The Bristol Post published Bristol roofing scam went ‘spectacularly wrong’

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A LANDSCAPER who posed as a roofer to carry out 9,000 worth of shoddy work has been given a suspended jail term. Bill Buckley suffered in the recession and resorted to roofing to try to keep his family together, Bristol Crown Court heard.

But, due to his hopeless lack of ability and aggressive trading, he ended up in court after taking 9,300 from three customers for useless or unnecessary repairs.

In one case he was paid more than 4,000 to install a new garage roof but instead he demolished the garage and built a carport, which leaked rain and was too short for the car it was intended for.

Buckley, 45, of Whiteladies Road with a Clifton-based company, pleaded guilty to three offences under the Fraud Act 2006, and five under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.

The prosecution was brought by Bristol City Council Trading Standards staff after complaints were made about the trading practices of Buckley and his company JB Roofing, based at Triangle West.

Judge Michael Longman imposed a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years. He ordered Buckley to do 300 hours' unpaid work and be subject to a year's supervision.

The judge also made a five-year order banning Buckley from doing building work, including construction, maintenance and repair.

Judge Longman told him: "You pleaded guilty to eight offences, representing a course of behaviour whereby, working on people's homes, you used dishonest and unsavoury business practice. You have no skill as a roofer. You believed it might prove more lucrative during an economic downturn."

Buckley pleaded guilty to the fraudulent claim that he was a "specialist" in roofing.

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The Bristol Post published Bristol roofing scam went 'spectacularly wrong'