Mr Black, who trades as ‘Bangor Roofing Repairs’, was prosecuted by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment’s Trading Standards Service (TSS), for falsely claiming to be a member of the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).
The prosecution follows a customer complaint received by TSS. This customer had specifically selected Mr Black to carry out roofing repairs, having seen a newspaper advertisement which stated that he was an FMB member.
When problems later arose with his repair work, the customer contacted the FMB, which was not aware of Mr Black or ‘Bangor Roofing Repairs’. A subsequent investigation by TSS confirmed that Mr Black was not, in fact, a member of this organisation.
TSS Investigating Officer, Peter Rankin, said “Deceiving customers by falsely claiming to be a member of a trade body is against the law and will be dealt with by the courts.
“Consumers rightly believe that, when employing a member of a trade association, the work will be carried out to a high standard. Furthermore, should things go wrong, the association will usually have an arbitration process in place, to assist aggrieved consumers in getting redress.
“Should consumers have any suspicions as to a trader’s membership of a trade association, they are advised to contact that association before engaging the trader to carry out work.”
Members of the public who are concerned about the quality of building services provided, or about claims made in advertisements, should contact Consumerline on 0845 600 62 62 or 028 9025 3900, or alternatively, log on to www.consumerline.org.
Notes to Editors:
- Under the Trade Descriptions Act 1968 traders must describe goods or services they supply correctly. It is an offence to supply goods or services which are falsely described. The Act is enforced by DETI’s Trading Standards Service.
- For media enquiries please contact the DETI Press Office, tel 028 9052 9297. Outside office hours please contact the Duty Press Officer via pager number 07699 715 440 and your call will be returned.
