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Trevor James Potter pleads guilty to 35 counts of stealing over landscaping rort

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Potter scammed over $61,000 from Perth homeowners
Camera IconPotter scammed over $61,000 from Perth homeowners Credit: pasja1000/Pixabay

A dodgy Perth landscaper is at it again after racking up eight new stealing charges since being released on bail in August, scamming more than $61,000 from 35 people.

Two women fell victim to Trevor James Potter’s empty promises after he claimed to be able to provide decking and paving services, but instead, he took their money and did not complete the work.

Kwinana resident Kayla Tischer first had contact with Potter on October 10 after she posted in a local Facebook chat asking for recommendations for a labourer.

“He told us his name was Daniel Porter and said he was capable of decking our outdoor area for us and a little bit of paving out the front,” Ms Tischer said.

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“He made us pay $250 for him to come out for a quote, then a 35 per cent deposit for doing the work which added up to $4000. But he just continued to make up excuses as to why the job had to keep getting pushed back.”

Ms Tischer said she first became suspicious she might be being scammed when Potter kept changing the times and dates for when the work was supposed to get started.

“The day when we found out who he was and what his real name was, he messaged that morning to confirm the dates to start the decking process, even though he had never finished killing the grass like originally agreed to,” Ms Tischer said.

“He said he didn’t need to kill it anymore, he would just dig it out instead. It wasn’t until we saw a photo of him with his real name that we were 100 per cent certain we were being scammed.”

Trevor James Potter pleaded guilty to 35 counts of stealing.
Camera IconTrevor James Potter pleaded guilty to 35 counts of stealing. Credit: supplied

Potter also scammed Bassendean woman Chantelle Fitzpatrick while he was on bail, trading under the name “Dan the Handyman Services”.

“This guy was very cunning, he spoke the paving lingo and went to great efforts to seem legit. He saw my post on AirTasker on November 8 and contacted me through Facebook Messenger to provide a quote for paving and told me his name was Daniel Porter,” Ms Fitzpatrick said.

“He said to secure the work for the following week he required a $450 deposit but he stopped contacting me after he received the payment.

“It was a day before the job was due to start on November 16 where the yellow sand that he said he’d arranged to be delivered, never showed up. From this date, he just ghosted my many calls and messages which were asking him to confirm his attendance.

“I thought I had done adequate checks by calling Consumer Protection to see if there were any reported scams under the business name I was given and validating his sole-trader ABN was active and current and there were no red flags.”

Neither Ms Fitzpatrick nor Ms Tischer has received their money back from Potter.

Consumer Protection WA released two warnings to Perth homeowners in 2018 and 2020 about Potter and his history of landscape scamming.

Potter pleaded guilty to 35 counts of stealing and will be sentenced by Perth Magistrates Court on December 17.

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