Episode 19 Cowboy Trap

Across the country, cowboy builders are causing chaos.

We asked for B energy-rated windows, but as far as we're aware, they're probably about a D.

And they could be coming to a town near you.

What I thought would be a nice retirement place

for me to be in has turned out to be hell.

We've got top tradespeople on board to rectify the wrongs

-and turn people's stresses and strains into smiles.

-Oh, wow.

-Fantastic.

-Lovely!

So stick with me, take on board all my hints and tips,

and I'll help prevent you from falling into the Cowboy Trap.

Today, we're in Essex, where two sets of homeowners

were left exposed to the elements when they fell into the Cowboy Trap.

Marcus wanted a loft conversion, but he was left with a gaping hole in his roof.

I was sitting in here in jumpers,

woollies, sitting in my own lounge freezing cold, couldn't get warm!

And we'll be meeting first-time buyers Caroline and Sean,

who hope to upgrade their new home with smart, period-style double glazing.

They picked the best, but ended up with cheap copies.

They are a cheaper version of what we actually asked for.

They're not the energy rating that we wanted.

And they're not FENSA registered.

And we just obviously feel misled,

because they aren't the exact

window that we asked for.

First up, we're in Waltham Abbey with French-born Marcus Elkeslassy.

He's divorced and lives alone with miniature Yorkshire terrier Macy.

Marcus has eight brothers and sisters dotted around the world and two grown-up kids of his own,

so he dreamt of a loft conversion with an extra bedroom and bathroom so the family can come and visit.

I have a very large family, and if somebody wants to come up here, I have nowhere

to put them up. So I

opted for a loft conversion.

That way, I can put them in the guest room and I can have my own bedroom upstairs.

Marcus searched around for a builder and sensibly got a few quotes.

He knew the work would be disruptive, so he picked the builder

who said he could complete the job in the fewest number of weeks.

I just thought,

"This is a professional guy.

"He knows what he is doing.

"He's told me that they will do the job five weeks from start to finish."

Marcus decided to move into rented accommodation while all the messy work took place.

I actually rented a place for five months

and put all my stuff in storage for five months.

But the weeks dragged by, and the builders still hadn't started.

Marcus couldn't afford to pay rent any longer.

He moved back in just as the builder finally got started.

I couldn't afford having the rent and paying for the mortgage,

so I moved in,

and I had to actually endure everything that I was trying to avoid in the first place.

Marcus's daughter Danielle checked out the builders, and everything seemed fine, until work began.

Checked out the company who he'd booked,

and they seemed very reputable.

They had a fantastic website,

they had Smart cars with all their logos on it, so it seemed legitimate.

And then, when they did start, they seemed to go at an alarmingly quick rate.

They probably fitted in

five weeks of work into two weeks.

But then everything came to a standstill.

Full stop. About two and a half weeks later,

the scaffolding was gone.

And I thought, "Something is wrong."

Tried to make contact, tried to quibble it.

He wasn't responding. And then eventually,

he would send a man about one afternoon a week.

You know, they'd come and spend a couple of hours

to keep me sweet, basically, saying, "I'm still around".

I could see it was going wrong from the very beginning, but he had

faith in this company, and that was the most heartbreaking thing.

The quote to complete the loft conversion was almost 25 grand.

Marcus paid a 10% deposit and then, because he trusted his builder, he handed over almost

the full amount, £21,500, even though the work was far from complete.

Marcus is such a proud man, and he hired his builders in good faith.

And it really winds me up when these guys take advantage

of someone with a kind nature and in such a callous way.

Marcus's mistake was handing over the money before the job was done.

Take my tip, make sure the contract with your builder outlines staged payments,

payable only after each stage of the job is complete.

Once this rogue builder had got his hands on the money,

there was no incentive for him to come back and finish the job.

Marcus was left with a half-wrecked home and a gaping hole in the roof

where there should have been dormer doors and windows.

I was left all throughout that period with a hole in the ceiling, with no windows

in the worst winter this country has known for a long time.

And I was shivering in here.

