Many victims felt the business name ‘The Gas Board’ was deliberately used to mislead them and the judge slammed the brothers for ‘obtaining as much money as you could’
A pair of Croydon brothers have avoided going immediately to jail and been ordered to pay thousands of pounds each after they admitted making misleading cold calls to pensioners across the country selling boiler repair cover. Croydon’s Trading Standards team started investigating The Gas Board Ltd after receiving complaints from customers who felt the company name suggested the callers were representing British Gas, when they were not.
Brothers Arkin Almaajoun, 29 and Ali Almaajoun 31, both of Coulsdon, were directors of The Gas Board Ltd along with Steffan Smart, 32, of Hounslow. The trio have now been sentenced after pleading guilty to consumer protection offences.
At sentencing, judge Gower KC remarked: “Customers were misled by what they were told. It is quite clear to me that the three of you were set on obtaining as much money as you could and were completely unscrupulous in the way you went about doing so.”
Smart and Arkin Almaajoun were each sentenced on August 29 to 12 months imprisonment, suspended for two years. They also received Criminal Behaviour Orders preventing them indefinitely from making sales direct to consumers, 140 hours of unpaid work requirements and to each pay £15,000 of the prosecution costs.
Ali Almaajoun was sentenced to eight months imprisonment, suspended for two years. Also receiving a Criminal Behaviour Order preventing him from making sales direct to consumers for 10 years, 80 hours of unpaid work requirements and to pay £9,000 of the prosecution costs.
The investigation began following many consumer complaints to Trading Standards services, Action Fraud and British Gas about a company registered as ‘The Gas Board Ltd’, based in Croydon. Many of the victims felt the business name ‘The Gas Board’ was deliberately used to mislead them, and imply the callers were from British Gas, which they were not.
The defendants were aware at an early stage the company name was causing confusion, and that the company was misrepresenting itself, but they continued to target those aged over 65 for their personal financial benefit. The majority of consumers who were ‘sold’ boiler repair cover never received the service, and most were unaware until they saw money leave their bank accounts, that they had contracted with a company that was not their own service provider.
If you wish to report a trader to Trading Standards, please contact Citizens Advice Consumer Advice Line on 0808 223 1133 or Contact the consumer service – Citizens Advice.
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