Overview
- Nelson Cooper and Scott Smith, who pleaded guilty, were sentenced on April 30th at Canterbury Crown Court to three years and two years four months in prison, respectively.
- The pair targeted older homeowners across Kent by cold-calling, claiming urgent chimney or roof work was needed, then inflating small quotes into bills of hundreds or thousands of pounds in places including Dover, Canterbury, Ramsgate and Swanley.
- Investigators recovered phone videos of unsuspecting victims and voice notes where Cooper boasted about “Christmas money,” along with messages claiming Ramsgate jobs topped £2,700 and that in Dover “ladders are going up left right and centre.”
- Police arrested both men in Ramsgate on January 10, 2025 after reports of cold callers, finding Smith at a property where an elderly resident had already paid more than £25,000 for unnecessary work.
- Kent Police said some victims were escorted to banks and cash machines to withdraw cash, and they urged residents to reject unsolicited repair offers and seek a second opinion.