Rogue trader tried to con elderly couple with garden work

South Wales Argus

23-07-2025

Andrew Arrowsmith pleaded guilty to six regulatory offences under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.
Arrowsmith's offending came to light when an employee at the Co-operative Bank contacted the police on June 14, 2023, said Thomas Stanway, appearing for Caerphilly council's Trading Standards.
The employee was concerned the 74-year-old victim was being scammed when she attempted to withdraw 'a large amount of cash'.
Police attended the victim's home, and it was confirmed Arrowsmith had invoiced her £18,500 for gardening and landscaping works.
The defendant 'made a number of false claims', including the identity of the builders' merchants he used and claiming that they only accepted cash.
The officer advised the victim not to continue with the work, and told Arrowsmith to collect his equipment and leave the address.
The incident was reported to Caerphilly council's Trading Standards team.
Mr Stanway said the victim agreed to speak with Arrowsmith about proposed gardening works after one of his associates knocked on her door on June 9.
He initially quoted her £19,000. She said this was too high, and a price of £18,500 was agreed.
The victim was provided with an invoice which said he would complete rubbish removal and clearance, cutting trees down, removing tree stumps, and landscaping works.
Arrowsmith started the work 'almost immediately'. On the third day he brought a digger to the property, but the victim became concerned as, instead of removing the excess soil, Arrowsmith spread it over the rest of her garden.
Mr Stanway said Arrowsmith demanded £4,000 from the victim on the 'fourth or fifth day' for the work that had already been completed.
That led to the victim going to the bank and the police being contacted.
On the invoice Arrowsmith gave the victim, the 'No' box next to a statement outlining her cancellation rights had already been ticked. The victim said she was never told by Arrowsmith or his employees about her cancelation rights.
Arrowsmith's business cards had two telephone numbers and didn't include an address. He also claimed to be an approved waste carrier – but subsequent checks with the Environmental Agency and Natural Resources Wales confirmed he wasn't.
Even after the police attended, Arrowsmith continued to pressure the victim to pay £1,830 for 'rubbish collection' – despite the fact the rubbish remained at the site.
A chartered builder and surveyor visited the victim's home and said the work 'did not achieve an acceptable level' and 'was overpriced'.
He described the invoice as 'inappropriate' and 'short of content and descriptions of the work'.
The court heard 35-year-old Arrowsmith, of Kings Meadow in Llanfaes, Brecon, had one previous conviction for one unrelated offence.
Ieuan Bennett, appearing for Arrowsmith, said the defendant was remorseful about the offence and had stopped working following this incident.
He said Arrowsmith did not receive any money from the victim, and that the work had cost him an estimated £1,600 – although he acknowledged 'people would perhaps have little sympathy with that'.
Judge Jeremy Jenkins sentenced Arrowsmith to a 12-month community order. He must complete 120 hours of unpaid work and pay £2,500 in costs.