Rogue plumber leaves cheated customer with tradespeople 'phobia'

Plumber Grant Phillips conned his customers while trading under three different business names

The deceitful actions of rogue plumber Grant Phillips left his victims wrestling with crippling stress, anxiety and sleepless nights.

Described as a "sophisticated conman" by one of his customers, the 45-year-old took £30,000 from 12 customers between April 2021 and October 2023. The total loss still stands at £22,000.

One woman, who was conned out of £6,500, told the BBC she had been left without a working sink for 10 months after developing what she said was a "phobia" of tradespeople.

Phillips, of Heron Road, Ipswich, was handed a 26-month sentence at Ipswich Crown Court for fraudulent trading on Wednesday.

But the effect his deception has had on his customers will be long-lasting.

Grant Phillips, pictured outside Ipswich Crown Court, was given a 26-month sentence for fraudulent trading

One of his victims, Lucy Tomlinson, had hired Phillips in the summer of 2022, tasking him with fitting a new bathroom at her home in Needham Market, Suffolk.

She said at first he "seemed completely legit" but the "doubt started to set in quite early", after parting with an initial upfront fee of £2,000 for materials.

"I tend to look for reasons not to do something but I just didn't see that in him at all, and then small things started ringing little alarm bells," said the 51-year-old.

"He told us the bath, toilet and everything was in his lock-up, so I kept asking him for receipts or to bring the items round but he kept making excuses.

"By this point he'd had £6,500 out of us."

'I feel stupid'

Mrs Tomlinson said she confronted Phillips and attempted to make him take her to his lock-up but he then went off-grid, declining to answer her calls and blocking her number.

She said she found a live wire next to a metal plate behind new plasterboard he had installed at her home.

As Judge Nicola Fitches pointed out while sentencing Phillips, his "unfinished and unsafe work had the potential to cause serious injury or worse".

Phillips eventually started to pay back some of Mrs Tomlinson's money, but she says she has still been left £2,000 out of pocket.

She has also had to fork out thousands more to have the "rubbish" work Phillips did do completely redone.

"I let him into my home in good faith and I trusted him, so I feel like I have a phobia now about having workmen in my house," she added.

"I feel stupid and really angry because usually I am a good judge of character but I got this so wrong."

Phillips was told at Ipswich Crown Court he would serve half of his 26-month sentence in prison

While operating under the names Superdry Plumbing & Drainage, Rhino Plumb and Plumb Fix, Phillips failed to provide materials for jobs and complete projects.

Any work which was carried out was "done to a very poor standard", according to prosecuting barrister Nadia Silver.

During his sentencing the court was told about his other victims, including older people who wanted him to make accessibility improvements to their bathrooms.

One was left without a functioning bathroom for a year, including a toilet which would not flush, despite giving Phillips thousands of pounds upfront.

The court heard his attendance was "sporadic", he made excuses which were untrue, and later became "aggressive" with her when she started to doubt her trust in him.

In a victim impact statement, she said the ordeal had caused her "considerable stress and anxiety" and she felt "taken advantage of".

'Isolated'

Another victim had to fork out £3,900 to have work Phillips had carried out on her bathroom remedied.

The prosecutor said it had left her suffering from sleepless nights and she had missed family events because of how "miserable" she was.

And while working on a new bathroom for an elderly man with dementia, Phillips damaged the home's existing plumbing systems, causing its pump to blow and subsequent leaks.

The man's wife, the court heard, was left "feeling vulnerable" and less confident, resulting in her becoming more "isolated".

Phillips was described by one of his other victims as a "highly sophisticated conman".

Speaking to the BBC, he said: "Grant Phillips is not a name to forget; a serial conman who used sophisticated techniques to defraud customers.

"He caused huge financial losses, stress, and sleepless nights for many Suffolk people."