Episode 1 Cowboy Trap

I'm back on the road

and hot on the heels of those cowboy builders whose botched work

has blighted people's lives and brought chaos to their homes.

I was the one who perhaps thought he would be a good person to

come in and do the job and I've been proved totally and utterly wrong.

First, it was frustration.

And then anger. I was livid.

I've seen some right builder bodges in my time

but there's one thing I do know about cowboy builders

and that is there is no limit to their cheek.

They'll smile to your face, pocket your cash

and then they leave both your home and your life in a right old mess.

It hurts me very much.

It's hard-earned money that we've put in this house.

It's arrogant.

It's sheer arrogance.

Along the way, I'll be giving you some hints and tips in the hope

that it will help prevent you from falling into the cowboy trap.

Today, we're in the heart of the West Midlands,

in the wonderful city of Wolverhampton.

Wolverhampton had a prolific bicycle industry for over a century,

which is perhaps why England's first automatic traffic lights were

erected in Princes Square in 1927.

In 1866, a statue was built in memory of Prince Albert,

the unveiling of which brought Queen Victoria to

Wolverhampton for her first public appearance since his funeral.

Despite her grumpy reputation, Queen Vic was amused.

She liked the statue and knighted the mayor.

Founded in 659 AD

by King Wulfhere, the city's motto has always been "Out of darkness,

"cometh light" and I'm going to use that as my inspiration to rescue

homeowners that have been thrown to the wolves by cowboy builders.

This three-bed house in Albrighton on the outskirts

of Wolverhampton is home to Susan and Ian Bartlett.

They like this Shropshire village,

which is convenient for Ian's job as a nurse with NHS Direct.

And Susan, who is originally from Malaysia,

is an interpreter for a local language school.

The Bartletts wanted to extend their house

so that Susan could start her dream business of teaching cookery classes

and running a cake-making enterprise from home. Yummy!

Susan also wanted to turn the kitchen into an office for her

new business and Ian had always wanted a conservatory,

so that was added to the wish list for the Bartletts' big renovation.

The three-bedroom semi-detached house had

been in the family for over ten years,

since Ian and his sister inherited it after their mother passed away.

Susan and Ian loved the house

so much that they decided to buy his sister's share

and they moved in with their three dogs, Cuddles, Ugi and Mimi.

But as much as Ian, Susan and the dogs loved the house,

it didn't match their dreams.

So they decided to take the plunge.

The most ambitious part of the project was converting the garage.

We had wanted to have a bigger kitchen and we thought

of converting the garage and utility room into a kitchen-diner.

Susan and Ian also wanted to add an en suite bathroom

to their downstairs bedroom.

The Bartletts knew that all this work wouldn't come cheap

but they really wanted to make their house work

and of course their plans for a bit of home enterprise.

They felt that by paying upfront to redevelop the space, that would be

a worthwhile investment that would reap dividends in the long run.

Ian suffered a minor stroke a couple of years ago,

so Susan felt it was vital for her

to take a more active part in earning money.

She wanted Ian to take things easier.

The Bartletts had used a local builder for small jobs

around the house previously, so they decided to get him in for a quote.

He came across as being very convincing.

He had done other jobs as well.

He was pleasant, very polite.

You just have to go on trust when you want to engage a builder.

You have to have an element of trust.

I absolutely agree that you have to trust your builder,

but take a tip from me, base that trust on firm evidence

they're the right person for the job.

Check out examples of their previous work

and take up references from satisfied customers.

If they have trust in the builder,

then it will be easier for you to trust them too.

Susan and Ian accepted the builder's assurances that he was up to the job

and took out a big loan to cover his quote of over 27 grand.

This included converting the garage, the kitchen,

adding the new conservatory, refurbishing the lounge,

the toilet and the new windows and doors.

Work started in February 2011 with a target completion date of June.

But as work began, things were a bit stop-start.

Well, more stop than start.

The builder kept going AWOL,

giving imaginative reasons why he wasn't on the job.

First it was a health and safety course for a week

and then he started disappearing for two days, three days, not coming.

He'd give us excuses.

Each time he disappeared, he came back

and emptied some windows and doors into the skip.

I thought he was working somewhere else.

