Episode 13 Cowboy Trap

Over the years, I've seen some real cowboy bodge jobs,

the stuff of nightmares that would keep anybody awake at night.

It makes you sit back and think. You see people going through this,

you don't think it's going to happen to you.

Today, I'm revisiting homeowners that got caught in the cowboy trap

by bungling builders who left them well and truly in the lurch.

I stood in the kitchen and I cried.

I thought, "This is just ridiculous, it's just like camping."

I can't wait to see how their homes and their lives have moved on

since we got them back on track.

You're having a laugh!

What a change! I can't believe it!

What you've done, even in three years, I've got to be honest,

most people wouldn't have done in five years.

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

in the hope it will prevent you from falling into the cowboy trap.

Today's Cowboy Trap is a sobering reminder

of how even the most astute of us

seem to lose all our financial commonsense

when it comes to having the builders in.

Both couples made simple schoolboy errors over money

that left them sitting ducks for our old enemy, the cowboy builder.

And both had to endure the devastating impact

on not only their homes, but their lives, too.

He wanted more money.

-And you said...

-We did it.

Got to say, we were both in tears at times.

They've got your money, they've got your property in a state.

They have got completely control of the situation.

It's destroyed me. It's punched me up and down everywhere.

Later, I'll be catching up with Mel Potter and Kim Chapman from Stafford

whose willingness to hand over a huge cash deposit upfront

left them counting the cost, quite literally.

But first, I'm returning to Whiston in Merseyside,

where Andy and Janet Wood's dreams of extending their family home

vanished into thin air,

along with almost £24,000 in cold, hard cash.

Andy and Janet had lived in their beloved family home for 13 years,

but with their son Luke growing up fast,

they realised they needed more space

and decided to extend the property to include a new bedroom for him

and an office from where Andy could run his driving-school business.

Our dream home as we planned

would have been to have a nice open-plan living area

at the back of the house to overlook the garden.

It would be nice in the summer.

Have friends around, a bit of entertaining.

A new bedroom for Luke because his old room was getting too small.

Just to make it a better quality of life for us.

But when Janet and Andy hired an architect to draw up plans,

the project looked like it might be out of their price range.

We got other builders to come in to give us quotes.

-And they were way over.

-And they were...

-Significantly over.

But as luck would have it, the architect knew just the man.

He said, "I know someone that can do it for you, I recommend this guy."

We chose the builder because he was recommended by the architect,

so we thought we could trust him.

We didn't think anything would go wrong.

It just had. Sadly, the Woods had missed their first warning sign.

A cut-price deal almost always means a corner-cutting deal.

The builder gave Janet and Andy a quote

for a six-week job costing £30,000.

They handed over an initial payment of £7,500

and agreed to pay the rest in instalments.

And things seemed to get off to a flying start.

He started December, mid-December.

-2009.

-2009.

-With this build at the back.

-He got in very quickly.

-Within a week.

-It was like a space rocket going off.

-It was quick.

Everything was coming in, the steelwork was going in.

Janet and Andy were impressed.

So much so that when the builder asked for an unexpected cash payment

to get the works watertight in time for Christmas, they agreed.

But take my advice.

It's never a good idea to plan your build

around a special occasion or significant event.

The extra pressure of having to be ready for Christmas,

weddings or family visits

can lead to rash decisions.

And you should never undertake major building work

at times of family upheaval, such as births or deaths.

Back at the Woods, well, what do you know?

Far from launching a concerted push in time for Christmas,

this double-crosser did a disappearing trick.

The Woods began to realise that their dream family home

was vanishing into dust.

When the builder didn't come back after the Christmas break,

when he said he was going to seal up the house,

that's when we started thinking, something's not right here.

By now, Andy and Janet had handed over a staggering £23,500 in cash.

And the builder was nowhere to be seen.

They were left with structural and drainage problems,

not to mention that leaky roof,

but even more serious was the damage this cold-hearted cowboy did

to Andy and Janet's relationship.

It's destroyed me. It's punched me up and down everywhere.

Eventually, it came to the stage where me and Janet

had been fighting so much over little petty things.

It affects the whole family.

But as a relationship, you both stress in different ways,

so you take it out on each other.

And it's hardly surprising

when you consider the effect this catalogue of catastrophe

had on quality time together as a family.

Sunday used to be a family day out

when we'd go out somewhere as a treat.

But now me dad has to do bits on the house.

So he had to use his own time up on a Sunday to do the house.

And that's the only day he gets to do it a week.

