:00:18. > :00:24.Let's be honest, there's nothing more frustrating than when
:00:24. > :00:29.something goes wrong in your house. Last year, we spent a staggering
:00:29. > :00:34.�15 billion on house repairs. But how can we tell if we've got a good
:00:34. > :00:43.deal, or if we've been taken to the cleaners?
:00:43. > :00:46.How much? 22 5? Just for today �500 if it's cash. Probably about �7,500.
:00:46. > :00:50.We've been secretly filming up and down the UK and reveal how
:00:50. > :00:56.shockingly easy it could be for you, yes, you, to be duped. I'm afraid
:00:56. > :01:01.you've been ripped off, he's not a bona fide tradesman. He's not?
:01:01. > :01:08.I been done. I've been done... Maybe. And this is the bit I love.
:01:08. > :01:11.We expose the UK's most outrageous tradesmen rip offs. One of the
:01:11. > :01:16.worst conservatories I'd ever seen, needed pulling down and starting
:01:16. > :01:21.again. The house was a death trap. No other word for it - conned.
:01:21. > :01:26.Coming up, as our road tradesman met his match, a cautious consumer
:01:26. > :01:31.from Bedfordshire isn't falling for Roger's dirty tricks. That's all
:01:31. > :01:37.I've got. You're a tough fella, I'm not going to start a punch up with
:01:37. > :01:44.you. The astonishing tricks of a landscaper who conned a cautious
:01:44. > :01:52.homeowner out of �80,000. All the lies he told everybody, he needed a
:01:52. > :01:58.very good memory to do all of that. The lady who is nearly conned out
:01:58. > :02:06.of several hundred pounds. Burnt the cable, wish me luck. Stand by
:02:06. > :02:11.for dirty tricks of the tradesmen. Hello. I'm not a tradesman. I
:02:11. > :02:15.wouldn't know how to rewire a house, fit tiles on a roof or service a
:02:15. > :02:19.boiler. That's why we need professionals. The vast majority do
:02:19. > :02:23.a terrific job, but there is a minority who turn rogue. They can
:02:24. > :02:27.make our lives a misery. People from all over the country
:02:27. > :02:31.are telling us their shocking stories of being ripped off by the
:02:31. > :02:34.cowboys and many more are helping us to blow the secrets of the
:02:34. > :02:40.rogues by setting up their friends and family for a visit from our
:02:40. > :02:44.very own tradesman, all to show you how to avoid being taken for a ride.
:02:44. > :02:49.Meet Roger Bisby, with 40 years experience, there's little he
:02:49. > :02:53.doesn't know about the building game.
:02:53. > :02:59.If there's one thing he doesn't like, it's conmen, cashing in,
:02:59. > :03:03.using dirty tricks. But we are asking Roger to become a
:03:04. > :03:08.rogue, just for today. Why? Because if he shows us what the tricky
:03:08. > :03:12.tradesmen do, he can show us how not to get conned.
:03:12. > :03:16.We are setting up small property problems and sending Roger round to
:03:16. > :03:20.show us how easy it is to be tricked into unnecessary work. It's
:03:20. > :03:24.being filmed in secret and he's working with our cameraman Luke,
:03:24. > :03:28.who is pretending to be Roger's apprentice. We'll discover the
:03:28. > :03:33.location of their first sting in just a moment.
:03:33. > :03:37.Did you know, 4 faulty wiring is responsible for thousands of
:03:37. > :03:41.accidental house fires a year, so keeping our wiring in good nick is
:03:41. > :03:51.absolutely essential. Now, some rogues will use our fears about
:03:51. > :03:54.
:03:54. > :03:57.home safety to trick the unwary into unnecessary work. Charm is a
:03:57. > :04:00.32-year-old student from North London. She's asked us to set up
:04:00. > :04:04.Carla Johnson, her best friend since primary school, who lives
:04:04. > :04:10.nearby. She's telling Carla that she has a wiring problem and needs
:04:10. > :04:13.her to house sit while she pops out. I just said to her, there are some
:04:13. > :04:17.men coming round to sort something out in the kitchen, I've left some
:04:17. > :04:21.money, she needs to get a receipt and try not to use all the money up.
:04:21. > :04:26.Charm has left �100, but knowing our tricky tradesman Roger, I
:04:26. > :04:31.expect he'll soon relieve her of that, as he slips into his secret
:04:31. > :04:34.filming gear. He's planning a trick that involves the fuse box.
:04:34. > :04:37.exotic location today is North London where we've come to look at
:04:37. > :04:43.a suspicious smell around the fuse box. Luke, you've been shopping for
:04:43. > :04:48.a magic box? I've got a magic box containing tea bags. What we are
:04:48. > :04:52.going to do is pretend it's a filter that it will filter out the
:04:52. > :04:56.unevenness in the electricity supply. We won't even connect it up.
:04:56. > :04:59.I'll also introduce a bit of burnt wire. Hopefully that'll be enough
:04:59. > :05:04.to persuade the lady that she needs to have all this elaborate
:05:04. > :05:07.electronic equipment fitted. bags! Did I hear that correctly?
