A ROGUE trader who sold a worthless wall coating product to an elderly customer has been before the courts.

Eco Shield (UK) Ltd based in Kings Norton, Birmingham, and previous director Adrian Hillman each pleaded guilty to two offences under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations at Wolverhampton Crown Court on 13 December in a case taken by Dudley trading standards.

The court heard how the company cold called an elderly woman in Stourbridge and offered a wall coating system which they claimed would cure damp and save on her energy bills.

Hillman then carried out a sales pitch in her home and gave her a leaflet which included the claim that the product would reduce water absorption of the external wall rendering by over 95%.

The customer agreed to have the work carried out, costing nearly £2,000.

The work left the rendering cracked and in a poor condition, along with paint splashed on her windows, door frames, roof, paving and fence panels and on her neighbour’s car.

Investigations revealed the product was ordinary masonry paint and not the product presented at the sales pitch.

A chartered surveyor who inspected the work found it had no value at all and that neither the product applied or the one the consumer thought she had purchased would have met any of the claims to reduce heating bills, save energy or cure wall dampness.

Both the company and Hillman pleaded guilty to engaging in a commercial practice that was a misleading action and to making misleading omissions in sales presentation and literature.

42-year-old Hillman was sentenced to three months imprisonment suspended for 12 months and was ordered to carry out 120 hours unpaid work. He was also ordered to pay compensation to the elderly customer of £3,320 and costs of £6,500.

Eco Shield (UK) Ltd were also fined £2,000.

HRMC increased the VAT rate on so-called energy saving wall coating products from 5 per cent to 20 per cent from September 2018 after Dudley trading standards officers alerted them to the exaggerated claims of benefits of the products made by rogue traders.

The VAT rise will mean that companies who are mis-selling ineffective wall coatings will no longer be able to promote the product`s effectiveness to customers by referencing the reduced VAT rate.

Councillor Cathy Bayton, cabinet member for health and wellbeing, said: "Our trading standards team works tirelessly to protect people from confidence fraud and we welcome the sentence imposed on this rogue trader for the deceit and false claims.

"Along with the bungled work on the house, this has caused untold anguish to the elderly consumer who was pressured into the contract only because she wanted to make her home warm and comfortable and save on heating bills.

"After the findings of this and other investigations we decided to alert HRMC to how the lower VAT rate was being used to exploit people who are vulnerable and elderly, as well as to avoid tax."

She added: "We welcome the decision to make the VAT rise, which will see a significant increase in duty raised and a reduction in the mis-selling of energy saving wall coatings across the country.”