Episode 38 Cowboy Trap

I'm trekking all over the UK

and unearthing loads of botched and unfinished building works.

I don't function properly. It's on my mind all the time and it's just ridiculous.

Cowboy builders are wreaking havoc on unsuspecting victims up and down the land.

He is a liar. He's broken promise after promise after promise

and, quite frankly, I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him.

We have a team of good guys on hand to right the wrongs of these unscrupulous builders.

Wow! It's fabulous.

Stay put and take on board all my hints and tips

and, together, we can help prevent you from falling into the cowboy trap.

'Today, we're in Stafford to meet

'two ladies who both paid for new conservatories

'but ended up with ugly holes in their gardens and even uglier holes in their bank accounts.'

A week after the surveyor came round, some builders turned up

and they dug a trench. They were only here two hours and I never saw them again.

'These two women wanted beautiful conservatories.

'They ended up with destroyed gardens, a shattered patio and heaps of disappointment.'

The guy came and dug the foundations out.

I've never had any work like this done before,

so when the second builder came out, he had a look

and said they weren't big enough, not deep enough and not wide enough.

It begs the question, what sort of builder was he?

'Both our stories are in Stafford today.

'First up, we're off to meet mum, Julie Elsmore.

'The family live in this 1930s semi-detached house.

'Julie has two children, 11-year-old Rachel and grown-up daughter Lisa.

'She wanted a conservatory to create some extra space downstairs.'

I wanted a conservatory mainly because I wanted more room in our living area

and my daughter's turned 11 and she's going to high school

and she'll need places to do her homework.

Rather than go to her bedroom, she can sit and do it in the conservatory where we can sit with her.

Julie thought her conservatory should be in safe hands

after she'd carried out extensive checks on her contractor.

I went round lots of places, had lots of quotes

and I went to a firm and he sent this gentleman out.

And he went through all the stuff with us,

measurements, everything.

And he said he was going to start working for himself, but he still worked for this firm.

We liked the price and we liked everything he said.

'And when the salesman offered to build her conservatory himself,

'undercutting the company he worked for, Julie thought it seemed like a good deal.'

He asked me if I'd got any other quotes and I said yes

and he asked to see them, so I showed him them. He said, "I can do better than that. My firm can't, but I can."

He told us what we could have done and some extras, like he would put a floor down,

put a fan in, he was going to plaster the wall, give us a cooler in there, within the price.

He said if we had it done, I could recommend him to other people.

'The salesman said he could do Julie a very special deal,

'but only if she didn't put her order through the company he worked for.

'Instead, he said he could do it himself.

'It's a common cowboy ploy, but Julie liked the salesman and she liked his price even more,

'just £5,000 for a new conservatory.'

I trusted him. He told us where he lived, his home phone number.

He told us where he used to work. He was a good salesman.

Everything that we thought we needed to know, we got it out of him. Easily.

'The salesman had all the patter,

'but Julie knew she should make a few checks just in case.

'If she gave him the job, she wouldn't be employing

'a reputable and respected company, but a man who was about to set up in business for the very first time,

'so she wanted some extra peace of mind.'

After he left, the following day I phoned up the council

and made sure he was registered at the house.

And I phoned Trading Standards to make sure they had no record of him.

And I phoned his home number and asked for him by name

and whoever answered said he was at work. So I knew everything he said was true.

'He may have checked out, but that was no guarantee

'that he would honour his promises. After all the research to find the right company, unfortunately,

'Julie fell for the moonlighting salesman's bad bargain.

'Take a tip from me. Building a conservatory is a specialist job,

'so use a specialist company who build them day in, day out.

'That way, you can see their previous work.

'Always get three quotes from different companies,

'because prices can vary enormously.

'Julie was sold on the salesman's £5,000 conservatory.

'All he wanted was £2,500 upfront,

'so she withdrew her savings and waited for the build to begin. But then there were problems.'

We got a contract. It didn't say when it was going to start. That was verbal.

We asked him how long it would take, he said two weeks, tops, start to finish.

He was supposed to start on 14th June.

