Five-year prison sentence for rogue builder who deceived victims

​A North East based ‘builder’ who knowingly scammed the public out of more than £130,000 has received a five-year prison sentence from Newcastle Magistrates in a case compiled by Northumberland Trading Standards and National Trading Standards.

James Bell appeared at Newcastle Crown Court this week (8 October) where he pleaded guilty to five offences which predominantly centred around charging deposits for building work that was never undertaken.

Bell, 51, from Cumberland Street, Darlington traded as a sole trader, obtaining work through a number of trading names including JB Plastering and Renovation.

He first came to the attention of Northumberland Trading Standards in March 2019, when a complaint was made by a Northumberland resident from the Hexham area. Bell had been contracted to do building work, had taken a deposit, but then failed to return to undertake the work agreed.

Northumberland Trading Standards subsequently became aware of further complaints, including those from residents of Newcastle, Darlington, Durham, Middlesbrough and particularly North Yorkshire.

Complaints investigated in Northumberland came from residents living in the Hexham, Morpeth, Berwick, Bedlington and Stocksfield areas.

The complaints alleged similar trading practices of taking deposits, often for more than half the total cost of the job. Once the money had been received, the work was rarely progressed.

Due to the scale of alleged offending, which predominantly took place outside of Northumberland, the investigation was referred to the National Trading Standards North East Regional Investigation Team in April 2021.

This resulted in the collection of twenty-nine witness statements and of these, sixteen had no work started at all.

The statements revealed how customers had been scammed out of money: Large deposits were paid but work did not commence. If work commenced it was not completed. Work done was sometimes of poor quality and had to be repaired by other tradesmen at a later date, which added further to the cost.

In some instances, the scale of the work was significantly increased at the suggestion of Bell beyond the initial request of customers which increased costs.

Bell failed to provide cancellation rights or contracts and failed to obtain Building Regulation permits as required by law while taking payments for such services.

Bell also provided a catalogue of false excuses as to why the work had not started in order to keep the money.

Northumberland County Councillor Gordon Stewart, Cabinet Member with responsibility for Public Safety said:

“Bell was fully aware that his business practices were designed to mislead and defraud customers and he had a total disregard for the law, his customers or their rights.”

“Thanks to the persistence of both the Northumberland and National Trading Standards investigation teams and the council’s legal team, Bell has been brought to justice and will now pay for his crimes. This was a great result in Court and we hope this serves as a warning to others who think they are above the law – our teams are tenacious in protecting the public and we will persist in bringing offenders to account.”

The investigation was lengthy and was delayed by the Covid pandemic. The prosecution process was started some time ago but was also delayed as Mr Bell failed to attend at court on numerous occasions. A warrant for his arrest was issued on 23rd August 2024 and with the assistance of Durham Police, Bell was arrested in Newcastle on 12th June 2025 and has been held on remand since that time.

Howard Turton, Regional Enforcement Manager, National Trading Standards North East Regional Investigations Team, said:

“Honest homeowners across the North East and North Yorkshire were deceived into handing over large sums of money for building works that were rarely completed or – in some cases – never started.

“He had no regard for the emotional and financial distress his actions would cause his victims – and I hope this sentence sends a strong message that crime does not pay.

“If you or someone you know has fallen victim to a fraud like this you should report it to the Citizens Advice consumer service helpline by calling 0808 223 1133.”