A fraudster tricked homeowners into paying thousands of pounds for work he never intended to do. Rogue trader Kevin Bambrick has now been handed a lengthy spell behind bars after he showed a ‘shocking case of shoddy workmanship’.
The 36-year-old, who operated as a sole trader under the name Kevin Bambrick Builders, conned eight households into handing over large sums of money, with many of the victims being elderly or vulnerable. Bambrick, of Borough Crescent, Oldbury, was invited into homes, where he was ‘sometimes abrasive’ with victims, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.
Dudley Council’s Trading Standards team began investigating Bambrick in June 2021, after being contacted by those who had given him money for materials and services that were never provided. One victim said they had been left with their home in ‘very poor state of order’ for months.
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Bambrick pleaded guilty to a single offence of participating in a fraudulent business carried on by a sole trader, contrary to section 9(1) of the Fraud Act 2006, and was jailed for 34 months on January 3. The judge told Bambrick he had ‘taken a course of conduct which was wholly dishonest from the start’ and had ‘continued over a prolonged period, with active deception’.
Following the sentencing, Councillor James Clinton, Dudley’s cabinet member responsible for trading standards, said: “We have shown time and time again that we will not hesitate to take action against traders who fail to meet their legal requirements. This is a shocking case of shoddy workmanship and the man responsible now faces the consequences of his actions. I would like to thank our officers for their hard work on this case and I commend the bravery of the people affected for coming forward.”