Nothing came. Then on 15th June, the surveyor came out.

This was when alarm bells rang and I asked him, "Do you know when it's starting?"

and he said, "About two weeks. The builders are behind cos of the weather."

I thought, "Weather? It's red hot!"

'The surveyor arrived the day after work was supposed to have kicked off

'and then it was another week before a builder finally turned up.'

A builder came out and said he was doing the footings and he dug it all round,

put everything on top. We got rid of some of the rubbish,

cos it was hard, cos it's been very hot.

And that's it. He went and left.

'Julie was left with holes in her garden and not a whole lot more.

'No footings, no walls, no windows and no roof to be seen.

'This wasn't the conservatory she'd been promised.

'It was just an eyesore in her back yard.'

A conservatory. Just a basic 3.5 x 3.5 conservatory

with a wall on that side and a door there

and a fan and some plug sockets.

Nothing extravagant, just a nice Edwardian conservatory

to help our family sit together at night, basically.

I've got quite a big family and they all come round. It's extra room.

Just family stuff. He's promised us the frames.

He's just a liar. I...

He's just had our money and gone. He's not going to do nothing. That's it.

He's left it. And we don't know what to do with it.

We can't do anything with it. I've got no money left.

I don't like looking at it, to be truthful.

'Julie's forked out £2,500 deposit for her new conservatory and she has nothing to show for it

'except a trench where her relaxing sunroom should be. I'm going to meet her.'

-Hello, there. Are you Julie?

-I'm Julie.

-I'm Clive from Cowboy Trap.

-How are you?

-I'm fine.

-Good. Do you mind if I come in and have a chat?

-No, come in.

-Great.

Now, Julie, in the short space of time that we're here,

what could we do for you that would make your life happy?

I'd like a conservatory built with real footings, real glass and a roof and a wall.

So real glass, real footings, real brickwork, real roof.

I'd be happy to deliver that.

So, I can't wait to show you what the good guys can do.

-OK. Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

'Julie's got the balance of the money she saved up for her conservatory

'which she will put towards all the materials our good guys need to help her.

'With a garden full of trenches and no conservatory in sight, we need to get things sorted. Come on, boys!

'Coming up, another Staffordshire lass falls foul of a scheming salesman.'

He got us booked in for the week to do the work

but nothing happened, no materials arrived. Just nothing.

'We're not travelling far for our other story.

'We're in the same town, Stafford in the West Midlands.

'In fact, we're only going two doors up from Julie's house.

'And Jackie Reece is not only Julie's neighbour, she's also her sister.

'These birds of a feather decided to move to the same street at the same time to be close together.'

Julie was moving here with her husband and I was going through a divorce

and just decided I was going to live nearby her.

So me and my children moved here three years ago in October. Julie's lived here three years in November.

'The sisters are pretty close, in age as well as taste.'

I'm older than Julie by just over two years,

although I always like to say that I look younger.

We're both very similar.

We both have totally different musical tastes, but our outlook on life is very similar.

'They're so similar, they decided they fancied having conservatories built at the same time.'

Wanted to have a conservatory, I've always wanted to have one cos I've got quite a nice garden

and it would be nice to sit in there and just relax and enjoy the garden.

Didn't think I could afford one, but then Julie had some quotes

and the gentleman concerned came round

and offered to build us both conservatories for £5,000 each,

which I felt I could afford, so we decided to go ahead with it.

'When Jackie signed up for her conservatory, she was recovering from cancer

'and wanted a lovely sunroom to help her recuperate.

'The salesman's deal won her over just like Julie.

'Here was the conservatory Jackie wanted, and at a knock-down price she could afford.

'And the fact that the sisters were neighbours was another bargaining tool that the salesman used.'

He said he'd do us a deal because we were next door but one to each other.

He'd be able to get all the builders, all the work done at the same time.

'Julie and Jackie were excited by what looked like a great deal,

'so they decided to go ahead with their two conservatories.'

He came round to see us about four weeks after he'd originally given us the quote

to confirm that we wanted to go ahead.

