'Despicable' Shropshire rogue trader is jailed over fraud

Stephen Reginald Wright previously admitted two counts of fraud and six counts of dishonesty relating to work done at properties in The Avenue, West Felton, Oswestry, and at Montford Bridge in 2017 and 2018.

The court heard that after calling at the home of one victim on Mothering Sunday, he falsely claimed that his child had died and had been buried at a nearby church in order to ensnare them.

Mr Kevin Saunders, prosecuting on behalf of Shropshire Council, said the case related to Wright calling at the homes of the victims to offer to repair the driveway, garage and roofs and agreeing to be paid when all the work was done.

But he said instead of waiting, Wright, 32, of Cherry Tree Drive, St Martins, near Oswestry. almost immediately demanded several thousands of pounds at a time from the victims.

“The mischief is the importance of providing written cancellation notices. It affords them the opportunity to change their mind, removes them from the situation if they feel pressured and is an opportunity to get counsel or to discuss matters with relatives,” he said. “If under duress they are afforded the time for cooling off.

“The prosecution says, had a cancellation notice been provided it may have afford the people to hold on to their money.”

Suspicious

Mr Saunders said that in total the vulnerable families, among whom were an Alzheimer’s patient and a woman with mobility issues, paid him a total of £16,200 for work that was later found to be substandard and inadequate.

Shrewsbury Crown Court yesterday heard that Wright's attempts to pressure a third customer into paying upfront for work failed when that householder became suspicious.

And despite being warned at a previous hearing to repay the money, Mr Saunders said “not a bean” had been forthcoming from Wright,

Mr Richard Orme, mitigating, said Wright had no money to repay the sums and that he acted on the instructions of his “domineering” father. However, sentencing him Judge Jonathan Gosling told Wright his behaviour had been despicable.

“You emphasised that this was all your father’s fault, which is completely at odds with the evidence in this case,” the judge added.

No order of costs, compensation or proceeds of crime application was made due to lack of realisable assets. As a result Wright was jailed for a total of 27 months. A further count was allowed to lie on file.

Wright must serve half the term before release. He was prosecuted by Shropshire's trading standards unit under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations and the Fraud Act.