Householders believed they were tradesmen who could be trusted to carry out work on their property. But these rogue traders left innocent members of the public out of pocket.
In some cases they overcharged for a poor quality job or pressurised people into having work done which they didn't need. In one case a trader even stole cash from a house while working on a job.
These types of offence don't always get the stiffest punishments - but they can cause huge inconvenience, if not misery to the victims. That means there is a significant public interest in reporting on their cases - so potential customers are fully informed before parting with any cash.