The Bartletts confronted the builder

because they realised it was a race against time.

The builder told the Bartletts that he was getting married,

but with the wedding date way after the date that the work was due

to be completed, they weren't too worried.

But with the schedule slipping, it looked like he would be saying

his vows way before they would be saying their wows.

It seemed from my own point of view in hindsight that he had

bitten off more than he could chew.

The Bartletts had another shock in store

when their builder told them that he'd be disappearing yet again,

this time on a family trip to Disneyland.

His Mickey Mouse schedule was fast turning into a fairy story.

And while he was having fun in the sun with his family,

Ian and Susan felt like they were being taken for a ride.

The Bartletts waited for their builder to return

from his fun-packed summer holiday.

They waited...and they waited.

And they waited.

The conservatory, the garage conversion

and the bathroom would have to wait too.

The builder finally came back on site at the start of November,

six months after the original deadline for completion.

And the Bartletts soon realised that they had

a Lone Ranger on their hands.

He spent a lot of time on his own, doing some of the work,

he didn't always have the necessary help or support that he

needed from, I suppose, a list of people he could rely on.

And like all cowboys, this fella soon returned to his wandering

ways, leaving a trail of incomplete and unsatisfactory work behind him.

He left us with so much unfinished jobs.

We didn't know where we were going to get money.

The Bartletts were at the end of their tether.

They summoned this cowboy for a pow-wow, just before Christmas.

But there was no festive spirit coming from his direction.

The cheeky builder gave Susan and Ian an ultimatum.

He told them that he was in debt to the builders' merchants

and unless he paid them what he owed for the Bartletts' kitchen,

he'd be taken to court and possibly made bankrupt.

The shocked Bartletts asked

if there was anything they could do to keep the project going.

Their builder told them that if they cleared his bill

at the building suppliers, he would finish the job at no extra cost,

other than a £750 payment on completion.

AND he would give some money back at the end.

Susan and Ian hoped their builder would return after Christmas.

But beyond the festive binge came the January whinge.

First, he reneged on the original agreement to offer them

some money back.

Then he demanded a new agreement to only complete half the work.

When the Bartletts didn't agree to his demands, he told them

that he would be withholding their completion certificates.

Without completion certificates, the Bartletts would be in a real

pickle if they ever tried to sell their house.

They were sinking deeper and deeper into the cowboy trap

and there was little they could do about it.

The Bartletts had run out of patience,

not to mention money and the builder had stopped turning up.

It's a real sorry state of affairs.

I want to find out more and see what we can do to help.

-Hello. You must be Susan.

-Yes.

-I'm Clive from Cowboy Trap.

-We've come to the rescue.

-Oh, thank you.

I know you've had cowboy builders on the property.

-Do you mind letting me have a look around?

-Yes, come on in.

-Thank you.

While Sue puts the kettle on, I want a sneaky peak.

First stop, the conservatory and it's not a pretty sight.

I have to say that according to Ian,

his builder really specialised in windows and doors

and conservatories.

Well, if that is specialisation, I tell you what, I am worried

because I look in here and I see into the corners there, they have

actually got the internal corners,

the cover caps are missing in two places.

But the moment I look at this sill board - check this out.

Now, sill boards are cut from one length.

He's obviously done a mitre corner and obviously miscalculated

but thought, "Oh, I tell you what, I'm still going to use it."

Look at that.

I reckon he's done this once but to make it look uniform he's

done it all the way round and it looks awful.

That should have been cut from one board

and it would have looked great. So there is the first warning sign.

Let's take a look at this so-called garage conversion.

First of all, the thing that really stands out to me is this.

Look, that's guttering of a good, old size

to take the good British rain. Look at this.

This is a Wendy house. Quite why he has put that there...

Because look at the fall line here.

When the water comes - whoosh - it's going to miss that completely.

It's just coming straight down onto the decking

and rather than that a reducer in, look, look what he's done.

Here, this is, what, 50mm?

So, you've got a 50mm pipe - look at this - going into a 100mm.

And look at that - it's rubbish. Looking at this, look, it's not...

That hasn't been fitted correctly at all.

The joints are standing proud so moisture will get into there.

All of this felt is pretty poor.

It's been fitted badly.

You'll also notice it looks like he's damaged...

