WYCOMBE MP Paul Goodman is supporting a group of campaigners who are trying to put a plumber out of business following complaints of overcharging exposed in the Free Press.

The newly-elected Tory MP has written to government minister Melanie Johnson asking what can be done to stop such traders after meeting with customers who claim they were overcharged by Adams Plumbing.

Tony and Michele Foster, of Parsonage Gardens, Marlow, were left "in a state of shock" after Adams Plumbing presented them with a bill for more than £2,000 to fix a leaking pipe.

Mrs Foster said: "I really want him to close down. Many of the people Adams Plumbing visit are elderly and have been left frightened."

The couple became the latest people to fall foul of a firm that Buckinghamshire Trading Standards officers have had more than 150 complaints about.

The company, who operate telephone numbers in Maidenhead, High Wycombe and Marlow, is owned by David Mote, of The Spinney, Beaconsfield.

Mrs Foster set up the group with people who have complained about the company after she called Adams Plumbers to their house to fix a leaking pipe.

Customers have complained that they signed contracts under the impression that they were time sheets and that they were charged extortionate rates for work to be carried out.

In his letter Mr Goodman writes: "Mr Mote has blighted the lives of many of my constituents by making them sign a dubious job sheet/contract and excessively overcharging them."

Mr Goodman added: "More of my constituents, particularly the elderly, will fall prey to the services of Mr Mote unless he is stopped."

David Collinson, a Buckinghamshire Trading Standards officer, said that many complaints about Adams Plumbing followed the same pattern.

"The usual routine is that they present a contract to the homeowner that explains the cost per half hour per man plus VAT."

Mr Collinson said in some cases customers believed it was just a time sheet they were signing.

He added: "Homeowners sign it and their signature does appear next to the charges.

"Bearing in mind the number of complaints we have had, people are not aware what they are signing."

However, Mr Collinson said the company has done nothing illegal as customers sign a contract given to them before the work begins.

In May, the Free Press revealed that Adams Plumbing charged Brenda Matthews, 64, of Adelaide Road, High Wycombe, £5,585 to fix a leaking water cylinder.

The Free Press has learnt of other examples of people being hit with similar bills.

They include a woman with a spinal fracture who was nursing her husband with terminal cancer at the time when a plumber from the company came to fix a leaking radiator and charged £700.

Mr Mote was thrown out of the Institute of Plumbing in November 1999 following an investigation by its professional standards committee.

Complaints included allegations of overcharging, bad workmanship and aggressive behaviour.

Adams Plumbing has been in court three times this year. On two occasions Mr Mote issued a summons to customers refusing to pay bills but on both occasions failed to turn up in court.

One of Mr Mote's customers who complained, Independent Living, a disability company based in Downley, was taken to court after they refused to pay more than £700 for unblocking a drain. The judge at Wycombe County Court struck the case out when Mr Mote did not turn up.

David Mote did not comment when approached by the Free Press but previously said he was an emergency plumbing service.

He added: "If we need any part then we tell them how much. When they know how much the materials will be we ask for a deposit to cover it. They sign a contract agreement and along with the rate is the time of starting and then a time of completion."