Jailed rogue plumber conned customers out of £30k

Grant Phillips, pictured previously outside Ipswich Crown Court, was jailed for 26 months

A rogue plumber who endangered vulnerable customers and conned them out of thousands of pounds has been jailed.

Grant Phillips was given a 26-month sentence at Ipswich Crown Court having admitted to fraudulent trading.

The 45-year-old, of Heron Road, Ipswich, took £30,000 from 12 customers between April 2021 and October 2023.

Delivering the sentencing hearing, Judge Nicola Fitches told him: "Your unfinished and unsafe work had the potential to cause serious injury or worse, and your treatment of customers was appalling."

Phillips, who has ten convictions from 13 previous offences, was due to be sentenced last July but his case was delayed several times.

He had repeatedly turned up to court hearings without legal representation.

On one occasion, Phillips also indicated he was considering changing his earlier guilty plea.

He was told he would spend at least half of his sentence in prison and the court heard his victims were still more than £22,000 out of pocket.

"You were persistently dishonest, you lied to victims, and you took money from them knowing you weren't using it for their projects," added Judge Fitches.

"You caused additional harm in the form of distress, fear, and mistrust."

'Sleepless nights'

The court heard Phillips operated under three different names: Superdry Plumbing & Drainage, Rhino Plumb, and Plumb Fix.

Some of his victims were elderly and had sought the work to make accessibility improvements to their bathrooms.

Others paid thousands of pounds for home improvement projects that were either not completed or substandard and dangerous, requiring expensive remedial work.

He also took money for materials which were not provided, not ordered or not suitable for the work he was carrying out.

One victim described Phillips as a "rogue trader" and told the BBC he "caused huge financial losses, stress, and sleepless nights for many Suffolk people".

Senior Suffolk Trading Standards officer, Sharon Titford-Keller, said she was pleased with the outcome of the investigation

Phillips was eventually caught after victims complained to the Citizens Advice helpline and Action Fraud, prompting the involvement of Suffolk Trading Standards.

Speaking to the BBC outside court, senior Suffolk Trading Standards officer, Sharon Titford-Keller, said she was "very happy to see justice finally done".

"It's been a long time coming and hopefully it sends a message that Suffolk Trading Standards will take robust action to deal with fraudulent rogue traders," she said.

"It's not compensation but it is an impactful sentence, and hopefully the victims will be pleased."