Adkins/Wheatman Cowboy Trap

Today, I'm going to show you some huge building blunders.

You'd hear wood being sawn but you couldn't seen what had been done.

I'll give you loads of advice and insider tips.

You opened drawers and they fell off in your hand.

It was just one thing after another.

I reveal tricks con men use

to get their hands on your hard-earned cash.

We were supposed to be having this wonderful large family Christmas

and we couldn't.

My team of experts will right the wrongs

and gives people their homes back.

-Take a look.

-Wow.

-Oh, wow!

There are plenty of great builders. Seek and ye shall find.

But remember to do your research to weed out the bad 'uns.

That way, you won't go falling into the cowboy trap.

'Today on Cowboy Trap, we're in Nottingham,

'where the Adkins family should pray fire never breaks out in their house,

'because their new extension failed to pass essential checks on the gas,

'electrics, fire doors and staircase.'

Towards the end, we realised that the person with the brains

had departed from the partnership.

'And we're in Preston, Lancashire,

'where Lynne Wheatman was unlucky enough to experience a house fire.

'Then she got burned by the builders who rebuilt her conservatory,

'kitchen, bathroom and installed illegal gas heating and wiring.'

To see your property devastated - all my personal goods, my clothes,

everything, were just gone.

'First, in Nottingham, the Adkins family wanted to transform their three-bedroom home to four,

'with a new extension and loft conversion for their growing family.

'The builders they hired came highly recommended, but when one quit,

'the other one was out of his depth.'

We decided 18 months ago to have an extension and loft conversion.

We've got three kids. One lad's going into the army.

When he comes home, we need a bigger bedroom for his army gear.

We didn't think it was fair on the 19-year-old and 15-year-old to share rooms.

'Dad John is in the building trade himself.

'He's a plasterer, so he and wife Wendy

'asked questions about which trades their builder was specialised in.'

He said he could do the general joinery building and the plumbing.

He said he would get somebody in for the electrics, gas and brickwork.

The bloke that was with him, Jack, was a plasterer.

'Here's a tip...

'The Adkins were keen to start on their extension and loft conversion.

'They wanted it all signed off by the Building Control Inspector

'to celebrate a family Christmas in their newly-enlarged home.

'The builders' quote was a reasonable £25,000

'and there would be no bill to pay until the brickwork was all up.'

The bricklayer did a spot-on job, so we didn't mind handing over £10,000.

But as it got towards the end,

we realised that the person with the brains

had departed from the partnership.

We were left with what I would call the labourer, not the builder.

'With the speedy builder gone, the 14-week job slowed

'and Wendy's dreams for their family Christmas began to fade.

'Worse still, the quality of work went downhill fast.'

He was here from May to November and he still hasn't finished.

'By the time the job ground to a halt,

'the Adkins had handed over 23 grand.

'Poor quality joinery on the fire doors and staircase failed to pass the Building Inspector's report.

'Legal safety certificates for gas and electrics were also missing.

'The extension was declared dangerous.'

These kind of builders wind me up.

They take your money and leave you with shoddy workmanship.

But this case is about potentially dangerous workmanship, too.

I'm here to see where my good guys

can make a difference to Wendy and John's life.

DOOR BELL

-Wendy?

-Yes.

-I hear that you've had cowboy builders in.

-Yes, we have.

-Do you mind showing me the damage?

-No. Come in.

-This is all part of the extension here inside.

-Yeah.

-There you go.

-Whoa! Why is the boiler in there?

He asked if it was OK to put it in the loo. He said it would be fine.

Right.

-You'll certainly crack your head on that when you're on the loo.

-Yeah.

'These are problems anyone can see.

'Safety defects are harder to spot, like the smoke and fire strips

'which are missing from the vital new fire doors.'

They're to protect you from flames and smoke.

To have a gap under there is not good.

It's acting like bellows. Air can draught through there.

It can provoke more flames, certainly more smoke.

This is what a fire door is there for.

It gives you time to escape. This wouldn't do that.

'Building regs require internal doors

to help prevent the spread of fire.

'Make sure your builder fits them properly.