:05:07. > :05:12.Good luck with that one, Roger. Once in, he'll pretend there's a
:05:12. > :05:16.smell by the fuse box and while Luke keeps Carla busy, he'll plant
:05:16. > :05:22.some burpbts wire. Finally, Roger can install the magic box of tricks
:05:22. > :05:27.which he claims will keep Charm's house from burning down. When it
:05:27. > :05:33.comes to repairing fuse boxes, a typical cost is around �200. Some
:05:33. > :05:39.tradesmen may do the work on a no- fix no-fee basis, still we are
:05:39. > :05:46.talking about a deadly trix ter. It's 5 o'clock when Roger arrives,
:05:46. > :05:50.a little later than expected -- trickster. Hello. Hello, it's the
:05:50. > :05:55.electrician. Hiya. You all right? Fine, thank
:05:55. > :06:01.you. Sorry I kept you waiting. dear, Carla's fallen at the first
:06:01. > :06:07.hurdle and not asked to see any proof of identity. That's the
:06:07. > :06:13.kitchen. Fuse box. Do you want a bit of light on the subject. Do you
:06:13. > :06:16.want it on the other side? I'll get the ladder and we'll flip it round.
:06:16. > :06:24.So Roger is in and full of the joys of spring.
:06:24. > :06:27.Every house you go in, they have televisions on. Meanwhile, Roger's
:06:27. > :06:33.smoothie apprentice is telling Carla all about his weekend plans.
:06:33. > :06:42.It's a crazy place on a Saturday night. Belly top and shorts...
:06:42. > :06:46.exactly. Can't f can't believe it. Struggle
:06:46. > :06:50.up the stairs. Should have sent your apprentice. He's too busy
:06:50. > :06:54.using the tried and tested technique of gaining Carla's
:06:54. > :07:00.confidence. Luke. I don't want to trouble you, but any chance you
:07:00. > :07:05.could give me a hand. Sorry. I was just chatting. You're a nightmare.
:07:05. > :07:14.When I do it, Luke, it's called chatting up, when you do it it's
:07:14. > :07:20.called harassment, all right. soon before he springs trick one?
:07:20. > :07:26.There is a bit of a smell. I'm not being rude, but do you mind... Can
:07:26. > :07:31.I trouble you for a cup of tea? Nice cup of tea and nice
:07:31. > :07:35.distraction technique. Roger's cue to scarper and get what he needs
:07:35. > :07:44.for his next trick while Luke keeps Carla busy. You stay there. I've
:07:44. > :07:48.done all the heavy lifting. right. I've had a look, identified
:07:48. > :07:51.the colour of the wire inside the fuse box which is very important
:07:51. > :07:57.because I don't want to put the wrong colour wire in. Now I'm going
:07:57. > :08:02.to burn a bit of kainl up, insert that into the fuse box and show
:08:02. > :08:05.them the terrible result -- bit of cable. This trick is common. Conmen
:08:05. > :08:08.will create convincing props which they can plant at the scene. They
:08:08. > :08:13.can use them to invent problems where none exist, or to take a
:08:13. > :08:19.minor problem and make it seem more serious.
:08:19. > :08:25.The bigger the issue, the more they can charge to fix it, but Carla's
:08:25. > :08:31.only expecting to pay �100. We are ready to go. Burnt the cable. Wish
:08:31. > :08:34.me luck. It's nearly 5.20 and Roger has his second trick ready to roll.
:08:34. > :08:40.He's never certain how they'll unfold, but this one looks pretty
:08:40. > :08:47.devious to me. Press this button on the top one. OK, if you press it.
:08:47. > :08:52.He's answering the door as well now. All right Roger: You've moved in,
:08:52. > :08:57.you're answering the door now. We have a cup of tea? Lovely. He says
:08:57. > :09:02.if you made it or something. that a bit strong? Love strong tea.
:09:02. > :09:06.Anything you can stand a spoon up in. Nice cup of tea by the way.
:09:06. > :09:11.Very good. I mentioned it first, not you, oh, yes, a very nice cup
:09:11. > :09:15.of tea. Steady on! With great care, Roger places the burnt cable inside
:09:15. > :09:19.the fuse box and Carla has no idea it's happening.
:09:19. > :09:22.Right. What is going on here, is you're get ago spike across the
:09:22. > :09:29.power supply. Do you want to have a look at this or not? Interested in
:09:29. > :09:32.electrics? No. A bit of burnt cable up here. OK. It's quite honestly I
:09:32. > :09:38.should test every single one of the circuits, so I'll stick a box on it
:09:38. > :09:46.which will iron out the spikes, yes. If I don't do that then it could
:09:46. > :09:51.catch fire. So, if I do it now, I'll give you a nice discount
:09:51. > :09:59.because you are a nice person making nice tea. How much? �230.
:09:59. > :10:04.All in hrbgs including the box. real? Yes, for real. -- all in,
:10:05. > :10:09.including the box. For real, Roger. So, how will Carla handle this
:10:09. > :10:15.shocker? I'm sure that's OK. Oh, my God, I don't know... How will she
:10:15. > :10:20.react when she realises there's been a con. Really? Where's my
:10:20. > :10:25.money?! Where's my money?! Now, if Roger's fuse box antics
:10:25. > :10:29.seem hard to believe, they pail in comparison to the dangerous tricks
:10:29. > :10:31.played by real rogue electricians. In the next astonishing story from
:10:31. > :10:37.the West Midlands, the law caught up with a conman involved before
:10:37. > :10:42.his lethal wiring caused a serious accident.
