Rogue Tradesman, Real Consequences: How Maya got her money back

Scams are everywhere these days and fraudsters can appear in many unexpected guises. As we hear again and again from people reaching out to us, when you are targeted by a scammer it can feel like there is nowhere to turn.

Maya got in touch with us to share her story of a rogue tradesman who had been using a local Facebook group to find vulnerable women to take advantage of. The nasty situation which Maya had to deal with alongside caring for ill loved ones certainly shows the toothlessness of the authorities when it comes to protecting the victims of scams and preventing conmen from continuing to exploit people.

However, this story is also one of resilience and incredible self-advocacy: with the help of Resolver and the Financial Ombudsman, Maya managed to get her bank to acknowledge their failure to protect her and to give her back £3000!

She wanted to share her experience, not just as a warning about how easily rogue traders can exploit trust, but also to highlight the limitations of our current protections, the importance of consumer awareness, and some practical steps others can take to avoid falling into the same trap.

This is Maya’s story…

In autumn 2023 I was getting ready to begin the process of selling my flat. I knew I would need to do some painting and decorating and wouldn’t have the time to do it all myself.   

I’m a member of a very active group on Facebook, with people from my own and two neighbouring towns. This local group is very helpful and friendly – with people giving advice, including helping each other find local services and tradesmen. I decided to create a post asking if anyone knows of a good local tradesman who would be happy to do some of the painting and decorating I needed.

In retrospect, I think that my feelings of familiarity in the local Facebook group lulled me into a false sense of security, so when I had a reply from a local man, Jake, who told me his father lived down the road from me, I was more trusting than I should have been when it came to a total stranger. 

Much later down the line I would discover that this man’s claim to have family in my area may have been true – but that he himself no longer lived locally because he has gotten on the wrong side of so many other members of my community!

“While he was flaky when it came to showing up to do the work, when it came to asking for money he was consistent!” 

It was the 18th of October 2023 when Jake first sent me a quote for then scheduled works – it was signed by himself and his partner. I was not sure about how he had come up with the price he quoted me, so we exchanged some messages  and the next day I received a revised quote with a more detailed breakdown of costs. 

Jake was supposed to begin the work on my flat right away. But from the very beginning, the work was erratic. He would turn up late or not at all, leave early, often saying that his grandmother was very ill and in hospital. I later learned that he had told another woman that his grandmother had died the previous year! 

While he was flaky and always making excuses when it came to showing up to do the work, when it came to asking for money he was consistent! As we got closer to Christmas, he just kept on demanding more money for paint and equipment. 

“It seems really obvious now but I just didn’t see it because of everything else I was dealing with.”

I do know that it is unwise to give money upfront to tradesmen based on advice I have received from other tradesmen, but this situation was unusual because he kept asking for it in dribs and drabs which meant I lost track of how much I had given him. 

At the time this was all going on I was in a very vulnerable place. My mum, my dad and my partner were all being treated for cancer so I was dealing with a lot emotionally and perhaps less attentive to the situation than I would have been otherwise.

It seems really obvious now but I just didn’t see it because of everything else I was dealing with.  

He never did finish the job. He did some of the painting in the living room, but left my bedroom, kitchen, toilet and hallway half-finished. He hung the bathroom door wonky and left a door he ordered incorrectly plus other materials and the door he removed all lying around my flat.

On the 15th of February I received a message from someone who said she knew Jake to say that Jake did not have his phone to try and explain why I had not been able to get hold of Jake. She then blocked me. 

I had a look and realised with a sinking feeling that both Jake and his partner had blocked me on Facebook. Feeling worried I asked my partner to check if he could see their profiles: whilst my partner could not see Jake’s profile, my partner could see Jake’s partner’s profile, so I emailed both Jake and his partner saying that I was going to go to the police.

“I was told [by the Metropolitan Police] that it was a civil matter and my only option would be to take it to the Small Claims Court.”

I happened to know a local woman whose son was dating Jake’s sister: I sent her a message via her local business profile and asked if she could get her son to speak with Jake. They could not believe that this man had done something this bad and it felt like they did not even want to believe me. 

I also sent a message to Jake’s partner to tell her what had happened and that I was going to report Jake. I then received an email from Jake saying that he had been hacked and lost all his accounts. I replied with an email that provided a breakdown of all the payments I had made to him from my current account: I told him that I intended to begin legal proceedings. I received no reply.

Over the following days I received messages from friends and relatives of Jake, including his half-sister. While they said they were sorry about what had happened, they also seemed to be pressuring me not to go public, with one telling me that relatives of Jake may be adversely affected if I spoke up and publicly called him out for what he had done. 

