A rogue plumber charged more than £700 for a boiler job which should have taken two minutes, a court heard.
But Paul Forse, 39, had no idea he was being watched as part of a sting operation to catch cowboy tradesmen.
But Paul Forse, 39, had no idea he was being watched as part of a sting operation to catch cowboy tradesmen.
He was called out to a house to examine a faulty boiler and told the 'householder' - an undercover Trading Standards worker - he needed to fit a new circuit board.
He said the piece would cost about £215, which took his total bill for the work to £719.59, and set off apparently to buy a new circuit board.
But when he returned, he simply reinstalled the same piece. It had been marked with a unique scratch which meant it could be identified.
Buckinghamshire Trading Standards set up a range of simple household faults to test whether tradesmen called out to fix them were being dishonest.
Experts had tampered with the boiler, making it break down by loosening a wire. Video evidence showed Forse examining the boiler and spotting the wire.
Judge Roger Connor, at Aylesbury Crown Court, said: 'He was observed to note the loose wire connection which would have solved the problem, then pretended to note a faulty circuit board and pretended to buy a new circuit board.'
Forse, of Ruislip, North-West London, was ordered to do 120 hours of community service and pay costs of £6,893.
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