Episode 1 Cowboy Trap

I'm back on the road again, looking for evidence of dodgy building work.

Now, cowboy builders may be able to hide the clues from you,

but not even the most cunning of cowboys will hide them

from these detective eyes.

I was devastated, completely devastated.

We just wanted to have everything done for when we got married.

Now, you know I've witnessed some real dodgy building work over the years,

but I'm still shocked at how these cowboys manage to con people

out of their hard-earned cash.

How do people let them get away with it?

It's been very hard for me.

Panic attacks, constantly not sleeping.

I'm hoping to offer help to a young couple

who've been cheated by a cowboy con man.

He, one time, told us that he had swine flu.

That was when he stopped turning up.

Stick with me, and I'll offer you some hints, tips and advice

that may help prevent you from falling into the cowboy trap.

Today, I'm on Merseyside, and did you know that 40%, at one time,

of the world's trade passed through these docks.

And, of course, it's home to the Scouse.

Liverpool today is a buzzing and beautiful city,

with some amazing architecture and a vibrant art scene.

But, of course, one of the biggest pulls for the millions of visitors

is the city's claim to fame as the home of The Beatles.

Now, also when it comes to music,

it was considered the capital of pop of the world.

And, after all, if it wasn't for Beatle-mania,

I wouldn't have any Cowboy Trap theme tunes,

like We Can Work It Out, I Want To Hold Your Hand,

and Help! I Need Somebody, Help! Do you get it?

Ah, forget it.

Two people who know exactly what I mean are the Hendricksons,

26-year-old Dawn and her 28-year-old husband, Andrew,

who works as a personal assistant.

Dawn and Andrew met ten years ago in the city's train station.

It was an instant coupling, you could say.

We met through a mutual friend.

I was waiting for him at Liverpool train station,

and he was quite late,

but he was with Dawn,

and I pretty much fell in love with her straight away,

even though I was in a foul mood.

Yeah, he was a bit annoyed.

This was love's young dream.

And although they were still teenagers,

they knew they couldn't live without each other.

It was about five months after we met that I proposed,

but it took a further nine years to get married.

Engaged, yet still living with their parents,

it took Dawn and Andrew five years to finally save up

for the property they felt they could Twist And Shout about.

It was a Victorian town house that was just a few miles away from both their parents.

We just had a really nice vibe about this one, didn't we?

Yeah, we just had a feeling this was the one.

Their two bedroom terrace in Liverpool was the perfect home.

In fact, they were so excited by it,

they didn't even notice that their little love nest

needed a bit of TLC.

It took a little while to realise that there was

a couple of little things wrong with the house that you'd like changed or fixed.

After five years of living here,

we decided that maybe it did need a little bit of work.

In January 2010, they hatched a plan

to get renovation work started on their new home.

Andrew and Dawn wanted work to begin

before they started on their Long And Winding Road together.

-We decided to make two big decisions at the same time.

-Yeah.

We wanted to get the house ready so we could just get married,

come back from honeymoon, and start thinking about starting a family.

And the house would be all lovely

-and it'd be suitable for starting a family.

-Yeah.

I suppose you could say we grew up.

With their dream of having children firmly in place,

the couple set about planning the perfect family home.

We were looking to change the layout of the house,

get a new kitchen installed, new front door, flooring throughout.

We were looking for a new back door into the yard, a new bathroom.

We pretty much wanted to do a complete renovation of the house.

Their big day was only seven months away,

and as they were saving every penny for the wedding,

Andrew asked his parents to help finance the work.

When they agreed, the excited couple wasted no time in getting quotes,

and one builder caught their attention.

He said he was a family man,

and he understood how hard it was to get money together,

and wanting to start a new family,

and start afresh with getting married.

He gave us a quote that seemed fairly competitive.

He was going to supply everything we needed to do the house.

He was going to supply the flooring, the kitchen itself,

the front door, the back door,

the bathroom, the shower unit.

He said he could provide everything.

Everything was falling into place,

so Andrew and Dawn booked the builder

to start their home renovations in March 2010.

He was to brick up the kitchen wall, install new units,

fit a new bathroom, lay floors throughout the downstairs,

and sort out the damp problem seeping inside from this exterior wall.

