Builder who charged for unfinished work sentenced

Christopher Marshall was sentenced at Lincoln Crown Court

A cowboy builder who charged customers for work he did not carry out has been sentenced.

Christopher Marshall, 43, of Evesham Avenue, Grimsby, targeted people across Lincolnshire under the business name CM Property Maintenance.

He requested deposits up front from customers, claiming the money was to buy materials, but he either failed to start the job or left behind a "mess", Lincolnshire Trading Standards said.

On 16 August, Marshall pleaded guilty at Lincoln Crown Court to five counts of fraud and was handed a 12-month jail sentence, suspended for two years, and ordered to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work.

'Unfair and unjustified'

A Lincolnshire Trading Standards investigation found that if any work was done by Marshall, it was not completed and was "left in that much of a mess" that the customer had to pay more money for someone else to complete or fix it.

Lincolnshire County Council said Marshall never provided customers with any cancellation rights, which he was legally required to do.

Senior trading standards officer Kimberley Marshall said: "Whilst most businesses operate completely lawfully and fairly, there will always be some who take advantage of their customers to try and turn a quick profit.

"For some of the victims, it had taken them years to save up enough to have the work done.

"The fact that Mr Marshall took deposits from them knowing he was never going to do the work was unfair and unjustified."

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