A fraudulent builder who left work unfinished or of poor quality and built one of the worst extensions any surveyor had ever seen has been found guilty and sentenced to three years in prison.
Barrie Parkin, aged 73, of no fixed address, was found guilty of participating in a fraudulent business operated by a sole proprietor following an investigation by Nottinghamshire County Council’s Trading Standards team and a trial at Nottingham Crown Court.
The court heard that between March 2014 and February 2019, Parkin carried out building work for a number of victims, including the construction of outbuildings, conservatories and an orangery, for which he grossly inflated quotes before completing the works to a poor standard.
Victims were often contacted by Parkin after recording their requirements on trading websites and after quoting for works he agreed a timescale and price without any formal contract outlining cancellation rights.
Prices for works were often too high and in a number of cases Parkin requested payments before the due date based on the payment plans he had set up. Once he received most of the said money, if not more, he would often not show up to complete the works and some victims reported that he became angry when challenged.
The court also heard that Parkin was supposed to tell the victims that he would obtain the necessary planning permission, but this never materialized, resulting in the victims completing the work without planning approval.
One victim was left with hanging electrical wires and an overflow pipe extending into the conservatory, which Parkin had originally estimated would take six weeks to build.
Ten months later the conservatory was still just a shell, and it was only after contacting the council that the victim realized work had taken place without planning approval.
In this case, expert evidence from a chartered surveyor concluded that the works requested should have cost approximately £8,000 but that Parkin had quoted £14,000 and added a number of additional costs.
Another victim was quoted £19,495 for an orangery she wanted built, which Parkin said would take eight weeks.
Sixteen weeks later, after becoming concerned about the poor quality of work carried out and increasing requests for early payment, the victim arranged for building inspectors to attend and was told that there were a number of defects and that the work of was good quality. bad quality. She then contacted Parkin requesting that the work be canceled and Parkin responded to this request by asking for an additional £4,000 to cancel.
The court also heard that in another case a surveyor had stated that an extension built by Parkin was ‘one of the worst he had ever seen and should be condemned’.
In this case, the value of the work carried out was estimated at around £5,000, despite the victims paying £20,591.23.
In other cases, Parkin left a house bare and open to the elements when building an extension and throwing stones from a driveway to the walls of a conservatory to mimic the pebble effect of the rest of the house.
Andrea Reeves, aged 57, and George Reeves, aged 68, from Sutton-In-Ashfield said: “When we met Barrie Parkin in 2016 he presented himself as a successful builder and showed us photos of work he claimed it was his, but this turned out to be a complete facade.
“We relied on Barrie Parkin and used all our savings to pay for him to build a new kitchen and bathroom extension, but the work was so poor that experts told us it needed to be demolished and rebuilt. In the midst of this ordeal, George was diagnosed with cancer. We had cramped, temporary bathroom and kitchen facilities, which made it extremely difficult to care for George and worries about repairs to our home added to the stress of his treatment.
“We had to wait until 2021 before we could afford to repair the damage caused by Barrie Parkin. It was horrible to experience this, and because of him our lives have stood still for the past eight years. We don’t want anyone else to experience what we have. Now with this verdict we can finally start living our lives again.”
Mark Walker, Interim Service Director for Place at Nottinghamshire County Council, said: “We would like to recognize the bravery of the victims in coming forward and working with our Trading Standards Team to support the investigation and legal proceedings.
“I would also like to acknowledge the work of the Trading Standards team as their ongoing investigation into the defendant has led to the emergence of three of the victims.
“In all these cases, work was not carried out to a high standard or remained incomplete, leaving victims to foot the bill to put things right. If you or someone you know has been in a similar situation, we encourage you to seek free advice and report it by contacting Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 0808 223 1133.