Rogue builder convicted for ‘malicious exploitation’
Telford & Wrekin Council's Trading Standards team has successfully brought a case against a rogue builder who defrauded multiple victims.
Steven Bailey, (43) of Apley was the sole Director of a company SBS (Telford) Ltd which was dissolved in October 2024. He was found guilty of multiple fraud charges and sentenced to five and a half years in prison and disqualified from being a company director for 11 years.
Councillor Richard Overton, (Lab) Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Highways, Housing & Enforcement said:
“This conviction highlights the important work of our trading standards team in protecting residents from dishonest and unscrupulous individuals.
“We are committed to ensuring that rogue traders such as Bailey, are held accountable and this case sends a strong message that such malicious exploitation of our community will not be tolerated in Telford and Wrekin. I want to reassure our residents that we will continue to work tirelessly to uphold consumer rights and ensure that justice is served.”
Criminal activities
Bailey's criminal activities involved deceiving homeowners by misleading them about the progress of construction projects, including failing to deliver materials and leaving jobs incomplete.
He took significant sums of money from victims, often for materials he never intended to order, and used the funds to support online gambling and a family holiday to Dubai.
One victim paid £3,000 for bi-fold doors, another paid him just under £52,000 for shoddy work that he failed to complete. His dishonest practices were not isolated incidents; they spanned across various victims, with work being delayed for months while he moved on to other projects.
Bailey’s actions had severe impacts on elderly and vulnerable people and meant they faced significant financial and emotional distress. One victim sold their car and used their life savings to cover the costs of unfinished work.
After inspection, serious deficiencies were found with the defendant’s work including foundations built on clay rather than concrete, another part on top of a Severn Trent drainpipe, leaving wastewater under the concrete floor, roof joists laid on plastic eaves rather than on brickwork, and joists not fixed.
The defendant even failed to satisfactorily tie new walls to an existing building, meaning bricks could be removed by hand, leading to demolition of the structure.