He quoted around £5,000 for the materials, fixtures and fittings.

And with labour costs on top, gave a final price of £9,000.

But one thing was missing - a contract.

And work hadn't even begun when alarm bells started to ring.

He asked for about five and a half thousand pound up front.

That was for the materials.

And he asked for it in cash.

By paying for all the materials up front,

Andrew and Dawn made a mistake.

Take my advice.

Only pay a very small deposit, if required.

Then you know what you're paying for, and when.

Never in cash.

Dawn and Andrew were persuaded to part with

five and a half thousand pounds.

Andrew paid the builder,

and in March 2010, the Magical Mystery Tour began.

He fitted the bathroom and installed a new back door.

Work had progressed quickly,

but four weeks into what was meant to be a two and a half week job,

the couple became concerned about how much they were paying.

There was things that he'd add on, as well,

that we weren't initially quoted for.

And then there was further costs for labour

that we paid as and when they came up.

All in all, I think it's cost us about £9,000.

And, as costs increased,

so did the time between their builder's visits.

Their elusive cowboy came up with excuse...

-He said he had gastroenteritis.

-..after excuse...

Strained stomach muscles.

..after excuse...

-He'd ordered the wrong cupboards.

-..after excuse.

He, one time, told us that he had swine flu.

By mid-May, the job was bodged, and still unfinished.

But Dawn and Andrew's entire £9,000 had disappeared

into the pockets of their cash-crazy cowboy.

It was then his turn to do the vanishing act.

This was no joke. The Hendricksons were left with a bathroom

that leaked into the kitchen, and all the problems that was causing.

They had a back door that let in rain.

And in the lounge, under the bay window,

the damp was still coming in.

They'd forked out a whopping nine grand on labour and materials.

But they were left without many of the goods they'd paid for.

We haven't been supplied our kitchen.

The damp has re-occurred under the bay window in the living room.

Laminate flooring hasn't been provided for the hall.

There's part of the bathroom missing.

There's a leak from the bathroom into the kitchen.

The water pours out of the ceiling when you get in the bath.

The couple's home is a damp-ridden disaster.

Dawn's mum is appalled.

You just can't use the cupboards,

you can't put nothing under the sink,

everything smells dead musty, your food smelling musty.

You put your sugar out and the sugar bowl gets wet within a day.

Out of cash, and with their big day approaching,

the dream of having their home finished in time for the wedding was over.

This young couple have been left devastated and disillusioned.

It's hard to deal with, and a lot of sleepless nights.

A lot of sleepless nights for me.

It really upsets me that we got duped by him.

I suffer with anxiety. Erm...

and it's been very hard for me.

Panic attacks, constantly not sleeping,

going into real dark moods.

Worse still, Dawn blames herself.

In a way, it was my fault, because I made the decision...

-..to go with him.

-It's nobody's fault.

It's a marriage, and we make decisions together.

Yeah.

-And although we weren't married at the time, we were in our hearts.

-Yeah.

Dawn's mum, Norma, shares their disappointment.

They wanted to start a family as soon as they got married,

and this has really put them back, because they're saying

"We can't have a baby in the house because of the dampness."

He's just destroyed them, really destroyed them. I don't know how anyone would do this to them.

You know, it's stories like this that get me really racked off,

when I hear about cowboy builders

and the damage they leave in their wake.

I think it's time for me to have a chat with the Hendricksons,

and see if we can get them back on track.

First, I need to see the full extent of the problem.

-You must be Andrew.

-I am.

-I'm Clive from Cowboy Trap.

-Pleased to meet you.

-Now, I hear you've had problems with cowboy builders.

-We have.

-Do you mind if I go and have a quick nosey round?

-Please come on in.

-Great. Where are the majority of the problems?

-In the kitchen.

-OK.

-I'll come and find you in a little bit.

-Thank you very much.

-Cheers.

Let's see what this cowboy has cooked up in the kitchen.

Ooh! Look at the size of that step!

That's no good. If you're coming in and out of a kitchen,

I don't know what the plans are for this,

but that needs another step, cos that's not very good.

If you're carrying a tray of food, you trip up that...

That's got to be eight inches.

Oh, and there's a door that leads to nowhere.

That's interesting. Doorway's been bricked up, but the door's been left in. That's nice of him.

