Cowboy builder gets suspended jail term

A cowboy builder from the Isle of Man has been given a three month suspended jail sentence after pleading guilty to deception.

Crosswell Alan Barton was trading under the name of Simply Roofing in 2011 when he dishonestly obtained over £4,000 from a homeowner by falsely claiming roofing work had been completed when it hadn’t.

The court heard from an independent expert who said Mr Barton’s work was significantly below what would be reasonably expected of a competent tradesman.

Mr Barton, who was fined over £6,000, also knowingly made a false trade description about when his business had been established.

John Peet, the deputy chief officer of the Office of Fair Trading, says it should send out a clear warning:

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