Two cynical businessmen who duped vulnerable and sick pensioners into paying for sub-standard driveways have each been jailed for four years and three months.
Rogue traders Robert Morrison and Paul Towers put £2.5 million from customers through a cash shop without paying a single penny in income tax.
At one point their firm Resinways was the most complained about to Trading Standards in the country for tarmacking and paving.
Leeds Crown Court heard they deliberately targeted older people in Kirklees and other areas of Yorkshire advertising the resin bound drives they installed on top of the customer’s existing surface were “durable, weed-free and anti-slip.”
They continued to make such claims in spite of complaints of poor quality, cracks appearing and knowing that some people had slipped and fallen on the surfaces they laid.
Morrison, 35, of Lower Crow Nest Drive, Lightcliffe Halifax admitted 12 charges contrary to the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations.
Towers, 37, of Verdun Road, Wibsey, Bradford pleaded guilty to 10 offences under the same legislation.
Jailing them Judge James Spencer QC said they were motivated by greed and no civilised society would put up with their activities.
He told them: “You decided to exploit these people, you were completely callous in your approach.
“This kind of commercial activity is sometimes given the soubriquet cowboy builders ... that would be an insult to cowboys I’m afraid, because this was much worse.”
Victims included a contract with a 94-year-old man who was almost blind. He was a second world war RAF veteran from East Yorkshire who could not read the details he signed.
A woman from Mirfield who was given a 20 year guarantee but noticed cracks within months. She called Resinways over 15 times to discuss the situation but nobody came and the guarantee was worthless. In the end she had to have her driveway replaced by a different company for £4,000.
A pensioner from Batley who slipped on her drive the day after the work was completed and then her postman did the same.
James Lake, prosecuting, told the court: “The evidence demonstrates the unscrupulous, disreputable and persistent manner in which they conducted their business.”
“Rather than taking care to avoid entering into contracts with vulnerable and elderly people, Morrison and Towers sought out these people as customers as they were easy targets.”
They failed to refund deposits when consumers cancelled their orders and failed to correct defects when they were reported.
One woman found dents in the surface on the first day she parked her car. Claims they were anti-slip were “just sales patter.”
Trading standards officers visited the premises of Resinways in March 2013 and reminded the pair of their obligations with little effect. A further visit was made in October that year because of complaints of poor workmanship and slippery drives.
Mr Lake suggested the pair then changed their name from Resinways to Driveways in around September 2014 because the first company’s reputation was “so appalling.”
When Trading Standards took action in 2015 they seized documents from the premises in Brighouse, which were shocking describing potential customers as Alzheimer, Blind, Dementia, Gimmer for elderly and Raver in their terms Raving Mad.
Ian Jobling for Morrison said the pair had no experience of running their own business and were “singularly ill-equipped to run such an enterprise.”
