Builder denies overcharging elderly couple for roof repairs and guttering at their home

A MAN has appeared in court accused of vastly overcharging an elderly couple for building work at their home.

Adam Whitfield is alleged to have charged the couple, in their seventies, 3,500 for gutter replacement, cleaning, and roof repairs, including work on an outhouse, at the property in the Bishop Auckland area.

Mr Whitfield, who was said to have been trading in the name of New Style Roofing, claims he was paid about 200 for the job that he and two unknown workmates carried out, last November.

He said he put in about seven-and-a-half hours work, with a similar amount by the two men assisting him, over two days.

Andrew White, representing Mr Whitfield, told Durham Crown Court that it is accepted by the defence that 3,500 would be, a gross overpayment, but he said the defendant claimed to have received only a small proportion of that figure for his labours.

Mr Whitfield was appearing at a preliminary hearing in the case today (Wednesday April 8), charged with fraud by false representation.

No pleas were taken, but a timetable was set for the case progression, with a provisional date agreed for the start of the trial, at the court, on Thursday, July 30.

Judge Christopher Prince adjourned the hearing and bailed 29-year-old Mr Whitfield, of Spring Gardens, West Auckland, to return to court for a plea hearing on Wednesday June 24.

Original post:
Builder denies overcharging elderly couple for roof repairs and guttering at their home