Ripped off By Builder

JohnnyJet

Paulgonnabedebtfree wrote: »

JJ. You're a better man than me.
I may well have taken illegal revenge long before this stage.
His vans would be off the road. His property would have suffered damage. Maybe his person would have suffered damage too.
Such things don't come naturally to me but there are times in life when I just feel like saying "Stuff the moral high ground and take some satisfaction from the other person's demise".
I know that's not a healthy attitude. When I was younger and wilder, I'm damn sure I would have caused him harm. These days, perhaps not. Although vermin such as your original builder appear to have no conscience, I do believe that they suffer at some level. It sounds like he has peed off a lot of people and it would be difficult to know for sure who was getting back at him if it was done in certain ways. The trouble with stuff like that is that it can boomerang back and bite your own !!!!. I doubt I need to elaborate because I'm sure you've had plenty of your own fantasies. Maybe not. Maybe you are psychologically healthier than me.

I think it is only natural that anyone put in this position would want to take revenge, but it would only give me further problems if I took that sort of action. I prefer to try and stay positive and work my way out of this situation. I have reported him to every agency I can think of but there is always a small reason why they won't act. Legal action would have been taken had he not closed his limited company down. My only option is to take him to court on a personal level but finding the right evidence will take a long time. I have many years to do that.

miggy

miggy wrote: »

Here you go, Butterflies:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00x3t9v/DIY_SOS_Series_21_The_Big_Build_Littlehampton/

Apologies, I don't think that's the right link.
Can someone else help please?

JJ, you're to be commended for restraint. Yes, it wouldn't help to beat the man up or smash his property, but it must take a lot not to do somesuch.
Hope you and your family are okay? I remember you said your wife wasn't too well.

JohnnyJet

miggy wrote: »

Apologies, I don't think that's the right link.
Can someone else help please?

JJ, you're to be commended for restraint. Yes, it wouldn't help to beat the man up or smash his property, but it must take a lot not to do somesuch.
Hope you and your family are okay? I remember you said your wife wasn't too well.

I feel totally let down by all the authorities, they just don't seem to care and I do find it very hard to show restraint when I can't get justice any other way. But I simply can't go down that route, there are other people involved and it wouldn't make things better.

My wife has arthritis and she has just been put on some new medication. She takes a tablet once a week and it makes her ill for several days, I'm hoping it's just her getting used to them and this won't happen every week.

Billy_two_speakers

Butterfliesarepretty wrote: »

Hi I just read this thread and cant believe the conman has got away with it!:mad:

I would have liked to have seen the programme but I cant find it on the internet.

My plasterer two years ago damaged my sofa and I only noticed after he had gone. I paid him £2k to reskim my bedroom walls, ceiling, stairs, kitchen and lounge ceiling and walls and put a lowered ceiling in the bedroom. Previous hairline cracks are now starting to show through now. But I didnt contact him again about the sofa, I didnt see the point to be honest.

Can anyone find the programme on the internet for me?

Skiming for hairline cracks short term lazy way to fix them, decent job is taking old screwdriver down the line making deep V shape hole

wet then use a bonder plaster over the depth then sand down

miggy

JohnnyJet wrote: »

I feel totally let down by all the authorities, they just don't seem to care and I do find it very hard to show restraint when I can't get justice any other way. But I simply can't go down that route, there are other people involved and it wouldn't make things better.

My wife has arthritis and she has just been put on some new medication. She takes a tablet once a week and it makes her ill for several days, I'm hoping it's just her getting used to them and this won't happen every week.

I think you may have gone down this route already, but have you spoken to your MP?

It's very rough that your wife's medication has such a bad effect. I know some meds do take a while to settle down and that may be the case. If not, would her doctor consider decreasing her dose?

Oh, and Billy - I like your signature!

JohnnyJet

miggy wrote: »

I think you may have gone down this route already, but have you spoken to your MP?

It's very rough that your wife's medication has such a bad effect. I know some meds do take a while to settle down and that may be the case. If not, would her doctor consider decreasing her dose?

Oh, and Billy - I like your signature!

I did contact my MP but he didn't reply, may try again but can't see how he can help. Will probably tell me to contact Trading Standards and the Police, but as you know, I have already done that. I am so tired of writing letters and explaining myself only to be let down time after time.

lisawaters

JohnnyJet wrote: »

I did contact my MP but he didn't reply, may try again but can't see how he can help. Will probably tell me to contact Trading Standards and the Police, but as you know, I have already done that. I am so tired of writing letters and explaining myself only to be let down time after time.

Sounds familiar...

Try and keep going for a bit longer. Tides can turn.

m

JohnnyJet

I still have so much to do on the house including constructing a complete first floor, I would rather spend my time doing something that I can complete. Just think I am wasting my time constructing a case that I can't afford to proceed with. The builder does very well at convincing people that we owe him money and every time he does that I have to go through all the paperwork to prove my position, which is very clear once I produce all the evidence. I am finding that very difficult and get pretty depressed about it. The police got involved but they did not have anyone that understood the building trade so they didn't take it further.

nomoreboomandbust

Sorry, I have not had a chance to read through the thread and I am also aware of Mike's predicament via Tv, so not aware of all the facts, but I have just come across this

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1349355/Cowboy-builders-swindled-customers-nearly-1m-jailed.html

Everybody will be pleased with justice been done, although nothing can compensate for the misery and heartache these scumbags have caused.

So why have they been processed in the criminal courts ? it appears as though this course of action was not open to both of you, correct me if I am mistaken. Obviously the scale of this is almost unprecedented but it is still the odd 20k here and there, standard sums when dealing with large scale projects, hopefully it will put others off

Interestingly,the mail are not allowing comments for legal reasons, unusual once a verdict has been reached

lisawaters

nomoreboomandbust wrote: »

Sorry, I have not had a chance to read through the thread and I am also aware of Mike's predicament via Tv, so not aware of all the facts, but I have just come across this

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1349355/Cowboy-builders-swindled-customers-nearly-1m-jailed.html

Everybody will be pleased with justice been done, although nothing can compensate for the misery and heartache these scumbags have caused.

So why have they been processed in the criminal courts ? it appears as though this course of action was not open to both of you, correct me if I am mistaken. Obviously the scale of this is almost unprecedented but it is still the odd 20k here and there, standard sums when dealing with large scale projects, hopefully it will put others off

Interestingly,the mail are not allowing comments for legal reasons, unusual once a verdict has been reached

Thanks for posting this. We saw it last week and did discuss it. I don't know why it went to the high court and would like to know. I suspect they all brought a class action.

x