UK builder jailed for 6.5 years after taking £377,000 from 10 homeowners for botched extensions
Colin Ridley, a 72-year-old builder from Anstey, Leicestershire, was sent to prison for six and a half years after taking £377,844 from 10 customers between 2019 and 2023 for extensions and home projects he botched, stalled or abandoned, Leicestershire County Council said.
Ridley had pleaded guilty to one count of participating in a fraudulent business and Leicester Crown Court sentenced him on Friday, Oct. 30, the BBC reported. He is also under a criminal behaviour order that bars him from taking on building work. Two of the houses needed major demolition and a complete rebuild, the council said, and several other owners spent thousands of pounds correcting his work. Those repair costs come on top of the £377,844.
County trading standards officers opened the case after a complaint about dangerous work on a house extension. They then found a run of similar complaints from homeowners in Desford, Glenfield, Leicester, Blaby and Derby. The same faults turned up on job after job, officers said: foundations not up to standard, floors out of level, shoddy brickwork and roofing, poor joinery, and architects' drawings ignored.
Customers told investigators he vanished from sites for long stretches with one excuse after another, asked for money on top of the agreed quote and would not fix problems or give refunds. The council said he pushed clients to take out cash to pay him and kept money they had handed over for materials and for subcontractors. Gary Connors, the council's head of regulatory services, said the fraud was "sustained and deliberate" and ran for years.
Why it matters: Cash demands, extras beyond the quote, long absences and supplier money that never reaches the supplier are the warning signs here. Owners can pay in stages against finished work and pay suppliers directly; honest builders should expect clients to ask for exactly that.
Sources
- Rogue builder jailed over £377,000 fraudBBC, Nov 4