Suspended sentence for owner of building firm

A BUILDING and landscaping business owner said to have carried out “very poor quality” work or “very little or no work” for customers has been given a suspended prison sentence.

James Sibley, director of Sibley’s Solutions Ltd in Ammanford, was prosecuted by Carmarthenshire Council following an investigation by the trading standards team.

He pleaded guilty to offences under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 at Swansea Crown Court for five separate instances where he agreed to carry out building or landscaping work, for which he received a total of £34,290.77 from his victims.

According to Carmarthenshire council, where work was carried out it was of “very poor quality” and in some cases “very little or no work” was carried out despite the victims paying for Sibley’s company’s services.

The court sentenced Sibley to 16 weeks imprisonment suspended for 12 months, 100 hours un-paid work, and ordered him to pay £12,000 compensation to be distributed between the five victims.

Sibley has also been disqualified from being a company director for four years.

Councillor Aled Vaughan Owen, cabinet member with responsibility for trading standards, said: “James Sibley falsely claimed to be a professional tradesman and I’m pleased that our trading standards team have achieved a positive result for his victims.

“When hiring someone to do work in your home always be vigilant, do research before entering into any agreement and be cautious when paying money upfront. I would encourage anyone looking for a tradesperson to do work in their home to use The Buy With Confidence scheme to find a trading standards-approved trader.”