Landscape gardener Darren Moore pleads guilty to Suffolk offences after defrauding victims out of thousands of pounds

A landscape gardener has pleaded guilty to a string of Suffolk offences after defrauding his victims out of thousands of pounds.

Darren Moore, 42, of Wimbledon, traded as Darren Moore Garden Landscaping & DIY and operated across the county.

In April 2022 he came to the attention of Suffolk Trading Standards after a customer complained of his poor work and an investigation was launched.

Eight witnesses, who collectively paid over £10,800, just £2,900 of which was refunded, alleged that he acted dishonestly by taking payments for his services but failing to complete the work.

Concerns were also raised about the quality of work carried out by Moore, with an independent chartered surveyor concluding that these “fell well below an acceptable standard” and that “the amount paid by consumers for his work was completely excessive”.

Suffolk Trading Standards also discovered that Moore failed to return all monies owned to creditors and acted dishonestly in his communications with customers.

At a hearing at Ipswich Magistrates Court yesterday, Darren Moore pleaded guilty to carrying out garden landscaping work for a fraudulent purpose. He will be sentenced in July.

Graham Crisp, head of Suffolk Trading Standards, said: “The actions of Darren Moore have caused financial loss and significant distress to his victims who placed their trust and good faith in him only to be let down and fed a web of lies about why he was unable to carry out the agreed work.

“Despite making almost £8,000 in ill-gotten gains from defrauding innocent people, Moore has not co-operated with our investigation leaving us with no choice but to seek a conviction due to the severity of his crimes.

“We are very grateful to the wronged consumers who brought his despicable behaviour to light; their bravery has stopped other people in Suffolk from suffering a similar fate at the hands of Moore and will see justice served.”

Councillor Andrew Reid, Suffolk County Council’s cabinet member for public health and public protection, added: “I welcome yesterday’s outcome, which reflects the continued work of our Trading Standards team to help protect customers who are on the receiving end of unsatisfactory services or products.

“We are fortunate to have many legitimate traders in our county who don’t deserve to lose out on business to crooks such as Moore; and I hope that him reaping what he sows following his guilty plea will ensure a fairer playing field for Suffolk’s gardening industry.

“Consumers can also fight back against fraudulent traders by carrying out their research and reading trusted reviews before paying for any services.”

Anyone who believes they may have been the victim of a fraudulent or substandard trader should contact the Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 0808 223 1133.