:10:42. > :10:46.Wolverhampton is the home of a reck blst tradesman called Lee Norton.
:10:46. > :10:51.Over a decade he's picked up two prison sentences for the shocking
:10:51. > :10:57.tricks he's played on local home owners as Trading Standards officer
:10:57. > :11:00.Peter value vert recalls. Calvert. This trader is a serial
:11:00. > :11:04.offender. He's probably put the lives of up to 25 people at risk.
:11:04. > :11:08.The work was shoddy, people lost a lot of money and were lucky to
:11:08. > :11:13.escape without being injured. Lee Norton was notorious for using
:11:13. > :11:18.the gift of the gab to mislead his victims. Among them was mother of
:11:18. > :11:22.four Sharon Robinson. He put my kids in danger, ripped me
:11:22. > :11:27.off. I'm still so angry with him, I could kill him.
:11:27. > :11:32.In 2007, Sharon bought a new home for her family in Wolverhampton.
:11:32. > :11:37.She had big plans for creating a dream home and was excited about
:11:37. > :11:42.moving in, though she knew the house would need some renovation.
:11:42. > :11:47.bought the house in October 2007. It needed completely renovating,
:11:47. > :11:52.include ago rewire. I wanted it to be done as soon as possible.
:11:52. > :11:56.Someone recommended the electrician to me and I thought OK, he's
:11:56. > :12:00.available, he can do the work. You'd think that a personal
:12:00. > :12:05.recommendation would be a good way of finding a reliable tradesman,
:12:05. > :12:09.but Sharon was unlikely given Lee Norton's contact details.
:12:09. > :12:12.Little did she know that he wasn't a trained electrician, nor approved
:12:13. > :12:18.by any trades organisation. He concealed this from his clients
:12:18. > :12:24.and that was always his first dirty trick. My first impression of this
:12:24. > :12:28.electrician was that he had an attitude, he was ah gants --
:12:28. > :12:32.arrogant, very smarmy and I wouldn't like bumping into him on a
:12:32. > :12:36.dark alley. The kids' impression was literally the same my daughter
:12:36. > :12:39.didn't want him doing the work, but we needed it done as soon as
:12:39. > :12:43.possible and he was the electrician that was available. On the first
:12:43. > :12:47.meeting, we went through every room rbgs decided how many plug sockets,
:12:47. > :12:53.where the light switches were going and everything. Need add complete
:12:53. > :12:59.rewire. He just said he could do it stpraigt away and it would cost
:12:59. > :13:03.�2,000. -- straightaway. When he started, I didn't question any
:13:03. > :13:07.of his work, he said he was qualified. He promised I'd have a
:13:07. > :13:14.certificate at the end of it. I know nothing about electrics, so I
:13:14. > :13:17.just left him to carry on. Norton had caught out Sharon with
:13:17. > :13:20.another classic trick as he blinded her with science about what he
:13:20. > :13:24.could do. And she let him continue, hoping that family life would
:13:24. > :13:29.return to normal. Just as it cloocked like the work
:13:29. > :13:34.was coming to an end, he hit Sharon with another trick changing the
:13:34. > :13:38.goalposts of the work they'd agreed. Towards the end of the job being
:13:38. > :13:41.finished, he said he he wouldn't be back for a couple of days because
:13:41. > :13:45.he was going on holiday to New York and he needed the payment before he
:13:45. > :13:51.went for the work and that he'd be back when he came back from holiday
:13:51. > :13:54.to finish the work. So I paid him the �2,000, he gave me an
:13:55. > :13:58.electrical certificate which, at the time, I did think it was a
:13:59. > :14:03.genuine electrical certificate. there was no end to Norton's tricks.
:14:03. > :14:06.The certificate he gave Sharon was a forgery.
:14:06. > :14:10.After he'd came back off holiday because he was going for about four
:14:10. > :14:14.days I think, he didn't turn up to finish what he was supposed to
:14:14. > :14:17.finish and so I phoned him on numerous occasions and he never got
:14:17. > :14:21.back to me. When he wasn't returning my calls,
:14:22. > :14:28.I was getting really angry. person you are calling is unable to
:14:28. > :14:31.take your call... I thought, what can I do. So I got in touch with
:14:31. > :14:36.Trading Standards. At this point, Sharon just wanted
:14:36. > :14:40.the job finished for the �2,500 she'd agreed. When Trading
:14:40. > :14:44.Standards came to her aid, they discovered that Norton had done far
:14:44. > :14:49.more than rip her off, he'd spent the previous two weeks gradually
:14:49. > :14:58.turning her dream home into a death trap. Peter Calvert's come back to
:14:58. > :15:02.You can see the original boiler location. The wire that goes up
:15:02. > :15:06.into the ceiling, when the electrician pulled it, that came
:15:06. > :15:11.down. And that was live. It was live under my daughter's bed. She
:15:11. > :15:16.was 12 at the time. That is not good. You could have had a fire up
:15:16. > :15:20.there. Yeah, could have had a fire any time. Loose livewires weren't
:15:20. > :15:26.the only problem. The fuse box situated in the corner of the
:15:26. > :15:30.dining room was left uncovered. Norton's dangerous work could have
:15:30. > :15:36.proved fatal. There is a gap there where there should be four fuses.