Don't like the look of that.

We've got a cable here that's actually exposed.

That, I'm really concerned about.

This is actually a power tracer pen, and it's a great little tool.

I'm just going to pop that on. Yeah, that's as live as you like.

The danger of these exposed electrics

is compounded by the damp running down the walls.

OK, well we can see problems there...

..with moisture ingress.

That also looks like there's moisture coming in there, too.

It looks like there's moisture coming in a lot of places, here.

I think we need to find out the source of where that water's coming in,

and I'm going to gamble there's a bathroom up there,

so I'm going to check it out.

Bingo! The bathroom is directly above the kitchen.

CLIVE SINGS JAMES BOND THEME

When it comes to cowboy builders, I'm licensed to show 'em the hammer.

I've just found the source of that damp problem.

So this is identical size to the kitchen.

Again, in this corner was where all of that water was coming in.

I believe that is waste water,

it's not mains-pressured water because it'd be running down all the time.

So there's obviously a problem under the shower tray.

And of course in this corner,

remember down below we've got that electrical cable,

we've got another problem here.

Now, I believe that is definitely going to be a waste problem.

So, one of the waste pipes, are not connected properly,

I think that's what we'll find. The problem is, we're going to cause some disruption,

because we're going to disturb this bath by lifting it out,

we're going to have to disturb the shower by lifting it out.

And then the floor, to find out what's gone on underneath,

because I firmly believe there is a problem with the waste pipes.

One of them or both of them haven't been connected properly.

I fear that they might have not been connected at all,

but we'll have to wait and see, cos there's a lot of moisture coming down there.

But either way, it means this bathroom's going to be upside down.

Last on my checklist is the exterior.

Ooh.

Now, what we've got to bear in mind is this property's quite old.

The late 1800s was when it was built,

which means that there's no cavity in the wall, like a modern-day property,

it's just a solid wall, and they're always prone to damp.

What worries me here is the state of this kitchen wall.

Do you remember when we were talking about the door in the kitchen,

that it's been bricked up?

This was a doorway, it's been bricked up, and then they've used a sort of render.

It's not brilliant, I mean, it's so wet, for a start.

Hasn't been sealed off.

That's going to have water penetrating through it all the time.

Look, you've got this little pocket here,

and when it rains, that pocket is just going to fill with water.

And once you get the render breaking down,

unless you treat it there and then,

you're going to get great big pockets of it falling off.

And, as you can hear, it's pulling away from the wall.

And that's all gone.

To me...

I've got to be honest with you. Looking at it, looking at it up there,

if you can afford it, I'd re-render the whole thing.

Well, from what I can see, there's a real bodge gone on here.

But there might be some untold story so far,

so I need to speak to Dawn and Andrew,

and find out where their real problems lie.

OK, you lovely people.

Talk me through the problems you have in this kitchen,

and whatever's going on upstairs in the bathroom, as well.

What do you know of?

Well, first of all, we paid for a new kitchen,

which the builder had the money up front, and never supplied.

-So he took the money and run, didn't get the kitchen.

-Yeah.

What other problems?

There's leaks above your head, which, from that crack just up there,

leaks right down onto that wire,

and we're not sure if it's live or not.

I can tell you, I've already tested it, and I can actually show you. Take a look.

That is live.

That copper cable there is the live.

Now, anybody touching that,

at best, is going to get a new hairstyle.

No wonder they're so shocked.

They've been living with a potential killer in their kitchen.

Don't put yourself in danger. Remember -

Before they carry out any work...

This couple's kitchen has other dangers.

I want to discuss this damp problem.

I don't think that water is coming through from mains-pressured water. It looks more like waste.

-When you empty the bath or have a shower, is that when it comes down?

-It seems to.

It tends to be when it's getting emptied.

It's caused all this damp problem as well.

For me, the fact that this is waste water,

it's got all sorts of bacterial problems, too. So, if you're preparing food,

you're going to have to make sure

that you've got an anti-bacterial wipe or spray

constantly on the tops of these worktops.

One of the problems I've been having is I can't put things in the cupboards,

because they smell terribly of damp.

Any other problems around the house? I've had a look outside, there are one or two damp problems going on.

-Yeah.

-Anything else in the property?

