Dodgy builder Matthew Stephen Priest of Asentus Home Improvements fined $15,000 for working unlicensed and not finishing work

A tradie who scammed clients out of thousands of dollars for unfinished renovations went as far as using his father’s licence without permission to continue trading.

A dodgy builder who left his clients in the lurch after not finishing renovations still hasn’t learnt his lesson and has continued trying to trade, a court has heard.

Matthew Stephen Priest, 33, was fined $15,000 and convicted in his absence after he failed to appear in court again.

The Adelaide Magistrates Court on Tuesday heard Priest worked as a building work contractor while unlicensed between January 14 and June 30, 2019.

He advertised building services, including home, kitchen and bathroom renovations under the business name Asentus Home Improvements.

Matthew Priest was fined $15,000 for not completing building work. Picture: Facebook

The court heard Priest accepted $20,000 from a Redwood Park couple in January 2019 to renovate their bathroom.

The work had not been finished after four months – with the toilet not installed and the waterproofing and tiling not complete.

Priest also accepted $15,000 from the couple to renovate their kitchen and laundry.

Contractors were there for four months but did not complete the work – the tiling, ceiling and walls were incomplete and the kitchen sink and appliances hadn’t been installed.

Priest accepted $24,450 from a Glenelg North man in February and March 2019, claiming the work would be completed in six weeks.

It was still not complete by June – with the floor grouting unfinished and the shower screen and tapware hadn’t been installed.

The man had to get another tradesman to rectify Priest’s work.

The court heard Priest then advertised his building services between June 26 and July 18, 2019, using a building licence number.

“It was a genuine building work licence number but it didn’t belong to the defendant, it belonged to the defendant’s father who had not given permission for it to be used,” Magistrate Karim Soetratma said during sentencing.

“The defendant’s use of his father’s building licence number is particularly significant.

“By pretending to hold a specific licence which actually existed substantially deprived consumers of any way of discovering the defendant was actually unlicensed … it had the additional consequence of putting at risk the professional reputation of his own father.”

Priest, of Enfield, was found guilty of multiple offences, including carrying on business as a building work contractor when unlicensed and failure to provide goods and services within a specified time.

A Consumers Affair prosecutor told the court Priest had continued breaching the Building Work Contractors Act, showing his lack of remorse.

“Mr Priest has been holding himself out again as being licenced to perform work,” she said.

Mr Soetratma ordered Priest pay $22,000 compensation to the Redwood Park couple and $2450 to the Glenelg man.

“Failure to complete work to acceptable standards is behaviour which undermines the confidence of the public in the licensing scheme,” he said.

Priest was also fined $15,000.