Detectives work with partners to expose rogue trader mechanic
Detectives have worked with Trading Standards partners to expose a mechanic who scammed a series of customers around the country.
Mark Douglas Lowe, aged 47 and of Poole, appeared at Bournemouth Crown Court on Friday 31 July 2026 to be sentenced for two charges of fraud by false representation with a further six offences taken into consideration when sentenced.
An investigation was launched into reports that Lowe – who advertised his services as a mechanic under the names Dorset & South West Mobile Mechanics Ltd, South Coast Mobile Mechanics Ltd and Mobile Auto Electricians Ltd – had repeatedly asked for payments up front for work on vehicles and parts and had either failed to carry out the work or supply the parts he was paid for.
In December 2024 Lowe visited the address of man aged in his 50s in Maidenhead in Berkshire who needed work on his vehicle and advised the victim the total cost of repairs would be £750. This included £350 for a new engine control unit, with the victim paying £250 in cash up front.
The victim never received the part and did not receive any response to calls and messages to the defendant.
In November 2025 a woman aged in her 60s in Wincanton in Somerset contacted Lowe after seeing his services as a mobile mechanic advertised online and arranged to him to come and repair the vehicle. He attended and advised cash was needed up front in order to purchase new parts, with the victim paying £500 in cash.
Again Lowe never supplied the parts.
A comprehensive investigation by detectives into further reports from various parts of the country led to a further six similar fraud offences being identified, which Lowe admitted and were taken into consideration when he was sentenced.
Alongside the police investigation, Dorset Council’s Trading Standards team investigated offending over a three-year period ending in July 2025 with more than 20 victims located in Dorset, Hampshire, Somerset, Gloucestershire, Cornwall, Staffordshire, Yorkshire, Herefordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire with a total value of the offences estimated at around £22,000.
This resulted in Lowe being prosecuted for seven Trading Standards offences including fraud by false representation, fraudulent trading and aggressively pursuing a customer.
Lowe was sentenced to two years and three months in prison when he appeared at court for sentencing.
Evidence compiled by the Trading Standards team, with support from Dorset Police, also led to the court imposing a criminal behaviour order preventing Lowe from advertising or offering his services as a mechanic for a period of five years.
He was also disqualified from being a company director for five years.
Detective Constable Nick Taylor, of Dorset Police’s Economic Crime Unit, said: “Mark Lowe is a rogue trader who scammed a series of customers from around the country, taking their hard-earned money without any intention of supplying the parts they had paid for or doing the work he had promised.
“By working with our Trading Standards partners, we have ensured that he has been held accountable for his deception and measures have also been put in place to limit his opportunities to target further victims in the future.”
Martin Thursby, from Dorset Council's Trading Standards, said: "Mark Lowe knew his customers all desperately needed their cars fixing but he did not hesitate in defrauding them without repairing any of their cars and leaving many in an even worse condition.
"It was clear the judge recognised the harm done by Lowe when he imposed a sentence of immediate imprisonment."