'If fire breaks out,

'closing fire doors could save your life.

'Wendy's five-year-old daughter's bedroom has a dangerous fire door.

'Again, the builder has ignored essential safety rules.'

There was supposed to be a window back and front and a good fire door.

Building Control insisted one window was a fire escape.

So we had to have that one fitted at our own cost.

I dread to look at anything else.

'It wasn't only the fire doors and windows which failed the inspection.

'Certificates to prove the electrics and gas were safe were missing.

'The Adkins had to pay extra cash to make it safe,

'but there's plenty for the good guys to do.'

This balustrade looks unusual. That isn't safe, for a start.

It's not secured properly.

-He's classing that as a newel post?

-Yes.

-That's a bit of 3 x 2.

It's got more wobble than my belly!

-You've got no handrail.

-No.

-You've got no balustrade and handrail here.

-That's right.

-and no single handrail on the far wall.

-No.

Again, security for yourself as an adult, but also for a child.

-Yeah.

-It's an absolute must.

'Missing or unsafe safety rails are another failure. Here's a tip.

'Wendy's new extension certainly isn't safe.'

-It's weird not having a handrail.

-It is.

-To hold onto.

-You put your hand out for them, and it's not there.

-You do.

-What we've got here is the conversion.

-Yeah.

This time, he's put a bit of 4 x 3 in as your newel post.

-Sharp edges. It's not been finished.

-That's right.

-Just a piece of 4 x 3.

What can we do to help you?

Sort out my fire doors and the balustrades to make it safe.

-Fire doors through into the bottom stairwell?

-Mm-hm.

-Fire door into your daughter's room?

-Yes.

-Then fire door into that first floor.

-Yeah.

'If fire broke out, it would sweep through their home in no time.

'We need to replace those fire doors and prevent the family

'falling on the dangerous new stairs to the loft.'

It's time to get the good guys in and make this house safe.

'We've got a crack team of chippies on the job, led by top man Andy.'

What is the plan for Wendy and John?

To remove all the roughness, take all the doors off,

remove the frames, because the frames aren't fire spec.

Fit the intumescent strips, re-hang new doors.

The old ones are that badly hung we can't even re-use them.

This is the key, Clive. Didn't have any of these in the frames.

These are fire strips with a brush in them.

The brush holds back smoke and these expand with heat,

which clamp the doors shut, then obviously...

-Under heat, they swell, don't they? They expand.

-Yes.

The brush stops the smoke getting through the gaps you have on a door.

That, hopefully, gives them plenty of time to get out the house.

It failed Building Control.

At least we'll be able to get Building Control to sign off the jobs you're carrying out.

It's a really important job, Andy.

'Coming up, a rare event for Cowboy Trap.

'The Adkins' builder meets me face-to-face to defend his work.'

Do you think I'd be stupid enough to get a £60 door and butcher it in?

'Today, we're also in Preston,

'where Lynne Wheatman and her beloved dogs survived a house fire

'four years ago.

'The cause is a mystery, but Lynne's home required virtually rebuilding.

'Sadly, the builders left her with dangerous gas,

'lethal electrics, a cracked conservatory, crumbling kitchen,

'leaky bathroom and appalling plumbing.

'Lynne has been living in this state ever since.'

The kitchen was absolutely gutted. It had melted all the conservatory,

into the lounge and upstairs into the bathroom.

The fire brigade said he doesn't know how the fire went out.

We should have been coming back to broken windows, it was that hot.

My dogs were in. That panicked me.

'Lynne was lucky she was out but the real disaster was yet to come.

'Lynne was to be done over by the builder

'and the loss assessor she hired, following a tip from the firemen.'

They said, "Get a loss assessor in.

"They'll take the pressure and they know what to do."

That's what we did. We went to Yellow Pages.

Saw a big advert and thought "professional looking".

Rang them up, they came down and took over.

Lynne was victim of a terrifying fire and also victim to poor advice.

'Here's a tip...

'Always ask how much they'll take before you hire them.

'Lynne put all her trust in the assessor she hired.

'As partner Gary explains, the assessor and the builder

'siphoned off as much of the pay-out as possible.'