By now I was serious about trying to get my money back. I forwarded the email advising of the intention to start legal proceedings to Jake’s partner. After no response I reported what had happened to the Metropolitan Police – I was issued a crime reference number. They said I could use that to apply for a CCJ.

I was hopeful that action would be taken but, at the start of March, I was called by a police officer and told that it was a civil matter and my only option would be to take it to the Small Claims Court. This made me extremely upset. I was amazed that no one cared and that the law could not do anything. 

A week later I raised a court claim against Jake. Just over a month later, however, I received an email informing me that my claim remained unserved and that Royal Mail had been unable to deliver the claim I had raised against the accused.

“It seems that this man was a serial rogue trader who picked his targets carefully: all vulnerable women.”

I was really unsure how I could pursue this further but decided to see if I could find out any more information. I searched the local Facebook group for any other mentions of Jake’s full name and found a post from another woman from October 2023: she described how the same man had come to her property to install a GRP Roof, took £1700 and disappeared, leaving her with a half finished roof that leaked through to the rooms below. 

I sent this woman a message saying that Jake had also scammed me. She told me more details about what had happened to her: Jake had scammed her out of £3000 overall and had done the same to two other women. 

It seems that this man was a serial rogue trader who picked his targets carefully: all vulnerable women. I was horrified to learn that one of the previous victims had been in remission from cancer when Jake offered his services. After all the stress created when he had scammed her, her cancer then returned.

Apparently all the women had tried to raise CCJ’s against him but that nothing had been done. So he had been able to go on to prey on more vulnerable women, changing his name, address, phone number and making numerous Facebook profiles.

“Resolver helped me contact the Financial Ombudsman, and my bank, as a gesture of goodwill, reimbursed me the £3,000”

I reported Jake to CrimeStoppers and updated the Met Police with what I had found out. I also decided to make a complaint to my bank – as I felt as though I should have had more protection. 

Via the Resolver platform I raised a complaint: I told HSBC that there should have been some kind of warning about so many payments being made to a new person in a relatively short space of time. Other people’s banks put blocks on such activity, I know, until they have spoken to the account owner. This did not happen in my case – and maybe if it had it would have alerted me to how much money this man was getting me to send him.

In retrospect, given that so many amounts of money were going out to a completely new payee, I was surprised that my bank never got in touch with advice about staying safe. 

While my bank initially refused my complaint, the Resolver platform allowed me to escalate my case to the Financial Ombudsman. I encountered an amazing chap at the FO who I explained the whole situation to. He did an independent review of my case and dealt with HSBC on my behalf. In the end, my bank reimbursed £3000 of the money I had lost as a goodwill gesture! 

This was a really fantastic result. However, I am still furious about the complacency from the police which has allowed this rogue trader to continue to victimise vulnerable people. It was only by speaking out and using platforms like Resolver and the Financial Ombudsman that I was able to get any justice at all. 

This man is still out there and I’m sure that I won’t be the last one targeted by him. I hope others learn from my story and stay safe.

What we can learn…

Maya’s experience is an eye-opening lesson in just how vulnerable we can be when trust is exploited, as well as how limited the protections are, even when there’s clear evidence of wrongdoing. 

What happened to Maya, and to the other women Jake targeted, shows how rogue traders can operate repeatedly with little consequence, especially when they target the already vulnerable, change identities, and exploit systems that rely on victims pursuing costly legal action. 

The fact that she was one of several victims, all of whom had reported this rogue tradesman to the police, exposes the frustrating gaps in consumer rights enforcement and the lack of action from authorities, who often pass the buck when cases fall into the grey area between civil and criminal. 

If there’s one lesson to be learned here, it’s that no matter how friendly or “local” someone seems online, always check for verified reviews, get contracts in writing, and never pay in full or in repeated instalments until the work is completed. 

Keep a clear paper trail and don’t hesitate to trust your instincts if something feels off. Most of all, don’t suffer in silence: report fraud, share your story, and push for accountability. 

Maya’s story is also a triumph in self-advocacy. It is a fantastic reminder that your bank has a legal duty to protect you from fraud and scams.

If you have been through an experience that left you feeling like your bank failed to keep you and your finances safe, it is absolutely worth getting some help to see if you may be entitled to financial redress.

With Resolver Stories you can read real experiences of people fighting for fairness and share your own. Whether you scored a big win or are stuck in an absurd or never-ending nightmare, we want to hear from you! 

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