Coffey brothers: Rogue traders jailed for conning elderly and vulnerable people out of more than £45,000

Two brothers have been jailed for conning elderly and vulnerable people into paying thousands of pounds for work to their homes.

Michael Coffey, 29, and his brother Richard Coffey, 25, would cold call residents and agree to start a small job before suggesting other work was required, escalating costs.

On on occasion, the brothers, working under Winterbourne-based company MRC Roofing and Building, quoted £170 to clean the driveway of a man in his 80s and then clean the gutters for £50 - before claiming roof timbers were rotten and charging a further £7,000 for repairs.

At Bristol Crown Court on February 10, Michael, of HMP Bristol, was sentenced to 26 months in prison, while Richard, of Winterbourne, was jailed for 18 months.

Both pleaded guilty to one count of participating in a fraudulent roofing and building business.

The conviction followed an investigation by the National Trading Standards South West Regional Investigation team, hosted by Bristol City Council - triggered by complaints over the pair.

The brothers were also issued with Criminal Behaviour Orders banning them from obtaining roofing and building work, directly or indirectly, for 7 years, and banned from being a director for 7 years.

Wendy Martin, director of National Trading Standards, said: “The use of aggressive and deceitful practices to mislead elderly and vulnerable people in their homes will not be tolerated.”

Between July 2018 and May 2020, the brothers cold-called victims to agree work, only to inflate the price once work began.

A total of 19 victims from the South West and as far as London suffered losses at the hands of the Coffey brothers - totalling more than £45,000.

The case was the first conviction in the country by Trading Standards that involved extradition.

After locating Richard Coffey, who was interviewed and made no comment on the allegations, Michael Coffey was traced to Cork prison in Ireland, where he was serving time for an unrelated offence.

After completing that sentence, he was extradited to the UK and held on remand until sentencing.