-There's damp underneath the bay window.

We paid for a front door that never got provided.

The laminate flooring wasn't provided in the hall that we paid for.

And there's the door right behind you that hasn't been bricked up properly.

It's only been bricked up on the outside.

I called it the door to nowhere.

And that's exactly where it is going,

nowhere, just to a brick wall.

We've got a major job on our hands.

But for now, it's safe to say this is not a place to be.

This kitchen is not a place to be.

So, I think it's time we get out.

I'm going to need to call the good guys in, and we start sorting this out.

Coming up, when it comes to powers of persuasion,

I find out just how believable this couple's cowboy could be.

He gave us the whole story of how he'd been conned before,

and he'd never do that to anyone else.

And the dirty deception of this terrible tradesman

is uncovered by the good guys.

To tell them "I've cured the damp problem in the front," it's just a blatant lie.

In the historic city of Liverpool, Andrew and Dawn Hendrickson were getting married,

and wanted to start a family after their honeymoon.

But before the patter of tiny feet came along,

they needed to renovate their home.

They borrowed cash from Andrew's parents

to turn their plans for a home makeover into reality.

However, after paying nine grand for a kitchen, a new door,

flooring and other materials,

their callous cowboy headed for the hills with their money.

Without a penny to spare,

the couple have been living with a leaky bodge-job build looming over them

for 18 months.

I want to know more about their home, their plans,

and how they fell into this low-down, dirty cowboy's trap.

So, going back to when you purchased the property,

did you know at the time it was going to need work doing to it?

I think when we bought the house, erm,

we were young and naive, I suppose.

We were just so excited to be buying a house,

and we didn't realise just how much work would have to go into the house.

You notice things as you live longer in a property.

So, we knew the work needed doing,

and we wanted to get it done before we got married,

so we could come back from honeymoon and start a family.

So, you're saying, roughly about four years later,

you're deciding, OK, we want one or two things changing.

-We wanted a new kitchen cos it was never to your taste.

-No.

We decided to change the layout of it by moving the entrance

and closing off the exit to the back yard.

We wanted a new front door, new bathroom,

laminate flooring throughout.

We borrowed some money off my parents to get all the work done,

while we saved up for the wedding.

How, then, did you go about finding the builder

to convert those ideas into reality?

We had a look at a few different builders,

and got quotes off quite a few.

And then one day on an off-chance we went to a local market

which had a bathroom set up in it.

We asked the guy and he said,

"I'm not selling the bath, it's my work that I'm selling.

"I'm a builder, and I do everything to do with renovating a house."

So we took a note of his number, got him to come out,

give us a quote, and the quote was quite competitive.

He gave us the whole story of how, you know,

he's an honest man,

and he'd been conned before and he'd never do that to anyone else.

I suppose I fell for it.

The moment they start talking about being good, honest people

and they talk about being ripped off, and things like that.

I think it's time to step away straight away.

That's my personal opinion - step away from it.

So, we now know the background of how this guy managed to wheedle his way in.

You didn't go and see any of his previous work.

No, but he brought scrapbooks with photos of all his work. Showing us.

-Like portfolios.

-Yeah.

-Portfolios are fantastic things...

-Yeah.

-..but they're not the real thing.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-They're not the real deal.

Andrew and Dawn didn't check out their builder properly. Take my tip.

Don't let price alone sway your decision.

You get what you pay for.

Make sure the jobs you visit are similar to yours.

Dawn and Andrew didn't check their builder's work.

Instead, they booked their cowboy, agreeing to his nine grand quote.

Do you know what that included in the 9,000?

It included supplying a kitchen,

supplying the bathroom suite with a shower, a bath, sink, toilet.

Included supplying a front door, a back door.

A lot of it was supplies as well as labour.

And he asked for all the money for the supplies up front.

-You were quite happy, and you were convinced he was a good guy.

-Yeah.

You were quite happy to hand over money.

Yeah, but wasn't going to give him cash. But that's what he asked for.

I didn't want to be carrying £5,000 round with me.

-First of all, well done.

-Yeah.

Because most people I talk to have handed cash over.

-Yeah.

-And that is absolutely no good.

-It's virtually untraceable.

-Yeah.

OK, so banker's draft or cheque is the key payment.