:15:36. > :15:41.That is live. That's straight to the mains out through the wall.
:15:41. > :15:46.one of the children had of touched it, they would have had no chance.
:15:46. > :15:55.They could have been electrocuted. There was still more shocking news
:15:55. > :16:02.for mum, Sharon. Can you tell me what happened upstairs with the
:16:02. > :16:05.rewiring? Basically, they put the wires through joists. Then squashed
:16:05. > :16:10.the floorboards down. If you walk on that over time, you will start
:16:10. > :16:15.to get the cable heating up and it could have caused a fire. This was
:16:15. > :16:23.probably the worst job we had ever seen from this trader. The house
:16:23. > :16:26.was basically a deathtrap with lots of live wires left, lack of earth
:16:26. > :16:31.circuits and a danger that the wiring would overheat and cause a
:16:31. > :16:34.fire. As part of their case against Lee Norton, Peter's team at
:16:35. > :16:41.Wolverhampton Trading Standards sent in a surveyor to check the
:16:41. > :16:46.work at Sharon's home. The property had not been rewired in any valid
:16:46. > :16:50.sense of the word, installation was unsafe. The main dangers were risk
:16:50. > :16:55.of electric shock from unearthed sockets and lighting points and a
:16:55. > :16:59.risk of fire from overheating of cables. Both pose a threat to human
:16:59. > :17:06.life. The case was conclusive and Sharon was one of three victims
:17:06. > :17:10.whose case led to Lee Norton's conviction in 2009. We prosecuted
:17:10. > :17:13.for Trade Descriptions Act offences and one charge of fraud. He was
:17:13. > :17:18.imprisoned by the Crown Court for two years. He served 12 months
:17:18. > :17:22.inside and then had a year's licence. Unfortunately, offended on
:17:22. > :17:27.licence and got recalled for a month. After that, we had further
:17:27. > :17:29.complaints about unsafe electrical work and this time we went for an
:17:29. > :17:33.enforcement order under the Enterprise Act which bans him from
:17:33. > :17:39.carrying out shoddy work in the future. We haven't heard anything
:17:39. > :17:44.from him since. Sharon considers herself very lucky to have escaped
:17:44. > :17:49.without injury to herself or her children. But Norton has turned her
:17:49. > :17:54.life upside-down and left her seriously out-of-pocket. A total of
:17:54. > :17:59.�4,500 in all. Since Lee Norton's been here, I have had to have a lot
:17:59. > :18:03.more work done than originally needed doing. Because of the danger
:18:03. > :18:08.left, it has had to be rewired again. I have had to sell my car to
:18:08. > :18:12.fund it. Because it left me out-of- pocket by ripping me off. Worrying
:18:13. > :18:19.times for Sharon, but she has taken something from her traumatic
:18:19. > :18:23.experience. Not all electricians were available. Somebody did say to
:18:23. > :18:31.me that you learn later. The ones that are very busy are the ones
:18:31. > :18:36.that you should employ. We have another extraordinary story later,
:18:36. > :18:43.the Derbyshire woman ripped off to the tune of almost �80,000 by a
:18:43. > :18:49.conman who was only supposed to fit a new fence. Everything that I had
:18:49. > :18:55.worked for has gone. He's ruined my life. Plus, in our quest to show
:18:55. > :19:01.you how not to be ripped off, Roger plays more devious tricks on a
:19:01. > :19:09.consumer in Bedfordshire. Look, look at all this. There's a fair
:19:09. > :19:13.amount of old gunge in there one way or another. First, time to find
:19:13. > :19:16.out what Carla Johnson in London makes of our cowboy. She is house-
:19:16. > :19:25.sitting for Charm who has told her that the fuse box needs some work
:19:25. > :19:29.and she is expecting it to cost �100 to fix. �230. For real? Yeah,
:19:29. > :19:35.for real. Roger has burnt cables and is placing props to make the
:19:35. > :19:40.job seem larger. Now he wants to charge more than drubl. OK, I have
:19:40. > :19:44.put the piece of burnt cable in there. -- double. I have told her
:19:44. > :19:48.the house could burn down. I need to put in this magic box which will
:19:48. > :19:52.smooth everything out and make everything OK. She's not that happy
:19:52. > :19:57.about that. She thinks that is a lot of money, �230. We might give
:19:57. > :19:59.her a bit of discount. Let's see how we go. As a loyal house-sitter,
:20:00. > :20:03.Carla understandably wants to check in with her friend, Charm, who
:20:03. > :20:09.asked her to keep an eye on Roger in the first place. Charm is
:20:09. > :20:19.waiting around the corner with our production team. You all right?
:20:19. > :20:20.
:20:20. > :20:25.Yeah. It's going to cost �230. my God. You are kidding me! What do
:20:25. > :20:28.they need to do? They have to put a box on to stop the spike in
:20:29. > :20:32.electricity. Tell him he has to do it. He can't leave the house
:20:32. > :20:40.without finishing that job. When they gave me a quote, they
:20:40. > :20:48.said it would be no more than �100. All right. All right, then. Bye.
