A woman who was conned out of thousands of pounds by a dodgy builder "went to her grave" without receiving justice.
David Varey vastly overcharged his victim for "shoddy" works to her roof and failed to carry out many of the tasks that he had agreed to complete. It is the second time that the 39-year-old has been rapped for poor quality workmanship.
Liverpool Crown Court heard today, Friday, that St Helens Borough Council carried out an investigation into roofing and building work undertaken by the defendant's business Dave's Roofing Solutions during May 2019 at a house on Neville Street in Newton-le-Willows. Kevin Slack, prosecuting, described how Varey was contacted by the now deceased homeowner Kathryn Keating to fix a leak in her roof in December 2018 after she spotted an advert for his services in a newspaper.
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She was charged £1,500 for the repairs, with the workman stating they would last for around five years before further work would be required. But the roof began leaking again in April 2019.
Varey then advised Ms Keating she needed a new roof, quoting a price of £7,000 - less the monies already paid - and saying this would be guaranteed for 25 years. The married dad-of-five began work on May 1 2019, but phoned the victim claiming the roof needed fully replacing - meaning he would need another £1,800 to fit new roof valleys, fascias and soffits as well as to repoint the chimneys and replace lead work.
She agreed, and construction finished on May 3. Varey returned to the property another 10 days later to fit a new window for £850.
In total, Ms Keating paid out a total of of £8,150 - plus the initial £1,500. An expert subsequently found she had overpaid by around £7,500 while the fitting of the roof valleys, fascias and soffits was never carried out - nor was the pointing of the chimneys or the lead work.
She was described as being "distressed" when she learned the news. Ms Keating had been caring for her elderly mum at the time, with her mother having also lived at the affected address.
Both have sadly since died. Mr Slack told the court: "The work done was shoddy.
"The true value of the work was later assessed at being no more than £2,150. Had the true position been known by Ms Keating, she would never have engaged the defendant.
"As it was, she had paid out £7,500 more than the work was worth. A UPC trim had merely been fitted over the existing timber fascia.
"The work to the roof that had been done was poor. The expert commented that the installation of the window was appalling and wholly unacceptable, and that the window would require replacement."
Varey, of Spring Hill Road in Accrington, was first charged with fraud offences in February 2020. But court proceedings were delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, after which the conman could not be located.
A warrant for his arrest was issued in November of that year, and he did not make his first appearance until October 2021. Varey initially sought a trial before pleading guilty to fraud and two Trading Standards offences.
He has 26 previous offences on his record, and was ordered to pay up more than £4,000 by the courts in 2020 after similarly "overcharging for poor quality work". The fraudster also previously had a landscape gardening and paving business, but now has paid full-time work as a driver for a dogs' charity.
Andy Scott, defending, said on his behalf: "Mr Varey takes full responsibility for his offending - in his own words, he is disgusted with himself. It may provide relief to the public and the court that he no longer conducts any self-employed business in these areas."
Varey, previously of Meadow Street in Blackburn, was handed a 10-month imprisonment suspended for two years. He must also pay £7,500 in compensation to Ms Keating's sister plus a victim surcharge and complete 200 hours of unpaid work plus a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 20 days.
Sentencing, Judge David Swinnerton said: "You took full advantage of her to rip her off for money. Some of the work you simply did not do.
"In addition, there were works done to very, very shoddily. She has gone to her grave without knowing that this has been resolved, having lost of lot of money thanks to you.
"She will never know you were punished for what you did to her. You have expressed your remorse and have indicated that you deserve a custodial sentence.
"I hope and believe that remorse is now genuine. You have caused considerable distress and pain to Ms Keating.
"In the subsequent period, you have stopped working as a self-employed man - that is a very wise idea. You are not capable of running a business properly.
"You have demonstrated that, and the public needs to be protected from people like you running businesses. You have demonstrated that you can stay out of trouble and appear to be currently living a law-abiding life.
"Don't come back before me. If you do, you will go to prison."
Varey then told the judge from the dock: "I am genuinely sorry for what I've done. I am ashamed of it, for my children as well."
Judge Swinnerton responded: "So you should be. If you are, that will lead to you changing your ways and that is sincerely what I hope will happen."
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