Mr. DIY, a one-man Derbyshire firm which offers to carry out customers' odd jobs for them has been threatened with closure by a local council unless it changes its name, as it apparently contravenes the 1968 Trade Descriptions Act.
A spokesperson for Amber Valley Trading Standards explained: "What we have here is fraud, plain and simple. If I were to say to you, 'I will come to your house and carry out your DIY for you,' then from that moment it ceases to be DIY. What it actually becomes is GSETDIFY, namely "Get Someone Else To Do It For You'. If Mr. DIY does not comply with our quite reasonable order to change his name to MR. GSETDIFY within thirty days then we will have no choice but to take the necessary action and close him down." He continued, "We simply will not tolerate such flagrant breaches of the rules."
Mr. DIY, aka Matthew Rowley of Heanor, commented: "GSETDI-what? I have absolutely no idea what they're on about."
Rowley intends to fight the council and is even prepared to take the case to court if necessary, where he will of course be representing himself.
