Rogue trader jailed for stealing £200k from Norfolk residents
A builder who took more than £200,000 for building and home improvement work that he did not complete has been jailed for four years and four months, following a court case brought by Norfolk County Council’s Trading Standards Team.
As well as the custodial sentence handed down at Norwich Crown Court, Trading Standards have started confiscation proceedings with a view to trying to recover compensation for victims and investigation costs for Norfolk County Council. He has also been disqualified as a company director for ten years, and was given a criminal behaviour order for an indefinite period.
Complaints related to works booked by several customers across Norfolk between 2021 and 2024 and due to be carried out by James Morgan, who worked as a sole trader offering building and home improvement and maintenance services. His company was Prestige Home Improvement (East Anglia) Limited.
Cabinet Member for Communities and Partnerships at Norfolk County Council, Councillor Margaret Dewsbury, said: “Householders should be able to trust that when they hand over money for work, it will be completed. Builders should provide written details of the planned work and payment schedule and should not ask for substantial deposits upfront. We would ask residents to check out reviews and recommendations before employing a tradesperson and our Trusted Trader scheme provides peace of mind that a person carrying out work is reputable and reliable.”
One couple in Dereham lost £179,996 taken as payment for the construction of a residential extension which was never built.
After agreeing to carry out a conservatory installation, James Morgan received payment of £12,200 from another Dereham customer but failed to complete the work.
Another customer, in Diss, paid £7,250 to have a conservatory installed but the work was not done.
Home improvement work for a couple in Great Yarmouth, for which they had handed over £500 as a deposit, was not started.
A customer in Wymondham handed over £309 as an advance payment for home improvement works that were never started.
Another customer, in Long Stratton, paid £5,051 for home improvement works which were not done.
Works to repair guttering at a home in Norwich were not started despite the customer paying £87.50 upfront as payment.
In late 2022, James Morgan carried out some work to clean gutters for two customers and this was completed. He agreed to complete further works. This included roof repairs and painting at a cost of £1,965 for one customer, who made an advance payment of £1,290. The work was never completed and the money was not returned.
For the second customer, £230.50 was paid for some guttering work, which was completed. Mr Morgan then quoted £1,882.50 for some work to start a garage conversion and received an advance payment of £400. The work was not carried out.
In January 2023, James Morgan took an advance payment of £7,400 from a customer in Horsford. This was for supplying and fitting fascias, gutters and a patio door. The work was not done.
Long Stratton victim Katy Gould had a call to be told her father was suddenly very ill and drove 200 miles the night before the work was due to start in her garden. She said Mr Morgan said the work would be done and not to worry, but while she was away for a week as her father died he kept messaging and calling, aggressively asking for more money. He repeatedly told her that the work was progressing and she was pressured into sending more money for building materials for her garden project.
"When I returned nearly a week later, having paid more than £5,000, there were no building materials and no work had been started, other than a pile of soil on my drive. In the following month there were excuses after excuses as to why he couldn't come and I realised the work would not happen so I did not pay any more of the agreed £6,500. He repeatedly called telling me I had broken our contract, sent hundreds of WhatsApp messages and then sat outside my home in his van and it was very intimidating. Myself and my neighbour both had to call the police and I didn't feel safe in my own home. I didn't want to leave the house and had to keep the blinds shut."
Miss Gould, who is a single parent of a child with complex care needs, had wanted an outdoor space for her daughter to be able to enjoy but more than three years later she has not had the work done or received her money back.
In a previous hearing that court heard that James Morgan’s course of conduct was dishonest, and constituted the offence of theft. In September 2024, he pleaded guilty to 10 offences of theft, with a total value in excess of £200k.