Getting money back from cowboy builders

psychopathbabble

lisawaters wrote: »

For example, Psycho would have one with just pix of her being hugged by celebrities... you get the idea

I would recommend you don't leave any windows open tonight Mr, or you might wake up to a nasty surprise :mad:



Why are you picking on me?! I don't like it

lisawaters

psychopathbabble wrote: »

...or you might wake up to a nasty surprise

I usually do.

Poosmate

psychopathbabble wrote: »

I would recommend you don't leave any windows open tonight Mr, or you might wake up to a nasty surprise :mad:



Why are you picking on me?! I don't like it

Oi Mr Mike! Leave our liccul sis alone she's one of THE MOB and don't forget we ALL know where you live so you may end up with more than one nasty surprise to wake up to!

Lovely email though, made my eyes leak again. Doh! you do like to make the ladies cry don't you?

Hope you've settled in ok. I bet the boys can't wait to come back to stay with you again, they must be so excited.

Take care and enjoy it.

Poo

psychopathbabble

Hehe Thanks Poo!!! :j

And Mike, it would be a new nasty surprise

june.elizabeth

I have no words left, enjoy your home xx

savingmummy

lisawaters wrote: »

This is what I finally sent to the Beeb. Not sure it covers it really...


To all of the DIY SOS team members, on site and in Bristol.



I have been searching for the words to sum up how grateful the boys and I are for all you have done for us and the cottage. But I don't think they exist.

I realise now that the house was uninhabitable and I was hanging on to the belief that something would happen which would make it possible for my derelict cottage to become a wonderful home again. I was kept going by the image of a quaint and pretty 18th century cottage on the outside, yet gorgeous and contemporary inside.

The original builder I was recommended to use did not just take away the heart of the building and my money; he also took away my physical and mental health, my ability to work, my excitement in owning a house again and, briefly, my trust in anyone. I was progressively backed into a corner from which there was no escape. Nick summed it up when he said that I had become 'institutionalised'... I was in a groove doing the same things repeatedly and expecting the outcome to be different.

The past two years were the darkest of my life. I went from being a 'have' to being a 'have not'. It was frightening and uncontrollable. Everything I had taken for granted in life was stripped away week by week, month by month. Every time I thought I had touched the bottom, it moved further away.

I asked for help on the MSE forum in February. Reading back, I was clearly drowning, not waving. I can see how desperate my situation was now, but at the time I just kept on trying to find something that would reverse the descent. 'Asking for help' proved to be the turning point; I had thought I would find my own way out of the mess, and my self-respect would be intact… I thought I could make everything all right without having to ask anyone to help.

The people on the thread saw that I was in trouble, and they gave their support. They didn't know much about building but they seemed to know a lot about me. I felt that things could change if I accepted that asking for help was OK. They somehow gave me a break from banging my head against the wall, and showed me that accepting help doesn't diminish you. And that it's hurtful to people if you refuse them the chance to do something.

I was in a bad place when I wrote to you asking for help, and when Mark and Christine first visited me at the house, they were probably deeply shocked. Their kindness and matter-of-fact attitude helped me to think - yes, things ARE bad. But there's maybe a chance they could get better after all.

Being told I had been accepted for the programme was an indescribable feeling. A cloud began to lift immediately, and I began a journey back to normality which continues today. I started to feel happy (which I hadn't for a long time!)

From then on, it was a rollercoaster; and Christine and Beth might remember that I didn't believe you would all show up even the Friday before you were due to start! My recent experiences had included so many occasions when something good was dangled in front of me then snatched away, such as the four court cases I won, which never led to any change.

Meeting many of you on the start day was wonderful! You actually had turned up! (If this was a practical joke, it was a hell of a good one!) Being banished from the house just as things started to get interesting was awful! Not knowing what was happening was initially fun, but ultimately almost physically painful!

