Matthew Geoffrey Rixon has been sentenced to 21 months in jail after being convicted of contempt of court for breaching NSW Supreme Court orders which restrained him from doing residential building work in NSW.
“Mr Rixon is a serial offender whose actions have caused significant distress to many consumers,” Petinos said.
“This prosecution highlights the importance of consumers checking the credentials of builders and other tradespeople before engaging a contractor for work and serves as a warning for other would-be offenders that they will be caught.”
In NSW, a licence is required for trade work such as electrical, air conditioning, and plumbing, irrespective of the cost, while also required for all other residential building work valued at more than $5,000 (US$3,7oo.)
In addition, the Home Building Act prohibits asking for more than 10 percent of the contract price as a deposit before work commences.
Petinos thanked the people who came forward to share their stories which provided the evidence to secure Rixon’s conviction, adding that Rixon would be hit with the full force of the law.
He would then accept deposits, after which he would do little, no, or shoddy work unlicensed.
He was first convicted in 2014 and received a sentence of 18 months jail, but the sentence was wholly suspended and reduced to 300 hours of community service.
Then in 2018, he breached court orders related to the first offence and was sentenced to another 18 months’ jail.
“Matthew Rixon, AKA Matthew Douglas, a convicted offender, is advertising and preying on people in the shire,” Kirsty wrote in an email.
‘'I’ve lost over a thousand dollars, and I’m sure there are many others in the shire too.”
The latest conviction, which was handed down by the NSW Supreme Court on Wednesday, February 23, came in response to consumer complaints and a subsequent investigation by NSW Fair Trading.