This is the parting wall.

He's damaged the roof of the next-door neighbours

and not done anything with it.

This is all open as well.

That should all be closed off to stop any rodents,

anything getting in there.

But here's used something called Flashband

and it's got a dark grey feel to it.

Underneath it's got a bitumen and you heat it up to seal it.

It's really only a temporary job.

That's not proper flashing in any way, shape or form.

As I back off to have a look at the roof, it's all over the place.

He's used Flashband in one area

and then where he has actually done the felting to the roof,

he's chopped it into the wall, to act as a flashing, if you like,

and that should be all lead flashed.

So it's just not good enough in any way, shape or form.

That roof is poor. I don't know how long that will last.

All the seams and the seals. I'd give it, perhaps, two years tops.

I wouldn't be surprised if it's not even letting in water now.

Everywhere you look there are problems to contend with.

He has had to replace this cement-based tile here

and he has mixed some mortar. Look at this. See what I mean?

What he has forgot - that's just sand.

Actually, what he's forgot is any cement.

I mean, what is the point of that?

It's an awful mix and, as you can see, I've got an armful of it now.

This guy, as I say, not a clue.

Let's look inside.

'Oh, dear. He's got the tiles wrong as well.'

I can feel movement under here straight away.

I have to say, yes, I'm only nine stone, wet through,

in real life but these are moving.

I'll tell you something else. The grout is already exploding out.

Looking around at the units,

I'm sure these units were pretty expensive.

This guy was definitely out of his depth.

That's a fact.

Look at this plumbing.

I know we are close to Birmingham but I wasn't expecting to

find Spaghetti Junction in the Bartletts' study.

And the waste from the downstairs shower room just

empties into nowhere.

Upstairs in the bathroom, the standard of finishing is dire.

The showerhead is wonky too.

It doesn't look like the showerhead's even secure.

Look at that. That is horrible. Look at that.

Now, that showerhead is a very expensive showerhead.

It's such a lovely-looking thing, very contemporary

but it has been installed awfully.

And things don't look any better outside.

I do not like the look of this brickwork.

I have to say, looking at his brickwork, he hasn't laid to line

and again this is something I always go on about -

getting your mortar mixes right

so you have not got a patchwork quilt of different colours.

How they've dried is not brilliant.

And he has made a right mess of the damp course.

At the bottom here, you'll see that little...

There is a black plastic bit that sticks out.

It's Neoprene in actual fact.

That prevents any moisture rising up through the brickwork.

It should be at 150mm, so two bricks up.

He has actually got it at one brick.

This bungling builder has well and truly

bitten off more than he can chew.

He has not only taken Susan and Ian's money but he has

left them with a rubbish roof, a criminal kitchen and dodgy drainage.

Not to mention bogus brickwork, a squinty showerhead

and a terrible tap stand.

The Bartletts have shelled out over 27 grand

but all they have got in return is a cowboy calamity.

Good girl. Good girl.

But don't just take my word for it.

I've invited independent building inspector Nigel Mason along

to see what he thinks.

There's the main issues about the drainage

and the cold water supplies which just clearly haven't been finished.

General workmanship and things just not finished off

is also a common theme.

The detailing against the neighbouring wall

and the existing wall to the house is just very poor flashing details

and it's not a long-term job that was going to run the test of time.

What about the bathroom?

It could have been nice. It could have been so good, couldn't it?

But again, you know, lack of attention to detail.

Some of the plasterwork finishing is horrendous.

You just wouldn't have left it in that condition.

-Even to think about painting it.

-Yes.

And clearly things just not finished off, boxing into the pipe work.

It's a shame cos it could have been such a nice...

-It could have been a really nice conversion.

-It could, yes.

On balance, some of the things potentially look good

but when you scratch a little bit deeper you see

some of the weaknesses and I think, really, it's a four and a half.

I think that's a generous four and a half, Nigel, to be honest with you.

Four and a half out of 10 it shall be, sir.

Your input, as ever, is invaluable to us

and it's great to see you again, by the way.

But it's not great looking at this catastrophe.

It no surprise building control found nine serious problems

with this build.

Sue and Ian are starting to have suspicions about where

their money went.

