Rogue builders left a pensioner going through cancer treatment 'in shock' after demolishing his living room wall - and asking to be paid £300,000 for unnecessary 'work'.
The elderly gentleman and his wife - aged 89 and 84 at the time - fell victim to the firm P&T Property Services Limited after the so-called builders called at their front door, Surrey Live reports.
Claiming to be from the company which had rendered the couple's Worcester Park home in south west London a few years before, a worker calling himself Paul dropped by and offered to clean the front of their house in September 2017.
After spotting unfinished renovations - as the vulnerable pensioners had recently parted company with a different trader, who had been building an extension - he offered to complete the work at the same cost.
But on their first day, workmen demolished the couple's living room wall without their knowledge or permission while they were out at a hospital appointment.
“I was in shock, I just couldn’t believe that my wall between the living room and the hall could just crumble,” the husband, who has sadly now died, said in a later interview.
P&T said the wall had fallen apart while they were removing plaster.
The company's managing director, Thomas William Penfold, was jailed yesterday at Guildford Crown Court for fraudulent trading and money laundering, and will serve concurrent sentences of four and three years.
A second employee, Glenn Steel, was also jailed for 30 months after being convicted of fradulent trading.
Among the other claims made by the company were that the couple's roof was so unsafe it could kill anyone underneath it - requiring work costing £300,000.
They said the loft was in a poor state, meaning the whole roof would need to be replaced.
The couple - who say they felt trapped by the builders - agreed to pay £270,000 for the work, with the company offering to supply extras such as a stair lift and paving in the front and rear gardens for free.
But police were alerted to the scam when the couple transferred a £75,800 payment.
Suspecting it was a fraud, their bank froze P&T's account and alerted officers, who in turn contacted trading standards.
They visited the property the same day and found 'a building site'.
Following investigations by a building surveyor, it was found that there was no reason for the living room wall to have been knocked down and the roof simply needed a few replacement tiles.
The work the cowboy builders quoted for should have cost a maximum of £90,000.
Thankfully, the couple were able to recover most of the money paid - but lost the £20,250 transferred for the original work, which had been withdrawn from P&T's account.
The workmen were found to have caused major structural damage to the house which would cost £5,000 to put right.
The couple's plight was brought to court by Buckinghamshire and Surrey Trading Standards.
P&T - who tried to thwart the investigation by saying it was causing the elderly couple 'alarm and distress' - were also been found to have fraudulently taken money from a south London couple.
They paid a total of £67,615 for work, which has since been deemed unnecessary and said to contravene building regulations.
Trading standards will now see if they can confiscate Penfold and Steel’s assets to compensate the victims.
Denise Turner-Stewart, Cabinet Member for Community Safety, Fire and Resilience, said it was 'vital' that cases like these are brought to court.
“Penfold and Steel’s treatment of these two vulnerable couples is nothing short of disgusting and their prison sentences are exactly what they deserved," she said.
"I would like to thank both couples for reliving these hugely distressing events with trading standards officers and in court so we can bring these criminals to justice.
“I would also like to thank our trading standards officers for the long hours and hard work on this investigation, and for their support for both couples.
“It’s vital we bring these cases to court. These people are more than rogue traders, they’re organised criminals who are knowingly targeting vulnerable people with the aim of stealing tens or hundreds of thousands of pounds from them. Our message to these criminals is we’re looking for you, we will find you, and we will work tirelessly to bring you to justice.
“I urge residents to never employ a cold caller, and to look out for vulnerable family, friends and neighbours. If you know there are cold calling traders are in your area, please call the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 0808 223 1133 or the police on 101.”
