When Harold Stern's kitchen drain became blocked he did what many of us would do and called in his trusted local builder. When that builder couldn't shift the offending item and with the drain now overflowing, Stern turned to the Yellow Pages.

Looking for a company that had someone available that day, and one that quoted a reasonable charge (£59 for each 30 minutes) he settled on a firm based in Hatfield, Hertfordshire – Property Care Solutions.

Hours later the 83-year-old certainly had a clear drain. However, in a desperate attempt to stave off the threat of having to move out of his home while the drains were excavated, he had agreed to pay Property Care Solutions £14,400. The extraordinary bill was for just one man's work for five hours.

In paying it, he has became the latest victim of growing problem – rogue traders taking advantage of vulnerable customers to coerce them into paying a grossly inflated bill. There is evidence that the economic downturn is seeing a return to rip-off activities of tradesmen, with the elderly seen as an easy.......More on this story........The emergency plumber who charged £2,880 an hour