Rogue trader sentenced

A builder has been sentenced for unfair trading and overcharging his victims, following a successful prosecution by Hertfordshire Trading Standards.

Mark Tatham (50), now residing in Somerset, was convicted yesterday of 14 offences of knowingly engaging in commercial practice that contravened the requirements of professional diligence (offences under regulation 8 of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008).

He was sentenced to nine months imprisonment which was suspended for 18 months. He was also ordered to complete 240 hours of unpaid community work as well as being disqualified as a director for eight years.

The case was brought against Tatham who, trading as Multitrades, Multitrades Herts Ltd and 3D Visual Planning Ltd , between May 2008 and August 2010, obtained £120,000 from consumers and either failed to deliver a service or provided poor quality workmanship.

Judge Warner said in his summing up: “Many would regard your conduct as nothing short of fraud. The work fell far short of the standard expected by customers, prices were unrealistic, work was woefully inadequate and customers parted with substantial amounts of their money for little or no return and Trading Standards investigations did not deter you from continuing to operate in this way. ‘Rogue Trader’ is apt to describe your conduct.”

In mitigation, Tatham’s defence team said that their client expressed regret and remorse for the loss he had caused his victims and also the shame he had brought upon his family.

Tatham’s victims were based in St Albans, Royston, Berkhamsted, and Welwyn Garden City, as well as in Essex, Middlesex, Bedfordshire and Milton Keynes.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.