It was clear Andy and Janet badly needed a bit of TLC

when I first met them in 2011.

-Hello!

-On my reckoning, it's got to be Andy and Janet.

How are you? You all right?

Take me in, let's have a look.

'Before I could help, I needed a butcher's at this house of horror.'

This is where the mess starts from. So it's from here.

You can see all that's been done and out at the back.

What they've done, they've broke into the concrete lintel.

That lintel has just been patched up.

Over time, under weight bear, that's going to start bearing down.

'And there was more bad news just around the corner.'

That...feeds what?

That's the sewer going back. It's combined.

'No, no, no! This was bad. Very bad.'

That's not good enough because the germs, bacteria and everything else

are exposed out into the soil, out into these pipes that are around.

The intersection needs to be capped off,

so that you're stopping any potential germs coming out.

I mean, they're all over the place at the moment.

-That's been like that for...

-12 months.

-Over 12 months, hasn't it?

'12 months? But worse was to come

'when I discovered Andy had been taking things into his own hands.'

Is this how the builder has left it?

We put the ceiling in.

-OK.

-So...we put the roof on.

I'm not 100% happy with the way this return's been done.

It's all been filled with offcuts of block.

'But the next revelation was truly shocking.

'Driving instructor Andy had been having a go at the electrics.'

-I put the plastic one in.

-Yeah?

With some form of webbing inside it.

That's TRS. That's a protected tough rubber-sheathed cable,

which is good internally, fine.

Externally... what's in the ground, cable-wise?

That is actually tucked up against the fence just below ground level.

If you've put cable in like that

and somebody comes along after you've sold the house

and they get their fork or spade or whatever

and go straight through it and get curly hair,

they can come back to you.

Take my advice.

No matter how bad things get,

you must leave electrical jobs to the professionals. It's the law.

Any electrical work must follow building regulations

and be inspected and signed off by your electrician.

Remember, bad wiring can kill,

which is why if you do work that doesn't comply with building regs,

you could be fined up to £5,000.

Remember, the Wood family wanted the extension

to create more space for their son Luke.

But more than a year later, he was still to reap the benefit.

You've done lots of remedial work simply because you've had to.

We had to seal it up and make it watertight

because there was nothing here at all.

Just half a roof hanging off.

When we visited, Luke was still stuck in his old bedroom,

which was even worse than it had been.

Gaps between the new extension wall, the new roof and his old window

left water leaking into his room.

And it had been like that for 12 long months.

That's also caused you grief damp-wise.

-The water was running through here.

-Unbelievable!

'This builder was clearly a rat.

'But what I was about to discover

'was just how much cash Andy and Janet had managed to part with

'without smelling one.'

He said, "Draw £6,250 out on the Friday,

"I'll come back Monday morning."

What you mean, draw it out? Not in pound notes?

-Out of the building society.

-Oh, yeah. In cash.

Oh, no. No, no, not in cash.

You're tootling off to the building society, handing him over cash.

And so that's what you did, another £6,500?

That's what we did, unfortunately.

On the Friday, and £6,250 again on the Monday.

But that's not the worst bit.

Remember how our cowboy friend had vanished

with that £13,000 just before Christmas?

Well, what I didn't realise is that three months later he returned.

-He made a big apology to us, didn't he?

-Mm.

He said, "Look, just give me a little bit more money

"to get the lads back on site."

He wanted more money?

And you said...?

And we did it.

You gave him more money?

-Mm.

-Not a lot.

-How much?

-Two?

-Three.

-Oh, three, wasn't it?

Wow!

'Poor Janet and Andy.

'They'd been thoroughly taken to the cleaners.'

No wonder I was especially delighted to bring in the good guys,

who had obviously dressed up for the occasion(!)

Our fantastic threesome repaired the lousy lintel,

made Luke's bedroom safe and beautiful,

removed the smelly open sewer and stench of cowboy

and boxed in the bacteria.

And brought a little bit of magic back into the house.

There's no doubt our good guys

brought Andy, Janet and Luke a ray of sunshine.

But the family still had plenty to do to achieve their dream home.

It's been over a year since I last saw the Wood family.

Although we got them back on track, they had plans to complete the job.

I can't wait to see how they got on.

-Hello.

-Hello.

-How are you? Good to see you again, Janet. Andy.

How the devil are you? It's been about a year, roughly.

-Just over.

-Is it just over?

-Yeah.

-Just over a year.