It's bad enough to have the fire, then to come back

and find that the very people you've trusted to do the work

have completely let you down, for want of greed.

'So she could stay with her dogs, the insurance provided a caravan.

'Building work was scheduled to take two to three months.

'There was a lot to do. New kitchen, new boiler, new conservatory,

'new bathroom and redecoration throughout.

'But there were long delays and the stress took its toll.'

Her health has suffered quite dramatically.

Um... Her health has declined.

She's on a lot of medication from the doctor.

It's had a very big impact

'After eight months living in a caravan,

Lynne was glad the builders were finally leaving.'

We were just glad to get back in. Everything looked fine.

Nice new kitchen, and I was just so glad to get in.

'But poor Lynne was about to make a terrible mistake.'

They couldn't get paid unless I signed it off.

Everything looked fine so I signed it off.

Almost immediately, we put the heating on

and it just stopped, it wouldn't work.

When we had a shower, it started coming through into the kitchen.

You opened drawers and they fell off in your hand.

Just one thing after another.

'I've come to see all the problems

'left behind by Lynne's corner-cutting builder.'

-Lynne?

-Yes.

-I'm Clive from Cowboy Trap. How are you?

-Not so bad.

I've heard that you not only had trouble from cowboy builders

-but also rogue loss assessors.

-Yes.

-Do you mind showing me around?

-No.

-What are the problems with the conservatory?

-It's leaking.

Oh, yeah.

It's cracking. You can see the cracks down there.

That'll be under movement.

I'm interested in outside.

They've actually got the rainwater from your conservatory

going into the soil stack.

As you can see... Look at the bends.

As the water gathers there,

it takes a while to come up and go around those bends.

Why the heck they didn't just do one bend and straight in?

'Lynne's builder cut every corner he could.

'This comedy pipe work is proof, but problems run through the property.'

-What's gone wrong in here? Is it a multitude of sins?

-Yes. Everything.

The hob wasn't fitted. It lifted off.

-This is not fitted. The whole thing comes out.

-Right.

-Again...

-It was damaged when they sent it for us.

The pipes at the back, the plumber said, are corroding.

-What's the major problem?

-The boiler.

It never worked. It's been condemned so we can't use it.

It worked for about half an hour when we came in.

We could get hot water but we couldn't use the heating.

When we got someone to look at it, they said we shouldn't use the hot water, it was dangerous.

The way the cables are, they've just been left loose in there.

'The boiler installation was bodged four years ago

'and condemned two years later.

'Lynne's been without heat since.'

-Are you not getting any hot water?

-No.

We didn't know it was dangerous.

He came to us in 2008 and told us don't use it.

He said it's a £5,000 fine and it's dangerous.

'Everywhere you look,

'there are problems left behind by Lynne's bodging builder.'

-This is the shower leaking into the kitchen.

-Right.

It's pretty severe. It's been happening for some time.

This is my bathroom. Not very big.

-Compact and bijou!

-Yeah.

This is leaking into the kitchen. We don't know why.

'Lynne's insurance pay-out was paid direct to her loss assessor.

'They helped themselves to commission. Lynne doesn't know how much they took.

'She does know that an independent surveyor says to right the wrongs

'will cost 30 grand!

'Lynne hired her own surveyor to catalogue the cut corners.'

I have to go back to botched jobs I saw in the '70s

to come up with anything remotely as poor

as the quality of workmanship in this case.

This house had gone to the dogs due to the fire

before the loss assessors got their mucky paws on it.

Time to get in the good guys and give Lynne's family their home back.

What is the most important thing to you right now that we could do

in the short time we've got?

To get my heating on and my water so I can shower in my own home!

'Our guys have a big three-day job ahead.

'We need to re-site the boiler, block up the flue and fit a new one.

'We'll also have to rewire the boiler power supply to make it safe.

'Coming up, a gas safety expert

'reveals why Lynne's gas work is an accident waiting to happen.'

After 22 years in the industry, that just depressed me.

There's no need for anyone to do work that bad.

'Safety is on our mind back in Nottingham, too.

'The Adkins family paid £23,000

'for a double extension and loft conversion.

'The Building Inspector identified a catalogue of safety errors -

'missing certificates for gas and electrics, wrongly fitted fire doors

'and a dangerous staircase.

'The Adkins' dream turned into a nightmare

'when the experienced half of their building duo departed.'

We're more annoyed with ourselves for letting it get to this stage.

'The 14-week job ended up doubling in length.

'The Adkins' neighbours became very familiar with the builder coming and going.'

They had a disagreement or something but now I've found out,

that he left a rotten mess so they've got to put that right after paying all that money!

'Before our good guys right all those wrongs,

'let's hear from independent surveyor Paul Brown, to get his verdict on the work.'

If you put aside the workmanship issues, which are extremely poor,

it creates other problems.

The issue of fire protection for the family is a major one.

It's a loft conversion so there has to be fire doors down to the final exit

to ensure that people can escape from that second floor.

The fitting of those fire doors is atrocious.

A fire would quickly pass through the property, regardless of those doors being there.

The gaps on them, very large. You can put your fingers in some.

Flame and smoke will pass through.

What mark out of ten would you give this guy for work he's carried out?

Very poor. I'd give him two.

What do you reckon to that? Two out of ten!

This guy's work was terrible!

It's time to show Wendy and John what the good guys can do.

'The fire doors are so badly chopped about our guys have to replace them.

'They must fit snugly to hold back the spread of fire and smoke.

'There are handrails to install to keep the Adkins safe on the stairs.

'I want to track back and find out how their extension failed so many safety tests.'

Did he not also attempt the electrical work as well?

Yeah, he did. He did all of that.

-Yet he said he'd bring in an electrician?

-He did.

He gets to the wiring stage. I said, "Where's the electrician?"

He said, "I'm only first fixing.

"I will not put anything into the fuse box."

-But he didn't. He did the lot.

-You've got to be qualified.

What was it like for you when it all went the way of the pear

and you're left with what you were left with?

How was that, emotionally, for you?

Really difficult. We didn't get what we wanted.

By Christmas 2009,

we were supposed to be having this wonderful large family Christmas.

And we couldn't.

You've got that added stress. You've got a son going over to Afghanistan.

And a five year-old daughter, too.

The stress has to be immense. These guys don't care, you know that?

And my 15-year-old stuck in the middle.

-We've come to a head a few times.

-Yeah. We've had a few arguments.

You know, a few slamming of incorrectly-fitted doors!

'Our good guys are putting the safety issues right

'so the Adkins can get on with life and put their troubles behind them.'

We're struggling. There's no support in these plaster boards.

-Does that surprise you?

-Not really, but I've never seen owt like it.

-It is a real mess.

-It's unbelievable.

'Here's a surprise. There's no phone call to the builder.

'He's asked ME over to his house to hear his side of the story.'

Let's see how we get on.

'He's not happy because the final cheque for £3,000 from the Adkins bounced.

'He refused to finish or provide safety certificates till he was paid.'

The inspector telephoned me on January 4th.

He said, "I've been in to do the final inspection."

He said he's happy with the building work.

Obviously, he wants an escape in, and the certification.

I said that I wasn't going to hand the certification over, because they're owned by me

because the bill hadn't been paid.

The electrical tests hadn't been completed because the systems hadn't been completed.

You were happy with the way those doors fitted into the frames?

This was never brought up to me by the inspector.

-He never said, "I've failed this, this and this..."

-He failed it.

They weren't like that when I left. I have photographs that she sent.

There's no gaps in bottoms of doors. Not like you're describing.

She was complaining that it was rubbing on the carpet.

You think I'm stupid enough to get a £60 door and butcher it in?

-You think I'm that stupid?

-I'm going to go back and talk to them.

They'll deny it.

OK, the next question is, why did you do the electrics

when you're not qualified?

I'm not, but you can do it when a company oversees your work.

They do the calculations and make sure you use the correct wiring then do the final tests.

-Was anybody overseeing you?

-Of course.

-Why wasn't the electrician doing it?

-We couldn't afford it.

I said that we needed more money. They said no.

If she hadn't have sacked me, this job would have been finished.

I'd have done the drainage, put the decking in.

I cannot finish a job if I've been fired.

I'm supposed to break in, do the work and complete the contract?

'There are two sides to every dispute.

'There's a row over final payment, missing certificates,

'failed fire doors and staircase balustrades.

'Had they done what the builder says and interfered with those doors?'

The only carpet it was dragging on was George's.

Right.

We took it off and planed the bottom. That doesn't explain the gap around the top and side.

'This sorry state of affairs is now tangled in legal threats.

'The Adkins have spent money to test the electrical and gas work

'because the builder has the certificates.

'Here's a tip when things turn sour..

'..You might be able to come to a compromise.

'Coming up, I hope the fire doors and banisters

'will get the Adkins the safety sign-off they need.'

-Wow.

-Oh, wow!

'In Preston, dog-lover Lynne Wheatman's home required rebuilding

'after a serious fire.

'Lynne didn't have a lucky escape when she hired the loss assessor

'who, in turn, hired a corner-cutting builder.

'For eight months, Lynne was in a caravan with her dobermans.'

Four dogs and me in the caravan. My son had to go to his gran.

No laundry facilities. We had to hire a Port-a-loo for outside.

We had a little wash basin but I had to go to my family's for showers.

We did go through some really cold patches.

'When Lynne did move back in, her new boiler quickly failed

'and was condemned by CORGI as dangerous.

'Our good guys are going to fit a new boiler.

'I want expert Jamie Cooper to show me why the old one's illegal.

'He represents Gas Safe,

'the new authority which replaced CORGI registration for gas workers.'

My main concern with this one is that the boiler was installed

by someone who wasn't Gas Safe registered. That's illegal.

About 250,000 jobs each year are done illegally

by 7,500 hardcore illegal gas workers.

We're actively trying to stop them working.

Looking at jobs like this, you can see why - the boiler's wrong.

The manufacturer wouldn't allow the boxing that close.

It would be difficult to service every 12 months.

The clearance is on purpose, cos if it gets too hot it'll break down.

I'd heard that this boiler had been condemned.

There should be a condemned notice so the homeowner can't use it.

CORGI came here two years ago.

Two years ago, from looking at the report,

the boiler had been classed as "at risk".

For want of a better word, we condemned it.

All the paperwork given to the customer said this is at risk.

We didn't know whether it would work safely.

That was the policy CORGI did.

Gas Safe Register will check an illegal installation

but slightly different.

We'll do that check to make sure it's safe.

We won't leave the customer without heating unless there's a major safety risk.

'To stay safe with gas, follow my top tip...

'Gas Safe has replaced the old CORGI registration.

'Our expert doesn't like the look of Lynne's gas hob much either.

'It's another illegal installation.'

After 22 years in the industry, that depresses me.

There's no need for anyone to do work that bad.

'The work carried out here, if you were to mark them out of ten,

'what mark would you give them?'

Two or three, maximum. It's a terrible state.

'Three out of ten is not only bad, but potentially lethal.

'No-one wants a gas explosion in their home.

'Our good guys are going to replace this illegal installation

'with a brand new A-rated energy efficient boiler.

'I want to track back and find out what happened

'when Lynne asked her builder to come back.'

They said, "You get snags with a job that big. We'll sort them."

Eventually, they sent someone round that just corked a few gaps

and around the shower.

-Then told me I were being fussy.

-You must be thinking,

"I've come through a fire, lived eight months in a caravan.

"I've come back to a disaster of a repair job." What is that like?

It was devastating. It actually gave me health problems.

I ended up with high blood pressure and stress and had to go on tablets.

I couldn't work. It was just so bad...

I was an emotional cripple, basically. It was awful.

What has it prevented you from doing that any normal person would do, not having a boiler?

Having to boil kettles to wash up, going to my daughter's for showers.

You know... I can use my washer, but to heat up it takes more electricity.

I've had to buy fires for every room.

It's the inconvenience of it all

-and that's been going on now for some four years?

-Yeah.

'We're hard at it. The boiler was fixed to plaster board, not brick.

'We've had to move all the pipe work, re-site the outside flue

'and brick up the old one.

'The builder also bodged the electrics so we're making them safe too.'

Danny boy! Those pipes are calling!

I'm loving that. Mate, you've done so well so far.

What is actually left to do now?

As you can see, we've had the electricians in, the builders in.

All the pipe work's connected. The gas is tested.

I've got to fill the boiler up, get the heating system filled up,

test it all for water leaks and then it needs commissioning.

'While Danny prepares for the switch-on, it's time for Lynne

'to tell her builder exactly how she feels.

'She plans legal action to win the money to fix the builder's faults.

'For now, she lives with dangerous gas and electrics.'

I'd like to ask them

how would they like to put up for years without heating and water?

How would they feel in my place?

You have that opportunity, if you'd like to make the call.

If you don't feel up to it, I'll do it for you.

We have a landline number, which is very rare, so we can try that.

-I don't feel up to facing them again.

-OK. Let's see how we go.

UNOBTAINABLE TONE

'This number does not receive in-coming calls.'

That's an interesting one.

-He doesn't want people like you, Lynne, hassling him.

-Yeah.

'We invited the loss assessors to explain why they couldn't help.

'They said they didn't hire the builder

'and refused to say anything else.

'If you have a dispute over an insurance claim,

'you can go to the Financial Ombudsman Service who regulate the insurance industry.

'Coming up, I can't wait for Lynne's reaction

'when she sees the work our good guys have done

'to make her home safe.'

-Wow!

-What do you think to that?

-What a difference!

-An amazing difference!

-Yes!

'The Adkins family fell out with their builder

'when their extension and loft conversion failed safety checks.

'Andy's almost finished fitting new fire doors and banisters.'

-Everything sorted now?

-I'm done, mate. It looks fantastic.

-I think they'll be happy with that.

-I should think they will.

Do you know, even though, time-wise, we'll have to leave them to paint,

the fact is we've now got them safe.

That's the key. They're safe.

But they've got some skill now. Look at that.

That's what a craftsman does.

That really is "a skill to pay the bill". Fantastic.

That's your job done, then. All I've got to do now is show them.

'The Adkins family have had life on hold.

'They hoped their extension and loft conversion would give extra room,

'but they've been left rowing with their builder.

'They've had to spend extra cash on electrical and gas safety checks

'since the Building Inspector failed the work.

'Now we've completed essential work, so they should be able to get on with their lives.

'But what have they learned?'

Before you make a decision

about telling somebody to get off site, go to Trading Standards.

They'll tell you the right way to go about it.

I couldn't agree more. At least you're learning from that.

Are you ready to look at what we've done?

-Yes.

-Yeah, I think so.

-Good. Let's go.

Come on, guys. After you.

It's a door, ostensibly the same.

What do you notice about it that's different?

-It fits.

-LAUGHING:

-It fits all right!

-There's no gap.

-There's no gap.

More importantly, as far as I'm concerned with the door...

It fits better, but remember I was talking about intumescent strips?

They're now in place.

They're actually in place now.

They've got this fibre over the top of them.

It's almost like draught exclusion.

What happens is, if there was a fire ever,

that expands and seals the doorframe

giving you more important time to get out the property.

They're all in place.

Because they've replaced the frames, the guys took off the old frames,

which is how it should have been, new frames are now in place.

All we've got to do is a bit of filler and paint up.

'Those fire doors are nice and safe.

'We've taken care of safety on the stairs, too.'

I really hope you like this. Take a look.

-Wow.

-Oh, wow.

Do you reckon that's what you call a newel post?

Just about. There's no movement.

It's as solid as a rock and the design's fantastic.

-It's lovely.

-That's how it should have been done.

'We fitted brand new fire-retardant doors and frames

'with intumescent smoke strips.

'To keep the family safe on the stairs,

'we fitted strong, smooth new handrails, spindles and newel posts.

'The job looks lovely but, even better,

'the family will be safe in their new extension.'

The final thought is, are you happy with what we've done for you?

-Yeah.

-Can you stop and do the rest?