:20:48. > :20:55.Bye. Bye. Some friend you are, Charm! So, Carla has �100 which
:20:55. > :21:00.Charm left but Roger wants �230. So her dilemma is where does the money
:21:00. > :21:04.come from? Her own pocket? I spoke to my friend. She said she spoke to
:21:04. > :21:12.your manager today, whoever it was, and he said it's not going to cost
:21:12. > :21:16.more than �100. He is an idiot. said it has to be sorted out.
:21:16. > :21:21.Otherwise it would be dangerous to leave it. I can do it for �100 cash
:21:21. > :21:26.but we will have to send an invoice for the rest of it. Yeah? That's -
:21:27. > :21:33.I'm sure that is OK. I don't know. Oh my God! Yeah. I would rather not
:21:33. > :21:37.invoice. Obviously, I have to put the 20% on top. The VAT, yeah?
:21:37. > :21:43.Carla is well and truly stuck here. Her friend Charm says the work must
:21:43. > :21:49.be done. Roger wants �100 now and the rest later plus VAT on top. The
:21:49. > :21:53.tradesman's insistence leaves her with very few options. She's only
:21:53. > :21:58.got �100. Mind you, �100, box with a piece of wire in it, there is
:21:58. > :22:03.nothing in it and we can be out of here. Nothing apart from tea bags!
:22:03. > :22:09.Easy money and with 40 minutes gone the third trick is ready to be
:22:09. > :22:16.sprung. I'm going to put this box in. Is it possible for you to leave
:22:16. > :22:19.a receipt? Yeah. One last-ditch -- in one last-ditch attempt to gain
:22:20. > :22:23.control, Carla demands a receipt. Roger is more than willing to
:22:23. > :22:29.oblige. His receipts are fake and therefore untraceable. It is going
:22:29. > :22:33.to be back on. There it is, trick three. Roger's magic power
:22:33. > :22:37.regulator box slots into place. Before he collects his �100 there
:22:37. > :22:41.is time for one extra con. Can he turn Carla's friendship with Charm
:22:41. > :22:45.to his advantage? How good a friend are you? If I had a friend, if
:22:45. > :22:50.anybody was my friend, they would give their last penny for me.
:22:50. > :22:54.don't have a last penny. OK. really won't budge. Roger's played
:22:54. > :23:01.the three tricks he planned in record time. Now it is time to
:23:01. > :23:06.collect the cash and go. �100? OK. That's all right. That's fine.
:23:06. > :23:09.That's lovely. OK. �100 cash for just one hour's work. Doing
:23:09. > :23:18.nothing! Roger's picked up around the same rate as a commercial pilot
:23:18. > :23:28.or a trainee solicitor. What's more, he will invoice for another �130.
:23:28. > :23:31.
:23:31. > :23:34.Today, Carla Johnson did her friend a favour. She house-sat while a
:23:34. > :23:39.dodgy tradesman came to fit the fuse box. Roger's three tricks
:23:39. > :23:47.included fitting a useless power box, full of tea bags, and he
:23:47. > :23:54.walked away with �100. With Roger around the corner, it is time for
:23:54. > :23:59.our producer to step in and reveal the truth to Carla. We are doing
:24:00. > :24:04.some investigating in the area about people who are doing jobs
:24:04. > :24:08.that aren't very satisfactory, basically. OK. And who were coming
:24:08. > :24:16.in asking for quite a lot of money but not doing the work. That just
:24:16. > :24:26.happened to me. They just left. have been a victim of a scam.
:24:26. > :24:29.
:24:29. > :24:34.LAUGHTER Really?! Why you got my dressing gown on? I was getting in
:24:34. > :24:38.the shower! I just believed everything that he was saying. I
:24:38. > :24:45.thought they were a couple of nice guys. They obviously knew what they
:24:45. > :24:48.were talking about. I let them get on with it. Where's my money?!
:24:48. > :24:53.can't believe this has happened. You never think it would happen to
:24:53. > :24:59.you and it has. This is a filter box. I put these in because they
:24:59. > :25:03.filter out the electricity... God! I always find tea bags - you
:25:03. > :25:07.can use filter coffee. I find tea bags better. Definitely learnt
:25:07. > :25:14.something. I would ask for a bit more information at the door first
:25:14. > :25:19.of all. Maybe ID badges. What company they are from. Yep. And
:25:19. > :25:26.what was the price given to you before we were half-way through the
:25:26. > :25:31.job? Thank you. I will have a better night out now! LAUGHTER
:25:31. > :25:36.Thanks for being such a great sport, Carla. What can we learn from her
:25:36. > :25:42.experience? First, always get at least three written quotes for a
:25:42. > :25:47.job. Second, do your best to check tradesmen's credentials. Don't ever
:25:47. > :25:56.be talked into accepting work on the spot. If a tradesman is pushing
:25:56. > :26:02.you like that, seriously, think twice. We are all frightened of
:26:02. > :26:06.shifty people knocking on our door. More than half of all bogus caller
:26:06. > :26:14.crimes in the UK are carried out by criminals who pretend to be from
:26:14. > :26:18.the water company. So please check their ID. Roger is up to more
:26:18. > :26:23.tricks in Bedfordshire. He's been called in by Harrison Goode who
:26:23. > :26:27.would like to set up his dad, Colin, a quality assessor for a car
:26:27. > :26:31.manufacturer. If they do come round, like electricians, he will always
:26:31. > :26:36.be there looking over their shoulder, seeing what is going on.
