Rogue trader left victims thousands out of pocket
BBCA rogue trader left victims a total of more than £200,000 out of pocket after carrying out a series of shoddy and unfinished works.
Christopher Sedgewick, trading as William Sedgewick Developments Ltd, took £63,000 from one couple towards a single-storey extension that was never completed as well as being deemed to have breached several building regulations.
Appearing at Teesside Crown Court, the 39-year-old, of Fairfield Road, Stockton, pleaded guilty to seven unfair trading offences and was sentenced to a 44-week jail term, suspended for 18 months.
He must also pay just over £41,000 in compensation.
The court heard the offences took place between February 2021 and January 2024, when Sedgewick use aggressive and threatening behaviour to make sure customers continued to pay.
Another victim paid more than £47,000 for an extension to help his wife who had motor neurone disease (MND) and used a wheelchair.
She died in June 2023 with the work unfinished.
'Hostage in their own home'
In mitigation, Sedgewick, acknowledged his communication skills could have been better.
He blamed adverse weather conditions, the Covid pandemic and a family tragedy as reasons for not undertaking some of the work in the agreed timescales.
Judge Advocate Tom Mitchell said Sedgewick had left people "hostage in their own home".
However, he said he did not run a fraudulent business and that at the time he had "very particular and very severe family difficulties".
If Sedgewick were jailed the effect on his wife, children, co-workers and business would be "nothing short of catastrophic" and he would not be able to repay the victims, the judge said.
Councillor Norma Stephenson, cabinet member for access, communities and community safety at Stockton Borough Council, said Sedgewick's behaviour had been "truly abhorrent".
"He not only provided false hope with regards to the timeframe each respective job would take to complete, but also increased the prices of jobs midway and then used aggressive methods to extort money from customers via threatening emails."
Sedgewick was also ordered to do 120 hours unpaid work.