The crown court hearing had just ended when the defence barrister asked me an interesting question.
“Is this really a national newspaper story?” he wondered.
Perhaps not, if crimes against the elderly have become so commonplace that they’re no longer newsworthy, but I hope things have not come to that yet.
Besides, the judge had some important things to say.
The case concerned 87-year-old Beryl Levett, who was cold called and persuaded to have a visit from a “qualified surveyor” to look into a possible damp problem.
But the firm, Energy Guard Insulation Limited of Bournemouth, didn’t have any qualified surveyors, it just had sales reps who, like the initial cold callers on the phone, were paid commission only.
“Lawyers call it false representation,” said the admirably plain-speaking Judge Paul Dugdale at Reading Crown Court. “The public call it an old person being ripped off.”
The day after the phone call one of the reps, Michael Mohan, turned up at Beryl’s house in Reading.
He stuck to the lie about being a qualified surveyor and flogged a wall treatment for £9,450, supposedly knocking off VAT because of Beryl's age to give a price of £5,625 - "which mathematically makes no sense whatsoever" Judge Dugdale remarked.
By law she should have been told about her cancellation rights but wasn’t, and in any case the work was rushed through the next day, giving her little chance to discuss what was happening with friends.
She subsequently complained to Reading Trading Standards, resulting in 46-year-old Mohan, from Stockbridge in Hampshire, admitting breaking consumer protection regulations, as did the director of Energy Guard Insulation, 47-year-old Paul Mulcahy.
In mitigation the court was told that Mulcahy has since paid £3,600 to Beryl for remedial work needed to her home following his company's visit.
Mulcahy was given a nine-month suspended jail sentence, ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and told to pay £750 costs.
Mohan got a 12-month community order, 160 hours of unpaid work and £750 costs.
Energy Guard Insulation, which has ceased trading, was fined a nominal £234.
In sentencing, Judge Dugdale said it was “exasperating” that following an investigation costing around £25,000 the prosecution dropped fraud charges, saying: "They should get on and prosecute if it's a fraud, you never know, they may get a conviction."
"What I don't understand is why the crown offered no evidence on the most serious charges," he said.
"This either is a fraud in which case it goes to trial having run up the costs, or it's not fraud in which case fraud should not be on the indictment.
"The crown either do or do not have a reasonable case of dishonesty, if they do not it should have dropped, if they do it should go to trial.
“I would like the message to go back to the local authority, if you think you have a reasonable case of fraud then prosecute it. Do not be trial shy about it.”
He told Mulcahy and Mohan: “The two of you were meant to be facing an offence of fraud today but it does not make any difference to what you did.
“You knew what you were doing, neither of you were idiots, you knew what was going on.”
Beryl was happier with the outcome.
“I am so grateful for the wonderful support I've received during this mission to see justice done to Energy Guard," she said.
“I had no idea what I was letting myself in for, but from the very beginning, I’ve been fortunate to have support from the Trading Standards officers.
“While I never expected a financial benefit, I’m very pleased with this conviction and glad that it will spare others from having to go through a similar ordeal with Energy Guard again.”
In a separate case, Trading Standards has dropped a prosecution against a nationwide home heating company that was accused of fraud and consumer protection offences.
A trial was due to take place at Leicester Crown Court but Fischer Future Heat UK Limited has reached a deal with Leicester City Council, without any admission of liability.
The company has agreed to not describe its sales reps as engineers or give misleading information about its heaters, and will inform customers about cancellation rights.
Fischer is run by directors Maria and Keith Bastian, who said the charges had no legal merit. You can read more on Leicester Live here.
In more rogue trader news, a father and son stuffed dead birds in chimneys to trick vulnerable residents into thinking they were blocked.
Luke Price, 34, and Martin Price, 59, admitted fraud charges, and got suspended jail sentences of 14 months and eight months respectively. Martin Price must also pay £5,000 costs.
The prosecution was brought by Trading Standards in the London borough of Hammersmith and Fulham following a BBC Rogue Traders episode which secretly filmed Martin Price hiding a dead pigeon in a fireplace.
Isleworth Crown Court heard how the scam netted the pair, from Ashford in Surrey, around £13,000 from vulnerable households.
Recorder Arwel Jones called their behaviour “mean, nasty and unpleasant”.
For a Trading Standards prosecution with a striking outcome there's the case of the gang that's been jailed for more 17 years for filming and mocking their victims.
Among the people they fleeced was an 89-year-old RAF veteran who was duped out of more than £23,000 after being taken to his bank a total of nine times to withdraw his life savings.
Teesside Crown Court heard that ringleader David Mason created a series of bogus companies before sending Gary Russell, Christopher Scott and Adam Godley to cold call householders.
Some of those targeted were previous victims of cowboy builders and known by the gang to be vulnerable.
The four pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud a total of 22 householders in the North East out of more than £51,000 for shoddy repairs or charging for work that was never carried out.
Mason had faked having a brain tumour to try to evade justice.
Judge Jonathan Carroll said they recorded victims for their own "entertainment", driving one elderly victim almost to suicide.
Mason, 41, was sentenced to a total of eight years and eight months, the sentence including three years for perverting the course of justice.
Russell, 45, got five years and three months.
Scott, 43, and Godley, 43, each got 20 months.
They were all given an indefinite Criminal Behaviour Order banning them from cold-calling.
There's more detail, including victim impact statements, in the TeessideLive article here.
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