A ROGUE trader who “grossly overcharged” a vulnerable woman for works to her home has been jailed for more than three years.

Derek Montague was introduced to his victim – a 65-year-old Broadstone woman – through her gardener and was hired to complete minor works to her patio.

But over the course of the following seven months, the 41-year-old, who trades under business name Oakdale Home Improvements, carried out £41,000-worth of work – later valued by an expert to be worth just £15,500 with VAT.

At one point, Montague, of Churchill Road in Poole, met the woman at a coffee shop in Broadstone before leading her to a cash point so she could give him £1,200.

After officers from Borough of Poole Trading Standards were made aware, the defendant contacted his victim and handed her £1,000 in cash in an attempt to halt proceedings against him.

Even on the day of his sentence, Michael Butt, mitigating for the defendant, said Montague was able to offer a “package” in order to avoid prison, with a relative who works for another building company to give the victim £5,000 in cash and the promise that the defendant would repay the total amount in full.

“It’s difficult to put forward this proposal like that without sounding [as if he is] blackmailing the court,” he said. “If he goes into immediate custody, then in effect it is not available.”

Recorder Gordon Bebb QC said the word “blackmail” was too strong, but added: “[It’s more like] buying off the court” before discounting the offer.

Jailing Montague for three-and-a-half years, he told the defendant: “These offences are so serious that only immediate custody is available.”

Montague had denied a series of offences, and was found guilty of four counts of making a false representation to make a gain, knowingly or recklessly engaging in reckless practice and engaging in a commercial practice which was aggressive following a trial.

Yesterday at Bournemouth Crown Court, Mr Bebb told Montague he had “immediately identified [the victim] as a vulnerable person open to exploitation”.

“You befriended her and quickly gained her confidence,” he said.

The court had heard that Montague was sentenced to a community order after being found guilty of a similar offence in June last year. In the previous case, he had overcharged his victim around £250.

Mr Bebb said on this occasion the defendant had “effectively emptied [the woman’s] accounts of all savings”.

Speaking afterwards, James Norman, regulatory team manager at Borough of Poole Trading Standards, said: “This is a clear case of a trader willing to exploit the trust of a customer over a long period of time for his own profit. We are pleased with the sentence given, which sends a clear message that practices of this kind will not be tolerated in Poole.”

Help available for victims

Anyone targeted by rogue traders visiting their home should contact the Citizens’ Advice Bureau’s Consumer Service on 03454 040506.

Representatives for the service work in partnership with Trading Standards and are the first point of contact for anyone wishing to seek advice or make a complaint about goods or services, a scam, or a company believed to be trading unfairly.