I'd got an appointment with my building society a few days later to borrow the money,

which I knew wasn't going to be a problem.

'Jackie took out a loan on her mortgage to pay for the build,

'whereas Julie and her husband were using savings to pay for theirs.'

We saved up for a long, long time.

Both me and my husband are both self-employed

and it was just enough money we'd saved. It was either a conservatory or a kitchen.

The conservatory was a better option. It's what we chose to do.

'Six weeks after the initial quote, the salesman called to collect the 50 percent deposit.

'He wanted £2,500 from each sister

'to pay for materials he said he'd ordered.

'Then he produced what he claimed was a contract.'

The paperwork, I've never had a conservatory built before,

so I didn't really know what to expect, and it was a A4 piece of paper

with his name and address on and telephone number

and it was at this point that... We'd assumed we were doing this through this company

and when we questioned him, he said he was setting up in business on his own

and wanted us to give him referrals.

So the contract was actually with him.

He has since said that we didn't ask for a contract and we never had a contract,

but what he gave us he told us was a contract.

He actually tapped his briefcase when he came round,

you know, "Contracts are in here" sort of thing.

'Julie and Jackie didn't know what a contract to build a new conservatory

'should look like. Take a tip from me.'

'Some might require 50 percent or even 100 percent payment

'if you change your mind after the stated cooling-off period.

'But the sisters wanted to get going and to help out the nice salesman, too,

'who said he was trying to start up his own business.'

At the time, I think we were just so keen to get the conservatories,

we thought, you know, he was setting up on his own, we wanted to give him a chance.

So we signed and decided to proceed with it.

'Two sisters, two £2,500 deposits.

'That's a tidy five grand, in cash, upfront for two conservatories.

'The salesman said the builders would arrive two weeks later,

'but that day came and went with no sign of anything happening at all.

'The next day, a man appeared who said he was a surveyor.

'He was certainly a good story-teller.'

This man turned up and he basically got a big pole

and laid it on the ground and just showed me how big the conservatory was going to be.

He also told me that the builders were running behind because they'd been on a big job

so they probably wouldn't be starting for a week or two.

The surveyor told my sister a different story completely,

that they'd been delayed because there'd been rain,

and we'd actually had the driest few weeks in years.

'Our sisters were worried that work hadn't started

'and the so-called surveyor seemed to be inventing tall tales

'as to why it was being delayed.'

Between the surveyor coming round and the following week,

we contacted the salesman lots and lots of times

and it was excuse after excuse, but then on 22nd June,

some builders did come round and dug a trench.

They were here two hours and I never saw them again.

'In the same morning, the builder visited both homes to prepare the ground for the conservatories.

'Julie was left with a trench in her garden. Instead of a conservatory, this is what Jackie got.

This was my patio, which should be my conservatory.

He's left all the slabs for me.

And that's it, really.

Bit of a trip hazard.

I can't use my patio doors. I've not been able to use those throughout the summer

for the mess it leads out onto. I don't want the dog going in and out of it.

I'm trying to keep the kids off it, cos they think it's brilliant to jump up and down on.

But I tell them it's not.

'Jackie's patio was torn up and her hedge had to be pulled down.'

As you can see by the hedge, that went all the way along and I had to have it taken out

and a new fence put in.

I couldn't afford to do the whole lot, I just did the bit that needed to be done.

I wouldn't have been able to cut the hedge behind where the wall was supposed to be.

It's just awful. I just don't like coming out here. I don't come out here.

If I come out, I stay around the corner, have a quick drink and then go back in.

Jackie's hopes for a haven to recuperate in were dashed

when these rogues ran off part-way through the job.

I think it's time for me to meet her.

-Hello. Are you Jackie?

-I am.

-Hi, I'm Clive from Cowboy Trap.

-Hi, come on in.

-Thank you.

'I've got a hunch I know what we could do for Jackie.'

Now, Jackie, we're going to get the good guys in, but in the short space of time that we're here,

-what can we do to help you?

-The ideal would be if you could help me to get my conservatory built

so I can get out there and enjoy my garden.

