Crusader Return of cold-call rogue trader
COULD a convicted rogue trader be up to his old tricks again? Well the complaints streaming into Crusader about a certain Matt Cohen seem to indicate so. More than a dozen homeowners in northeast London and the Essex border have been telling us how they have been taken in recently by the seemingly affable and obliging builder and his company Crest Driveway Solutions Ltd.
As a consequence they have handed over tens of thousands of pounds, generally in cash, for jobs that were barely or never started.
One says he paid Cohen a £6,000 deposit in separate amounts but no work was done and just £250 refunded. “I’ve suffered significant financial loss and stress,” he added.
Another pointed out: “He is very pushy but sounds quite plausible first off. However his reliability and workmanship were appalling.”
A third recounted how he had also lost out but not as much as one elderly woman and a single mother he knew of who had little to spare and claim they too were scammed. A fourth couple told how they had paid almost £1,000 in order that Cohen could purchase the products required but then nothing more happened, just his pledges that he would eventually make good.
There was relief though for one person who was saved from handing over a deposit after a neighbour stepped in warning of the risks.
When all managed to get hold of Cohen to find out what was going on they say they were invariably treated to excuses with him saying he’d had problems and mishaps.
“We have been assured we will get our money back, even if he has to do it in lots,” we were told. “He comes across as if he is the victim, not us.”
But any full refunds look a long way off as searches on the county court judgments register show Cohen and his company owe in the region of £27,000.
What most upsets the families that we spoke to is how he has been able to repeat his past activities with such brazen ease. In April 2013 trading standards officers in West Sussex, where Cohen had been trading as M C Driveways, successfully prosecuted him.
Offences included failing to carry out work on drives under contracts that had been agreed in their homes and for which he had been paid.
In a familiar pattern some had had no work done, others merely some preparatory measures or minuscule part refunds.
Cohen was fined £2,500 and ordered to pay compensation of £1,900 and £3,000 in costs.
It also emerged that in 2010 and 2011 he had claimed his firm had been approved by the Federation of Master Builders, which it had not.
Undeterred by the sanctions on him, in July 2016 Cohen started Crest Driveway Solutions Ltd in Ilford, Essex, most frequently cold-calling.
But this firm is now under compulsory strike-off and is expected to be dissolved this month.
But because it is a limited company, Cohen escapes personal liability for any losses incurred by any customers contracted to the company. With cash payments there is no trace or comeback either.
In February this year he declared bankrupt.
Outraged customers say they have reported their experiences both to trading standards and the police via ActionFraud but have not heard further.
When we contacted Cohen he replied by email: “Due to financial difficulties I’ve had this year, things have built up to a level that have made my life quite unpleasant.
“I had every intention of completing the work or refunding the money.
“I have been in constent [sic] contact through this difficult period so I am surprised to receive this email.
“I’m not sure exactly when I can refund the full deposit but, as I said, have every intention of doing so even if it’s on a weekly basis of a realistic amount.” was