A gardener who overcharged and misled a 76-year-old woman has been fined and ordered to pay compensation following a successful prosecution by Bath & North East Somerset Trading Standards.

Willie Cooper, 39, of Great Western Street, Frome, pleaded guilty to two offences under the Consumer Protection From Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 and one offence under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, when he appeared before Bath Magistrates on 16th May.

The court heard Cooper charged £3,000 for two days’ worth of gardening that should have cost £175.68.

Magistrates were told that Cooper misled the consumer by supplying a flyer which gave the impression the work would be carried out professionally, and he failed to provide the consumer with a written cancellation notice, giving the her a fourteen-day cooling off period in which to cancel the contract.

The court was told Cooper, who traded as Town and Country Tree Services, cold-called at the house of the pensioner in Peasedown St John. He offered to tidy up her garden which included trimming bushes, cutting back a tree, removing bamboo shoots and scarifying the lawn. In the rear garden, Cooper removed shrubs outside the property and replaced them with stones. A payment of £3,000 was made for the work, which was carried out over a two day period.

After Cooper left the woman’s home she became concerned at the amount of money she had paid and was disappointed with the standard of work which the defendant had carried out. The consumer then complained to Bath & North East Somerset Trading Standards team.

Some three months after Cooper carried out the work, a chartered landscape architect inspected the work. In assessing and valuing Cooper’s work at £175.68, the landscape architect noted weeds had started to grow through the stones laid, as Cooper had failed to put a membrane underneath them, and the whole job looked unprofessional. Cooper had laid two different types of stones, having failed to mix them for a consistent finish.

In passing sentence, the Chair of the Magistrates remarked: “This was a case of the defendant taking advantage of a vulnerable lady for his own greed.” Cooper was ordered to pay £5,130, made up of £3,000 compensation payable to the consumer, a £600 fine for the offences, victim surcharge of £30 and a contribution of £1,500 prosecution costs.

Councillor Paul Crossley, Cabinet Member for Communities, said: “The council takes offences where elderly or vulnerable people have been victims of unfair trading extremely seriously. They are a priority to our Trading Standards team and the fine and compensation ordered illustrates that the courts will also take a tough line.

“Bath & North East Somerset Council run an approved trader scheme called ‘Buy with Confidence’, where residents can search for local businesses which have been vetted and approved by Trading Standards. We would always encourage anyone looking for a local business to carry out some work for them to visit: www.buywithconfidence.gov.uk.”

Anyone who thinks they might have fallen victim to a rogue trader should report it to the Citizens Advice Consumer Service, who work in partnership with Bath & North East Somerset Trading Standards: 03454 040506.”

Before agreeing to any work, your local Trading Standards team recommend that you read reviews of traders and if possible use the Buy with Confidence Approved Trader Scheme, ask at least three approved traders for quotes, never pay up front and never pay cash, say no to doorstep sellers, always get a detailed written quotation/contract, check the builder’s references and even pay visits to the references, and ask your neighbours, family or friends for personal recommendations of builders who have worked for them and carried out a good job.