Ex-company director who ‘promised the earth’ but delivered shoddy work pleads guilty during trial

A former company director accused of being a “controlling mind” in a business which left customers with sub-standard work to their homes has admitted a series of offences.

David Gillies, 43, had denied 16 unfair trading offences as evidence was heard by a jury at Teesside Crown Court. The prosecution said he “promised the earth” as customers paid thousands of pounds between them to Riverside Resin Ltd for faulty or unfinished work to drives, patios and paths.

However, he has now pleaded guilty to eight of the charges, all of engaging in unfair commercial practices, covering seven victims. The prosecution offered no evidence on two charges of misleading commercial practices, relating to a complainant in Ormesby, Middlesbrough.

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Six remaining unfair commercial practice charges were left to lie on the court file. Judge Chris Smith directed the jury to find Gillies guilty on the admitted charges, bringing the trial to a close on Friday.

Gillies was bailed until he and another director of the company, Rebecca Wilson, 40, of Anlaby Close, Billingham, who pleaded guilty on a previous occasion and never went to trial, are sentenced at a later date.

Prosecutor Rebecca Brown said they were the “controlling minds of the company”, which claimed to be a “friendly, professional and hard-working team committed to creating outstanding results for our customers”. She told jurors: “The prosecution say that this was not the reality for a number of customers.

“The prosecution will show you that time after time Riverside Resin were signing people up for work and that work was sub-standard or not complete or both.” Jurors heard this week about customers of the Billingham-based home improvements company.

They were told customers were charged four to five-figure sums for shoddy or incomplete work by unprofessional tradespeople. Ms Brown said people were sold hard-wearing resin surfaces for driveways, paths and patios.

She said they discovered faults but complaints were ignored, dismissed or met with delays, excuses or empty promises. She told of the experiences of customers from areas including Stockton, Hartlepool, New Marske and County Durham.

One, who was signed up to a £6,300 driveway and patio contract with a 25-year guarantee, said of Gillies: “He promised the earth.” He was quoted as saying to another customer, who agreed to pay nearly £24,000 for work on a garage and kitchen extension, drive and patio: “To be honest I’m partly to blame.

“I’ve been going through some health stuff and I’ve been beside myself.” She waited 17 weeks for works which posed an electrocution risk.

‘Empty a jacuzzi on it’

Another was promised resin “so porous she could empty a jacuzzi on it” for £15,000, and when she complained about the results, Gillies told her there was nothing wrong, the court heard.

At the start of the trial, Ms Brown said the issue was whether offences were committed with Gillies’ “consent or connivance”, or because of his neglect. The prosecution says he was in contact with customers and workers and would have known of regular complaints.

She said he went to a customer who had complained to Trading Standards and said he had left and started a new company, but used Riverside Resin’s workers trying to fix botched work.

Gillies gave a prepared statement when interviewed by Trading Standards officers. He said he worked for the company as a manager then director but either did not know of people’s problems or tried to fix them.

He was quoted as saying: “Where there have been any problems I’m extremely sorry for any inconvenience or distress the company may have caused. The problem is that when matters are not brought to my attention and I’m oblivious as to difficulties, then I can’t be expected to deal with such matters.”

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