Straightaway, as I've walked up the driveway,

I've noticed you've put a gate and a fence up, so that's one thing,

but I'd like to find out how you've moved on

since the last time I was here.

You're having a laugh!

What a change! I can't believe it!

'I'm gobsmacked. Before, it was dark and dingy.

'Now it's light, fresh and ever so modern.

'The couple have put new tiling down

'and installed a gorgeous new kitchen.

'And even more impressive, it's almost all the work of one man.

'Andy's learnt a thing or two about DIY since I was last here.'

What a great job. Did you enjoy doing it?

Yeah. It was what we wanted at the end of the day.

Get the kitchen in and start living in here. I cracked on.

Did it inspire you once we'd left to crack on with something like this?

It gave us the strength to carry on.

Without the rest of the house being done and whatever,

I'd never have done this. It was never going to happen.

'This kitchen might be special, but there's more around the corner.'

-Ah! This was the thing I was looking forward to, eh, Janet?

-I know!

-Fantastic!

-It's brilliant, isn't it?

'I remember what this room was like

'when I came through the door in 2011.

'They had open-plan living taken to the extreme.

'Now look at it!'

You've got to be proud of yourself,

and it looks fantastic, the way it's laid out.

'With the fresh green walls and the huge bi-fold doors,

'Andy and Janet really have created a perfect place

'to watch all four seasons pass in their delightful garden.'

Let's see if we can get these doors open.

Let's see what it's like. Look at that. Look at that!

Now, that...is beautiful!

I think you've both done fantastically well

to get to this position from where you were.

This cowboy builder really ripped the heart out of you, to be fair.

Oh, God, yeah.

You gave us a bit of a lifeline when we were in a dark, horrible place.

'It's lovely to see Andy and Janet with their spark back.

'But what's really gratifying is knowing they've learned

'the hard financial lessons of their experience.'

The outlay of the money, we should have strictly stuck at...

releasing the money at certain stages.

It just run away from us.

The contract was drawn up and signed straightaway.

We didn't have any cooling-down period to sit down and go...

"Let's check this over properly."

And legally, they're supposed to write in

a seven-day cooling off period as well.

The thing is, a lot of these guys, a lot of these cowboys and rogues

will actually try and start work straightaway, so...

-That's what he did.

-The spade was in the ground the same day.

Oh, yeah.

Wow! This couple have come on amazingly.

Andy is taking me upstairs to show me the changes to Luke's bedroom.

-Come on in.

-Well, it looks a whole heap different, that's for sure.

I mean, when we left it, it was bare plastered walls, that was your lot.

Back then it was clean, secure, but it needed a teenage makeover.

Father and son have gone to work.

They've painted the walls, fitted laminate flooring

and made it every bit a teenage hideaway.

I chose the colours in this room

because they look bright, it makes the room look lighter

and I get peace up here from my mum and dad.

And having his own space has brought the family closer than ever.

I'm proud of what my dad has done. I'm proud of the extension.

I'm glad it's all come together well.

But what about Andy and Janet's relationship?

Have they finally managed

to put the spectre of the cowboy builder behind them?

-It's slow. It's getting out of it.

-It's not easy, is it?

It's not easy because it's still a pressure that's going on.

You've had a lot of the pressure of doing the work.

It's easing. We've had a couple of days out recently

where we've said, "Forget the build, forget it.

"I don't want to do it today."

We're coming home and cooking tea and going out for the day.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you, Clive.

-We needed you last time.

And this time, it's been a pleasure to have you back.

You know, it's been great to catch up with the lovely Wood family again

and to see just how far they've come since the last time we met.

I have to say, the work that's been carried out is fantastic so far.

Still a little bit yet to do,

but with Andy's newly-acquired DIY skills,

I'm confident that it will get done.

One thing's for sure, this cowboy builder may have ripped them off,

but he's never going to tear them apart.

Andy and Janet learned the hard way how crucial it is

to keep your financial wits about you when you have the builders in.

Stick to an agreed payment schedule and never pay a lump sum upfront.

It's a lesson that could have prevented our next couple

from losing their savings on a project that never got under way.

I've returned to Stafford in the Midlands,

the county town of Staffordshire,

with a long history of shoemaking dating back to the 15th century.

A fact that's sadly appropriate,

because the couple I'm here to catch up with

not only saw their dreams kicked into touch,

they were kicked in the teeth, too.

I stood in the kitchen and I cried.

I thought, "This is just ridiculous, it's just like camping."

You know, it's just absolutely ridiculous.