-But he wouldn't have it go into his account, he wanted it to his wife's account.

-His wife's account.

OK, I'm going to sound the ship's horn.

Because straight away, that is an alarm.

Yeah.

If he wants it paying into his wife's account,

there's a reason for that.

-It was almost certainly tax avoidance.

-Yeah.

-That's for sure.

-Yeah.

But I'm going to let you off,

because this is your first property, you didn't really know,

and you hadn't got the advice.

So, he gets the five grand via his wife.

-Yeah.

-Work starts.

Things seem to be going fine.

I remember asking him when the work would be finished.

Would it be finished by the end of March?

And he said - and I don't know why this sticks with me -

"It has to be."

But when the end of March arrived,

Dawn and Andrew had forked out a massive £9,000.

Yet the work was still unfinished.

Worse still, the builder had stopped turning up.

He kept making excuses. The reasons that the kitchen wasn't here,

and he wasn't here, and the front door never came.

-Do you know where he'd ordered the items from?

-No.

-No.

Do you think you should,

-as homeowners, know this?

-Yeah.

-Yeah, I do now.

Definitely, you should.

I think the idea with us was that

it was easier if he came and said,

"It's going to cost x amount for supply and fitting,"

rather than getting quotes for all the work separate,

and then having to find the supplies.

With no details for their kitchen supplier,

Dawn and Andrew have nowhere to turn.

Don't let this happen to you.

Then you'll be able to keep track of what you're paying for.

By now, the couple had spent £9,000, but had no kitchen, no door,

and no hallway flooring to show for it.

They also had no builder.

When the realisation hit

he was obviously not going to come back,

what was going through your mind?

I was devastated, really was. Completely devastated,

because we just wanted to have everything done for when we got married,

and there was no light at the end of the tunnel.

It put strain between us, cos when he was stressed,

he couldn't explain to me what was wrong.

And I'd feel like he was upset with me.

This guy was driving a wedge.

It could've been a lot worse. because we are so strong together,

I think if it wouldn't have been for each other,

-we wouldn't have got through it, would we?

-No.

What is it that we could do for you now

that would make you happy?

I think if we solved the problems with the leaks and the damp,

and if we could do anything with that kitchen.

Just safe, as well.

They don't yet know it, but I'll do more than that.

I want to do as much as we can for this unlucky couple.

You know, it really does my head in when I hear so-called builders

taking advantage of people,

particularly those who are just setting out in married life,

who've had to beg, steal, borrow, scrimp and save

just to put a roof over their head.

There's loads of problems in this property.

Don't just take my word for it.

I've asked along independent chartered surveyor, Glen Nicholas, for his opinion.

Let's see what he's got to say about it.

-Here's the man. How are you, Glen? Good to see you again, sir.

-Good to see you.

You've had a chance to have a look, what have you found?

Well, basically, the kitchen, there's water

coming in from the corner over the boiler, and on this side over an old door.

And that's coming from the shower and bathroom upstairs.

He probably did electrical work without being qualified to do so.

That's correct. As I understand it, he's put some electric sockets in.

Just behind you, above where the water's coming in, those have to be looked at.

But in terms of what you've seen,

what sort of score out of ten would you give it?

The work so far, especially with live electrics, about two.

OK. Two it shall be.

-Where the electrics are concerned, that is a real no-no.

-It's a no-no.

For sure. I'll let you carry on with your notes. Great to see you again,

and hopefully we're going to put all this right pretty soon.

You know, this kitchen is not a very nice place to be.

If you think you're preparing food,

and you've got all those damp spores all over the place,

it can't be good for your health.

Worse still, you've got a live electric cable down there,

mixing with water.

Now that is as deadly as the point on that sword.

So I'm going to declare this area a no go zone.

The only people allowed past this cordon are myself and the good guys.

And, talking of which, I think it's time to get 'em in.

Local builder, Paul, and his team are ready to get cracking.

Before they do, I want to catch up on the plan of action.

-Who is this man in the high-vis vest?

-Hiya, mate.

-How are you? You must be Paul.

-Yeah.

-I'm Clive.

-Hi, Clive, you OK?

Now, loads of problems gone on in here,

not just the bathroom above us, but in the kitchen and outside.

Talk us through where you think the problems are and how we're going to rectify it.