There were lots of little tell-tale signs that I noticed.

When he was asking for payment it also seems to coincide with...

-Having a week off?

-..personal issues in his life.

There was the stag night in Edinburgh.

There was the honeymoon in Sharm el-Sheikh.

There was the kids'...

..holiday.

The cynic in me was beginning to think then,

"Is he just using this money which he's supposed to be using

"on his business for his personal use?"

Take a tip from me.

Agree to a payment schedule with your builder before any work starts.

Write it down and stick to it.

Never pay your builder in cash

and ask to see receipts for any materials purchased.

That way, you know where your money's going.

This guy is playing at being a builder. That's it.

I'm just seeing from the surface what I believe it's like,

so you're now out of pocket.

'Yep, 27 grand out of pocket for a bathroom with a dodgy shower

'and a kitchen they can't cook in.'

Look, we're going to bring in the good guys.

All I'll say to you, I know it's going to be difficult for you

but I'd like you to try and avoid the work as much as possible,

so that when I come back when the work's been completed,

I'll be able to show you hopefully something really nice.

-Thank you very much.

-Pleasure.

'And it's also a pleasure to see these guys arriving.

'It's time to put this sorry situation to rights,

'and local builder Adrian and his team plan to do just that.'

Nothing's been done properly.

I haven't seen any aspect of the job

where they've taken any care or pride in their work.

'They waste no time getting to grips with that rubbish roof.'

The way it's been felted in the first place,

it's just not a very good job at all.

He's left a lot of the old felt underneath,

just gone over it with one layer and basically left it all in.

It was definitely leaking. As we've started stripping it,

you can see water underneath the felt already.

It's not a good job at all, not stuck into the wall very well.

The best way around it is strip it off and restate it with a new one.

Hopefully put it right, make it look posh.

'It's a big job to salvage the situation indoors too,

'so the Bartletts are chipping in to help get the job done.'

It looks like the kitchen used to be across here.

Obviously, these are the mess of pipes

that used to be behind the units.

The builder's just left them, some of them uncapped.

He's left open waste pipes, as you can see.

They are now leaking from the upstairs bathroom

and the floor here's soaking wet.

This has been leaking for the last year since he started the job.

You've got a horrendous smell in here. It's a nightmare.

'The good guys have their work cut out, spotting and fixing

'this builder's bodges, but they dive into those dodgy drains,

'fling themselves into the flooring and rise to the roofing challenge.

'Unlike their cowboy builder who was never on the job,

'the Bartletts have loved having the good guys around.'

We do see a very big difference.

They're very diligent in their work, they are very committed.

Time is of the essence. They are here on time every day.

They hardly ever stop for a drink, not like our former builder.

'It just goes to show what can be achieved

'when you get the good guys on the job.

'But can they create the transformation

'of the Bartletts' dreams?

'Only time will tell.'

I'm back in the Shropshire village of Albrighton,

home to Ian and Susan Bartlett, whose home improvement plans

left a sour taste when their builder bit off more than he could chew.

'Remember, the Bartletts had ambitious plans

'to convert their house to create more space.

'They enlisted the help of a local builder

'but all they got was a malfunctioning kitchen,

'a shoddy conservatory and a faulty bathroom.'

'Luckily, our good guys led by Adrian have been on the case.

'But they found a few nasty surprises along the way.

'The cowboy builder had bodged the plumbing

'and left a wastepipe draining into a kitchen cupboard.

'He'd fitted the shower door on back-to-front

'and talking of doors,

he hadn't fitted externally rated doors into the conservatory.

'A schoolboy error.

'The good guys also worked on the deck roof

'to stop water leaking through, and they insulated the gas meter.

'They really have pulled out all the stops on this job.'

This is the bit I always love.

Showing the homeowners what the good guys are capable of.

Looking from the outside,

straight away I notice a massive difference.

I have to say first of all, the thing that catches my eye

is the felting on the roof.

Real good quality compared to that rubbish before

that I wouldn't even put on a shed.

The upstands, the flashing, everything - much better.

'It's a big improvement inside too,

'where the Bartletts' longed-for study is looking,

'well, like a study.'

Yeah. What a difference. This room is now amazing.

Wonderful and clean, neutral colours.

