The director of a plumbing firm and three of its subcontractors have been sentenced for "ripping off" elderly customers with excessive pay rates in Staffordshire.

Duane Linton, 34, company director of both Plumb-Tech Plumbing and Heating Ltd in Birmingham, pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation as did subcontractors Otis Wray (44), Peter Hawketts (55), and Patrick Thawe (45).

Mr Linton was jailed for two years and eight months, Thawe 20 months, Hawketts 16 months and Wray for nine months. In addition, Wray was also ordered to pay £2,000 costs and compensation to victims of £1,113.

Stafford Crown Court heard the 14 victims contacted the companies over a two-year period between March 2014 and January 2016 via Yellow Pages, where Mr Linton advertised as an emergency local plumber and stated that he offered OAP discounts.

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An investigation by the council's Trading Standards, with the assistance of police, found that once a call had been made, Linton sent out subcontracted plumbers from Birmingham.

The subcontractors were ordered to charge rates of hundreds of pounds per hour to address dripping radiators, leaking toilet ball-cocks, dripping taps and under sink leaks. One incident saw two plumbers charge £672-per-hour to unblock a toilet, with further non-emergency work being undertaken the following day on a soil pipe at the property. The overall cost of 'unblocking' the toilet came to £5,642.

In addition, the court heard claims in advertisements were untrue and basic parts were not carried by the plumbers, who then took a long time to source them and charged premium rates.

Gill Heath, Cabinet Member for Communities at Staffordshire County Council, said: "It's scandalous that this company charged such extortionate rates to elderly and very vulnerable people, who had no choice but to pay. It's absolutely right that the court has handed out these severe penalties. 

"It sends out a clear message to rogue traders that they will feel the full force of the law when we catch unscrupulous companies behaving like this.

"It is always best to go with a reputable company, ideally someone who has been recommended by friends or family. Alternatively use a trader who is a member of the government's TrustMark scheme or our own Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Trader Register Scheme."

(LM/CD)