:26:36. > :26:42.He doesn't let them do their own thing. He likes to keep an eye on
:26:42. > :26:45.them. Mmm, Colin could be Roger's toughest challenge yet. Harrison's
:26:45. > :26:50.parents are due back from their holiday this very day. He's already
:26:50. > :26:53.told them a tall story about the kitchen sink being blocked and he's
:26:53. > :27:00.arranged for a plumbing friend of their neighbour to come around. I
:27:00. > :27:03.wonder how they will take to the sight of Roger in their kitchen.
:27:03. > :27:07.Our cowboy is keeping things simple. He will create evidence of a
:27:07. > :27:11.blockage using a big ball of grease. His second trick will be to
:27:11. > :27:16.overcharge Colin for cleaning it out. Finally, he will try to boost
:27:17. > :27:21.his income by selling Colin some pipe linings which he doesn't need.
:27:21. > :27:29.A callout charge for a plumber costs �50 so if Roger can make
:27:29. > :27:34.another �275 on top, it will be a massive profit. Roger and Luke pull
:27:34. > :27:37.up just after 2.00. Colin and Angela are only just in from the
:27:37. > :27:43.airport. This is the last thing they need. We got the right house?
:27:43. > :27:49.You come to look at the drain? I was away. My boys were here and
:27:49. > :27:56.said it backed up. Did you come last time? Yeah. I have just come
:27:56. > :28:02.home. It's managed to go away. It's running. Last time it was full up.
:28:02. > :28:06.OK. Could I have a quick look? through. Sure? Yeah. Colin seems
:28:06. > :28:12.very trusting. If it was me, I would be demanding to see their
:28:12. > :28:21.credentials, but no it is straight to the conservatory to assess the
:28:21. > :28:27.drainage pipes. I will run the old plunger down to see what happens.
:28:27. > :28:33.OK, we have had a look at the drain. It looks fairly OK. Nice fella. We
:28:33. > :28:38.will have a quick look to see if we can discover a big grease ball in
:28:38. > :28:41.his gully! We will add an ingredient to this. Makes it small
:28:41. > :28:46.like a washing machine. But will Roger be able to carry out his
:28:46. > :28:53.trick if Colin is going to watch his every move? First, he is going
:28:53. > :28:57.to lie and say that there is still a blockage. It is backing up a bit.
:28:57. > :29:07.Colin isn't being drawn in and he is watching Roger like a hawk.
:29:07. > :29:17.
:29:17. > :29:23.Could he be suspicious about our I see. Oh I see what you are saying
:29:23. > :29:30.to me now. I understand. It's not been a problem really before.
:29:30. > :29:35.understand what you are saying. Blimey. Want me to get a new one?
:29:35. > :29:39.You don't miss a trick. I bet you will try and overcharge him for
:29:39. > :29:43.that, too! I have some good fixing tape for that. Normally I pull that
:29:43. > :29:46.out, take it in the garden and give it a wash. It must be frustrating
:29:47. > :29:56.for Roger to deal with such a capable consumer. He will have to
:29:57. > :30:04.
:30:04. > :30:09.think of a rouse to give him time By getting Colin involved, Roger's
:30:09. > :30:19.managed to distract him from what he's doing. What line of business
:30:19. > :30:22.
:30:22. > :30:28.do you work in? Yes, good old Luke, minutes to carry out his dirty
:30:28. > :30:35.trick. Unbelievable. But, it's not too long before Colin comes out to
:30:35. > :30:42.check what Roger's up to. Did you say you got no blockage at all with
:30:42. > :30:46.this one? None at all. It's all right is it? Oh, look. Loads in
:30:46. > :30:49.there. Do you see all that stuff coming out. That's all caked up in
:30:49. > :30:52.washing powder. Well done, Roger. At last, looks as if you have
:30:52. > :30:57.managed to get one over on Colin after all.
:30:57. > :31:03.How will Colin react though when Roger presents his bill.
:31:03. > :31:08.That's all I've got or nothing at all. And will our cow bicep Colin's
:31:08. > :31:18.ultimatum? You're a tough fella, I'm not going to start a punch-up
:31:18. > :31:19.
:31:19. > :31:24.with you. -- cowboy. If conmen show up on
:31:24. > :31:29.your doorstep, it usually leads to mayhem. The rogue here though got
:31:29. > :31:34.his just desserts. The Derbyshire Dales seem far
:31:34. > :31:38.removed from the urban hunting grounds of double crossing
:31:38. > :31:43.tradesmen. But this countryside plays a key role in the dirty
:31:43. > :31:47.tricks by this Midlands rogue who got �200,000 before Derbyshire
:31:47. > :31:52.police caught up with him. It was DC Steven Fuller who finally felt
:31:52. > :31:57.his collar. We'd engage people who he'd known
:31:57. > :32:02.in the past, he'd often do landscaping work for them, he'd
:32:02. > :32:08.gain their confidence and he'd rip them off. Farrell's first trick,
:32:08. > :32:15.always to do a good job and use that as a means of returning to
:32:15. > :32:21.reek havoc later. One of his victims has agreed to share her
:32:21. > :32:27.story with us. She was traumatised so much that she wanted us to
:32:27. > :32:32.shield her. I was quite happy, paid him in cash and didn't expect to
:32:32. > :32:37.ever see him again. �300 for a job well done. Two years later, he came
:32:37. > :32:41.back and Denise agreed to pay him for a new driveway, but she wanted
:32:41. > :32:44.him to wait until he came out of hospital for an operation. Then she
:32:44. > :32:49.contracted MRSA and even as she battled serious illness, she found
:32:49. > :32:54.heshes on the receiving end of his dirty tricks -- she found herself.
