The director of a building firm has been fined for falsely claiming to be NICEIC registered.
Dorset based James Hewitson, a director of Poole Bay Building Construction, pleaded guilty to offences under the Consumer Protection From Unfair Trading Regulations Act 2008.
He was misusing the NICEIC logo on two vehicles and on the company’s website.
The company was fined £1000 and ordered to pay £500 costs and a victim surcharge of £100. James Hewitson was fined £300 and ordered to pay £124 costs and a £30 victim surcharge. Charges were dropped against the company’s other director, Mark Hewitson.
The action was taken by Dorset Trading Standards following information passed on to them by NICEIC.
Richard Herringshaw, principal trading standards officer, commented: “In this instance we gave the company and its directors every chance to remove the logo but they chose to ignore advice .In such circumstances we had no alternative but to prosecute the company and its director.”
It is the second recent prosecution for misuse of the NICEIC logo. In January this year London based David Taylor, who trades under the name of DT Property Maintenance and Electrical Contractors, was found guilty of leaving jobs unfinished and homes unfit for human habitation whilst claiming to be NICEIC registered.
NICEIC’s CEO Emma Clancy said: “We take misuse of our logo very seriously and we welcome this latest prosecution.
“The NICEIC name is associated with quality and we must protect those contractors who are legitimately registered with us and have the quality of their work assessed on a regular basis.
“We must also send out the message that anyone thinking about misusing our logo will be caught and dealt with appropriately by the courts.”
Contractors caught falsely claiming to be members will be named and shamed on the NICEIC website and their details passed to Trading Standards.
Anyone who is suspicious of a contractor falsely claiming to be NICEIC registered should check the NICEIC website at www.niceic.com which contains a full list of all those contractors registered with NICEIC. Alternatively consumers who are concerned about a contractor who is claiming to be registered when they are not, can contact the Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 08454 040506 for advice and to report the matter.
