Carlisle man jailed for pretending to be a Tree Surgeon!!

[bazbro]

Apologies if there is already a thread for this but wanted to share this...

 

was in Horticulture weekly.

 

Carlisle man jailed for pretending to be tree surgeon

 

A man has been sentenced to three years in prison for pretending to be a tree surgeon.

 

Michael McDonough was found guilty of false representation to make gain by Durham Crown Court after defrauding an 82-year-old woman in Wolsingham on 3 April.

 

The woman had booked a tree surgery firm to carry out work in her garden.

 

Two men arrived on her doorstep purporting to be from the firm and she let them in to carry out the work.

 

When she rang the company to check, after having paid McDonough, they said the men were not theirs.

 

She confronted the pair and they fled, only to be arrested five days later when a police officer spotted a vehicle and men matching their description.

 

McDonough, who is from Carlisle, was charged with false representation to make gain and the other man was released without charge.

 

McDonough also received a 12-month driving ban for motoring offences.

 

Crook CID detective sergeant Neil Edgar said: "I would recommend that residents only commission work with reputable companies and by pre-arranged appointment. When workers do attend your home, make sure you check their identity and if you are unsure check with the company involved. Quite often these types of criminals prey on the elderly and vulnerable."

[Yorkshireman]

A good post ,I would be interested to see the article do you have a link Plse ?

 

 

the jailing may have been for the criminal act of : obtaining monies by deception

 

rather than the pretense of a particular trades type. although I am sure many will applaude the result & comments of the detective concerned

[Yorkshireman]

what makes people think its right to rip folks off, let alone an 82 yr old

absolutely shocking ...

 

lets hope this acts as some Deterrent though I doubt it ..

 

We had a retired guy knock at our door late one afternoon None too happy he was accompanied by 2 angry burly looking fellas, either side of him Demanding to see the BOSS, after having had a door knocker oufit visit him.

They started some work for him after convincing him that they were part of our company & where just in the area blah blah blah .. they proceeded to cut down some of his conifers in the back garden then asked for some monies as they needed to go & get a replacement for damaged parts of their chainsaw , the occupant obliged , they left leaving one tree partially worked on & a heap of brash in the gents garden , needless to say he has not seen them or his money £300 since.

 

Van not logo'd or sign written etc . however the police were informed by me & the old guy. daylight robbery in my book

[Mozza]

Really glad they got done, Scum bags!!

[Ross Turner]

Thats strange i used to work for a Tree Surgeon in Darlington in the early to mid 90`s trading by the same name as the guilty party in above article.

[Rich Rule]

happens quite a lot around here, seen it had to clear it a couple of times. One firm a operating on a similar basis a Iain mentioned. Even operated under an almost identicle name as a company I freelance for. A visit and a conversation sorted it all...

[Xerxses]

http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/general-chat/7902-crook-caught.html

 

earlier post with link to Article.

[bazbro]

Hi Guys,

 

here is the link regarding the thread.

 

Carlisle man jailed for pretending to be tree surgeon | Log in to Horticulture Week

 

enjoy

 

regards,

 

Baz