I had the central heating on, I had heater blowers, but everything was going straight through the roof.

It wasn't just the cold that cut right through Marcus last winter.

I was so distressed. You know?

I've never been so distressed, so angry in my life. You know?

About being let down and being conned, basically.

When I found out how much he'd paid and how little work had actually been done, I was horrified.

And he still had faith that these builders were going to come through, because they kept him

waiting and waiting and waiting, but then they'd kind of give him a little bit of hope.

And then that would just kind of keep him going.

And it was just heartbreaking to watch, absolutely heartbreaking.

It's time for me to come and have a look at the damage.

-You must be Marcus.

-I am.

-Can you show me the damage they've done?

-Please, come in.

-Thank you, sir.

It looks a bit of a mess, that's for sure. Is this how it was left?

-Yeah, absolutely.

-You've done no other remedial works?

No, exactly as it was. Yeah.

-How long's that been in the state it's in, with no door and no window?

-Since October.

Through the winter and the snow?!

Through the worst winter we ever had, I think, in this country, yeah.

-Right.

-And draughts, chill.

-I was sitting in my blankets.

-Wow!

And you think about the damage that could have been caused by the wet, the snow

and everything else breaching inside what is just a bit of...

It's less than tarpaulin, isn't it?

It's just a bit of plastic sheeting.

-Yeah.

-I noticed as well there's no steel.

No. In the initial plan, there was supposed to be a ridge beam

up there, but the builders have taken it on themselves to do away with it.

So I had to have another

structural engineer's plan made up.

So they ignored your original plan?

-Absolutely.

-Did they say why they weren't putting it in?

No, no explanation, no nothing.

They just... I didn't know there was steel missing there until the building inspector mentioned it.

Marcus has been told that the main structure is now safe, but he has no money left to finish the work.

He can't even afford to make his home weatherproof and warm.

What could we do that would help you at this stage

in the short space of time that we've got?

The main priority would be actually to seal any draughts, any windows.

Have you got a plan for outside?

There's supposed to be a Juliet balcony

-with French windows.

-French doors, Juliet balcony. Sounds quite nice.

-Yeah!

-As long as you don't get these guys to do it, that's for sure!

Marcus has got a long haul ahead of him to get this messed-up loft sorted out.

We can't do it all, but we can at least guarantee he doesn't spend another winter shivering.

With no window or door installed in the loft,

it left his entire property exposed to the elements during a very cold winter, and that is no way to live.

Now, I know just the boys to put this right.

Coming up, an independent chartered surveyor has some very bad news

about what lies at the top of Marcus's stairway to hell.

If you have a fire next door, this building's made of timber, it will go up like a bomb!

Now we're heading across Essex to Chelmsford.

Young couple Caroline Palmer and Sean Marten desperately needed new windows for their first home.

Caroline is a design consultant and Sean a town planner, so for them, researching exactly the right kind

of windows which would be sympathetic to their period property was a top priority.

We were looking for a property

with lots of character,

and this one just sort of jumped out at us.

It was part of our mortgage obligation to replace the windows,

cos they were all poor quality

and there was no ventilation in the front room.

Because of the style of the house, we wanted to have sash windows

to the front and then mock sash windows to the rear.

Caroline and Sean started research and then invited a number

of double-glazing companies to come and quote.

But they didn't like the hard-sell sales talk.

One company in particular made us feel quite uncomfortable in our own home.

It was just the way he spoke to us.

He was very rude, and to be honest, by the time that he left,

we'd decided that we didn't want anybody else to come into our home.

So Caroline and Sean turned to the internet to find a company who could

supply and fit the period-style sash windows they wanted.

The reason we decided to go with this particular company was because

they said that you cut out the middle man and, through doing that, we would

then be getting a better quality of window for the same price that we were quoted with other companies.

Caroline and Sean handed over 25% deposit before work began,

and then, unbelievably, things started to go wrong on day one.

I noticed that the two rear windows upstairs were not the style

that we had actually thought

we were going to get.

