Please advise - it's all gone SO wrong

yellowduck_2 · 17 February 2010 at 1:31PM

oh what a terrible roller coaster for you to ride, definately name and shame him if you have the mental and physical strength.

lisawaters · 17 February 2010 at 7:12PM

Happytogetdebtfree wrote: »

I didnt want to read and run im so sorry about this carry on, i dont know what to suggest, when you give in good faith you expect a job done surely there is more that can be done, does his wife know what he has done? can you not tarnish his business report him in a paper, he will loose out on business will he not i dont know what i would do myself arghhhhh .... can you try again to get the cash back ? or tell him he has to finish the job ?? what about reporting him to a standards agency ? im so very sorry for you x

Thanks. I'm not sure if a local paper would name him for legal reasons. I am looking into it and at a story in one of the nationals' property sections. Trading Standards aren't interested these days but I'll check again. He hasn't broken the law - the law's just wrong.

And I'm not really the sort of person who is comfortable in the spotlight. Bit shy? I'd do most things to resolve this though!

lisawaters · 17 February 2010 at 7:16PM

ceejaydee23 wrote: »

have you thought about going to the ~BBC's Rogue Traders, or possibly even DIY SOS? I'm sure one of them would pick up your case and help!

C5 Cowboy Builders were the first I contacted. They won't cover it because they can't find anyone else he's ripped off.

DIY SOS have the details and I guess they're looking at it. There's a long lead time between shows running and filming the next one. Good idea though. I'll see what other progs are around. Again - he hasn't broken the law. He just is under no compulsion to pay anything until he sells his house. He has taken on full time employment (I believe) with a building firm so I could get an attachment to his income from them.

It's all so wrong I feel physically sick when I think about it - which is almost all the time. Maybe Martin will make some comment if he sees my post?

lisawaters · 17 February 2010 at 7:19PM

velocity.girl wrote: »

totally agree with Ceejaydee23 i would tarnish him publicly, he is a thief!!! i have no further advice i'm afraid, i just didn't want to read and run
I have had a dealing with a dodgy builder too recently after buying this wreck of a house forked out £50,000 to do it up and now there's cracks in all the new plaster work, light switches falling off and water taps leaking and a cooker hood that blows out instead of sucks...the warranty is up on that now...he's been due to come 7 times to fix it
i know it's a very smaller scale but i sort of know where you are coming from

good luck with what you decide to do x

Wouldn't it be good if some Government did something to rope these criminals in rather than feathering their own nests and duck islands? Sorry you have had a bad experience too. Puts you off dealing with anyone. Big companies aren't much better either. The secret is never to pay everything up front. If they won't work on that basis, who needs them? They won't come back unless you are witholding some of the money.

lisawaters · 17 February 2010 at 7:21PM

Buffythedebtslayer wrote: »

Def try Freecycle. You never know what is on offer or what peoplemight dig out to give away.

I have no advice about the scum sucking builder. Foul little cretin.

I would for the time being try to make one or two rooms as liveable as possible and go from there.

It is crap but if you want the house I guess this something you have to go through. Horrible vile builder tho. I really do hate people like that.

Keep postinghere, its very inspiring what people can do.

xxxx

I am on Freecycle. It's a fast moving place if something good comes up, isn't it! I haven't even got any money for stuff fo the house. I live on £50 a week benefit. Because I' a scounger!

I don't need furniture so much as a plasterboarder,plasterer, plumber, etc and the money to pay them.

never-in-doubt · 17 February 2010 at 7:27PM

Send Martin a PM - he will respond, he is good like that :-)

lisawaters · 17 February 2010 at 7:28PM

debtdesperado wrote: »

Hi Lisa

Sorry to hear about your bad luck.

I'm a bit confused by your post - you said that you'd got a charging order on the builder's house but then you are also trying to get the money taken out of his wages?

If you have got a charging order on his house, what will happen is that when the house is sold, you will get your money, probably plus interest out of his share of the proceeds. The reason you would have been advised to do this rather than try and get money out of his wages, is that if he is self-employed there is no 'employer' who organises his pay. So you have had the right advice.

But you will get your money eventually, so (and I know this is easy to say) you shouldn't worry about it further. You have done all you can so put it to the back of your mind, get on with your life and whenever his house is sold look forward to what will feel like an unexpected windfall at the time.

I'm in the middle of renovating a flat and I know it is horrible to live on a building site, and I do sympathise. I am trying to get debt free at the same time, so doing the work is taking ages as I can only do the bits that I can afford to each month and previously I was taking a scattergun approach, a bit here, a bit there. My tip would be to focus on one room, like your bedroom or the front room and get it done. At least then you will have one nice place to sit and that will make you feel better, and then you can think about the next room. Trying to think of the whole project just makes me feel overwhelmed, whereas if I break it down into tiny steps (eg today I am going to sand the door frame, tomorrow I will sand the back of the door), gradually it starts coming together. It's going to take me all year though

Thanks for the thoughts...

I have the charging order on his house but he might not sell it in my lifetime and might gift it to his children. Then I'll never see a penny. Even though it might only be a few hundred a month for 23 years, that could be something at least. I'd hope to talk the Judge into upping it to at least a grand a month. I had to find it two years ago, so why can't he? If he took out a home owner loan it wouldn't cost him more than five or six hundred and I'd have all the money in one go. Far too simple for the legal system!

He is now working for a local builder so I guess I can get the attachment to that. What happens if he leaves or can't afford to pay, who knows?

I have made each room as comfortable as I can but it's hard when there's no window in the holes, just polythene! I can't connect the electrics until the plastering is done. And I can't get the plastering done for less than about three grand. It's a complete nightmare.

I've lived in dirt and cold and chaos for 18 months and I ought to be able to get the money I'm owed so I can move out for three weeks and get all the trades in to finish it in one hit. I am so worried it's going to be repossessed before I can finish it.

SPANIEL36 · 17 February 2010 at 7:30PM

slightly off subject but you mention kids...where are they now?

lisawaters · 17 February 2010 at 7:32PM

Intergalactic_Floozie wrote: »

Oh hun, I have absolutely no words of wisdom at all but I just wanted to post to let you know I am sorry you're having to go through this all.

As a few people above have said, what would it take to make one room habitable and nice. Do you have any fight left in you to be able to do that?

Thanks for the kind words, which mean a lot.

My comments to others cover this. I'm unable to move forwards or backwards. I don't know if I can carry on. I am appealing against the DWP stopping my incapacity benefit following a medical which was a joke with a Polish doctor. That's next month. My eyesight's poor after laser surgery went wrong. No wonder I don't win the lottery, like, ever! Call me Unlucky Alf! Ooooh booger!

lisawaters · 17 February 2010 at 7:36PM

yellowduck wrote: »

oh what a terrible roller coaster for you to ride, definately name and shame him if you have the mental and physical strength.

I'm not sure any media will name him as he hasn't done anything illegal, just terribly immoral.

I'm running out of personal resources to face much more of this. I think I can manage one more appeal, for attachment of earnings, and if that goes his way, I think I may have to accept that I'm not really going to be able to stand years more of this stuff. Sorry if that sounds dramatic. I understand why people top themselves... you just run out of resources to deal with a situation.

I just need the money, now, and I can start putting things back together.

Thank you for your support.

Please advise - it's all gone SO wrong

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