Rogue trader in south Warwickshire who asked customers to 'take a leap of faith' on him went on to scam customers out of more than £39k
A rogue trader in south Warwickshire who asked customers to 'take a leap of faith' on him went on to scam customers out of more than £39,000.
Bruce Harris, of Long Compton, was sentenced to 36 months in prison, suspended for 30 months, along with 200 hours of unpaid work and 20 days of rehabilitation activity at Warwick Crown Court on Wednesday, July 15.
The 51-year-old self-employed gardener was convicted of 13 counts of fraud by false representation after scamming customers out of more than £39,000.
According to Warwickshire Police, Harris had been swindling customers out of money since at least 2019.
He advertised services including basic gardening, wall building, creating outdoor model railways and constructing ponds.
Harris would ask customers to “take a leap of faith” before requesting large upfront payments to begin work.
In most of the 13 cases, he completed a small amount of work before abandoning the job and offering a string of excuses for the delays.
He also offered customers sheds, plants and other materials at discounted prices, claiming he could secure special deals through suppliers.
Customers were often pressured into transferring money quickly to “secure” the offers.
In many cases, the promised goods or work never materialised and after initially responding with a series of excuses, Harris eventually stopped replying altogether and ignored further attempts by customers to contact him.
As complaints mounted, customers reported Harris to police.
During police interviews, he continued to offer a range of explanations for failing to complete work or issue refunds, blaming everything from snow and a broken-down van to cutting his hand with a pair of secateurs.
When presented with evidence that he had taken tens of thousands of pounds from customers, Harris was unable to provide any proof that he had bought the plants or materials they had paid for.
Detective Constable Alison Roberts, who led the investigation for Warwickshire Police, said: “Rogue traders like this cause significant distress to their customers, as well as embarrassment to the community of hard-working, honest tradespeople across our county.
“I want to thank each one of the residents who reported this individual’s behaviour and helped with the information we needed to see him held to account.”