Rogue builder brothers took advantage of elderly men by demanding three times as much money for shoddy jobs and became threatening when they refused to pay. Victims were unable to contact the brothers after they left jobs unfinished and were using a false address where they claimed their business was registered.
Martin Mongan, 22, and Bernard Mongan, 23, cold-called the victims at their respective homes in Cowbridge in June 2020 after they had travelled from their home in Bedfordshire. They offered to do work on their first victim's roof and the second victim's drive but failed to complete the jobs and lied about the initial price they had agreed.
A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court heard the brothers were trading under the name Prestige Drive and Roofing Ltd., which was registered just two weeks before the first victim was targeted. Prosecutor Tim Evans heard the defendants and another knocked on the first victim's door and told him they were doing work next door, which wasn't true.
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The victim asked for a quote to clean his roof and they agreed on a price of £300. But when the work started the victim was worried they would damage the roof and he was not happy with the quality of the work with the roof left largely unclean and debris clogging the guttering. He begrudgingly paid the £300 but the Mongans asked where the rest of the money and claimed they had agreed on a price of £900.
They became verbally aggressive and the victim felt intimidated. He paid them another £100 and borrowed £300 from a friend. They returned the next day claiming the victim had only paid £300. The victim took comments made by the brothers as a threat and was worried they would return and target his home and car.
The second victim was visited by the Mongans who asked if he wanted his drive cleaned and he agreed a price of £150. Upon completing the work they claimed the agreed price was £450. The victim felt threatened by their presence. One of the defendants said he would "knock off £30" and the victim paid the remainder. After the defendants had left the victim discovered the drive was a mess and damage had been caused to the front of his house and his garden.
The police were called and the defendants were spoken to. They said they were staying in Newport while working in south Wales. When the company was looked into the London address it was registered to had no knowledge of the company. Photos from the company's brochure and website had been taken from a different company.
The case was passed to Trading Standards who requested an interview with the brothers but they failed to attend. Both Martin and Bernard Mongan, of Slapton Road, Leighton Buzzard, later pleaded guilty to two counts of engaging in commercial practice which was aggressive.
In a victim personal statement the first victim said: "My dealings with them were confrontational throughout and verbally aggressive. I felt very threatened and intimidated by them. At the time of the incident and several months post-incident we were worried those involved would pay us an unwelcome visit and target our property. Me and my wife felt unsafe in our own home and it caused us sleepless nights. We had security features fitted in our home. Writing this statement has brought up unpleasant, uncomfortable, upsetting memories and we have had to relive it all again. The stress of what these men did to use has had a detrimental effect on our health."
In mitigation Tabitha Walker for Martin Mongan, said her client was genuinely remorseful for his actions. She said there had been a significant delay in the case and said the defendant could be dealt with by receiving a community order or a suspended sentence. Archie McKay, for Bernard Mongan, said his client played a lesser role than his brother and was a young man with two children.
Sentencing, Judge Jeremy Jenkins said: "You took cruel advantage of two elderly men in rural area of Vale of Glamorgan. You duped those two men into allowing you to work on their premises... You became intimidatory and bullied them into parting with more money than they agreed to." Both of the Mongans were sentenced to nine months imprisonment each. They will each serve half of their sentence in custody before they are released on licence.
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