The first thing is the leaks upstairs.

When the couple take a shower or a bath, both of them leak.

So the problem is, we're going to have problems with waste pipes.

Now, they've spent a few bob getting the flooring done, it would seem a shame to rip it all up.

I think it may be more pertinent

to take sections of the ceiling down, and renew the waste pipes coming through.

So, you mean get at it from underneath?

-Get at it from underneath.

-I think that's a great idea.

If it's coming through the waste, then that's the easiest option to save destroying the floor.

OK. Now, in terms of what's going to happen down here,

what's the plans for the outside?

I think first thing, take the door out. That wants bricking up and doing properly.

The outside, then, some of it's flaking off and not right, so that needs some work.

-OK.

-But, I mean, one of the biggest things is obviously live cables.

-Yes!

What we're going to do is get the electrician to come in and check all the electrics on it,

and get the plumber to come in and check all the stuff as well, first, so we know what we're dealing with.

-How long do you think it's going to take?

-About two weeks.

So pleased you're on board.

And I can't wait to see the finished product.

-Paul, good to see you.

-No problem at all.

-Thanks. I'll be catching up with you later.

-Yeah.

-And I'll let you carry on looking at your plans.

-Okey-dokey.

-I'm off.

-See you in a little while.

-Cheers. Ta-ra.

With plans hatched and builders braced,

Dawn and Andrew are ready to leave their house in the hands of our good guys.

But before they head to Dawn's mum's for a two-week stay,

I want to help them get some answers to their questions.

Now, young Dawn, young Andrew.

When was the last time you had any dialogue with your builder, the bad builder?

The bad builder, it was about four weeks ago.

When your office got in touch with him to give him his right to reply,

he telephoned me and told me

that he intended to repay the entire debt of about £2,500,

£50 at a time,

and he has since sent a postal order for £55.

This is a first for me. I've never had one that's offered to pay money back,

or if I have, they've never done it.

We've wrote to him, we've had solicitors write to him,

nothing has ever got anything out of him.

But now we've got £55, and with the promises he's broke in the past,

I wouldn't hold any hopes up of getting any more.

So you think it'll hold about as much water as your ceiling in the kitchen?

-Yeah.

-Probably.

If you had an opportunity to speak to him,

what questions would you like to ask him?

Well, I'd like to ask him why he targeted us.

What about you, Andrew?

I'd like to know why he took money from us for goods,

such as the kitchen, the front door, the laminate flooring that he never supplied,

why take the money and do that?

But he also told you, if I remember rightly,

that the companies that he'd purchased these items from

had all gone bust.

That was one of the stories, yeah.

But the stories change from time to time.

OK, I'm going to give you the opportunity to do that.

-We've got his number, so do you think you're up for giving him a call?

-Yeah, I think so.

OK, so it's over to you.

Hi, it's Andrew and Dawn. Are you prepared to answer some questions?

Right. When would you be available?

There's no chance you could do it today?

OK, then. Thank you. Bye, now.

He is not available to answer questions,

cos he is in a taxi about to visit the hospital.

When we contacted the cowboy, he denied his work was substandard.

But since filming,

the couple have received no more of the promised £50 payments.

Coming up, I can't wait to see Dawn and Andrew's reaction

when I reveal their transformed home.

You sure this is our house?

This is your house!

Dawn and Andrew Hendrickson's renovations turned to ruin

when their trusted cowboy took their cash and never returned.

They paid nine grand, but didn't receive their kitchen,

flooring or door.

Worse still, the work that had been done was dodgy and dangerous.

Their dream of a beautiful home, fit for a future family,

was in tatters.

But we brought in the good guys, who've been hard at it,

fixing the endless builder blunders in the bathroom,

kitchen and exterior of the house.

They've already stripped out that rotten kitchen,

and removed the plaster back to the brickwork.

They're dealing with those disgusting damp problems once and for all.

You can see on the floor and on the wall,

leaving the marks, just how damp it's been behind the units.

While the work is progressing,

the Hendricksons have moved in with Dawn's mum.

Their anticipation is building.

It's been hard not to go and peek.

We were up at about three o'clock in the morning, just talking about it.

I said it felt like when you're going on holiday, and you've got

that little bit of nerves about going,

but you're excited about getting there. That's how it felt.

