The builder received more than £30,000 for the project
A bankrupt builder who persuaded a customer to pay him more than £30,000 for home improvements he never completed has been sentenced.
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Wayne Miller deliberately concealed his status as a bankrupt from his victim and abandoned the building project in Canterbury when it was nowhere near finished.
He also promised to repay the customer for the unfinished work and goods but no payments were ever made.
Miller was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for 12 months, when he appeared at Southwark Crown Court on Wednesday 15 October.
The 55-year-old, of Romney Road, Lydd, Kent, was also ordered to repay £18,000 in compensation to his victim and a further £1,000 in costs.
Miller also made a payment of £7,500 to the victim at an earlier date.
Chris Wood, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said:
Work on the project which was supposed to include a new kitchen and two-storey extension was due to start in March 2018 and Miller told the customer it would take around eight weeks to complete.
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Miller and the customer agreed that the total cost of £43,528 would be paid in five equal instalments of £8,705.60, with the first payment made in December 2017, prior to any work on the property starting.
Just weeks before work began on the project, Miller arranged for the customer to speak with a kitchen designer. Miller told the customer he could order the kitchen on his behalf as he had a trade account with the company.
The victim paid Miller a further £7,823 directly into his account. Miller never made any payments to the kitchen company for the purchase.
Work on the project ground to a halt by April 2018. Miller made a number of excuses and did not carry out any further building work on the property.
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In total, the victim made payments of £36,190 to Miller.
Miller had been previously declared bankrupt in January 2016 following a petition from HM Revenue and Customs. His bankruptcy remains ongoing as he failed to make all the payments required of him under the terms of an income payment agreement with the Official Receiver.
Individuals subject to a bankruptcy order must disclose their status if they borrow or obtain credit of £500 or more. Those declared bankrupt who are self-employed or are going to start their own business as a sole trader must use the same name the bankruptcy order was made in.
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