A man has been jailed for two years after fraudulently taking payments of more than £70,000 for work he didn’t do.
Kye Ranson, 43, of Meadow Road, Lemington in Newcastle, took money from eight different customers, resulting in him being taken to court by Durham County Council.
A judge heard Ranson would attend customers’ properties and quote for work. He would then ask for a deposit of usually 50 per cent of the price of the quoted work.
Customers would pay but Ranson would not carry out the work, giving a variety of excuses including bad weather, car or supply issues, family emergencies and fitters not being available.
Owen Cleugh, the council’s acting head of community protection, said: “Mr Ranson took thousands of pounds from people who trusted him to carry out work which they had agreed with him.
“However, none of the work was ever undertaken, with a number of reasons being given by the defendant as to why.
“The customers we spoke to suffered great emotional distress as a result of Mr Ranson’s actions.
“We hope the two-year prison sentence handed out by the court will serve as a warning to anyone thinking they can take money from people for work they don’t deliver.”
Ranson appeared at Durham Crown Court for sentencing having already pleaded guilty under the Fraud Act 2006 to one offence of knowingly participating in a fraudulent business, said to have taken place between May 2024 and June 2025.
The judge heard Ranson is the sole trader of the business KR Creative Design Solutions. From August 2025, the council had become aware of reports of unfair business practices from the defendant and his firm.
The court was told that when Ranson did return to the homes of people he had taken payments from, he would delay matters further. When customers asked for refunds, Ranson wouldn’t return the money. He would suggest he had already paid for materials which were bespoke designs and, therefore, could not be refunded.
The judge heard customers lost a total of £70,202, with the highest single loss being £24,525. Some of the people were able to get money back via their banks.
Victim impact statements were read out in court. One stated: “This has had an adverse effect on my mental health. We had saved so hard to get the money together and I felt so low… I was on long term sick for over three months. Luckily, I have a supportive workplace. Kye knew this and I felt he played on it. I felt broken. I moved out due to having no kitchen and the living environment. I was upset that he had pulled the wool over my eyes. I felt like we had a good relationship with Kye, and I trusted him. It put me in a bad state of mind, and I got obsessed with checking my emails and messages.”
Another said: “The situation turned our world upside down and it was difficult living in the environment and waiting for deliveries to come which didn’t arrive. It has made me feel sad, depressed and angry. He made us feel sorry for him and we trusted him, we saw no red flags.”
A third added: “It has been a bad experience, I feel a lack of trust in tradesmen, and I feel we’ve been living a substandard way of life due to this matter.”
In Ranson’s defence, the court heard he was suffering with his mental health at the time of the offence, following separation from his wife. The judge was also asked to consider his good character and genuine remorse.
Sentencing Ranson to two years in prison, the judge referred to the defendant’s dealings with customers, saying he had “strung them along with excuse after excuse with no intention of doing the work.”
