It’s one of the oldest scams in the book — a builder flashing fake badges, made-up memberships, and bogus qualifications to win your trust.
They throw around terms like “approved contractor” or “qualified engineer” and most homeowners take it at face value.
But behind the polished logo and confident talk, there’s often nothing real at all.
A plumber from Suffolk who conned vulnerable customers out of £30,000 and left them with unsafe and unfinished work has been jailed. Grant Phillips, 45, of Heron Road, Ipswich, admitted to fraudulent trading and was sentenced to 26 months in prison at Ipswich Crown Court. Between April 2021 and October 2023, Phillips took payments from …
