A “persistent” rogue trader who repeatedly ripped off customers including charging more than £30,000 for a job worth £4,000 has been jailed.
Barry Benjamin, 53, of Kilncroft, Brookvale, Runcorn, was prosecuted after a string of complaints over his gardening and handyman enterprise trading as “Easylife Garden Maintenance”. The "incomplete" and "poor quality" jobs were carried out in Halton and surrounding areas.
Halton Borough Council Trading Standards found that in one incident, Benjamin carried out work at someone’s home, only for it to be later assessed by an expert as “low quality” and of “no value”. This meant the householder had to complete it again in its entirety.