Well, they'll have to be patient.

Our guys are still hard at it.

They've fixed the leaky bathroom pipes from below,

and bricked up that kitchen wall where the cowboy had left a door to nowhere.

And in the front room,

they discovered the cause of all that dingy damp.

We took off the plasterboard and lightweight plaster underneath, and this is now what we're left with.

You can see the damp on the brickwork where it's going to come through.

To tell them, "I've cured the damp problem in the front," it's a blatant lie.

There's still a lot to be done, but Paul is cracking the whip to get the job completed.

The lads have worked weekends

and worked late of a night to make sure we get it done

and get these kids back in their house as soon as they can.

This house of horrors will soon be a thing of the past.

Dawn and Andrew are chipping in too,

to make sure the job's a good one.

I did have a few nightmares that everything's still gone wrong,

but it's going to be so nice to know that it's done properly,

and to know that you don't have to worry about it.

I just can't wait to get home.

I can't wait to see the final result, either.

It's been a few weeks in coming, but at last the work is over,

and it's time for me to take a sneaky peek.

Well, I tell you something, I did not expect that.

This wasn't in the remit, by the way.

The whole of this fascia at the front has actually been re-painted.

Look at that. Let's take a look inside.

HE CHUCKLES

Ah, dear. Makes you giggle.

It's not very often I'm caught out for words,

but this is what it's all about.

I just realise how important this kitchen is to them,

and the state it was in before.

It was in such a mess.

Looking at it now, that's just amazing.

The step's in place, you've not got that huge step.

We've removed that dodgy drop by adding an extra step.

And, with the electrics sorted, the damp addressed,

and the walls re-tiled and painted, it couldn't get much hotter in this kitchen.

It just looks like a fully-functioning kitchen.

This is going to be a massive surprise to them.

This room looks amazing.

But what's happened outside to that troublesome rear wall?

Again, this has all been painted out here.

Do you remember before that was just all bricked up, it was a complete mess.

So that's all been done. And they've painted, as well.

So they've done reparation work where I was peeling that render off.

Obviously they've taken it back where all the loose stuff was,

and then painted it over with a proper exterior paint.

Looks totally different. New window, of course, as well.

Magic little job, this is.

And it's not just this wall that's been painted -

they've done the whole back of the house!

I mean...

To be fair, just that lick of paint

makes such a massive difference from out here.

I'm staggered with it.

But the good guys didn't stop there.

They fitted new hallway flooring,

sorted the damp below the living room window,

and upstairs in the bathroom,

they've replaced the bodge-job sealant around the bath and shower.

This transformation is stunning.

There's a man I need to thank.

-Hey!

-Hiya, mate.

-Finishing touches?

Yeah, just sorting out a bit of a drip.

First of all, walking into the house, all the outside of the property's been painted.

And coming inside, now, the hallway, is that new laminate floor?

Yeah, we had to put new laminate floor down, cos we had to renew the gas main, as well.

Why was that?

There was a gas leak, so we've cured that, then the new floor had to go down.

OK. Now, let me start with the bathroom upstairs,

because that was where a lot of the problems were. What's gone on in the bathroom?

We found out that the bath is actually leaking through,

the waste pipes were just crossed. The water was coming out because it wasn't connected up properly.

The shower was just bad silicone and sealants. That's all been scraped back and re-sealed.

Everything's all been tested, and it's been left watertight and sound, now.

-And down in that magnificent kitchen...

-It looks OK, so hopefully...

It looks OK! Blimey, when I left it, it was a right mess.

You've done an absolutely stunning job for us.

You should be proud of yourself. I'll let you carry on sorting that pipe.

-All right, mate. Cheers.

-Cheers.

I can't wait to show Dawn and Andrew their beautiful home.

Now then. I've asked the taxi driver to drop Dawn and Andrew off down the road,

so I've got a long walk ahead of me, bit of exercise.

Yes, I know I need it.

They've been living with Dawn's mum for the last couple of weeks,

so they're going to be stunned by the work.

-We're going to have to stop meeting like this.

-Ah!

-How are you, Andrew? How are you, lovely?

-I'm fine, thank you.

-Ah, you all right? You excited?

-I am, yeah.