So I brought it up with them,

and it was eventually agreed that it was THEIR fault.

The company said they would get new windows made and come back and replace them.

But that wasn't the end of Caroline and Sean's window woes.

When I came home, I'd never seen anything like it, the damage that he'd caused

and the poor workmanship that he'd carried out on the property, and I immediately rang my brother

and I said, "Can you have a look at this?", because my brother's a building surveyor.

And he came round and he was shocked about the appalling work that he'd carried out.

And then, when I spoke to him, the fitter, he said to me, "I've finished, Mr Marten".

I said, "You haven't finished. You've left it in an appalling state."

They had caused a little bit of damage to the brickwork, so therefore,

instead of filling it in with, say,

sand and cement, they had used the silicone that you would seal the windows with.

So we've now in some areas got chunks about that size of silicone.

So when he was fitting this sash window,

when we spoke to him he said that this window was complete.

Now, as you can see, he's chipped away at the stonework, and he thought that that was finished.

Now, that, in my eyes, isn't a finished piece of work.

Sean sent the company photographic evidence of the botched job,

but they demanded full payment before they would rectify any mistakes.

He said, "Before any more further work's done, I want you to pay

"everything that's remaining on the fitting,"

bar the two windows upstairs that we weren't happy with.

So we did, because we didn't think he'd come back unless we paid him.

It wasn't only the quality of work, it was the window units themselves that now alarmed Caroline and Sean.

They believed they'd bought a top-quality brand,

but realised they'd actually been sold a cheap and nasty imitation.

Sean asked the manufacturer of the top-quality windows to come and have a look at his.

They came round, they assessed the windows and told us they definitely weren't theirs.

They led us to believe they were FENSA registered.

They showed the logo on their website, which obviously gave us

faith in the company when you're looking online.

But nobody in the company's FENSA registered, so our windows aren't.

To meet building regulations...

Most contractors belong to FENSA.

Replacement windows come with a certificate...

Toughened glass must be fitted where human impact can occur.

And windows must be energy efficient.

Only windows energy-rated C and above

are allowed under the new rules.

Caroline and Sean's windows aren't FENSA registered, as they expected,

and it turns out the energy efficiency of the glass and frames are only D rated.

We were living with Sean's parents for about nine months to save up

some money for this house, and a big chunk of that money

was saved within that period for these windows,

and now we don't have any more money.

Caroline and Sean paid a total of £3,175 for the sash-style windows

they desperately wanted for their first home.

They've been left with cheap copies which don't even meet all the building regulations.

This was Caroline and Sean's first home together, and as you'd expect, they were really excited.

But I've got to be honest, I hate it when cowboy builders take advantage of young people in this situation.

But I need to find out more about what went wrong.

-Would you mind showing me round the problems they've caused?

-No, that's not a problem.

Thank you.

-OK, so this is the bathroom.

-Yeah, this is what we were left with.

We've put paper round the windows to stop the cold air coming in during the winter months.

-Right. And how long has that been like that?

-13 months.

Wow. I'm not liking that one bit.

I don't think that's toughened safety glass.

-They must have stated you need it.

-No, during the survey it wasn't mentioned.

-Right.

In a bathroom, of course, you're going to get moisture on the floor.

-Mm.

-You've got that chance of slippage.

If you fell forward on that glass, I absolutely dread to think what would happen. I think that would shatter.

The bathroom window should be fitted with toughened safety glass, and it doesn't look like it is.

There are more safety worries with other upstairs windows.

This is the spare-bedroom window, and it's the same as the bathroom window -

not the right window, and we've had to put paper round to stop the cold air coming in.

A couple of things again come to mind.

Safety - no way you could get out of there in an emergency.

Well, let's put it like this, I certainly couldn't!

You'd have a bit of a struggle, even so! All this is ridiculous.

Take a look at that. I mean, that hole there, I reckon I can get my tape out and stick the end in

and poke that through. Look at that!

-That is nuts.

-It's appalling.

It just goes to show, in my opinion, that these guys did not have a clue about installing windows properly.

