A father-and-son rogue trader duo were spared prison after they paid £15,500 to their OAP victim.

Charles Carman, 59, and son Charlie Carman, 39, persuaded their vulnerable victim that he needed thousands of pounds-worth of work on his home in Wytham Street, Oxford, between August 2017 and September the following year.

In total, the cowboy builders got their victim to hand over £23,500 for work that was only agreed verbally.

A builder hired by Oxfordshire County Council’s trading standards team, which launched an investigation after the police were called, estimated the Carmans’ works to be worth £1,814.

Sentencing Carman snr to 20 weeks suspended for two years and the son to 18 weeks suspended for the same length of time, Judge Maria Lamb blasted: “The pair of you flagrantly breached regulations which exist to protect the customer, particularly those who may be vulnerable by reason of age as your victim undoubtedly was.

“Nothing was put in writing here. He had no chance to reflect on the wisdom of what he was doing or make any inquiry about the figures that were involved.”

The victim, who had lived in his 1930s semi for 60 years, was said to have handed over a cheque for £7,500 to ‘J Doe’ in the summer of 2017. The mystery group persuaded him to pay for clearing a garden shed and the garden.

As unknown men were working on the garden the Carmans visited the property and told the owner that all his windows, guttering and down pipes needed to be replaced.

The victim paid £15,000 by cheque in September 2017. The Carmans did some work to the guttering at the front of the house and some painting, although never finished the work. Windows, which did not fit or match the house, were delivered but only some were fitted a year later.

In September 2018 the rogue builder father-and-son pair persuaded the victim to pay another £5,000 for materials for work to the garden. Nothing was ever done.

The Carmans became increasingly friendly towards their victim in what prosecutor Richard Heller branded a ‘cynical device to perpetuate their exploitation of a vulnerable man who lived on his own’.

They promised to take him to Lincoln Cathedral to indulge his passion for playing the organ and also invited him to their home for Christmas.

Oxford Mail: Wytham Street, Oxford Picture: GOOGLE

The pair, both of Mansion Caravan Site, Iver, Buckinghamshire, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to engaging in unfair commercial practices. They both had previous convictions, although these dated back a number of years.

The men paid £15,500 in compensation after Judge Lamb put the case back for several weeks in October.

As part of his suspended sentence, Carman snr must do 150 hours of unpaid work and 32 rehabilitation activity requirement days. His son was ordered to do 120 hours of unpaid work. Each will pay £4,000 in costs.