'In Preston, we've carried out more essential safety work.

'Lynne Wheatman suffered a terrible house fire

'but she was then burned by her independent loss assessor

'and the corner-cutting builder.

'Her partner Gary has been trying for two years to get things sorted.'

I've been writing letters to the loss assessors

and to the builders.

I've also got a surveyor in

to look at the state of the work that they've done.

He was absolutely shocked.

'The surveyor estimated the cost of putting right the blunders

'at 30 grand!

'Once he had the insurance money, the builder didn't want to know.'

I went back, prepared a report

in order that the builder comes back to carry out remedial works.

I was asked to come back to meet the builder three times.

Each time, the builder decided not to turn up.

'Here's a top tip for when you have insurance work done.'

Whether it be gas, electric, plumbing or general building work,

don't sign it off unless you're sure it's been carried out correctly.

If you don't know what you're doing, get somebody in that does.

Don't be pressurised into signing. It could jeopardise future claims.

'It was bad enough that Lynne lost all her belongings in the fire,

'but the bodged rebuild is a daily reminder of the trauma.'

I go under the sink, it's wet through. It's every day.

The doors don't shut properly. They bang when it's windy.

The conservatory's freezing. It's just on-going.

We've been told not to do anything cos that would jeopardise my claim.

If we, say, replaced the boiler... I mean, repaired the boiler,

they wouldn't have to replace it because we'd admit liability.

'Here's a tip.

'If Lynne's insurers had run the job, it would have been guaranteed.

'We couldn't see Lynne without heating and hot water any longer.

'She's got problems, which her solicitor is pursuing,

'but what lessons has she learned?'

I wish, before I'd signed it off, we'd have checked everything.

I didn't even notice little snags until I was actually in.

I wish I'd have checked everything before we signed off.

Once we'd done it, it was hard to get him back.

'We've been busy righting some of the wrongs

'left by Lynne's corner-cutting builder.

'We've installed a new boiler, re-sited the flue

'and made good the walls.

'We've replaced electrics and tested the gas

'and are now finishing the new boiler housing.

'I can't wait to see Lynne's reaction, now she can say goodbye

'to those heaters, and finally have a shower in her own home.'

Before we arrived, what were the problems you'd had in your property?

The main problem was the boiler.

Didn't have any heating, couldn't have a shower, running water.

-To wash pots, we'd use a kettle.

-How long had that gone on for?

Four years ago we had the boiler put in. It was condemned two years ago.

-What are you hoping for?

-Just to run the tap and have hot water.

To wash the pots and have a warm shower.

We've had the good guys in.

-Are you ready to take a look?

-I am.

-Are you excited?

-I am.

-Very.

-Follow me.

Wow!

-That's very different from before. What a shambles that was.

-Yes.

You could see the boiler that they put in.

The boiler was useless.

-OK, Lynne.

-Wow.

-What do you think to that?

-What a difference.

-An amazing difference.

The other thing is, we had loads of problems with your fuse board.

That's all been sorted now, too.

Your gas meter, that wasn't earth bonded, so it was very unsafe.

The electrician has done that job. So are you happy?

-Absolutely brilliant. What a difference!

-It's amazing, isn't it?

-It goes to show that the good guys know what they're doing.

-Yeah.

But the thing that I'm most chuffed about

is that you can have your shower, you can get hot water.

-Wonderful.

-Amazing, isn't it?

-Brilliant.

-And central heating. Are you happy?

-It's fabulous. It really is.

'Another happy customer.

'Our Gas Safe engineers

'installed a new A-rated energy efficient combination boiler

'to provide heat and hot water on demand.

'We've tested the gas and provided electrical earth bonding

'to make Lynne's home safe.

'Our guys also made sure the leaky bathroom's fixed.

'Lynne can have that warm shower she longs for.'

Lynne has been suffering with high blood pressure. I'm not surprised.

Imagine the trauma of a house fire and almost losing your beloved dogs.

Add to that the stress of cowboy builders. She's been badly let down.

That's all in the past. There are loads of good guys out there.

Take on board all our advice and top tips and they'll prevent you

from falling into the cowboy trap.

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