Rogue plumber defrauds victims of £23,500

Grant Phillips appeared at Ipswich Magistrates' Court on Monday

A plumber has admitted taking £23,511 from customers for work that was never carried out.

Grant Phillips, 44, operated across East Anglia under three different names to defraud eleven customers between April 2021 and October 2023, Suffolk Trading Standards said.

He admitted fraudulent trading - by failing to provide materials for work or not completing projects - at Ipswich Magistrates' Court on Monday.

Suffolk Trading Standards described him as a rogue trader.

He is due to be sentenced in July.

Phillips, of Bailey Gardens in Brantham, Suffolk, traded as Superdry Plumbing & Drainage, Rhino Plumb and Plumb Fix.

He lived in Bath Road, Felixstowe, at the time of being charged.

'Let down'

The victims complained to the Citizens Advice helpline and Action Fraud.

Some victims were classed as elderly and sought the work to make accessibility improvements to their bathrooms.

Victims said payments were made for home improvement projects that were not completed or were substandard requiring expensive remedial work, a trading standards spokesperson said.

He also took money for materials which were not provided, not ordered or were not suitable.

Graham Crisp, head of Suffolk Trading Standards, advised people to use the local trusted trader scheme when having work done.

"This was a complex case with some vulnerable victims who have suffered financial loss and have been caused personal stress because of Phillips’s actions," he explained.