-And it's as simple as that.

-It is, yeah.

-OK. Look, you leave me in charge.

-OK.

-And we'll see what we can do.

-Lovely.

-It'll be great to help.

-Great. Thank you.

'It's time we sorted out Julie and Jackie's back yard blues.

'Jackie still has the balance of the loan she took out to pay for her conservatory.

'Just like her sister, she's going to put her money

'towards all the materials our good guys will need to help.

'Our team is ready to sort out both conservatories,

'so the sisters can enjoy some summer sunshine.

'But not so fast.

'Coming up, there's a twist in the tale.'

The extent of the foundations is 3.6 metres.

That would require full planning application for a conservatory.

'We're in Stafford with sisters Julie Elsmore and Jackie Reece.

'They live two doors apart, and both decided to extend their properties with conservatories.

'A moonlighting salesman convinced them to part with a deposit of £2,500 each in cash and upfront.

'But the dream conservatories never materialised.

'Instead, both sisters are living with holes in their gardens,

'dug up and broken patios.

'Hardly the much-needed extra space they both craved.

'Our team of good guys is ready to help both sisters out.

'But first, I want to get the opinion of independent chartered surveyor Paul Brown.

'First up, he's over at Julie's.'

Firstly, the foundations are very shallow,

which means any conservatory is likely to be affected by movement,

particularly given the presence of conifers within a close distance.

Second, on the far side, there is a drain from the rainwater pipe and the foundations are above that.

Any concrete that sits on that drain could cause it to crack and possibly block,

causing a problem later on. Finally, the extent of the foundations is 3.6 metres.

That requires a formal planning application for a conservatory.

The permitted development rules only allow for a distance of three metres from the rear of the property.

So, overall, we have no conservatory, money has changed hands,

the builder's done a very insubstantial foundation. It's a zero out of ten.

'Zero? So what does he make of Jackie's back garden?

'Same problem here. Jackie will need planning permission for a conservatory this size.

'And there's an issue with this hedge.'

We have a hedge on the far corner which is very close.

The roots will affect the foundation and could affect the conservatory.

So, all in all, it's a zero out of ten.

Zero out of ten? This rogue should be made to pay for his actions.

'We've got a top team of good guys here today ready to build not one but two conservatories.

'One for Julie, one for Jackie.

'Darren's leading the team. So what's the plan of action?'

Before you get all your gear out, I just want to talk to you a little bit about what the plan is.

They've got no conservatories. They were promised conservatories. The footings are dug out, nothing else.

Just tell us what your plan is.

The plan is to do the footings first

then the brickwork and then we'll put the frames up

and then put the roof on last to finish off.

And that's on both Jackie and Julie's properties?

-Yeah, that's on both properties.

-OK. So, how long do you think it's going to take you

-to complete both properties?

-Seven working days from start to finish,

-from the footings going in to us finishing the conservatories.

-That's pretty quick.

I might catch up with you just to find our how things are progressing. Well done. I'll let you carry on.

'While Darren and the boys crack on,

'I want to find out from these sisters how they fell for this moonlighting salesman's bad bargain.

'Off to Jackie's house.'

Ladies, this is a first for me.

Two sisters hit by the same cowboy builder.

So, you're not going to tell me that you both had conservatory ideas at the same time.

-Yeah, we did.

-Did you?

-Yeah, Julie spoke about it and I thought,

"I'd quite like a conservatory, as well."

I quite like the idea of that. It's not keeping up with the Jones's, it's keeping up with your sister.

'What I want to know is, why did two intelligent women hand over their hard-earned cash

'and trust in his sales talk?'

Was it just purely price or was it the fact that he sold himself well?

-He sold himself well. And the price.

-And all the extras.

He was putting a lot of extras in for us, as well.

-We were having a ceiling fan and light.

-Plastered wall.

-Cooling unit.

-Four double plug sockets.

-And a TV point.

And he was putting our floor down, as well. We were buying our own floor and he was going to lay it.

Forgive me, but to me, for a 3.5 x 3.5 metre conservatory,

five grand is awful cheap.