I can't begin to tell you how heartbreaking it's been.

Meet Mel Potter and Kim Chapman.

Mel's a marketing manager, and Kim's an artist.

When they moved in together, Kim decided

the house needed a woman's touch, starting with the kitchen.

Kim is a keen cook and dreamed for a modern kitchen

that would do justice to her culinary skills.

Because it's so narrow and small, you know,

you have to really kind of squeeze things in.

Our new kitchen was going to be twice the size it is now

with a new roof with glass windows in the roof

and a central island. It would have been lovely.

Like the Woods,

Mel and Kim asked their architect to recommend a builder.

And like the Woods, they failed to take up references

or make any proper checks of their own.

We know where this one's going, don't we?

Well, he said he'd worked with them on numerous projects, didn't he?

That's right, yeah.

They looked reputable because all the equipment, the diggers,

they'd all got their names on,

and they'd got a really fancy office in a very affluent area.

They seemed to be legit.

They may have seemed to be legit, but take a tip from me.

Don't mistake nice diggers or a fancy-looking brand for legitimacy.

The same goes for websites and glossy brochures.

Remember, it's the work that builders do that counts.

Their reputation is everything.

Make sure you get three references for recent work.

And if in doubt, check your builder's trustworthiness

with your local trading standards office.

Mel and Kim thought their builder would be respectable.

And he quoted them £23,000 for their new extension.

They paid him £5,000 upfront to start the work.

Yes, £5,000 before work even started.

What were they thinking?

Thank heavens they were there to supervise the job. Weren't they?

The day after they started, we went away for three weeks.

We were contacted twice while we were away

to say that they'd left the site.

And when Mel and Kim came back from holiday, this is what greeted them.

A huge hole outside the back door,

tools and rubble all over the garden,

damage to both neighbours' property

and the kitchen hadn't changed a bit.

This room was out of action. The kitchen was out of action.

The garden was out of action.

It was like living in a bedsit.

By now, alarm bells were ringing for Mel and Kim,

but with so much money paid upfront,

they had no option but to persevere with their builder.

What a shame!

Because this mess dragged on for the next 18 months.

You heard right 18 months of delays,

excuses and incompetence

which ended up with Mel and Kim bringing in their lawyers.

Mel and Kim handed their cowboy builders

£5,000 of their hard-earned cash

and had nothing but a mess to show for it.

And the last time I met them,

they had a hefty £4,000 legal bill to add to the costs.

It was 2009 when I had my first gander at the bodged work.

Within seconds, it was clear they were in a right pickle

and that their dreams of a kitchen extension

had gone down the plughole.

Ooh! It's rather bijou, this.

It's like a galley kitchen.

-Yes, it is.

-Tell us what the plan was for your dream kitchen.

Well, it was to be twice the size.

Unfortunately, that didn't happen.

It wasn't hard to see

why Mel and Kim were desperate for a new kitchen.

The floor was a shambles, the cupboards falling off,

even the cooker was as dead as a dodo.

I'm going to be honest with you. It's horrible!

-Show me outside.

-SHE LAUGHS

'The garden was no better. That's if we could get out to see it.'

I see what you mean. That is a real struggle.

Yeah. I haven't been able to open it for two years.

Let me have a go.

-How's that?

-Well done.

-After you, missus.

-They've created you a blooming obstacle course.

-Haven't they just!

'If the house was a mess,

'the garden looked like someone had been playing Bob The Builder.

'The future at that moment felt bleak.

'I was desperate to see Kim smile again.'

I tell you something else, too out of all the mess you've got going on,

what would you like us to do for you?

I don't want the extension any more. I just couldn't cope with that.

Just a new kitchen, please.

It's as good as done.

'But before we got started, I wanted a powwow with Mel and Kim

'to try and get my head around how the builders

'had managed to get away with doing so little for so long.'

They blamed it on the borough council at first.

"Oh, he doesn't like us."

Until you start talking to other people, like the borough surveyor,

he referred to them as muppets.

He rang me up at work one day

and said, "I don't do this, "I never do this.

"However, I've been down three times, they're working without plans.

"What you've got to consider is their next stage

"is they are going to take out the side of your house.

"Do you really want these people removing the side of your house?"

You employ these people

and you think they are the people who know what they're doing

and they're going to do this for you

and you have to give them a certain amount of trust.

We began to work out that we were being told...basically lies.

We really did trust the men. They completely abused that trust.

What was the stress actually like

when you thought to yourself, "I've nowhere to turn"?

