A builder convicted of unprofessional business practices has been ordered to pay his victims a combined £108,085 following a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing brought by Bath & North East Somerset Trading Standards.
Martin Brain left work on one customer’s extension unfinished (image credit: Bath & North East Somerset Council)
Martin Brain (52) of Mangotsfield, Bristol, pleaded guilty in June to one offence relating to the contravention of professional diligence under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 and was given a nine-month suspended prison sentence.
Bristol Crown Court has now ruled that Brain must repay £108,085 in compensation within three months or face a 12-month custodial sentence.
Trading as Olive Interiors Ltd, Brain had received a deposit of £133,890 from two customers in Bath for work on an extension and for materials which were never provided.
Olive Interiors worked for four days and then never returned to the properties, with an independent surveyor later assessing the work that had been carried out to be worth no more than £9,683. Requests for refunds were refused despite Brain having around £50,000 of the customers’ money in his bank account.
A third customer paid Brain for a kitchen and bathroom materials which were never provided and work which was found to be substandard. That customer was left with financial losses exceeding £9,000.
The fourth customer received a kitchen that had not been ordered, and the job was never finished.
Councillor Tim Ball, cabinet member for Neighbourhood Services at by Bath & North East Somerset Council, said: “The efforts of our Trading Standards team have ensured that we not only brought Martin Brain to justice but also made sure that his ill-gotten gains are returned to the victims.
“We will continue to use powers at our disposal to take action against those who engage in illegal activities and to protect residents from rogue traders. This incident serves as a clear reminder that crime doesn’t pay.”