Obviously, I'm experienced in this industry, so straight away,

I would've thought, "What am I getting for five grand?"

I'd always wanted a conservatory and I honestly thought I wouldn't be able to afford one.

And I expected the price to be a lot higher. But I was expecting £10,000.

That's the figures I'd heard previously.

That's more your ball park, really, for that size of conservatory.

So I just assumed... I knew Julie had had a lot of quotes and a lot of them had come in around that price,

so I thought I was out of touch, maybe.

But doesn't it always feel great? Inside you think, "This is too good to be true.

"This is a great opportunity. Massive 3.5 x 3.5.

"I'm going to have a stonking conservatory here for five grand!"

-All of a sudden, your mind's full of that. Whoopee!

-Yeah.

And I can understand that, you get lost in it.

And I'm sure, at the back of your minds, both of you must have been thinking,

"Wow, what are we going to get for five grand?" Cos that's mega-cheap.

He actually told us that he wanted us to refer him to friends and family.

So he told us he was doing it at cost.

He wasn't going to make any money on it himself.

That sort of took away the too good to be true bit, really,

cos we thought if he was doing it to get referrals...

If he does a good job, we'd say, "Go with him, he's brilliant."

-They're clever, aren't they?

-Oh, very.

-Very clever.

'This salesman had the sisters eating out of the palm of his hand.

'But it's the size of their conservatories that worries me. 3.5 metres!'

Fair old size conservatory, that is.

-You needed planning permission for something that size.

-I wasn't told at all about planning permission.

I asked. When the gentleman came round, the salesman,

I asked him about planning permission and he said we didn't need it.

For 3.5 by 3.5?

This house has had an extension and I thought it would still need planning permission,

He said the regulations had changed and I didn't need planning permission.

He was in the trade, we took his word for it.

There are regulation changes that have happened over the last five years,

-but not for something that size.

-We know that now but we didn't at that time.

-So he was saying it was just standard permissible?

-Yes.

-Erm, he was wrong, I'll tell you that now.

-We found that out later.

'Julie and Jackie trusted their salesman when he said they didn't need planning permission.

'Take a tip from me.'

'Don't let your builder tell you otherwise.'

'They're there to help.'

'There are strict rules about how high a conservatory is allowed to be

'and how deep it can be, too.

'In other words, how far it can extend out from your house.

'Ted Manders is a planning officer and he knows all the rules.'

There are some general rules of thumb

regarding the need for planning permission.

If your house is detached, you can go up to four metres in depth

and four metres high, as a general rule of thumb,

without the need for planning permission.

On a semi-detached or terraced house,

it's three metres in depth and four metres in height.

But there are some exceptions to that, including if you're putting a conservatory on the front

or if the conservatory is within two metres of a boundary or adjacent to a road.

So always get those elements checked out first.

If you have made a genuine mistake, your conservatory's up and then you suddenly realise

that you do need planning permission, don't despair.

Go and chat with your local planning authority

and look to put in a planning application to get it regularised.

No guarantees, but at least you're doing things in the proper way and showing good faith.

'Luckily, our good guys know what they're doing.

'The new conservatories are being built with dimensions that don't require planning permission.

'Three metres deep and three metres high.

'Coming up, a reference from one of the moonlighting salesman's former employers.

'And it's not good.'

He hadn't got a clue about how to treat customers

and how to work in an industry that he said he'd been in for years.

'Builders did dig a trench in both sisters' gardens

'but there was no sign of any men coming back with a conservatory.

'The sisters decided they'd better take action.'

After the builders left and we realised nobody was coming back to do the work,

I started to panic. I started to think, "What can we do?"

I really started putting... not the scare on him,

but saying, "I'm going to a solicitor" and things like that.

'The threat worked. A second team arrived with the conservatories. But there was a big problem.'

They'd arrived at half past seven in the morning.

They'd arrived at my sister's house. I'd gone round, quite excited, cos we thought work was going to start.

All the stuff was unpacked

and then the salesman came to speak to me in the kitchen

and said, "There's a problem with the price, they've doubled the price.

