Rogue builder conned customers out of tens of thousands of pounds

A ROGUE builder ripped off customers he charged thousands for substandard or unfinished work.

- By MARTIN NAYLOR

George Dickinson, 52, advertised his business with “a list of the things people most feared about builders” before conning customers by agreeing to do work he never completed.

He would then become aggressive with customers when they challenged him.

One victim said his “life had been ruined” by what the defendant did to him while another pension-aged couple said they felt “that a year of our lives have been lost”.

Imposing a two-year jail sentence for fraudulent trading, suspended for two years, at Nottingham Crown Court, Judge Tina Dempster said: “When you started the business in 2020 I accept that you did not set out to operate as a rogue trader.

“But you advertised your business as a company which completed work quickly before agreeing to terms that you knew could not be met.