Ripped off By Builder

JohnnyJet

Thanks for that link. We found that no one was interested because there only a few victims, us being the worst hit. Civil court action is our only option but far too costly for us. No win no fee is not an option because we would win the case and have been told that the builder probably wouldn't pay the court fees so we would have to foot the bill.

JohnnyJet

I can't believe that it is over a year since my last post but just thought that I would update anyone that was interested in my progress.

The builder finally managed to complete closing his company down a few months ago, so I guess that is it. My only option now is to get him for fraud but that would be difficult so I have all but given up. My wife wanted to drop it and move on and that is probably the best idea. As much as I hate it I can't spend the rest of my life angry and upset.

Regarding the house - I have almost finished insulating and putting the ceiling/walls up on the first floor. This proved difficult because most of the walls weren't square and I had to correct this as I went. I was also limited for time having to juggle my full time job and child commitments. I am aiming to finish this stage by May(ish) and also want the electrician and plumber to finish second fixes by then.
I will still have skirting, door hanging, plastering, tiling, painting, carpet fitting, etc to do but at least I can finally get the house signed off so the pressure will be less. Also I still have a large list for the ground floor which has been left for almost a year because the priority has been to get the house signed off. For example I still have no carpet in the hallway and our bedroom and there is still skirting board painting to be done. A lot of this comes down to my budget, I can only afford a set amount for materials each month and I can't pay for any help other than the electrician and plumber.
We started shopping at Lidl last year and have managed to halve our food bill, so that is money that goes towards the material costs. Still have very little furniture but I am hoping we can afford some items later on in the year.

lisawaters

Good on you. Shame about the money... maybe later when you have more time.

Maybe someone has furniture or money they could let you have!


Best of luck.

Mike

RAS

JohnnyJet wrote: »

A lot of this comes down to my budget, I can only afford a set amount for materials each month and I can't pay for any help other than the electrician and plumber.
We started shopping at Lidl last year and have managed to halve our food bill, so that is money that goes towards the material costs. Still have very little furniture but I am hoping we can afford some items later on in the year.

Johnny

More than well-done so far. To come back form the situation you were in is incredible.

Have you thought of exploring www.freegle.co.uk? You may need to make one offer before you are allowed to bid or ask, but a pair of the kid's out-grown trousers would meet the requirements.

JohnnyJet

Hi Mike, good to hear from you. Will check out your diary later, hope all is well.

I'm not one to ask for help but a donation of a few hundred thousand would be nice.

Forgot to say, finally got a sofa for a bargin £50. It's an M&S sofa and looks almost new. Saw it in the Friday-ad and took a gamble, think we will be doing more of that this year.

lisawaters

I am going to ebay a big pine dining table but could come to an arrangement if you need one? PM me.

londonrugbyboy

JohnnyJet wrote: »

The builder finally managed to complete closing his company down a few months ago, so I guess that is it. My only option now is to get him for fraud but that would be difficult so I have all but given up.

Hi JohnnyJet

Really, really sorry to hear about your experiences. I too was ripped off by a builder at around the same time as you (summer 2010).

Just a quick question - was your builder's company voluntarily dissolved or subject to a winding up order by the Official Receiver?

Reason I ask is that my rogue builder was subject to a winding up order and, long story short, the Insolvency Service then took him to court for "accounting irregularities" and he's been subsequently disqualified as a director for seven years.

It's a bit of a long shot but, if your builder is subject to a winding up order, you may be able to get the Insolvency Service to disqualify him as a Director. Whilst that wouldn't compensate you for the financial loss you've incurred, it would be justice of sorts.

MatyMoo

JJ, Good to hear from you :T:j:T Slow but steady progress is great news, at least you have a roof over your head and the family together It is great that you have found Lidl and cut the shopping bills, once this trauma is over and the house is finished you won't know what to do with all the spare cash!

Freegle, freecycle and the ads in the local shops are great places to pick up things for nothing or next to nothing but it can take time to seek them out and you may not have any spare at the moment.

Londonrugbyboy - As pleased as I am to see bad businessmen struck off and disqualified from being directors it doesn't stop the gits from starting again as a sole trader or with the wife fronting the business. Where dodgy/cowboy builders are concerned there needs to be some way of registering them to warn others. For example, Paul Bridle of Horsham (who stole Mike's money and left his house in an unbelievable state) was a sole trader and had many CCJ's against him that he had failed to pay. When Mike won judgement against him he had no money to pay and his property was in joint names - Sorry for going off topic

londonrugbyboy

MatyMoo wrote: »

Londonrugbyboy - As pleased as I am to see bad businessmen struck off and disqualified from being directors it doesn't stop the gits from starting again as a sole trader or with the wife fronting the business. Where dodgy/cowboy builders are concerned there needs to be some way of registering them to warn others. For example, Paul Bridle of Horsham (who stole Mike's money and left his house in an unbelievable state) was a sole trader and had many CCJ's against him that he had failed to pay. When Mike won judgement against him he had no money to pay and his property was in joint names - Sorry for going off topic

Hi MatyMoo

Yep, agree with you all the way. The law is not sufficiently robust when it comes to rogue builders. My preference would be for some sort of licensing system to be set up - ie. if a builder was found guilty of misconduct by the licensing authority, then he's struck off and prosecuted accordingly.

But, we are where we are. In the current circumstances, I'm glad that the law has caught up with my builder of sorts, and if a disqualification stains his character and ability to work again, then so much the better. In the case of my builder, another disgruntled customer has ensured that, whenever he is "googled", his misdemeanours are flagged at the top of the search list.

JohnnyJet

londonrugbyboy wrote: »

Hi JohnnyJet

Really, really sorry to hear about your experiences. I too was ripped off by a builder at around the same time as you (summer 2010).

Just a quick question - was your builder's company voluntarily dissolved or subject to a winding up order by the Official Receiver?

Reason I ask is that my rogue builder was subject to a winding up order and, long story short, the Insolvency Service then took him to court for "accounting irregularities" and he's been subsequently disqualified as a director for seven years.

It's a bit of a long shot but, if your builder is subject to a winding up order, you may be able to get the Insolvency Service to disqualify him as a Director. Whilst that wouldn't compensate you for the financial loss you've incurred, it would be justice of sorts.

Unfortunately this seems to happen all the time, what was your experience?

In the end I think he was voluntarily dissolved although someone else was trying to stop this process. I don't know who or how to find out.

I think he has commited several crimes but was unable to prove any of them.
1) I think he was trading while insolvent.
2) I think he bought goods for other jobs and I paid for them.
3) I think he meant to take our money from the beginning.
4) He didn't actually work the amount of days that he says he did. In fact he was on holiday in America for two of the weeks.