A ‘ROGUE trader’ pressured a customer into getting their guttering cleaned has been fined thousands of pounds.

Ricky Hyatt, 22, misled other customers in Carterton and Kidlington of the need for roof repairs.

The Surrey man was fined £2,200, must pay £3,595.20 in costs to Oxfordshire County Council, which brought the prosecution, and was ordered by the magistrates to pay a £190 victim surcharge.

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He pleaded guilty to engaging in a commercial practice that was misleading by telling a homeowner in Richens Drive, Carterton, between July 16 and 20, 2020, that the property’s roof needed to be repaired or serviced. He also admitted engaging in an aggressive commercial practice in connection with the same property, using 'harassment, coercion or undue influence'.

Hyatt, of Brighton Road, Tadworth, admitted two breaches of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations by engaging in a commercial practice that contravened the requirements of professional diligence. The charges concerned repairs to a shed in Cherwell Avenue, Kidlington, and guttering and a property's roof in Clarkson Road, Carterton.

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