We’ve got £44,000 out of pocket after a contractor botched our refurbishment – now our entire house looks like a tip

Grandparents have claimed to have £44,000 out of pocket after a builder botched renovations in their garden – leaving the foundations of their home visible.

Sandra, 63, and Stephen West, 62, asked a contractor to convert their old patio into a fresh new patio area.

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Despite paying the huge sums, they say their Kent home was left in worse condition than when work began.

The contractor, whom the grandparents found through neighborhood app Nextdoor, denies the claims and says the problems are due to natural causes.

But they say the unfinished work has affected her mental health — Sandra has been prescribed antidepressants by her doctor.

And they say they were told by an assessor the situation could get worse in inclement weather.

Sandra said: “Once a week he would ask me for £2,000 for it, £5,000 for it, with increasing amounts and reasons – it wasn’t until I added it up that I was absolutely horrified.

“I couldn’t sleep, I went to the doctor and he put me on antidepressants and I’m still on them.

“We paid a lot of money and it was left in worse condition than it was before launch.”

Sandra and Stephen from Benenden near Tunbridge Wells bought the house in January 2021.

They decided on a patio months later and found a contractor based on an online recommendation.

In June 2021, the builder began work, but the couple claim they immediately noticed problems with the wall they were building.

And they say it collapsed just a few months later due to drainage problems.

The couple claim he stopped showing up at the property on days he promised to work, and in December 2021 the grandparents said they saw him for the last time.

They also claim they paid for materials that were never delivered and say they are still waiting for them to be delivered.

In February 2022, they hired a loss adjuster, who told them the contractor had attempted to call on his insurance, and a structural engineer to assess the damage.

“The structural engineer said we have cracks in the country where everything moves,” said Sandra.

“The house is 20 years old and there has never been any sign of problems, he damaged the foundation. They said it’s safe for now, but inclement weather could make it worse.

“Rain, snow and inclement weather further washed away the ground and caused landslides.

“We feel shattered, last year we couldn’t even get our heads around what we’re doing now, we can’t believe someone would do something like this to us.

“We have tried everything – we have contacted Trading Standards but they said they are not prosecuting anyone.

“We went to the police, who were initially interested because it was so much money, but after a couple of weeks we got an email saying it was a civil case, not a criminal one.

“One lawyer said that since he’s a limited company and hasn’t reported any assets and if we proceeded further he would just close the company and we wouldn’t get anything – they advised us not to spend any more money on it.

“Before you hire a contractor, do your research. If it’s a limited company check Companies House to see what it’s worth as this builder hasn’t filed anything with Companies House.

“Make sure you get guarantees, there’s no comeback at all with WhatsApp SMS for money.”

The contractor in charge of the work says the problems were beyond his control and were due to earth movement.

He says he tried to make claims on his public liability insurance but his claim was denied and he is now awaiting a decision from the Insurance Ombudsman.

He claims the materials were never delivered to the property as there was no space for them on site.

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