"But it's OK, they're coming back later on this afternoon

"to do some of the work. They're not doing everything they were going to do."

And I could see out of my sister's window that these guys were all packing up and going.

And I said to him, "They're packing up and going."

"No, no, no, they're coming back this afternoon," he said.

And he said that the main guy who owned the building company

was coming back to him later that afternoon. So I went out to speak to this guy

and the salesman came running out after me

and went up to him and said, "So you're going to come back to me later with a price, yeah?"

And he said, "Yes, OK." And I said to the building guy,

"He says you're coming back this afternoon to do the work."

He looked at me and said, "I'll get back to him later with a price."

That was all he'd say.

'Julie and Jackie were now very worried.

'They started making enquiries about their salesman way too late.

'Julie contacted the original company he'd said he represented.

'She was about to get a very big shock.'

I said we had a complaint about him, or something like that,

and they asked what he looked like.

And I described him. He said, "He only worked here for two days."

-So he used their company as a front for two days.

-And I just dropped on the floor completely.

If you have any doubts about who your tradesperson is working for,

check with the company for confirmation.

At that point, I was livid. Absolutely furious.

Cost-wise, I've taken out a loan with my building society.

It's going to take me 12 years to repay it,

which is pretty much the rest of my working life.

For a pile of rubble.

Don't be the victim of a conservatory conman.

Here's my Clive's Five Top Tips on how to not get ripped off.

Don't drop your guard if the price gets dropped dramatically.

'If you're suddenly offered huge savings,

'sign today and you'll save 20 percent,

'just this once, they'll drop the price,

'or they say that they'd like to use your property as a show home,

'don't be rushed or fall for flattery. Stay cautious.'

Guarantees are great, but only if they're worth the paper they're printed on.

'That way, if the company goes bust, you're still protected.'

Look out for a logo, but check the company really are registered.

'There are trade associations for conservatory companies

'which may give you added protection

'and another avenue for complaint if things go wrong.

'Check that your conservatory company is on the right list.'

Forget the smooth sales talk. Go and see their previous work.

'Don't just look around the showroom...'

'Ask them how the work went.'

Before you install, give your local council a call.

'Don't take it for granted. You'll probably need it.'

'It wasn't just the sisters who lost money to this rogue salesman.

'Before the job, which lasted two days, he worked for another conservatory company.

'The boss there was left fuming, too.

'He regrets the day he ever employed him.'

I definitely lost money through that man working for me.

He hadn't got a clue about how to treat customers

and how to work in an industry that he said he'd been in for years.

My motto has been all the way through 33 years of business,

"The customer is always king."

I hate letting customers down and I let more customers down through that man

than I've done in all that time, and he was only with me for a few months.

It was the best thing I did when he went. I just wish I'd never seen the man.

'Coming up, the sisters confront their slippery salesman.'

I'm just ringing to ask you whether or not you had any intention of building our conservatories.

'Sisters Julie Elsmore and Jackie Reece have been taken in by a salesman,

'a man who put the con into conservatory.

'They'd been so excited about their new conservatories

'that all their careful planning went out of the window.

'They handed over five grand and were left with holes in their gardens and their bank accounts.

'Julie's daughter, Lisa, watched the whole disaster unfold.'

They were like children at Christmas. They were both happy. They'd had so many people come round

and give them quotes and looked at different designs.

When they finally chose the one they wanted and the company to do it,

they were both so happy cos it was going to be done

and it was finalised and they'd definitely be getting the conservatory.

It's put a lot of stress on them and I know they've not been sleeping or looking after themselves properly.

They've just been getting by.

You see them just sitting there and you think, you're not looking after yourself.

It's just worrying and not sleeping.

'Julie and Jackie's dad, Glen, thinks his girls have been let down

'and he'd love to do something to sort out the cowardly cowboy.'

This guy keeps promising to give the money back and never does.

Promising to deliver stuff and never does.

And you feel so helpless. There's nothing you can do to help them.

I was angry. But what can you do?

