INDUSTRY NEWS on Rogue Builder

ROGUE BUILDER IN HOT WATER AS HE IS PROSECUTED FOR MIS-USING NICEIC LOGO

Rogue builder, Umran Suleman, from Blackburn, has pleaded guilty to 17 charges under trading standards regulations, some in his own name and some in the name of U & A Drylining Limited for falsely claiming to be NICEIC registered, he now faces a possible jail sentence after deceiving customers out of thousands of pounds.

District Judge Michael Hopkinson, who heard the case at Preston Crown Court committed Suleman on bail for sentencing, said that he was in no doubt that the offences merited a custodial sentence.

He said: "The public deserve protection from people like you. You used the logos of regulatory bodies to mislead the public about the validity of the tradesmen working for you.” 

Prosecuting for Lancashire Trading Standards, Nick McNamara said: “Addur Rokib had asked Suleman to price a job after seeing him working on the street where he lives in Rawtenstall; a price was agreed and Suleman later went to collect a deposit of £1,650. An invoice was given for the job which contained the NICEIC and Gas Safe logos and a business address in Leyland."

Subsequent inquiries showed that neither of the regulatory authorities had ever heard of Suleman or his company. A second victim, Julie O'Brien, paid for electrical and plumbing work in cash which turned out to be defective. When she complained and tried to get her money back, she was assured a refund by Suleman, but he never kept his promise of returning the cash.

Suleman was tracked by Trading Standards investigators to his Blackburn address where they found a van on the drive advertising Right Choice Contractors, which also bore the Gas Safe and NICEIC logos, as well as the Lancashire County Council Trader Standards scheme logo, the court heard.

Emma Clancy, CEO of Certsure which operates the NICEIC brand commented: “The NICEIC name is associated with quality and we will work with the appropriate authorities to protect those contractors who are legitimately registered with us and have the quality of their work assessed on a regular basis.”

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