Rogue trader sentenced after Trading Standards investigation

Published Tuesday, 28th March 2023

A landscape gardener has been handed a 9 months suspended jail term after he took large cash deposits for work but then failed to complete it.

He was also ordered to undertake 100 hours of unpaid work and pay £12,825 compensation to his victims.

Jordan Tierney, formerly of Pert Road, Hartlepool, had earlier pleaded guilty to 13 counts of fraud and one consumer protection offence at Teesside Magistrates Court following an investigation by Hartlepool Borough Council’s Trading Standards Team.

Trading as Hartlepool Groundworks Services Limited, Tierney visited his victim’s homes to provide quotes before telling them that they needed to pay large deposits ‘up front’ to buy the materials or to secure start dates. After receiving the deposit, in most cases, he would then never return or did very little work.

Between June and August 2021, Tierney took over £13,000 from ten victims but only did minimal amounts of work before leaving. On one occasion, he took over £2,000 in advance but was never seen again by the victim.

Ian Harrison, Hartlepool Borough Council's Trading Standards and Licensing Manager, welcomed the prosecution.

He said: “Tierney’s offending has sadly left a large number of the town’s residents out of pocket. Hopefully this prosecution can help provide an end to the matter.

“We would like to thank those victims who assisted with our investigation as without them, behaviour like that of Jordan Tierney can go unpunished. Hartlepool Trading Standards will not hesitate to take enforcement action against rogue traders who flout the law.

“Following incidents like these I would urge residents who are thinking about getting home improvement work done to always obtain three quotes before making an informed decision and never pay a trader until the job is complete and satisfactory.” 

In addition to the compensation, Tierney was ordered to pay £2,695 in investigation costs and a £156 victim surcharge. His suspended sentence will last for two years.

If you need advice about unfinished or unsatisfactory work, advice is available from the Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 0808 223 11 33.