A salesman has been jailed after a non-slip driveway he offered to lay for two pensioners was so bad a car skidded.
The couple had to use a neighbour's garden to reach their home and were still charged £600 by James Eaton.
He was jailed for five years after admitting the fraud of seven elderly customers, as well as being caught with cannabis and cocaine.
Sitting at Nottingham Crown Court, Judge Steven Coupland said: "Smiles and sales patter rather than threats - but the effect is the same. Money was taken for nothing.
"There were particularly vulnerable victims, not only by age but also vulnerability because of their disability."
The court heard the oldest victim was 81.
Eaton made a total of £7,730 fraudulently over two years, said Marcus Harry, for Nottinghamshire Trading Standards.
Eaton, 29, now of North Avenue, Manningham, Bradford claimed to be a registered installer for drive resurfacing materials but that was not true at the time of the offences.
He charged one customer £900 for work in July 2014, promising to have cracks filled as well as providing a better surface.
The cracks returned the next morning and footprints were left when people walked across the drive.
Another case involved an 81-year-old woman who used a wheelchair.
She was charged £2,200 and Mr Harry said: "The wheelchair slid on the surface which was obviously dangerous."
On occasions, Eaton sent workers to do repairs but these were not done properly.
Then he began to ignore calls and when one customer called at his business address, she found that it did not exist, added Mr Harry.
Eaton admitted seven counts of fraud in Nottingham and Derbyshire. He also pleaded guilty to having cannabis worth £1,790, cocaine and crack cocaine valued at £2,500.
Raglan Ashton, who prosecuted the drug offences, said the cannabis was found in Eaton's caravan in Lincoln.
Later, police raided a caravan he used in Nottingham, finding the two forms of cocaine. When Eaton arrived in a Seat Leon car, he sped off.
Simon Eckersley, mitigating, said Eaton started smoking cannabis as a teenager.
"He would buy it from the travelling community and cannabis got the better of him.
"He was effectively homeless and was offered a place to stay. He got into debt and there was a certain amount of pressure to pay the debts," said Mr Eckersley.
Eaton accepted that "shoddy work" had been carried out but there must have been many customers who were satisfied with their resurfaced drives.
He did not threaten potential customers and charged reasonable amounts, added Mr Eckersley.
On August 29, there will be another court hearing to see if assets can be seized from Eaton.