Now, what are you hoping for?

-A safe home.

-Yes. A safe home.

-Electrics sorted.

-Indeed, yeah.

Well, are you suitably excited?

-Very much so.

-Extremely.

-Come on!

Three, two, one, take a look!

-Ooh!

-Very nice!

That's a real improvement.

It does, it's a real improvement.

-Cos he'd left a real state.

-He really had.

-You remember you'd got a leak going on there, as well.

-Yeah.

So all that's been solved, all that's been sorted on the inside.

Parts of the wall have had to be taken out and replaced cos it was so bad.

So all the damp has been cured.

Now, you've seen the outside, OK.

-Now it's time for the big boy! Inside.

-Inside.

-OK, you ready?

-Yeah.

-Follow me.

And, just through the door, the first surprise.

-Now, there's something you'll notice straight away.

-Ooh!

-Laminate in the hall!

-You had a problem with the gas. There was a gas leak.

So that had to be all re-piped to make it safe.

Now, the thing is, I'm building up slowly,

because we're about to go check out the kitchen. Right.

-Oh!

-Are you ready?

-Very much so.

-Yeah!

-Come on!

CLIVE SINGS A FANFARE

DAWN GASPS

-Oh!

-You've got an extra step, now.

-An extra step!

-Wow. It looks beautiful.

-It's amazing.

Wow. It's lovely, isn't it? And it's so much more space.

Look at all me cupboards!

Do you like your tiles?

Oh! Look at the lights!

How will this change your life, now?

-Oh.

-It's going to be a lot safer, isn't it?

I'm guessing that wire's gone.

All the electrics have been sorted out.

Bare cables are banished, and new sockets fitted.

As for that damp problem...

All of the fittings of the bath underneath,

it was the waste pipe that was the problem.

It was actually put on twisted and cross-threaded,

so it was just tipping out the waste from the bath,

-and that's what was causing the grief.

-I'm sorry!

-You enjoy! This is what it's all about.

And remember that door that wasn't a door?

-You had a doorway to nowhere. That's gone.

-That's gone.

-It looks like a completely different kitchen.

-You sure this is our house?

This is your house!

We've installed all their mod cons.

Cooker, an extractor fan and a tumble dryer.

And they'll no longer be dodging damp

as they have new cupboards to store their food in.

-The transformation is just incredible.

-It is.

Yous have done a really great job for us, haven't yous?

Well, we like to think so.

This is a special kitchen, but outside,

I have a few other surprises in store.

-So, a little bit of extra here, too.

-Yeah.

Do you remember a lot of your render was falling off?

-Yeah.

-That's all been secured and now painted over properly,

-and that's all round the back, as well.

-It looks amazing.

-Yeah?

-I'm so happy that I, like, literally cannot form a sentence.

THEY LAUGH

-Big change to your life?

-BIG change to my life.

Bigger than this transformation

is the impact it will have in the days to come.

I hope you have a fantastic future together. You deserve it.

-Oh, well. Can't wait. You know, we can start our family.

-Yeah.

Before we brought in the good guys,

Dawn and Andrew had sadly put their plans for children on hold.

Their house was a dangerous bodge-job building site,

and the cowboy had taken money for a kitchen he never delivered.

They were out of cash, and out of luck.

It's been very hard for me.

Panic attacks, constantly not sleeping.

But this incredible transformation really is life changing,

and it's proof there are great builders out there.

Dawn and Andrew are thrilled, and I reckon mum Norma will be, too.

Wow!

-Dawn!

-I know!

-Look!

-It's lovely.

-Can you believe it's the same room?

Isn't it beautiful?

-It's not even the same.

-That's what I said!

Come here.

They say the kitchen's the heart of the home.

Well, I think it's safe to say we've mended a broken heart today.

But my job's not over yet.

Well, once again, that is a fantastic job, and no doubt about it.

But think about Dawn and Andrew.

Young couple, vulnerable, first rung of the housing ladder,

and what happens?

A cowboy builder hits them hard.

But I've got a message for all cowboy builders out there.

Look over your shoulder, because we're right behind you!

If you've had a problem with builders and you would like

to tell your story on Cowboy Trap, then please call us.

Or you can send us an email, to -

Help us round up the cowboys.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd