Rogue traders did shoddy work for OAPs and overcharged

ROGUE-BUILDER brothers took advantage of elderly men by demanding three times as much money as quoted for shoddy jobs and became threatening when they refused to pay.

Victims were unable to contact the brothers after they left jobs unfinished and they used a false address, where they claimed their business was registered.

Martin Mongan, 22, and Bernard Mongan, 23, cold-called the victims at their respective homes in Cowbridge in the Vale of Glamorgan in June 2020 after they had travelled from their home in Bedfordshire.

They offered to do work on their first victim’s roof and the second victim’s drive but failed to complete the jobs and lied about the initial price they had agreed.

A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court heard the brothers were trading under the name Prestige Drive and Roofing Ltd, which was registered just two weeks before the first victim was targeted.

Prosecutor Tim Evans said the defendants and another knocked on the first victim’s door and told him they were doing work next door, which wasn’t true.

The victim asked for a quote to clean his roof and they agreed on a price of £300. But when the work started the victim was worried they would damage the roof and he was not happy with the quality of the work, with the roof left largely unclean and debris in the guttering.

He reluctantly paid the £300 but the Mongans claimed they had agreed on a price of £900.

They became verbally aggressive and the victim felt intimidated. He paid them another £100 and borrowed £300 from a friend.

They returned the next day, claiming the victim had only paid £300.

The victim took comments made by the brothers as a threat.

The second victim was visited by the Mongans, who asked if he wanted his drive cleaned, and he agreed a price of £150. Upon completing the work, they claimed the agreed price was £450. The victim felt threatened.

One of the defendants said he would “knock off £30” and the victim paid the remainder.

After the defendants had left, the victim discovered the drive was a mess and damage had been caused to his house and his garden.

The police were called and the defendants were spoken to. When the company was investigated, the London address it was registered to had no knowledge of the firm.

Both Martin and Bernard Mongan, of Slapton Road, Leighton Buzzard, later pleaded guilty to two counts of engaging in commercial practice which was aggressive.

In mitigation, Tabitha Walker for Martin Mongan, said her client was genuinely remorseful for his actions.

Archie McKay, for Bernard Mongan, said his client played a lesser role than his brother.

Judge Jeremy Jenkins sentenced the Mongans to nine months’ imprisonment each. They will each serve half of their sentence in custody before they are released on licence.