A GALASHIELS company has been fined for attempting to overcharge a consumer for electrical works at her home.
The customer, who lives at Darras Hall on the edge of Ponteland in Northumberland, had paid for a job she was told would take two days by a contractor who would be a member of a professional body.
In fact, the electrician employed by Safe and Protect Ltd, based in Galashiels, only spent one morning on the job.
It was found to be of an unsatisfactory standard and he was also not a member of the National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Certification (NICEIC), the Electrical Contractors Association of Scotland (SELECT), or the Electrical Contractors Association (ECA).
Following an investigation by Northumberland County Council’s Public Protection Service, Safe & Protect Ltd was sentenced at South East Northumberland Magistrates Court last week.
The company pleaded guilty to an offence under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations and was fined £3,300 and ordered to pay £500 costs plus a £15 victim surcharge.
Company director, Ewan Robertson, also pleaded guilty and was fined £350 and ordered to pay £250 towards costs and a £15 victim surcharge. The electrician, Kenneth Gray, had pleaded guilty to offences under the Fraud Act and Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations at an earlier hearing and was ordered to carry out 200 hours’ community service.
In court, the company said in its defence that it had been required to sort out failings at 11 other consumers’ houses as a result of similar problems.
Councillor Anita Romer, Northumberland County Council’s executive member for health and public protection, said the council’s Trading Standards Service had received more than 350 complaints in the past year about home improvement work by various firms. “Each one of those complaints represents someone who is dissatisfied with a workman who has come onto their property and left it in a state that has caused distress or disappointment,” she said.
“We would advise anyone who wants work carried out at home to use a business from the Northumberland and North Tyneside Trader Register.”
Jimmy Power, business & consumer protection unit manager, added: “The Safe and Protect case was reported by a very astute consumer who quickly realised that something was very wrong and knew where to go to complain.
“Safe and Protect did not check their contractor’s claims of membership, nor did they go and check the work after receiving the first complaint, but simply took Kenneth Gray’s word that everything was correct.
“This company fell far below the standard that we would expect of a business carrying out work for residents in Northumberland.
“What they did was unacceptable and we will pursue any other business that operates in a similar way.”