John Sykes, 35, and William Birch, 38, both pleaded guilty in April to one charge of fraud and two counts of unfair trading offenses.
This comes after the Chippenham-based couple, who traded as J’s Roofing and Building, completed a roofing job in 2021 that was judged “of a miserable standard” by a licensed surveyor.
Sykes and Birch were each sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment with a two-year suspended sentence on 4 July at Swindon Crown Court.
The two men were also ordered to do 100 hours of unpaid work.
Her victim had agreed that the work, which included replacing a flat roof and fitting a Velux window, would be carried out after leaflets were dropped in her mailbox.
A licensed surveyor later claimed the couple had shown “no evidence of basic skill, competence or understanding of work of this nature” and that there was a high probability that the roof had buckled and collapsed in the event of rainwater ingress.
The conviction came after officials at Wiltshire Trading Standards were briefed on the incident by concerned Lloyds Bank employees.
They launched an investigation into the quality of the work and informed Sykes and Birch that they would not be paid for the job.
Councilor Nick Holder, Cabinet Member for Public Protection, said: “Rogue traders are often individuals or businesses offering services on the doorstep, often with very few means of identification.”
“They can continue to cause suffering and trouble by cutting corners and performing work to unacceptable standards.
“We would like to warn local residents to be wary of anyone who shows up on their doorstep offering them work and to be aware that photos used on websites or social media may not be the trader’s own work.
“We hope this ruling sends a clear message to any merchant contemplating similar treatment of consumers, and empowers any other victims of such activity to report confidentially to our teams.”
Anyone who believes they have been the victim of fraudulent traders should call the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 0808 223 1133.
Trusted merchants can be found through approval programs like Buy With Confidence.
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