I could do round there and thump him and I could end up in prison. But that doesn't get you anywhere.

'He's right. Taking matters into your own hands is never a good idea

'and puts you on the wrong side of the law, not the cowboy.

'Meanwhile, our good guys are putting right those conservatory wrongs.'

'Julie feels guilty because she spoke to the slick salesman in the first place

'and recommended him to her sister, because she thought he was offering a great deal.

'Has the conservatory cowboy driven a wedge between these two sisters?

'Does Jackie blame Julie for the mess they're in?'

No, there's been no blame. We've not blamed each other or anything like that.

I know Julie keeps saying she feels guilty because I took out a loan,

but I made that decision, she didn't make it for me.

So, no, we've been fine. We've cried together, we've laughed together,

we've screamed and shouted and sworn together.

What kind of person takes thousands of pounds off these lovely ladies

and then abandons them with empty hearts and bank accounts?

I think it's time this rogue gave us some answers.

Julie, Jackie, when was the last time you had any dialogue, any contact with your builder?

We had an email last week, but we haven't spoken to him for about three weeks.

And what did the email consist of?

The email consisted of a load more excuses

and said that he was going to sell the frames on,

that the supplier was selling the frames on

-that he alleges to have bought and he's going to refund the money by 15th of September.

-OK.

-So that's his promise.

-Yeah.

-Just quickly,

-do you believe that's going to happen?

-No.

-OK. You never know.

Stranger things have happened. Now, if you had an opportunity to speak to him now...

If I could get a question off each of you, cos this is an opportunity for him for a right of reply. OK?

So if you had the opportunity to call him, what question would you like to pitch to him?

Did you ever have any intentions of building these conservatories?

-What about yourself, Jackie?

-I'd want to know, has he done it to anybody else?

-Is anybody else going through this?

-Do you think he'll say, "Yes, there is?"

-Probably not, no.

-He's going to say every job he's done is fantastic.

OK, I've got a telephone number for him.

Which one of you is brave enough to make the call?

-That'll be me.

-It's over to Jackie.

So all we do is, we sit nice and quiet.

Allow him to speak. I'm not saying he's going to answer. He might not.

If it goes to answerphone, leave a message. If he does answer,

pitch those questions nice and succinctly and allow him to answer.

-When you're ready.

-OK.

-Here we go. I'll get that number up for you.

-PHONE RINGS

-'And the salesman answers.'

Hi, it's Jackie Reece. I'm just ringing to ask you whether or not

you had any intention of building our conservatories.

'The salesman says he doesn't want to comment, but he's been in touch with the sisters' solicitor.

'He's promised he will repay the money in two weeks' time.'

Well, it's really a case of "watch this space."

And let's hope that he does pay you back.

We'll be in touch to find out if that is the case.

If he does pay you back, all well and good,

-but you guys are both unanimous in thinking that, what?

-He won't do it.

-It won't come back.

'I've got a message for all conning cowboys.'

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

And by revealing your tricks and techniques,

we'll prevent others from falling into your trap.

'A lot's been going on with the two conservatories.

'I want to find out from Darren how the work's progressing.'

-It looks the business. Any problems?

-No problems at all.

-Everything's gone fine.

-Everything's gone according to plan.

-Yep.

Just explain to us what you've done and how long it's taken you.

We started with the frames. We put the frames up first.

Then we worked on the roof, put the roof bars on, the roof sheets in,

and then the last thing, we put the glass in, which we've just done.

-So give us an hour and we should be finished.

-It looks brilliant.

I cannot wait to show the girls what the good guys can do. Well played.

'It's great to hear that Julie and Jackie's conservatory woes will soon be swept away.

'The sisters have put the rest of their savings and loan

'towards paying for the materials the good guys need.

'I'm really looking forward to showing them the finished results.

'Coming up, the moment of truth.

'Julie and Jackie's judgement on their new conservatories.'

SHE SQUEALS

'We're nearly done here in Stafford.

'Sisters Julie Elsmore and Jackie Reece

'were taken in by a fly-by-night salesman

'who promised them beautiful conservatories

'but left them with holes in their gardens and piles of rubble.

