Sole trader faked registration and misled customers

A sole trader has been given a suspended prison sentence for misleading customers that he was Gas Safe registered and taking payments for work he did not carry out.

Jason Wornes, from Hampton Hill in South-west London, was prosecuted by London Borough of Hillingdon’s Trading Standards Service, which said customers had complained about him through the Citizens Advice consumer helpline and directly to the local authority.

London Borough of Hillingdon, prosecuting, said Mr Wornes had carried out work in two London boroughs. In Harrow, one customer paid a deposit of £1,510 for a new boiler but Mr Wornes did not return. Another customer paid £580 for two radiators but he did not come back to fit them.

In Hillingdon, he told customers he was Gas Safe registered when he was not. He also provided a business card with the name of a limited company that had been dissolved. He fitted a boiler badly and failed to provide cancellation rights.

At Uxbridge Magistrates Court, Jason Wornes pleaded guilty to breaches of The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, namely:

• He contravened the requirements of due diligence, contrary to Regulation 8, by fitting a boiler incorrectly and displaying Gas Safe logo on a business card;
• He misled customers by claiming to be a company that had dissolved, he falsely claimed to be Gas Safe Registered, and falsely stated that he would install new boilers and replace radiators, contravening Regulation 9;
• He failed to provide cancellation rights, breaching Regulation 10.

Mr Wornes was sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court, where he was given a four-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months and ordered to carry out 80 hours of community service. He was also ordered to pay £1,000 in legal costs to the council, and compensation of £1,510 and £580 to two customers.