How to avoid rogue traders

Mark Makowski overcharged customers by thousands of pounds when he was called out in emergencies to help them gain access to their homes. Answering calls by stranded householders, he would cause unnecessary damage by drilling through locks or breaking down doors and then fit cheap replacements.

Makowski was recently found guilty at the Old Bailey of 15 counts of fraud, including two incidents involving Trading Standards officers. He has now been sentenced to four years in jail.

The locksmith had a history of exploiting desperate householders and was convicted in 2003 by Hertfordshire County Council. He was caught again in 2008 when Westminster County Council carried out a sting involving officers posing as members of the public.

Makowski traded under the name Pronto Locks Ltd with a business address based at New Cavendish Street W1 but he was actually based in Hertfordshire. He had the words 'Rogue Trader' as a screensaver on his mobile phone, the court heard.

He said his favoured tool to gain access was a piece of plastic to slip open the lock but if that failed after three minutes he would drill the lock out. He admitted he never used a specialist letter box tool to open doors.

Outside court Sue Jones, Head of Trading Standards, said: "We are delighted that justice has finally caught up with this trader, who charged his customers large sums of money for a very poor quality and often totally unnecessary work. We hope the fact that his activity was proved to be fraudulent sends out a clear message to other traders who may be tempted to behave in this way."