I'd come in on an evening

and see what they haven't done or what they have done

and completely, um...going up like a bottle of pop.

I've got to say, we were both in tears at times.

They've got your money, they've got your property in a state,

they've got their equipment everywhere.

They have got completely control of the situation

and there's very little, you find out, that you can do.

After shelling out nearly £10,000 to get a dream kitchen extension,

all Mel and Kim received was a whole heap of hassle.

So it was great to bring in the good guys who began to weave their magic.

First, the old kitchen came out,

then we fitted some spanking-new splashback tiles

and turned this dog's breakfast into a chef's special.

And though she was very patient, it was clear Kim was excited.

I can't wait for everything to go back in its place

and to be able to go into the kitchen.

And I couldn't wait to take her there.

This is always one of my favourite moments,

showing people the transformation we've achieved.

Don't worry, I've got you. Slightly to the right.

I'm just going to position you in the right position. You ready?

-Yep.

-Three, two, one, open your eyes.

SHE GASPS Oh, it's fab!

She was blown away by what the good guys had done.

Before, it was a pigsty.

Everywhere you looked was bodged, bungled or battered.

Not now this was one cool kitchen.

Oh, it's wonderful! It's just...

I'm speechless! I can't believe it!

-Oh, thank you so much!

-Are you loving that?

Oh, look at the floor!

I'd just got no idea it could be this...

It's just absolutely wonderful!

Ooh, I could snog the face off you!

THEY LAUGH

We don't mind a bit of that!

We left Mel and Kim one happy couple.

It was now over to them in the hope they'd learn from their mistakes

and would finally realise their dream of a perfect home sweet home.

I was delighted to help this lovely couple last time

and I can't wait to see how things have been progressing

since I was last here, so let's find out.

It's hard to believe it's been over three years.

Hello!

-I tell you what, how are you, Kim? Are you all right?

-Yeah.

You're looking great, by the way!

And so are you, so are you, sir.

I tell you what, it's great to be back, that's for sure.

The hair and everything! What about my hair? Do you think it looks good?

-Er...yeah, yeah, yeah.

-Great. Thanks. Shall we come in and have a look?

'First on the tour itinerary is that glamorous galley kitchen.'

Oh, this brings back memories.

First of all, the thing that brings back loads of memories

is something we didn't do,

and that's that lovely kettle of yours.

You got it from the electrical shop just to finish it off.

-I mean...wow!

-I know. The change was just amazing.

-Yeah.

'But Mel and Kim have engineered a change of their own

'that's every bit as amazing.

'That dodgy door has long gone,

'though it's what it leads out on that immediately catches my eye.'

Yes! Look at this. Wow! That looks incredible!

That looks so different!

'Now, that's a sight for sore eyes.

'This place used to look like a right scrap yard

'with bits of debris everywhere.

'Now, with Cotswold flagstones and a neat touch in garden furniture,

'it's a great place to indulge in some cafe culture.'

-It's great for a glass of wine.

-Chill out, read the papers.

Bit of a croissant. You're a cosmopolitan chap, aren't you?

-THEY LAUGH

-I can see that.

'Cosmopolitan and with green fingers, too.'

What a difference! I can't believe it!

I mean, what you've done even in three years, I've got to be honest,

most people wouldn't have been able to have done in five years.

'Before, this place had a caravan sinking into the soil,

'bags of mortar and cement lying everywhere.

'Someone has been a very busy bee.'

-We've just done it ourselves.

-Yeah, we hired a skip, didn't we?

So you've done all this yourself.

What in terms of your paving? Did you do that?

Yeah. Kim and I just did all of this ourselves and learned.

We got a book and learned how to do paving.

'It's fantastic to see Mel and Kim's household horrors behind them.

'What's more, this story has a proper happy ending

'because I've saved the best till last.'

I hear that wedding bells have rung since I last spoke to you.

Yes. We got married on 30th June 2010 down in Cornwall.

-Wow! Congratulations.

-Thank you very much.

You're a great couple,

and I'm dead chuffed to hear that things have progressed.

'It's great hearing this.

'It's taken three years, but thanks to Cowboy Trap,

'this couple have successfully managed

'to see off a cowboy from their ranch.'

It's been a really positive experience for Mel and Kim.

It's inspired them to do some DIY,

and they've got married since the last time I was here,

which is fantastic news.

But I have to say, there are still a lot of people out there

that are caught up in the cowboy trap,

so I need to get back on the road and answer their call.

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