And plus, I don't think they have a conscience, because

if they can leave people like you guys like this, it is a joke.

And I tell you what, I think I've seen enough, Sean.

-Let's get out of here.

-OK.

The period sash-style unit in the living room isn't the top-quality brand

Sean and Caroline thought they'd paid for, and they've no money left to replace any of the windows.

What could we do to help you?

We'd like all the windows that we've got replaced, new ones put back in

and all the work around the windows made good,

so that we can get on with our lives and not have to worry about this any more.

We're going to do that. That is a deal.

And I will make sure that it's done correctly.

We've got the company on board who Caroline and Sean thought were

originally supplying their period-style sash windows.

They've agreed to help put things right.

Both Caroline and Sean have been working really hard to get their first home together looking great.

But I think they need a helping hand, so it's time to bring on

the good guys and get this mess sorted out once and for all.

Coming up, frustration when Caroline and Sean's window company is called to account.

I can't believe he's hung up.

We're travelling back across Essex now to Waltham Abbey.

Marcus Elkeslassy has been left with a gaping hole in his roof

by cowboy loft converters who took over 20 grand before scarpering.

His house is completely open to the elements.

The good guys are standing by to make Marcus's home weather-proof.

But before they get stuck in, I want to get the verdict on the job

from independent chartered surveyor, Arnold Tarling.

Arnold, this is a tricky one. Out of all the ones we've visited, I think this is a bit of a Pandora's box.

Just explain to us the problems you found on your tour round.

The structure isn't correct.

They've cut structural timbers to mess around with staircases.

The wall which divides you from next door has got holes through it, so there's fire-spread routes.

They've put beams into the wall and they haven't bricked in around them.

If you have a fire next door, this building's made of timber,

it will go up like a bomb.

-Yeah.

-It really will.

It really is horrendous.

Now, taking all that on board, what score out of ten would you give

these guys, who are supposed to be good loft converters?

It's going to have to be minus 12.

Fortunately, I think you may be able to save the windows and doors that's going in.

Minus 12 it is, sir. Once again, thank you for your invaluable input.

What about that? Minus 12 out of ten.

That is off the bad-builder scale.

By fitting the doors and windows into the exposed opening in the roof,

we plan to make Marcus' home weather-tight.

Dave is leading our team of good guys today, so what's the plan?

-Hey, you must be Dave.

-Hi.

How are you, mate? I'm Clive.

-Hi, Clive.

-It's a bit of a mess, a bit of a shambles.

-It is a bit, yeah.

Tell us what your plan is for today and what you're going to do.

Making sure that the windows are fitted nice and square,

make sure they're all operational and airtight.

-OK.

-But that's really about it.

Just briefly tell us what type of door you're putting in there.

We're putting French doors in there.

One door will be operational all the time with a handle,

-the other side's more of a slave door which will only be operational when the customer needs it.

-OK.

So it'll only be one door that works full time, the other door will just stay locked.

-Well played, mate. I'll catch up with you later.

-See ya.

-Cheers.

While the good guys get stuck in, I want to track back with Marcus and find out

how his dream loft conversion turned into his worst nightmare.

Did you get blinded by the dream?

Cos I always say people get blinded by this dream.

They can see the vision, they've got the vision of this wonderful new room or wonderful new extension

and they can see nothing but that.

Obviously, you live a dream.

You've got a dream.

This is the place you want to spend the rest of your life, that sort of thing,

and you want to make it right.

And you don't want things to go wrong, and therefore you don't want

to fall out with people, you want to be as nice as possible.

Marcus made a common mistake when he befriended his builder

and relied on trust rather than safeguards to get the job done.

Take my tip when dealing with builders,

put the project on a proper business footing,

with a signed contract and a schedule of works

and agreed completion dates.

Marcus should have heard alarm bells ringing when the builder started

weeks late and then the job staggered to a complete stop.

But even then, he refused to believe he'd been taken in.

He wasn't answering my texts, he wasn't answering my calls, e-mails.

In the end, I sent him recorded letters...

How much of your money had he got by then of the 24.5?