You've got laminate flooring as well.

It just looks fantastic and it's a great study for Ian.

No two ways about it. I have to say, do you remember here, though?

This was just a maze of live cables, there was waste pipes.

The one from the bathroom was going nowhere.

The one from the sink was actually terminated

into one of the cabinets, one of the cupboards in the kitchen.

Just amazing really when you think about it.

The corners this guy cut and the breaches of building regs he made.

To see it now, it's totally different.

'In the bathroom, the good guys have added all those finishing touches

'which were beyond the clueless cowboy.

'Now on to the garage conversion.

'I can already see the drainage is much better.'

The quality of this is amazing. Remember the guttering?

It was only about two inches, which is good enough for a shed, maybe,

but now we've got the proper guttering on too.

'The good guys have also boxed in the exposed tap stand -

'nice work, fellas.'

Do you remember here the tap stand? That was all exposed

and I think it was held to the wall with a few cable clips.

Not any more. It's been boxed in lovely with this plastic extrusion.

It looks great.

'And they've added external doors to separate the home

'from the conservatory,

'satisfying building regulations and impressing me.

'We contacted the builder to hear what he had to say.

'He told us he made it very clear that all the works were outlined

'in the original contract, that his quote was subject to change

'depending on any unforeseen work they added,

'which he claims they did on numerous occasions,

'but the Bartletts claim to have settled any extra work on the spot.

'The builder blames Susan for the schedule over-running,

'because she kept asking for extra work to be done.'

Do you think, Ian, therefore that maybe he's putting the blame

towards Susan and yet he created a lot of this extra work?

I think as far as our builder is concerned,

he began to realise soon after he started the work

that he'd taken on more than he could chew.

When we approached him to find us a builder to do the job,

probably at that time he did not have enough work

and he thought that this would be a good opportunity

for him to do a job.

Possibly, he has not realised how big the job would be.

Then when he was midway through that,

he realised he had too much on his hands

and that's how he tried to get more and more out of us,

but of course, we are not able to pay what he demanded later

because that's the budget that we have.

'There's no doubt this builder was out of his depth

'or that his work fell well short of the standards

'you'd expect from a skilled tradesmen.

'The good guys have come in to banish the bodges

'and I can't wait to show Ian and Susan how much can be achieved

'when you get the right people on the job.

'First up, I want to show them the rip-roaring new roof.'

-Ooh. Amazing.

-Astonishing.

The roof was important to you, Susan, particularly because

that is the area, the kitchen, where you wanted to train

people how to cook and make your own pastry and that sort of thing.

Knowing now that's secure up there, how does that make you feel?

I can't describe my feelings, honestly.

I'm just too overwhelmed by this.

-It's wonderful, isn't it?

-It is.

'Well, the roof has certainly raised a smile,

'so what will Susan and Ian think of their new study?'

You're going to love this.

-What a difference!

-It is, it's amazing.

It's great, isn't it? In here, it was like a complete mess.

Remember, this wall just had open pipes.

We had cables all over the place. It really was a mess, wasn't it?

-All exposed to everything.

-Holes on the walls...

Look at it wonderfully decorated now. We've got laminate floor.

What sort of a difference is this going to make to you?

I tell you what, it's going to make it

into a really nice office that we can be proud of.

We can get our businesses off the ground...

I'm sorry, I'm just losing my voice.

Listen, don't you worry about that, don't you worry.

-It's nice to get excited.

-I'm very emotional about it, really.

My wife has craved a nice office really for her business as well,

and it's going to be something that we can both enjoy, really.

Like an empty canvas that we can start to work on.

Absolutely wonderful. You're just amazing.

It's not me, it's down to the good guys.

This is what the good guys can do!

'The good guys have really pushed the boat out on this job.

'The bathroom is a masterpiece of contemporary design and finishing,

'the conservatory is the haven of tranquillity Ian wanted,

'complete with beautiful new doors, and the kitchen is ready for Susan

'to bake all sorts of wonderful treats.'

Well, I think we can safely say that's one up to the good guys.

Another job well done,

and we got Ian and Susan's life and their plans back on track.

Remember, the majority of builders out there are great ones,

but I've a message for all the bad guys out there.

Watch out, because we're on your trail.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd