Wigan dad's upset after losing more than £5k to rogue trader

Ian Doughty had been thinking of having improvements to his property on Church Lane in Lowton and got a quote from a plumber.

It would cost £1,600 to refit the bathroom and he wanted half of the money upfront.

Mr Doughty was reluctant to hand over the money, but agreed to transfer it to a bank account on April 20 when he was sent a copy of his driving licence as proof of his identity.

Work got under way, but it was not smooth sailing.

Mr Doughty said: “We found some problems with the bathroom so he asked for more money to do what we wanted him to do.”

The man suggested he also installed a combination boiler and after considering it, the couple agreed to go ahead and paid him for it.

But Mr Doughty, who has two children, said: “He sort of started making excuses why he couldn’t come round, like his kid was in A&E, he was sick one day, then he had to go to Scotland because his mum had cancer. There were lots and lots of excuses and I just couldn’t get him to come round. I pleaded with him to finish the job.

“He left us with no shower, no washing facilities or bathroom, the toilet he left leaking. He had taken our old boiler out and put the new boiler on the wall, but didn’t connect it to the gas so we had no heating, no hot water and no washing facilities and that’s still the case.”

The man blocked Mr Doughty’s messages and calls and did not return.

Mr Doughty, 57, had given him £5,800 for the work and will have to spend even more to have it all done properly. He has even set up an appeal to help raise the money.

He called the police, who informed him it was a civil matter and advised him to contact trading standards.

He was told to write to the trader, but it turned out he had not lived at the address on his driving licence for years. When he found his new address, he had left the night before, Mr Doughty said.

He has since learned the man was not Gas Safe-registered, as he stated, and left the family at risk for two weeks as a gas pipe was not sealed.

Mr Doughty hopes sharing his story will make other people more aware when employing traders.

He said: “I thought I was quite streetwise but obviously he is a professional. He brings you along. It’s my fault, but I should have got the work I paid him for.”

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