Kitchen trader in £9,500 fraud is sent to prison
AkITCHEN trader who defrauded customers out of nearly £10,000 has been jailed.
Paul Bottomley, of kingswood Road, Middleton, charged customers thousands for items such as granite work tops, cookers and washing machines, but failed to deliver the goods.
Other customers paid up vast sums of money for new kitchens, but they were found to be faulty or missing vital items.
In one case in 2015 an Oldham resident paid Bottomley more than £4,046 for granite kitchen work tops which never arrived.
Another victim paid more than £3,700 for the supply and fitting of a kitchen.
But the job was not completed and the victim was left without any cooking or washing facilities.
Bottomley, who also uses the name Paul Wright, had also applied to Companies House to strike off his firm Smart kitchens, based in Royton.
However, he continued to take sums of money from customers knowing the company was about to cease trading and he could not fulfil orders.
Trading Standards launched an investigation into Bottomley following 24 complaints from frustrated members of the public.
They discovered he also traded under various guises, including Oldham kitchens Limited, Cheaper kitchens, Pauls kitchens4U, Avour kitchens and bedrooms and Premier Glass Backs.
In May 2012 he was given an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for a year, after being found guilty of five similar fraud offences.
He was sentenced again on February 16 for defrauding four customers out of a total of £9.596.07.
Judge Angela Nield at Minshull Street Crown Court sentenced Bottomley to 20 months in prison.
He has also been disqualified from being a company director for nine years.
She added that this had been an appalling set of events and that Bottomley would have known and understood the impact his conduct would have had on the victims due to his previous conviction.
In Bottomley’s defence it was said he had savings of £2,100, which he intended to use to repay to his victims.
Coun Fida Hussain, Oldham Council’s cabinet member for environmental services, said: “Oldham Council’s Trading Standards department work hard to protect residents and to ensure a level playing field for legitimate traders.
“The sentence in this case reflects the severity of the fraudulent practices and also the impact that this had upon the consumers.
“The team will continue to investigate allegations of unfair trading practices and take action where necessary.”