Shoddy tradesman Daniel John Pittaway spared jail so he can work to repay clients he ripped off through substandard jobs

This shoddy tradesman, who ripped off customers including a charity, has been spared jail for just one reason.

A shoddy tradesman who plagued clients with defective work and stole $10,000 from a charity has been spared jail – but only so he can earn money and compensate his victims.

On Tuesday, the Adelaide Magistrates Court opted to suspend Daniel John Pittaway’s five-month prison term on condition of a two-year, $500 bond.

However, it also fined him $3350 and ordered he pay $8270 – which Magistrate John Wells said was “well below” what the victims lost, but represented the most Pittaway could afford.

“Honesty, openness and trust are extremely important (in contracting) … the work you did was shoddy, defective, flawed and below an acceptable standard,” he said.

“You have come very, very close to going to jail today … I am prioritising restitution to the victims over penalty.

“All of your efforts in future must be directed toward paying the compensation.”

Daniel John Pittaway outside the Adelaide Magistrates Court. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Naomi Jellicoe.

Pittaway, 38, of Royal Park, pleaded guilty to multiple counts of accepting payment for services he failed to provide, and to working as a builder without a licence.

Between March 2018 and May 2020 he fleeced $55,000 from clients by taking on work he never finished, increasing quotes and demanding payment of “overdue invoices”.

Pittaway also defrauded $32,612.25 from three clients for whom he promised to build custom car trailers, then delivered them late and “unsafe to operate and not fit for use” on the road.

In sentencing on Tuesday, Mr Wells said Pittaway’s case stood apart from other offenders.

“You are different from fraudulent or charlatan builders who simply rip people off … all of your offending involved shoddy workmanship due to your below-par skills,” he said.

“You did not set out to steal money from the charity, rather you accepted $10,000 from them to build a mobile toilet and never did any work.”

Pittaway’s trailers were “unroadworthy” and had “significant faults”. Picture: Facebook.

He noted Pittaway had “spiralled out of control” and into methylamphetamine abuse when his relationship and business were both “in crisis”, but said that provided no excuse.

“Your drug addiction is now under control … you must continue your rehabilitation,” he said.

Pittaway was also banned from working as a builder in SA, with Mr Wells telling him to “prioritise honesty and trust” in his next job while working to compensate his victims.

Outside court, Commissioner for Consumer Affairs Dini Soulio welcomed the decision.

“This is a pattern of serious offending that left consumers with poor building work and, in the worst cases, left them with trailers that weren’t roadworthy and posed a serious

road safety risk,” he said.