A 'cowboy' window company left trusting customers out of pocket by almost £100,000 - and often left their homes a 'mess' after poor-quality work.
A court heard how customers in the Beverley area in East Yorkshire were 'cold called' and tricked into thinking that they were eligible for government scrappage grants, HullLive reports. They were then put under pressure to pay large deposits that they never got back.
One woman was forced to pay thousands to the company when she was by her dying husband's bedside, the court was told. Another customer paid almost £20,000 but no windows or conservatory were ever fitted.
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Car dealer and restaurant owner Kamran Akram, 51, admitted 13 offences, involving the unauthorised use of a glass company's trade marks in advertising used in the Beverley area, unfair or aggressive practices towards customers and using misleading commercial practices. He originally denied the matters.
A judge said he was 'relentless in pursuing people for payment' as he handed him a suspended sentence. Stephen Grattage, prosecuting for East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said that Akram was the sole director of The Glass House (Yorkshire) Ltd, a company set up in November 2020 for the "manufacture of doors and windows of metal" and registered to Stanningley, Pudsey, West Yorkshire.
Complaints were received by the council's trading standards department about the company from December 2020 after customers in the Beverley area were cold called with aggressive, misleading and banned practices used.
There was pressure selling and misleading information about discounts, demanding large deposits, failing to cancel orders and return deposits, taking the full balance before completion of the work, not completing work and not doing work to a satisfactory standard.
The company claimed through its website and marketing that it used or was affiliated to Pilkington Glass, was affiliated to regulator Fensa, benefitted from Government grants, including a scrappage scheme that allowed reductions in price, and that all work was guaranteed.
In every case, customers had to make payments not to The Glass House (Yorkshire) Ltd but to unassociated companies controlled by Akram, all involved in car sales.
The victims
Individual customers who lost out included:
- A woman who paid £3,970 for windows but later discovered that her husband was dying in hospital so went to be with him. She tried to telephone to postpone the fitting but nobody answered. She received a telephone call to say that workmen were at the house and could not get in. She explained that she was with her dying husband and suggested that they leave the windows in the open garage but the full balance was demanded from her "or she would have to pay interest". She paid what was demanded but, after her husband's death, noticed that it was £1,000 more than was agreed. She got £1,000 back but the glass fitted was not what she wanted.
- Another woman paid £19,963 but no windows or conservatory were ever fitted.
- A man who was cold called and paid £8,500 after being told that there would be a £3,000 scrappage grant towards new windows and a new door. The windows fitted were not the design or brand agreed, the workmanship was untidy and masonry was chipped.
- A man who paid £1,250 as a deposit for windows and a back door. The payment went to a car company. The man cancelled the order but no refund was made.
- A neighbour of that man paid £4,250 to the car company for a deposit after being told that there was a £3,000 scrappage grant. He cancelled after seeing his neighbour's "messy" windows but did not receive a refund.
- Another man paid £1,250 after being cold called and offered a scrappage discount. He tried to cancel his order but received no call-back or refund.
- A woman paid a £4,000 deposit after being told about a £3,000 scrappage promotion. A salesman followed her home to take the deposit. She cancelled after seeing the "mess" of her neighbour's windows but she was called "rude" and received no refund.
- Another woman paid £7,525 for work but a "mess" was made and the poor workmanship was never rectified and missing door and window arches were never delivered or fitted.
- A woman paid £12,000 for a conservatory after being put under pressure that she would lose earlier money paid if she did not pay more. Only a dwarf wall was built and no further work was done, even though workmen left materials in the garden.
- Another woman paid a £3,500 deposit but, after cancelling her order, was told that she could not and did not receive any refund or windows.
- A man paid £3,650 as a deposit but received no windows.
- A couple paid £2,925 after being told about Government grants. They received a conservatory and windows but they were of such poor quality that they refused to pay the balance.
The police investigated and Akram told them that he set up the company as his restaurants had suffered during Covid. The registered office was found to be a car business. Trading standards continued an investigation.
"The trade marks had been used without permission," said Mr Grattage. The company was not Fensa-registered.
"It was a sophisticated offence overall," said Mr Grattage. The total losses suffered by customers was £98,890 but, after some refunds, the total outstanding was £37,347.
Allan Armbrister, mitigating, said that Akram got himself involved with a man who was known by the authorities to have been involved in similar operations in other areas in the past.
It was "clearly negligent" of Akram to get involved. "He thought he would earn some money from it," said Mr Armbrister.
"It went badly wrong and has got him into a lot of trouble. He has run companies in the past without any problems when he has had full control of them."
Akram "facilitated" others using his companies as an easy way to get some money. "He has only engaged in this for a relatively short period – about three months," said Mr Armbrister. "The individuals involved are going to be compensated."
Judge Mark Bury told Akram: "There were a number of disgruntled, to say the least, customers." Akram, a car dealer, became involved with another person and was told that all he had to do was provide a bank account, which he did.
"There came a time when you realised that you had been taken for a fool and you had been exploited," said Judge Bury.
"Your criminality is that you gave no real consideration to the quality and nature of the business. You allowed this man to conduct a cowboy business which has caused financial hardship and a lot of stress and upset to people who thought they were getting a good service, which they did not get."
Threats had been made to Akram and his family and that his vehicles at the car company would be burned.
"Eventually, you were able to extract yourself from this, having been involved nominally for about nine weeks," said Judge Bury. "You told me that you were thoroughly ashamed of the events that took place.
"The car company has already made some compensation. There are still customers of this company who have lost out and haven't been reimbursed.
"You were simply hoodwinked. You didn't make the inquiries that you should have made. You have been running a car company for many years without a problem."
Akram, of Woodhall Park Mount, Stanningley, Pudsey, was given an 18-month suspended prison sentence and was ordered to pay £37,347 compensation and £5,000 costs. He was not disqualified from being a company director.
After the hearing, Colin Briggs, trading standards manager at East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said: “Ackram used aggressive, misleading and banned sales tactics to persuade his victims to pay large sums of money for work that ended up either being sub-standard or not actually completed.
“He was relentless in pursuing people for payment and he still chased the money from one of his victims despite her being at the hospital bedside of her dying husband.
“I would urge anyone to think incredibly carefully about agreeing to buy services or agree to have work done by people cold-calling at their homes. If something seems to good to be true it generally is.”
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