Builder jailed for £200k in work he did not do

James Morgan was sentenced to 52 months in jail at Norwich Crown Court for taking money for work he did not do

A builder who admitted taking £200,000 for work he did not complete has been jailed for more than four years.

James Morgan, 39, of Market Place, Harleston, was sentenced at Norwich Crown Court on Monday after pleading guilty to 10 counts of theft in September.

Norfolk Trading Standards brought the case after receiving complaints from his customers for work booked through his firm Prestige Home Improvement (East Anglia) Limited, between 2021 and 2024.

One couple in Dereham, Norfolk, lost £179,996 for a house extension that was never built, said trading standards.

Explaining Morgan's tactics, trading standards officers said he pursued victim Katy Gould, from Long Stratton, while she was away for a week attending to her dying father, "aggressively asking for more money".

"He repeatedly told her that the work was progressing and she was pressured into sending more money for building materials for her garden project," said trading standards.

'Intimidating'

Ms Gould said: "When I returned nearly a week later, having paid more than £5,000, there were no building materials and no work had been started, other than a pile of soil on my drive.

"In the following month there were excuses after excuses as to why he couldn't come and I realised the work would not happen so I did not pay any more of the agreed £6,500.

"He repeatedly called telling me I had broken our contract, sent hundreds of WhatsApp messages and then sat outside my home in his van and it was very intimidating."

Ms Gould, a single parent of a child with complex care needs, had wanted an outdoor space for her daughter to be able to enjoy, but more than three years later she has not had the work done or received her money back.

As well as the custodial sentence, trading standards said it had started confiscation proceedings to recover compensation for victims - and investigation costs for Norfolk County Council.

Morgan, who was sentenced to 52 months in prison, has also been disqualified as a company director for 10 years, and has been given a criminal behaviour order for an indefinite period.

Cabinet member for communities and partnerships at Norfolk County Council, Margaret Dewsbury, said: "Householders should be able to trust that when they hand over money for work, it will be completed.

"Builders should provide written details of the planned work and a payment schedule and should not ask for substantial deposits upfront."