:32:54. > :33:00.Started sending me a lot of texts, approximately seven a day. If I
:33:00. > :33:04.didn't respond to them, he'd have a text temper tantrum.
:33:04. > :33:09.O'Farrell said he wanted to runner rands for Denise, but while he kept
:33:09. > :33:15.hundred his charade of concern, he was planning to spring his most
:33:15. > :33:20.audacious trick -- run er rands. said he had a once in a lifetime
:33:20. > :33:24.opportunity to be able to purchase a small piece of land which he
:33:24. > :33:26.could develop. The idea he was keen to portray was that the land was a
:33:27. > :33:30.development opportunity, it was land that at the moment was vacant
:33:30. > :33:34.and there would be a profit available for the victims. They
:33:34. > :33:37.would ask him if they could come with him to look at the land and
:33:37. > :33:43.the developments, but he'd always stall them for find a reason why
:33:43. > :33:51.they couldn't two with him. That's because the land didn't
:33:52. > :33:56.exist. But O' Farrell tricked his victims with forged bank statements,
:33:56. > :34:02.to convince people like Denise to come up with the money. I gave him
:34:02. > :34:06.�3,000 and I thought, I'll go for this, it's risky, but then so
:34:06. > :34:10.investing in the stock market. whole thing was bogus. We have
:34:10. > :34:15.never found any evidence of this development project and never
:34:15. > :34:20.managed to identify the area that O' Farrell intended to develop.
:34:20. > :34:24.Denise had been completely taken in by his caring nature and
:34:24. > :34:27.persistency. It's only when he played his final and most
:34:27. > :34:31.astonishing trick that Denise suspected something might be amiss.
:34:31. > :34:35.He started saying he was falling in love with me and how did I feel
:34:35. > :34:40.about it, saying that he wanted to buy a house, maybe for him and me,
:34:40. > :34:46.and I started getting quite alarmed by that because I thought it was a
:34:46. > :34:51.very bizarre thing for a 40-year- old man toe be doing to -- man do
:34:51. > :34:57.be doing to a woman of my age. I thought he was mentally ill. Even
:34:57. > :35:01.though she doubted him, she still ended up paying him �78,600 for his
:35:01. > :35:05.bogus land scheme. She only suspected her error when he became
:35:05. > :35:11.evasive and demanded even more money.
:35:11. > :35:16.I started asking for a meeting with his solicitor because I'd had text
:35:16. > :35:20.messages from his solicitor when actually they were text messages
:35:20. > :35:24.from O' Farrell because he didn't have a solicitor, obviously. He
:35:24. > :35:28.then started talking about how he was being declared bankrupt and
:35:28. > :35:34.asking me to lend him more money to stave off the bankruptcy.
:35:34. > :35:38.What's more, while running rings around Denise, O' Farrell was
:35:38. > :35:43.playing the same trick on 20 other people. Amazingly, he pocketed more
:35:43. > :35:49.than �200,000 in the course of just six months. It wasn't long before
:35:49. > :35:53.the victims started complaining to Derbyshire Police. To be able to
:35:53. > :35:55.carry off a fraud like this over a prolonged period of time, to be
:35:55. > :35:59.able to engage each of the different victims, to be automobile
:35:59. > :36:06.to remember all the lies he told everybody, you needed a very good
:36:06. > :36:10.memory to be able to do that. O' Farrell was convicted February
:36:10. > :36:14.2011 of fraud and sentenced to six years eight months. Unfortunately
:36:14. > :36:16.for the victims who simply wanted new fences and driveways, it's
:36:16. > :36:23.unlikely they'll see their money again.
:36:23. > :36:27.There's no chance of getting any compensation from anywhere and I
:36:27. > :36:31.had worked extremely hard throughout my life. The money's
:36:31. > :36:36.gone. He's absolutely ruined my life. Denise regrets not being more
:36:36. > :36:39.vigilant and wishes she tried harder to check his background and
:36:39. > :36:43.gather evidence of his land scheme to investigate.
:36:43. > :36:47.He'd always took the documents away with him and kept them very firmly
:36:47. > :36:52.in his hands. I saw the building plans, the letter from the bank and
:36:52. > :36:55.they were the only ones I actually saw.
:36:55. > :37:00.Anybody can fall victim to fraud. If it does happen, then that person
:37:00. > :37:05.shouldn't feel ashamed because we've done nothing wrong. We are
:37:05. > :37:10.the victims. Our thanks to Denise for sharing
:37:10. > :37:18.that and remember, it's always gost use a written contract with
:37:18. > :37:23.tradesmen as it will offer you protection if anything wrotes wrong.
:37:23. > :37:30.What about Roger? He's been called in by Roger's son Harrison using
:37:30. > :37:35.the excuse that the sink was blocked. Roger's out of his sight.
