercover operation was launched after intelligence showed a continuing trend of poor quality and falsely described work by tradesmen employed by householders.

Complaints ranged from poor workmanship to fraudulent claims of necessary work where no work was required, false descriptions of work carried out and lack of legal documentation issued.

There were also concerns of false claims of affiliation to trade associations such as Gas Safe.

The majority of complaints received by the service are after work has been carried out, which limits the effectiveness of any enforcement action.

As a result, Operation Oakwell was set up to check the integrity, honesty, and qualifications of traders operating within the borough.

A house was equipped with covert surveillance equipment where all the face-to-face communication and work carried out by the traders was monitored and recorded.

On November 4, 2009, Lee Chadwick, of Huddersfield Road, Stalybridge, advertising in a local paper as Saddleworth Gas and Heating, attended the property and carried out work on a fault set up by an expert witness.

Last week, at Oldham Magistrates’ Court, Chadwick was found guilty of purporting to be approved to undertake work on gas appliances — which was untrue as he was not Gas Safe registered — and failure to provide cancellation rights.

He was cleared of two charges related to allegations he hadn’t replaced an air vent he claimed he had and pressurising the customer to have the work done.

Chadwick was conditionally discharged for six months and ordered to pay £400 costs.

Between October and December, 2009, 31 traders were called to the property to either provide quotations or carry out work on faults created by experts.

Eleven attended and were compliant, 16 were advised with regards to business practices and one trader received a formal caution for falsely claiming to be Gas Safe registered. Two tradesmen failed to turn up.

Councillor Rod Blyth, cabinet member for community safety and public protection, said: “This prosecution shows Oldham Council will take action against traders who make false claims or do not carry out work they are paid for.

“People who are carrying out shoddy work or repairs they are not qualified to do are basically ripping off citizens and as a council we will not tolerate this happening.”