Wiltshire rogue traders who mocked elderly victims jailed

Three rogue traders who filmed themselves boasting about overcharging for poor roofing work have been jailed.

Dean Smith and brothers Matty and James Rossiter were "rogue builders on an industrial scale" who preyed on the elderly as they were "easy targets".

They made £45,000 from crimes committed in 18 properties across Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Bristol.

The judge said their "arrogance was notable" after they laughed at a victim they called "really old".

The trio were jailed at Swindon Crown Court, having admitted a number of fraud offences in June.

Matty, 18, and James Rossiter, 25, both of Sambourne Park, Minety, in Wiltshire admitted fraud by false representation and participating in a fraudulent business.

James Rossiter was jailed for three years and four months, while his younger brother was handed two years and three months.

Smith, 21, of Paices Hill in Aldermaston, Berkshire was sentenced to three years after pleading guilty to participating in a fraudulent business.

The known offences occurred between October 2020 and March 2021.

Judge Jason Taylor told them: "Together you were rogue builders on an industrial scale.

"Over several months you mainly targeted elderly people and you viewed them as easy targets due to their vulnerability and felt no guilt about taking advantage of them.

"Your arrogance is notable. There was significant planning.

"You knew the bungalows you targeted would be occupied by the elderly."

Matty Rossiter (left), James Rossiter and Dean Smith were jailed for fraud

The fraudsters would sometimes knock on elderly people's doors and tell them their roofs needed repairing, then overcharge by thousands.

Other victims engaged with them through Facebook and professional-looking websites.

They would use different company names depending on where in the country they were working, including Southern Homecare, Chippenham Roofing, Skyline Roofing, Wiltshire Roofing and Yate Roofing.

Footage of them bragging about their scam was found when their mobile phones were confiscated.

'Doing some bodging'

One of their victims was 82-year-old John Bray from Calne in Wiltshire.

While on Mr Bray's roof, one of the three said: "As you can see, we're doing some roofing work here... we're doing some bodging."

They then joke about Mr Bray's age, boasting that it was easy to find elderly victims like him.

Rossiter, Rossiter and Smith charged Mr Bray £8,500 for work that amounted to replacing just a few tiles.

Steve Bray (left) and his father John Bray said the shame of being defrauded had contributed to the death of John's wife Irene (Steve's mother)

Mr Bray's son, Steve Bray, said: "I think they're despicable.

"They made a video laughing and joking, insulting my dad, laughing and joking while they were doing more damage."

At the time, John Bray's wife was alive and the family said they believed the stress of being defrauded had contributed to her death.

Steve Bray said: "The feelings my parents had - the shame and embarrassment - my mum took that feeling to her grave. That's the worst part."

'I got depressed'

Train driver Darren Collins was charged £4,200 for just three hours of roofing work that involved replacing the mortar on a small number of his roof's hip tiles.

He said his and his wife's mental health suffered as a result.

Speaking to BBC West, he said: "I got depressed, I got down about it.

"My wife got really down. She started having to go to counselling on the back of this because she got so depressed."

Elsewhere, Stuart Dye, from Yate in south Gloucestershire, was charged £3,000 for less than a day's work.

One of the tiles used by the defendants had been taken directly from his neighbour's roof.

A chartered surveyor called by Wiltshire Trading Standards said the work was "abysmal", "carried out with no attendant skill or competence" and "probably without the use of appropriate hand tools".

A spokesperson for Wiltshire Trading Standards said the three defendants were among the most prolific rogue traders they had come across.

They added that Matty Rossiter, who was just 16 at the time of most of the offences, was also the youngest offender of this type the body had ever dealt with.

How to avoid rogue traders

- Never do business at your door - legitimate trades people will rarely reach out to you first

- Never exchange money at the door - only pay invoices once you can confirm the work has been carried out successfully

- Check a tradesperson's website or business address is legitimate before proceeding

- Be aware that photos used on websites and social media may not be the trader's own work

- Avoid paying large deposits in advance and arrange staged payments for high value contracts

- Where possible, hire people who have been verified by an independent body such as Trading Standards' Buy With Confidence scheme or Age UK's business directory

Source: Trading Standards

The rogue traders were eventually charged following an investigation by Wiltshire Council in partnership with National Trading Standards regional investigation team.

Nick Holder, Wiltshire Council cabinet member for public protection, thanked all of the victims who gave statements.

He said: "We appreciate the prospect of appearing in court to give evidence can be daunting, but without this vital evidence we are unable to bring rogue traders to justice".

Lord Bichard, chair of National Trading Standards, said the defendants were "calculated" in the way they chose their victims.

"They pressured their victims, many of whom were vulnerable, into paying huge amounts upfront for work that afterwards was deemed to be worthless, or worse, had actually caused damage," he said.

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