:37:35. > :37:40.What line of business do you work in? I work at... Without a timely
:37:40. > :37:46.distraction from Luke, he wouldn't have been able to plant his prop
:37:46. > :37:51.blockage. Oh, here you are, look. With the gunk in place, Roger has
:37:51. > :37:56.dragged it out in front of Colin as evidence to justify his visit and
:37:56. > :38:06.of course his fee. Look at all this, look. A fair
:38:06. > :38:11.amount of gunge in there really, one way or another. Oh, dear.
:38:11. > :38:19.Roger's efforts appear to have been in vain. Will he have any more luck
:38:19. > :38:23.trying another trick here? Getting Colin to go for a bigger job.
:38:23. > :38:30.don't think it needs relining or anything like that? It's fine. You
:38:30. > :38:40.want to save your money. Colin is having none of it and is ewhen even
:38:40. > :38:44.
:38:44. > :38:49.questioning the need for his call Yeah. That's all right. So
:38:49. > :38:55.basically you are saying you didn't really want me in the first place.
:38:55. > :38:59.You got saddled with me? When I come home and Jake wasn't here, the
:38:59. > :39:03.drain's not blocked, I didn't have a contact number or anything.
:39:03. > :39:09.would have said don't bother and we could have gone on to the next job.
:39:09. > :39:13.Fairness. Yes. All right. OK. happy just to leave it.
:39:13. > :39:22.How will he react to the money Roger wants for this non-existent
:39:22. > :39:32.job? We'll call it the call out for the job, yes, which is �175 cash.
:39:32. > :39:36.
:39:36. > :39:41.I said to you at the door, it's fine, you wanted to come in and
:39:41. > :39:45.have a look. We were here by then. Today, Colin let a tricky tradesman
:39:45. > :39:51.into his house, he kept a close watch on everything Roger did. But
:39:51. > :39:55.our rogue still planted a fake grease ball in the drain. Now he's
:39:55. > :40:05.demanding �175 cash for the call out fee. Colin's been a very on the
:40:05. > :40:10.
:40:10. > :40:15.So, not exactly the �175 Roger was hoping for. It's up to you. Take it
:40:15. > :40:18.and that's it. How about splitting the difference, �100? Honestly,
:40:18. > :40:24.that's all I've got or nothing at all because I wasn't willing to let
:40:24. > :40:28.you in the door to start with, but you insisted so take your money.
:40:28. > :40:33.you're a tough fella. I'd rather get some more money out of you but
:40:33. > :40:36.I'm not going to start a punch-up with you. You're an ice hockey guy
:40:36. > :40:39.so you look a bit better built than me. We were hoping it might be a
:40:39. > :40:44.bigger job. We always live in hope. Fair enough, I don't want to fall
:40:44. > :40:49.out with you, mate, so I'll just have to take that and cry, really.
:40:49. > :40:53.We'll go on to our next job, better get on with it and not waste any
:40:53. > :40:59.more time. Fair enough mate, cheers. This consumer saw through all the
:40:59. > :41:04.tricks and refused to budge an inch. A great example to us all. Well
:41:04. > :41:14.built. A big lad. With Roger off site, it's time for our producer to
:41:14. > :41:17.
:41:17. > :41:20.visit Colin and put him in the picture about dirty tricks. Sorry
:41:20. > :41:25.to bother you. We have been chatting to some of your neighbours
:41:25. > :41:29.in the street about the fact that whether they've had any experiences
:41:29. > :41:32.with people like painters, electricians, plumbers. Is that
:41:32. > :41:37.relevant to you? I don't know whether this is psychic because I
:41:37. > :41:41.just had a couple of gentlemen looking at my plumbing just about
:41:41. > :41:46.two minutes ago. I told him to leave. I knew there was something
:41:46. > :41:51.suspicious from the start, the way he was acting and trying to create
:41:51. > :41:59.a job. I'm not stupid. Let's see how Colin reacts to the
:41:59. > :42:04.news his son Harrison set him up. Has he?! Are you serious, hey
:42:04. > :42:08.reason son? You are out of order. I knew there was a scam going on
:42:08. > :42:13.about trying to drag out the time to make the job last a lot longer
:42:13. > :42:21.than it should have done. How could you do that to me?! Whatever he was
:42:21. > :42:26.doing, it seemed to be taking longer, I could have done it
:42:26. > :42:30.quicker myself. Why did you give me so little money. Were you in on
:42:31. > :42:34.this as well? Oh, my days! Make sure you know what they are going
:42:34. > :42:37.to be looking at and what the charges will be before they get in
:42:37. > :42:41.the door. If you are phoning them, make sure you understand that at
:42:41. > :42:45.the start of the conversation. not going to charge you for the
:42:45. > :42:49.pipe because you said to me, don't do it, I'll do it myself so fair
:42:49. > :42:55.enough. I tried to badger you into the job and you wouldn't have it.
:42:55. > :42:58.No. You kept trying to create work and I thought, what's he doing,
:42:58. > :43:02.told him there was nothing wrong, happy to fix it myself. I think I'm
:43:02. > :43:05.losing my charm. Always watch the people doing the work and if you
:43:05. > :43:09.don't think they're doing anything, say to them, sometimes you know
:43:09. > :43:13.when things aren't right. Colin, you're a real star. You can