When you revealed my new home to me, I felt scared for the first time in many years. Standing there with my eyes shut, on the brink of having so many questions answered was terrifying. I suppose that moment was the turning point between what life had become, and what it might possibly be. I will never have a better experience. As I hope you now know, I loved it! Everything in it is beautiful and it feels secure and warm and solid. There had been so many worrying discoveries in the final days before the build started, I had mentally written the house off as unsavable - yet here it was, almost as I had imagined it, yet so much better!

At 3 am the next morning I came downstairs and had a walk round and saw so much I hadn't noticed. I realised how much work everyone had put in, what a clear belief and vision had driven it, and how lucky I was that this had been done for Jack, Sam and me. By the time I had switched the lights off and gone back to bed it was dawn, and I had fallen completely and utterly in love with the cottage again. I hope we will be together in it for a long time.

Thank you again for being such kind and friendly people, from the first phone call to today. Thank you for giving us a home, for taking on such a challenge, for being so generous and clever, and for never once making us feel you were doing us a favour. The programme will be fascinating and I hope you enjoyed making it.

Thank you for the day sailing, the morning at the primary school, for being so nice to my neighbours, and for giving us a hug when we were overwhelmed. Thank you for filming the whole thing, too! Do come back and see us again.

I don't think there actually is a phrase to describe how the boys and I feel now, which sums up our appreciation of everything you all did. Maybe this is the only thing I can say, but I hope it is enough:



Thank you.








Mike, Jack and Sam Purdie

The Dolls' House

Norfolk Place, Littlehampton.

Perfectly written and from the heart! You really are great with words.

I remember Mike when your thread popped up, i had previously posted up my SOA and was going on and on about how much debt we were in and how we were struggling.......then i sat and read your thread (no replies had been given, your thread was fresh) expecting to highlight some changes to a man/womans SOA who was maybe in debt or about to become unemployed BUT i was shocked at what i was reading!!
I paused and cried, i could not believe another human being could treat anyone how he did you.
It made me realise that yes i was in trouble but nothing in comparison.
I begun to focus on cheering you up and trying to figure out what could be done for you.
I remember i went through a phase of checking my SOA multiple times a day previous to `meeting` you (I got addicted) This stopped and i found myself checking your thread instead for updates and to make sure you had eaten:rotfl:
Then i watched posts being multiplied on the thread and friendships forming, people advising and offering to help and then `The Mob` began :T

It just proves that amongst the bad there are nice people, and i will never moan about being in small trouble again when others out there have it worse.

You helped me through a tough time in my life and helped me to realise i wasn`t in that much trouble, i also learnt from you to never give up and if you need help.... ASK!
SO thank you Mike xx

Happytogetdebtfree

Ah saving mummy that was lovely

Butti

lisawaters wrote: »

This is what I finally sent to the Beeb. Not sure it covers it really...


My recent experiences had included so many occasions when something good was dangled in front of me then snatched away, such as the four court cases I won, which never led to any change.


.

It's a lovely letter Mike. I hope you've got over the promise of leopardskin wallpaper only to get in and find it wasn't there. Yes, thought not. Never mind, sure the pain will ease in time - I can bring some when I come down to see you!

Thanks for saying that asking for help is never weakness. I'm in the middle of trying to find a job or go on a course and money is going to get tight. May need to ask someone to be a safety net just so I can sleep at night. Won't like doing it, but think maybe I should.

B

miggy

Aw, you lot, you're so lovely!
Sorry I'm not around much this week, it's just busy. I'll be back.
Meanwhile - my signed tee shirt is here! Woopie and thank you! I shall resist the temptation to sing about it as I expect you need your sleep, but I'm so chuffed! :T:T:T

Edit - that bit was meant for the wonderful SB! xx

lisawaters

Poosmate wrote: »

Oi Mr Mike! Leave our liccul sis alone she's one of THE MOB and don't forget we ALL know where you live so you may end up with more than one nasty surprise to wake up to!

Lovely email though, made my eyes leak again. Doh! you do like to make the ladies cry don't you?

Hope you've settled in ok. I bet the boys can't wait to come back to stay with you again, they must be so excited.

Take care and enjoy it.

Poo

I do seem to have that effect on women.

Boys here this weekend. We have lots to do and catch up on. Two years' worth.