Cowboy builders charged pensioner £30,000 to paint his house in job that should have cost just £2,500 Philip Riley and Joesph Featon charged 76-year-old customer twelve times the going rate for botched home improvements Pair painted parts of their victim's home, replaced a fence and other odd jobs over a three-year period They pleaded guilty at Liverpool Crown Court to conspiracy to defraud and were jailed for 12 months each Two cowboy builders conned an elderly customer, charging him twelve times the going rate for botched home improvements. Philip Riley, 56, and 59-year-old Joesph Featon charged the 76-year-old man £29,800 for painting his house and fitting a window. The pair used their powers of persuasion to coax the man into parting with the money from his savings after an elaborate con spanning almost three years. Philip Riley, left, and Joesph Featon, right, charged their 76-year-old victim twelve times the going rate for three years of botched home improvements, including painting and erecting a small fence They pitched up at the man's house every two to three months, to paint, fit a window or work on the porch. During one visit they charged the customer £10,000 to paint his fence. Police were eventually called to inspect their poor workmanship after a tip off from neighbours. Reputable builders later concluded the bill should have been just £2,500 - more than 1,000 per cent below Riley and Featon's asking price. At Liverpool Crown Court the pair, both from Blackpool, each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud and were each jailed for 12 months. Greater Manchester Police said the construction con began in June 2009, when the two men knocked on the front door of the victim in Standish, near Wigan. They claimed to be builders and agreed a price with the pensioner to carry out work on his house including painting the outside of the house and fencing. But unbeknown to the old man he was being overcharged 'ridiculous amounts of money'. Between July 31, 2009 and March 21, 2012, both men were paid a total of £29,800 after they attended the house every two to three months, painting, fitting a window and working on a porch. The pair pleaded guilty at Liverpool Crown Court to conspiracy to defraud and were jailed for 12 months each. They were found out when neighbours of their victim noticed he was paying 'ridiculous amounts' for the work But the alarm was raised by the neighbours when they realised that in March 2012 the victim had raised two cheques for Riley and Featon, totalling £10,000 for work to erect a small fence at his address. When the work for the full building project was assessed, the true value of the 'improvements' was valued at just over £2,500. Both men were then arrested later and charged. Det Con Shaun Nicholls said after the case: 'Both men preyed on a vulnerable member of our community, knowing that if they could talk their way into his good books, they would be able to con him out of money. For over a period of just under three years, they claimed they were doing work on his house and charging him ridiculous amounts of money. When the "work" was looked at by a professional, it was described as substandard at best. Thankfully, after an investigation, we were able to bring both men to justice and force them to face up to what they have done.