HARASSMENT & INTIMIDATION BY COWBOY BUILDERS
Harassment is defined under the
Protection from Harassment Act 1997 as:
1) A person who pursues a course of conduct-
(a) which amounts to harassment of another, and
(b) which he knows or ought to know amounts to harassment
of the other.
(2) For the purposes of this section, the person whose
course of conduct is in question ought to know that
it amounts to harassment of another if a reasonable
person in possession of the same information would think
the course of conduct amounted to harassment of the
other.
Harassment is closely associated with the offence of
Putting people in fear of violence which is defined
as:
A person whose course of conduct causes
another to fear, on at least two occasions, that violence
will be used against him is guilty of an offence if
he knows or ought to know that his course of conduct
will cause the other so to fear on each of those occasions.
(2) For the purposes of this section, the person whose
course of conduct is in question ought to know that
it will cause another to fear that violence will be
used against him on any occasion if a reasonable person
in possession of the same information would think the
course of conduct would cause the other so to fear on
that occasion.
COWBOY BUILDERS & HARASSMENT
If you employ a cowboy builder you can
expect some of the following types of harassment:
Verbal abuse in the street or in your
home
The threat of physical abuse or physical
abuse itself
Constantly driving past your house or
parking outside it
Death threats to yourself and your children
- directly or indirectly
Malicious lies and defamation within the
community
Malicious lies and defamation to building
suppliers and other traders in the area
Bullying to your children at school
Intimidation at the school gates
Intimidation of your children by the cowboy
builders wife and friends
False county court claims against you
Turning your neighbours against you through
lies intimidation and association
Killing of your pets
Defamation by friends of the cowboy builder
e.g. their hairdresser
Attempts to run you off the road
The list goes on and on...... for example
in a recent case the cowboy builder constantly harassed
the estate agent of the victim when they were trying
to move out of the area using false names to set up
false viewings etc.
Harassment is notoriously difficult to
prove as most of it occurs without witnesses and where
witnesses exist they are usually to scared to 'get involved'.
Harassment can lead to fear and stress
and has been known to cause some victims to become ill
or agoraphobic. Consult your GP and tell him what your
concerns are!
If you suffer any of the above or worse
contact the Police immediately and report the incident.
Make sure you keep a record of the incident number provided
by the Police. If you have a solicitor contact them
and report the incident. Your solicitor should take
action to deter the offender however this is often not
taken seriously by 'lightweight solicitors'
Be careful who you tell about the harassment.
Many cowboy builders have been known to turn it on its
head and accuse you of defamation of character.
Remember most cowboy builders are experts
in harassment and do it in such a way as it is virtually
impossible to prove. Do not try and play them at their
own game!
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