I was a victim of fraud and mean to turn the fraudster in- how?
<p>Long story short:</p>

<p>a gutter cleaner drops a leaflet with phone number, and as my gutters needed to be cleaned I called him, we met and I gave him a deposit for the work in cash. The gutter cleaner put everything in writing at the back of the leaflet and signed it. Gutter cleaner never shows up for the work. I only have his number and mean to ask my friend to call him because they need their gutters cleaned too, so as to lure him into a trap. But then- how do I turn him into the police and keep everything legal? Was thinking of using pepper spray, but I live in Newcastle, and it's illegal to use it in the UK. Any ideas?</p>

<blockquote>
<p>a gutter cleaner drops a leaflet with phone number, and as my gutters needed to be cleaned I called him, we met and I gave him a deposit for the work in cash. The gutter cleaner put everything in writing at the back of the leaflet and signed it.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In other words, you have a written contract which you fulfilled but the other party did not fulfill, so they now either owe you a service or your money back. This is a civil law matter <a href="https://www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money" rel="nofollow noreferrer">which you can bring to a county court</a>. You have a telephone number, so it should be possible to identify the other party.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>lure him into a trap. But then- how do I turn him into the police and keep everything legal? Was thinking of using pepper spray, but I live in Newcastle, and it's illegal to use it in the UK. Any ideas?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is a very bad idea!</p>
<p>Apprehending suspects is the job of the police, not yours. Well, there is the concept of a <a href="https://www.inbrief.co.uk/police/citizens-arrest/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">citizen's arrest</a>, but this is only an option in a very limited number of cases, specifically when you catch a criminal in the act and need to prevent the suspect from getting away before the police arrives. And even then you are on very shaky legal ground if the suspect claims you used more force than necessary or if the court doubts that a citizen's arrest was necessary in this particular case.</p>
<p>And in this case a court probably won't believe that a citizen's arrest is justified, because the gutter cleaner probably didn't even commit a crime. They just violated a contract. That's a civil matter, not a criminal matter. It <em>might</em> be a criminal matter if they never intended to fulfill the contract (fraud), but you don't know that. If you use violence on a person just because they owe you money, you are very likely committing a crime yourself.</p>

<p>You contact <strong>Newcastle Trading Standards</strong>. Contact info is on this page although they will probably try to refer you to Citizens' Advice Bureau for 'consumer advice'. Trading Standards is the enforcing authority.</p>

<p><a href="https://www.newcastle.gov.uk/business/trading-standards/fair-trading" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.newcastle.gov.uk/business/trading-standards/fair-trading</a></p>

<p>(This assumes you are Newcastle-upon-Tyne and not another Newcastle)</p>

united-kingdom fraud