£21,500.

Wow! Just describe what you have got at the moment. What did they leave you with?

Well, the loft conversion itself,

I think it needs rebuilding, if you ask me.

I mean, they left a ridge beam out.

Marcus has been left in a terrible mess, so what would he like to say to his builder now?

So, if you had an opportunity to speak to your builder - I've got some numbers now

that you can call him on the phone - would you take that opportunity?

I don't think I will call him again, because the last time,

I have sent him a recorded letter

and I did tell him that from now on,

I won't attempt to call him any more, that I will leave it to

my solicitor to deal with and for now,

I'll just leave it to the legal channels.

And I think by calling him, I would probably jeopardise my case.

-And we don't want that.

-No.

-We certainly don't.

Coming up, I hope there'll be no more winters of discontent for Marcus.

Wow!

Yeah, that's more like it!

Back in Chelmsford, we're helping Caroline and Sean get

the top-quality period-style sash windows they paid over £3,000 for.

Instead, they got cheap, badly fitted copies.

Their windows have a very low energy rating and no certification.

The list of faults is long.

The upstairs windows are dangerous, because there is no means of fire escape

and no toughened safety glass in the bathroom.

Before the good guys get started replacing all these windows,

I want to get the verdict from independent chartered surveyor, Tim Matthews.

Now, obviously, these sort of windows are major problems.

You've had a good look around, Tim. What are your first findings?

What have you seen that's not to your liking?

It's the standard of finish, really.

This type of mastic filling of brickwork is really unacceptable,

and knowing that the property owners

wanted to render this wall afterwards, there was no way that render's going to adhere to this.

It would create problems for the future. It's basic mistakes.

They're not the correct design, they haven't been given the correct energy rating,

they're not to a standard or a design that the couple wanted, they've not been fitted to the correct standard.

So all in all, it's a pretty poor show.

From my own personal point of view,

that they've tried to hoodwink a young couple with their first home.

The young couple have been misled all the way along, yes.

So, coming to the crucial bit that's important to us is,

what mark out of ten would you give these guys for fitting these windows?

The windows work, so you'd have to give them three or four.

-So we're saying three or are we saying four?

-I'll go for a three.

So, three out of ten.

I think Tim's right, this work is not worthy of a four.

This builder is slipping further down the scale.

But once we start to get the windows out, even more problems are revealed.

Eddie is the highly experienced fitter leading our job today.

He can't believe the standard of work Caroline and Sean have been left with.

Hey, Eddie. Woah!

That's pretty awful, isn't it?

Worst one I've seen for 30 years or more.

Are we saying that there's just foam holding this up?

Correct, yes. A hacksaw blade, and that'll fall out.

So it's just expansion foam?

Expansion foam only.

I can't believe it. And you're going to find that now, I'd imagine, in all these windows.

Well, we see it's slightly like this downstairs.

That's more or less a carbon copy,

so we knew more roughly what we were going to get.

This is worse than downstairs.

Yeah.

-Totally mis-measured window.

-Listen, mate, I'm going to let you get on.

Carry on. Give us a shout if you find anything else.

Alan Burgess is the owner of the manufacturer

whose windows Caroline and Sean thought they were buying.

He's also involved in FENSA, the trade association for the double-glazing industry.

-Alan, you were brought in by Sean and Caroline...

-That's correct.

..because they knew they'd got a problem with the windows,

because the people fitting them said that they were fitting your company's windows.

How do we know what is and isn't yours?

Two things that happened in this situation.

One is the contract which they were asked to sign is nebulous.

There's just no detail on it.

They saw something, the guy came round, they wrote out a bit of a basic kind of contract.

There was no detail on it. Then when the windows arrive,

any decent company wants some advertising,

-they'll have their name plastered on it.

-Of course.

So if you don't see that, that should ring alarm bells.

For energy efficiency, all windows now need to be marked

with the manufacturer's name and the licence number that those windows have been manufactured to.

So, the key word and the watchword is, do your research, as ever.

-Correct.

