A RETIRED couple were left devastated when builders they paid £4,000 to fit in a new kitchen failed to turn up and left their extension without a roof.
The couple, who lives in Chapel House near Newcastle in Tyne and Wear, hired a local company, Home Bathroom Installations, to help with the renovations of their newly-purchased bungalow in late 2020 before they moved in.
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Kathleen and Robert Stuart now allege they were left with a £4,000 debt after the owner reportedly took the deposit but never delivered the kitchen units.
Kathleen Stuart, 75, told The Northern Echo: “The whole thing has been such a nightmare.
“When we moved into our new house we put an advert online looking for someone to do some work for us and Anthony got in touch – I wish he never had.
“He said he needed about £4,000 as a deposit for the kitchen units we liked so sent him the money but he never delivered the units.
“We’ve asked him for the money back so many times and he still hasn’t returned it to us, he can’t get away with it.”
Kathleen was also left despairing by the alleged poor standard to which the work was done.
She explained that the radiators had been not properly connected, the tiles had been laid clumsily and the kitchen extension had been left gaping without a roof for four months.
The retiree added: “At first he [the owner] was only meant to do the bathroom but when we told him we needed the central heating sorted and the kitchen extension he said he could do it all.
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“There were constant delays and the work was shoddy. The bathroom tiles weren’t laid properly, the radiators were the wrong lengths and then we didn’t have a roof on the extension for four months so Bobby had to scoop out the water when it rained.”
“We’ve had to get somebody in to sort it all out which has cost us over £12,000.”
The couple now have a completed kitchen after hiring another builder.
In a message conversation with Kathleen, owner Anthony Wilson, meanwhile, promised to look into the couple’s refund, which they first asked for in November 2021, after explaining he processed the money “many months ago”.
The issues came to light after one of the retired couple’s neighbours in Chapel House claimed he was also owed money after renovations carried out by Home Bathroom Installations turned into a “nightmare”.
Neighbour James Crosthwaite told The Northern Echo he was owed £7,000.
“I’m sorry for the way things have turned out,” Wilson told Kathleen in a message.
Commenting on the matter, Wilson told The Northern Echo: “Regarding the work not carried out properly, I offered to sort a very minor issue with the radiator pipes. All that was involved was to slightly move a pipe fitting, I was told not to bother by the customer.
“There was a small amount of grout missing from in between two tiles, again I offered to sort this and a tiler went twice but nobody was at home.
“I am pleased you have brought the deposit refund to my attention as this was processed many many months ago so I will look into this.
“There were delays on this project and unfortunately this was mainly due to the fact we were at the height of the pandemic towards the end of 2020 running into many months of enforced isolation in the months of 2021.
“I offered to rectify the issues at all times but as you can appreciate the timelines were extremely difficult as was the supply of all materials to the construction industry and unfortunately our working relationship broke down irretrievably.”
Crosthwaite won a County Court Judgement carried out against Home Bathroom Installations. The homeowner claimed he is yet to received any money back from the firm, despite the High Court Enforcement trying three times to issue a warrant to the building company.
Home Bathroom Installations, which was based in Sacriston, has since ceased trading.
Wilson has now set up a new venture, Bathrooms and Cladding, in Houghton-le-Spring.
What to do if you fall foul to a builder
Under the Consumer Rights Act, anyone who enters a contract for goods and services can expect these to be supplied with reasonable care and skill – and this includes builders, plumbers, decorators and electricians.
It also includes materials, which should be of satisfactory quality, as described and fit for purpose.
If you’ve fallen victim to a builder, or had a dispute with your contractors, you should firstly collate all evidence you have, including paperwork, photos, videos, messages and bank statements.
Then, try to resolve the issues directly with the firm, before trying an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) scheme such as mediation or ombudsman services.
If this doesn’t work, contact your bank to find out whether you can recover any money spent using Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act (if the job cost between £100 and £30,000, your credit card company is jointly liable if something goes wrong).
If this doesn’t work, report them to the police on 101.
While the lines between what is criminal and just bad practice are blurred, a contractor could be done for fraud.
It is also important to contact Trading Standards. Citizens’ Advice has an online form to help you do this.
TS will then decide whether to investigate further based on the information you provide and help negotiate a settlement.
Even if it doesn’t, the details may help if anyone else complains about the same firm.
It is also possible to take builders to a small claims court if you have been left out of pocket. However, you run the risk of racking up significant costs.
While most home insurance policies don’t cover building work, it is worth confirming this with your provider.
And you should also, if possible, find out whether your builder holds liability insurance, which would also help.
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