A TRUSTING Halesowen couple were swindled out of £3,000 by a company for a phantom roofing job.

Roofguard Protective Coatings duped the couple, who do not want to be named, into buying a new roof coating which they claimed would reduce heat loss by 40 per cent.

The company, of Lower Hall Lane Walsall, used aggressive sales tactics including false price reductions, to persuade the pair to agree to the contract for the work, and were only stopped when Dudley Council’s trading standards officers intervened.

Dudley Council Trading Standards officers investigated the case and took the company secretary and salesman to court.

Edward Hogan and Stewart Fawke appeared before Dudley magistrates on Thursday, December 12.

Magistrates agreed that the paint would have been of no benefit to the roof, and could not be an alternative to re-roofing.

The company was found guilty of two counts of fraud and six charges of breaching the Consumer Protection From Unfair Trading Regulations.

Hogan and Fawke were found guilty of two counts of fraud and four breaches of the Consumer Protection From Unfair Trading Regulations. They were also found not guilty of a further charge under the Consumer Protection From Unfair Trading Regulations. Magistrates adjourned the case for sentencing.

Councillor Stuart Turner, Dudley Council's cabinet member responsible for trading standards, said: "We are delighted that this prosecution has been successful through the courts.

"I hope it sends a clear message that we will do everything we can to protect people in their homes from dishonest traders, and prosecute those companies who break the law."