‘Conniving’ builder stole £42k from King's Lynn couple

John Taylor, 42, dishonestly billed the vulnerable homeowners over a two week period in November 2021 and even talked them into loaning him £8,000 to buy a new van.     

Norwich Crown Court heard his catalogue of botched work included charging £9,000 for cavity wall insulation that resulted in little more than holes filled with cement.

John Taylor has been jailed for theft from homeowners who were left with poor quality work (Image: Norfolk Trading Standards)

A utility room was left with large gaps, no plaster and a sink that was not plumbed in while asbestos removed for disposal from a garage roof had instead been buried in the hole in the garden.

READ MORE: Norwich builder jailed for £130k trail of botched and dangerous work

An expert who examined his work found it fell below industry standards and had “caused more harm than good”.

The King’s Lynn couple, who had initially met Taylor when he did work as a subcontractor for a window replacement company, had to pay another £11,000 to rectify his shoddy work.

Taylor charged with disposal of asbestos but instead buried it in a hole in the garden (Image: Norfolk Trading Standards)

They told the court they had been left “angry, devastated and very upset” and had felt intimidated by Taylor and his unskilled workers. 

“He is a conniving trickster and a liar who robbed us. He took advantage of us,” they added.

Alison Lambert, prosecuting on behalf of Norfolk Trading Standards, said he had given the couple a “sob story” after being sacked as a subcontractor in order to persuade them to give him more work. 

Taylor, of Elizabeth Crescent in Holt, had initially denied charges including fraudulent trading but later pleaded guilty to two counts of theft. 

Homeowners had to pay out thousands to finish or rectify substandard work (Image: Norfolk Trading Standards)

Jailing him for 20 months and imposing a five year court order limiting his ability to operate as a builder, Judge Anthony Bate told him: “Your work was shoddy and your actions dishonest and desperate.”

READ MORE: Men found with metal detectors on Little Walsingham estate

The court was told among the items the father-of-six bought with the couple's money were metal detectors and last year he had been convicted of nighthawking on part of the Little Walsingham estate.

Charles Myatt, mitigating, said he was not a cold-calling con man who targeted the vulnerable but had taken on work he could not do.

“He got out of his depth and was having money problems. He was stupid, desperate and perhaps greedy,” he added.

Jail sentence a warning to fraudsters

Norfolk Trading Standards welcomed the sentence saying it was a warning to traders and companies that sought to exploit vulnerable people. 

Jon Peddle, safety and fair trading manager, said: “Deliberately preying on people and pressuring them to make payments for fraudulent and poor quality work is unacceptable.  

Wall panels in utility room were left with huge gaps while a sink was not plumbed in (Image: Norfolk Trading Standards)

“The prison sentence handed to Taylor sends a clear message to fraudsters that we will investigate criminal activity and scammers will be brought to justice. 

“Our teams will continue to work to keep residents safe from fraudsters. If you or someone you know has fallen victim to a fraud like this you should report it to the Citizens Advice consumer service helpline by calling 0808 223 1133.

"We always advise residents to use our Trading Standards approved Trusted Trader scheme if they are considering having work done."