-And make sure the windows you're getting installed are the ones you wanted.

-Correct.

-Thank you so much for your time, sir.

-My pleasure.

-Cheers.

The good guys are hard at work installing the new energy efficient period-style windows.

When Caroline and Sean discovered their windows were wrong, they went to court and won their claim.

But the judge said they would be unlikely to see any money.

Out of frustration, Sean set up his own website to warn others,

and even got invited onto Breakfast TV to tell his story.

We weren't going to get our money back, and I was thinking,

"I can't let him get away with this."

I wanted to make sure that this didn't happen to anybody else.

It was bad enough it had happened to us. I decided to set up a website.

I wanted to make the domain name similar to his,

that so when anyone searched his company,

they would see my website as well.

Just a little synopsis on there about what had happened and what we'd been through.

All of a sudden, there was quite a lot of interest in the site

when the double glazing ombudsman wanted to do publicity for, basically, protection for consumers.

They said that the BBC would like to do an interview with me and our story.

Caroline and Sean did loads of research on double-glazing after their job went wrong.

I want to find out what they did before they booked the installer.

Did you research the guys that you chose?

When we looked on the website they did this display the FENSA logo,

which led us to believe that the company was FENSA registered.

You've got to do that research.

Ask them for the FENSA registration number.

Chances are, you're just going to hear a "brr," cos the phone's gone down.

All right? If they stay on the phone and go, "Yeah, here's my number," don't just accept that.

You then phone FENSA.

If you see a trade association logo on your builder's website or painted on the van,

don't automatically assume they're a member.

Ask for their membership number, and check with the organisation that their membership is up to date.

Some trade organisations will help resolve problems if you use their registered members.

Caroline and Sean paid a hefty price because they didn't fully check

their contractor really was a member of FENSA.

It's winter.

You've got poorly fitted windows.

What is that like?

Winter last year was extremely cold, and the heating bills had to go up.

You had to make it a comfortable living environment,

and there was water coming in through the upstairs window, and it was freezing at times.

Did you blame yourself for what had gone on?

Definitely. The whole way through the whole process.

I can't believe that we've been so stupid.

Because the new house was so exciting, we just went,

"Oh, let's get this done quickly," and we can move in and get the rest of it done.

Unfortunately, I think we've learnt a valuable lesson, that you just don't do things quickly.

You take the time to analyse things and research, and do it properly before rushing into anything.

You know, I think it's high noon for this cowboy builder and it's time he faced up to his actions.

We're going to give him a call and find out what he's got to say for himself.

If you had an opportunity to speak to the window installer now,

what would you like to say to him, if you got the opportunity?

I think we'd like an apology foremost.

Why he thinks it was acceptable to leave his customers in a situation like us, and just leave it.

Our house was in a right state for well over 12 months.

We have a telephone number for your window installer.

The questions that you have,

you have an opportunity to put them to him now

and see what he's got to say for himself.

Are you prepared to do that, Sean, and have a chat with him now?

-Yeah, I think so.

-OK.

PHONE RINGS

It's ringing. Always a bonus.

Good afternoon, it's Mr Marten.

You may remember me?

I believe he's hung up.

What's the point?

You know who you are, and now we know who you are.

And by revealing the tricks and techniques you cowboy builders use,

we'll prevent others from falling into your trap.

Coming up, I can't wait to see Caroline and Sean's reaction

when they finally get the windows they wanted all along.

-Fantastic.

-Lovely.

We're travelling back across Essex to Waltham Abbey now.

Marcus Elkeslassy has also been through a hard winter when his home was left exposed to the elements.

His builder scarpered part-way through a loft conversion,

taking over 21 grand and leaving behind a gaping hole in the roof.

Most of the work will have to be re-done.

Our team is making Marcus's home weather-tight

by installing windows, doors and a Juliet balcony to the dormer roof.

Dave, you've moved on rapid. Windows in, French doors are in.

Have you encountered any problems?

Yeah, quite a few. The timbers are all over the place.

We've got about a 20mm gap from top to bottom.

The timbers are leaning.

We've had a bit of a problem getting the doors in exactly where we want them,

but I'm happy where they are.

The doors are locking absolutely perfect,

the windows exactly the same now.

-OK.

-Just a little bit of trimming up and we're done.

-Are you almost there in terms of time?

-Absolutely, yeah.

-Perfect.

-Thank you,

-Cheers, Dave.

Marcus has been to hell and back with his building disaster.

He's spent all his money and shivered his way through the worst winter in 30 years,

but he's come through much wiser and ready to move on.

What lessons can you take from this whole fiasco?

I believe in one thing,

and that is that I'll never repeat the same mistake again.

Once bitten, twice shy.

Obviously, I'm going to be a lot more careful next time,

and of course, thanks to you, I know now a lot more than I did before

and what I should look out for, what I should check, etc, etc.

The good guys' work is finished, and I can't wait to show Marcus what they've achieved

to make sure his loft is now weatherproof and sealed from the elements.

Just remind me, before we arrived, what the problems were up there that were really playing on your mind?

The place was exposed to the elements. There was no windows.

It's completely open and draughty and very cold.

-Well, let's go find out exactly what we've done for you. Are you ready?

-Absolutely.

Come on, then.

Mind that cable, Marcus.

Wow!

Yeah, that's more like it.

Exactly, that's definitely more like it. What was it before?

-Two holes.

-It was covered up by a bit of tarpaulin.

Two big holes, not even tarpaulin. It was a bit of plastic.

The guys have put the window in.

-You've still got loads to do, I understand that.

-Yeah, of course.

We've started that ball rolling.

Elements, you're protected against, but what about this fantastic set of French doors?

Do you want to open them?

-Yeah.

-Go on.

Look at that! Eh?

What do you think?

Brilliant.

Fantastic.

The builder abandoned this loft conversion, taking Marcus's money.

The whole structure needs lots of remedial work, but at least we could step in

to close the gaping hole in the loft with a new window and French doors.

Finally, Marcus's home is weatherproof.

There's no more risk of rain and snow coming in, and the icy wind and cold is kept out.

The Juliet balcony is safely in place, and completes the job to a first-class finish.

So you'll be able to go out here, right, you'll be able to go out, "Wherefore art thou?"

Yeah? It's great, isn't it?

-Brilliant.

-Fantastic.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you, sir.

-I'll leave you to enjoy the view.

-Cheers.

Cheers, Marcus. Thank you, mate. Fantastic.

We're hoping for more smiles in Chelmsford now.

Caroline and Sean ordered top quality

period-style double glazed windows for their first home, but were sold cheap copies.

The windows they were left with were badly installed, had low energy rating,

no certification, and the upstairs windows were dangerous.

We're putting the finishing touches to replacing the whole lot

with the windows they thought they were getting originally.

Hey, Eddie. I'll tell you what...

-How are you doing?

-All right, yes.

-These are looking absolutely superb, aren't they?

-Tremendous.

Very technical as well, the way the two open like that.

It's tremendous.

Chalk and cheese from the first window that was in here.

You're not wrong, sir, you're not wrong.

What have you done so far? And what's left to do?

What we did, we took the old window out.

We've made the window narrower as to next-door neighbours.

-So it all looks uniform?

-Yes.

Put a new stone sill on the bottom there,

and fitted what we call reverse brick detail, so the sash window goes in from inside.

Fantastic. It's looking good.

What have you got left to do?

Cleaning and painting now.

-How long do you think it's going to take you to finish all those off?

-About an hour.

I can't wait to show them, cos I reckon they're going to love them.

It's really in character, and they'd like to keep their property in character,

and I think they're going to be well chuffed.

-Cheers, Eddie. I'll let you carry on.

-Thank you.

Caroline and Sean took their window company to court and won, but they haven't seen a penny back.

As first-time homeowners they've learned some valuable lessons

about making improvements to their property.

What lessons have you learnt that others can take away?

To make sure that either as a recommendation from somebody else,

but you've actually seen the work they've carried out.

Or, if you're going to get someone off the internet, make sure you look at their background really carefully.

Make sure you're happy with who you're letting in,

because you're going to trust them to do work on your property.

The good guys have replaced all the badly fitted, draughty and dangerous windows Caroline and Sean were sold.

I can't wait to show them the results.

I think they're going to be blown away by the finish.

Before I show you what the good guys are capable of,

just remind me what your windows were like around the house.

-Hideous.

-Good word.

-Really bad.

-Not secure.

-Not what we ordered.

-The upstairs bedroom, underneath,

it was filled with what looked like some sort of putty when it should have been plastered,

and you could actually get your hand underneath the window. Really appalling.

"What are you now hoping for?" is my next question.

That it all looks a lot better than it did a few weeks ago!

Come and have a look.

This is the bit I've been waiting for.

Oh, wow. Fantastic.

-Lovely.

-Gorgeous.

This is the bit where I get to play!

There's so much going on with these windows,

and this will reflect exactly the rest of the windows in the property too.

OK, this opening light, fantastic.

The quality is just superb.

It's very versatile.

These little catches at the top there, pull them in, and the window drops forward,

like so. Again, for ease of cleaning, so you don't have to go outside to clean them.

And then if I just pull this down, you've got two catches again at the top.

Pull those in, and these two both come out together.

You've got thee little catches here, these are security catches.

That locks in behind.

When you want to open a window, to just get a little bit of air through at the base, if anybody tried to

-break in or push that window up, they can't because it's locked on to that latch at the top.

-Fantastic.

-Brilliant.

-Upstairs, we've replaced the dangerous windows with new ones

which comply to all the safety regulations.

In the bedroom, the fully opening sash window provides a vital escape route in the event of a fire.

It adds so much character back to the room now from the previous window.

It was horrible.

-But this is amazing in comparison.

-Come and have an look at this lot.

They've put a fantastic stone sill out there. Let me just open this up...

You can feel the quality as well.

-That's very nice.

-Beautiful.

-It makes such a difference.

-Fabulous.

'And finally, in the bathroom, we've replaced the window,

'which should have been fitted with toughened safety glass.

'It wasn't, but it is now.'

Sean, push on it now and see what you think.

-Solid.

-Absolutely solid.

When you hit against that, if that did shatter, it'll shatter safely, a bit like a car windscreen.

It looks stunning, actually. I can't believe I'm saying that about a window!

So much better, and it's nice not to see the newspaper stuffed round the edge of it.

Oh, I forgot about that! It did look a mess, didn't it?

It was really upsetting. But this is just more than we could wish for.

Caroline and Sean selected quality sash-style double glazing

for their period home, but they were sold cheap copies.

We've removed all the badly fitted and dangerous windows now, and replaced them

with these swish and stylish units, which perfectly complement the period character of their property.

Heating their first home on a tight budget makes energy efficiency a priority.

Their dodgy windows were D-rated, but these units

are B-rated for energy efficiency, so now they can turn the thermostat down a few degrees.

All in all, the good guys have done an amazing job.

You've got the manufacturer that you wanted originally,

and I have here a couple of certificates, which are really important.

That's your certificate of warranty, so this is really important.

Everybody should remember that. When people are installing windows, you should have guarantees like this.

This is outstanding quality.

Although I know that eventually you're going to have to have more builders in in the future,

I really wish you all the best.

No more cowboy builders, loads of research.

I'm going to leave you to a fantastic view,

brilliant windows, and I hope a great life together, because I know you're getting married next year.

-We are, yes.

-Fantastic. Well, enjoy. I hope you're happy, are you?

-Definitely, yes.

-Ecstatic. Can't believe it.

-Thank you ever so much, Clive.

-Thank you.

-You're absolutely welcome.

Those windows are beautiful,

and I think Caroline and Sean are really happy that they've now been replaced.

They've had a lot of lessons to learn at such a young age.

Remember, do your research and never hand over any cash

until you're happy with the work that's been carried out.

That way, you too could avoid falling into the cowboy trap.

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