'Before I show these lovely ladies what the good guys have achieved,

'I want to find out what they've learned from having a cowboy salesman run them ragged.

'First up, I'm round at Julie's.'

Julie, the good guys have been in town and they've been in your back garden.

Before I show you what they've done, and I've actually seen it and I love it,

but before we go and have a look,

explain to me what you've learned from having a cowboy builder on your property.

First of all, never, ever give them money. Ever.

Check out what they're doing. If they give references, check them out.

-Check the work, as well.

-Check the work they've done.

-Good.

So, as long as you've learned from all those little mistakes.

Now then, what are you hoping for?

A conservatory with a wall and real windows.

-Are you ready to go take a look? Yeah?

-Yeah.

-Are you excited?

-Yeah.

-Scale of one to ten?

-20.

-Yes! That's what we want!

-You ready?

-Yeah.

-Link arms. Let's go.

All right? And stop.

Have a look.

It looks absolutely fantastic from the outside.

-It does, yeah.

-Is this what you were hoping for?

-Mm.

The whole thing looks fantastic.

I'm going to open the doors now.

Because I want you to see what it's like inside.

Just come forward. Stay there and have a look.

Oh, God!

-It's got a roof!

-It's got a roof?

-I should hope it has!

-And floor.

-It's got a floor.

-Insulated floor.

-That's gorgeous.

-Looks beautiful, doesn't it?

-Yeah.

-I'm really loving that.

-That's fantastic.

-And it's got the opaque roof panels, as well,

which just allow, when the sun's beating down, like it does in the UK,

it just holds that back just a little bit,

allows you to be that bit cooler inside.

-I'm loving the brickwork, the way the guys have worked on this job.

-Absolutely fantastic.

-I'm having a laminate floor.

-Yep.

-I'm having a television and a settee.

-All in all, I think these guys have done a stunning job.

-Fantastic.

-And it shows you that there are good guys out there.

-Yeah.

-I've got your keys in my pockets somewhere.

-Oh, have you?

-Yeah!

To this lovely conservatory, I have your keys.

I'm hoping I can find them now. There they are. OK.

That is the keys to your conservatory.

-Go inside and enjoy yourself, Julie, yeah?

-Yeah.

-And good luck.

-Thank you.

-Don't let any more cowboy builders in your life.

-No.

-All right. Go and have a look round. See you soon.

-Bye!

'Next, over to Jackie's, and her big surprise.'

Stand yourself just to there. OK.

OK, you can remove your hands now.

Wow. It's fabulous.

Absolutely fabulous.

'When Julie and Jackie's slippery salesman ran off with their money, they were left with trenches,

'piles of rubble and no sign of the conservatories they paid five grand for.

'But now, what a difference.

'Our good guys have made a beautiful job of the walls.

'The Edwardian-style roofs are sleek and stylish.

'Opening vents will help keep the conservatory cool on the hottest of days.

'The floors are safe and insulated.

'I think these conservatories are tip-top and worth celebrating, so let's have a party.'

Hey, Julie, I tell you what, come and see your sister Jackie's. Come and have a look.

SHE SQUEALS

-What do you think?

-They're gorgeous, aren't they?

-Drink?

Get the drink out. Listen, girls, enjoy your conservatories.

You've been down a long, hard road for it, and a painful one, as well.

But enjoy it, that's the main thing.

-Great to see you.

-Thank you very much.

-No problem.

-Take care of yourselves. Look after yourselves. Enjoy your conservatories. Bye.

-Bye!

-Bye!

-Cheers.

-Cheers.

'Now the sisters can finally put their conservatory chaos behind them.'

Ohhh!

You know, I am so happy that Jackie and Julie have now got the conservatories they dreamed of.

But remember, not all builders are cowboys

and if you do your research, you won't go falling into the cowboy trap.

'The conservatory cowboy broke his promise to pay back Julie and Jackie their deposits.

'The deadline came and went.

'Tell us your tale.'

'Help us round up the cowboys.'

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

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