TWO cynical businessmen who duped vulnerable and sick pensioners into paying for sub-standard driveways have each been jailed for four years three months.

Rogue traders Robert Morrison and Paul Towers put £2.5 million from customers through a cash shop without paying a single penny in income tax.

At one point their Brighouse-based firm Resinways was the most complained about to Trading Standards in the country for asphalting and paving.

Leeds Crown Court heard they deliberately targeted older people in Yorkshire advertising the resin-bound drives they installed on top of the customer’s existing surface were “durable, weed-free and anti-slip”.

They continued to make such claims in spite of complaints of poor quality, cracks appearing and knowing that some people had slipped and fallen on the surfaces they laid.

Morrison, 35, of Lower Crow Nest Drive, Lightcliffe, Brighouse, admitted 12 charges contrary to the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations.

Towers, 37, of Verdun Road, Wibsey, Bradford, pleaded guilty to ten offences under the same legislation.

Jailing them Judge James Spencer QC said they were motivated by greed and no civilised society would put up with their activities.

“You decided to exploit these people, you were completely callous in your approach," he told them.

“This kind of commercial activity is sometimes given the sobriquet cowboy builders, that would be an insult to cowboys I’m afraid, because this was much worse.”

Victims included:

  • A 94-year-old man who was almost blind, he was a second world war RAF veteran from East Yorkshire who could not read the details he signed.
  • A Mirfield woman, who was given a 20-year guarantee, noticed cracks within months. She called Resinways over 15 times to discuss the situation but nobody came and the guarantee was worthless. In the end she had to have her driveway replaced by a different company for £4,000.
  • A Batley pensioner who slipped on her drive the day after the work was completed then her postman did the same.

James Lake, prosecuting, told the court: “The evidence demonstrates the unscrupulous, disreputable and persistent manner in which they conducted their business.”

“Rather than taking care to avoid entering into contracts with vulnerable and elderly people, Morrison and Towers sought out these people as customers as they were easy targets.”

They failed to refund deposits when consumers cancelled their orders and failed to correct defects when they were reported. One woman found dents in the surface on the first day she parked her car. Claims they were anti-slip were “just sales patter.”

Trading standards officers visited the premises of Resinways in March 2013 and reminded the pair of their obligations with little effect. A further visit was made in October that year because of complaints of poor workmanship and slippery drives.

Mr Lake suggested the pair then changed their name from Resinways to Driveways in around September 2014 because the first company’s reputation was “so appalling”.

When Trading Standards officers took action in 2015 they seized documents from the premises, which were shocking describing potential customers as 'Alzheimer', 'Blind', 'Dementia', 'Gimmer' for elderly and 'Raver' in their terms Raving Mad.

Ian Jobling, for Morrison, conceded the pair had no experience of running their own business and were “singularly ill-equipped to run such an enterprise”.

After the case, David Lodge, head of West Yorkshire Trading Standards, said: ‘This is an excellent result for the newly formed West Yorkshire Financial Exploitation and Abuse Team, a partnership between the Police and Crime Commissioner & West Yorkshire Trading Standards.

"This is the worst case that this Service has come across in respect of aggressive and unfair trading practices against the elderly.

"Morrison and Towers were unscrupulous, calculating and ruthless in the way they deliberately targeted and exploited the most vulnerable in society." 

Councillor Pauline Grahame, deputy chairman of the West Yorkshire Joint Service Committee, which oversees the work of Trading Standards, said: “This case demonstrates that West Yorkshire Trading Standards and the Courts will not tolerate the actions of those who deliberately exploit the most vulnerable members of society.

"Anyone wishing to report unfair sales tactics or seek advice on telephone or doorstep sales should contact Citizens Advice Consumer Service Helpline 03454 04 05 06."