Letting agents who mark up maintenance sub-contractors’ bills should make landlords aware of the practice and clearly display what the mark-up is, under consumer rights legislation.

The advice comes from David Hedger, head of Trading Standards at Northamptonshire County Council, which has won a successful prosecution against former letting agent Harpreet Garcha.

Garcha, who ran three Belvoir  franchises in Kettering, Desborough and Corby, made about £200,000 by marking up invoices by around 30%.

Speaking yesterday, Hedger told EYE: “The Consumer Rights Act requires letting agents to transparently display all their fees and charges.

“If an agent is inflating invoices, it would certainly be our view that the amount of the mark-up should be clearly displayed. Otherwise, it could be seen as a hidden cost.”

He said: “In court, the defence claimed that the failure to show the fee was a ‘deliberate omission’.”

Garcha was sentenced to two years and nine months in jail.

Hedger said that the investigation into Garcha’s activities was the largest by Northamptonshire Trading Standards in the 25 years he had worked there, and probably the largest of all time.

He said: “In the event, the defendant pleaded guilty on day 7 of what was due to be a five-week trial, so we had to be fully prepared.

“There were 11,000 pages of evidence and 86 witnesses.”

He revealed that Northamptonshire Trading Standards is now working on a new investigation, aimed at getting compensation for landlords. There is likely to be a further Proceeds of Crime court case this autumn.

Trading Standards were alerted to Garcha’s activities by a landlord, who had received the inflated bills and then demanded to see original invoices.

Trading Standards obtained access to the premises and seized records. It also won a court order giving them right to access the firm’s computer systems, and that in turn led to them cross-referencing some 1,000 invoices.

Hedger said that it was a “weakness in the law” that Garcha will be able to come out of jail and, while he is banned from being a director for nine years, will be able to work in an estate agency or letting agency business.