Episode 20 Cowboy Trap

Make no mistake, Britain's cowboy builders

are drinking in the last chance saloon.

I just trusted these people

and I thought they were doing the right thing.

Straight out of Dodge City, these guys are outlaws

and they trample on people's dreams.

It's standing proud. There's no need for that, that should be flush.

That's just nonsense.

We've rounded up the good guys to turn these houses of horror

into heavenly homes.

It's not just your home they destroy, they destroy you as well.

So take a tip from me -

the next 30 minutes could well keep you out of the cowboy trap.

Today, Cowboy Trap is in Bristol, birthplace of Banksy,

Wallace & Gromit and a famous blackcurrant cordial

which was invented at the brilliantly named

National Fruit and Cider Institute during World War Two.

And 100 years earlier a certain Isambard Kingdom Brunel

designed another national icon here.

The magnificent Clifton Suspension Bridge behind me

is a triumph to British civil engineering.

It was so perfectly constructed that although it was designed

for horse-drawn traffic and pedestrians,

nowadays it carries millions of vehicles.

But sadly we're not here to take a look at that,

in fact quite the opposite,

because the contractor in our sights is a cowboy.

His unwitting victims live in this bungalow.

It's home to 54-year-old Teresa Joseph

and her 24-year-old daughter Georgina, who has cerebral palsy.

Two years ago, Teresa's much-loved mum died,

and Teresa decided that she and Georgina

should move away from their small Devon town.

I felt we could start a new life

and because I was very close to my mum, we were like sisters.

Teresa wanted to go somewhere which would provide more job opportunities

for her and Georgina.

She thought nearby Bristol ticked all the right boxes.

When she found this bungalow on the outskirts of the city,

it was love at first sight.

I could just see myself living here.

It was cosy, it was old fashioned but it was liveable,

it was lovely and clean and there was a friendly atmosphere about it.

Teresa and Georgina moved in in early 2011.

The bungalow was far from the finished article

and Teresa couldn't wait to create their new home.

She realised it was in desperate need of modernisation

but she could also see it had loads of potential.

A big, spacious kitchen extension was the cornerstone of her dream.

Teresa needed to find a builder

but didn't know where to start in an unknown city.

When her sister recommended a local building firm,

it seemed the ideal solution.

She said she knew two builders. and they were very good.

They were expensive but they'd done a good job.

I thought since she's my sister it would be all good, you know.

A local architect drew up plans for the kitchen extension

and Teresa sensed her dream was on the verge of becoming a reality.

She was finalising arrangements for the extension with the builder

when out of the blue he suggested a crucial alteration to the design

to reduce costs and avoid the need for planning permission.

He wanted to build a conservatory which meant

he could get past a whole host of building regulations.

After much persuasion, reluctantly Teresa agreed.

It's a decision she's regretted to this very day.

He said, we'll put radiators out there, blah, blah, blah.

He eventually made me believe that it would pay me

to have a conservatory.

Take a tip from me.

If your builder wants to change the spec of your project

to avoid building regs - beware!

A decent builder has no problem with Building Control getting involved.

A cowboy does.

If your instincts tell you your builder is pulling a fast one,

listen to them and run for the hills.

So, Teresa wanted an extension but was persuaded to have a conservatory instead to avoid red tape.

Then she made another common mistake.

She told the builder her budget was £32,000

and guess what his quote came in at?

You've guessed it - £32,000.

This was to create Teresa's kitchen extension,

put in a new bathroom and improve her windows, doors and garden.

The builder demanded five grand upfront.

Teresa paid and work started in March 2011.

But the £5,000 was just the start of his regular financial demands.

It was 500 for this, 300 for that, 700 for this.

That's how it kept going on.

I just couldn't get a grasp of it so I rang my sister

and I said to her, "They keep asking me for money all the time.

"Am I supposed to be doing it?"

"Oh", she said, "this is what builders do".

Take my advice.

Agree a payment schedule with your builder at the start of the job and stick to it.

Reputable builders don't need payments up front

to cover the cost of materials.

They have accounts with suppliers which allow them to build now

and you to pay later.

I just trusted these people

and I thought they were doing the right thing.

But it wasn't just the money that was a concern.

The builder's team were leaving the bungalow in a terrible mess each day

and they were extremely unreliable.

A lot of the jobs they forgot to do.

Electricians weren't turning up,

when they were doing the footings as well all they had in

was young boys digging there.

Not surprisingly, with such inexperienced labour,

the few bits that were finished were shoddy.

The roof of the conservatory leaked like a sieve.

Think this sounds bad? Well, you ain't heard nothing yet.

The builder started treating Teresa's bungalow like his own home.

I'd come home and they'd all be sat here having dinner

with the television on.

Then the next minute you'd come back here

and there was the grandchildren here and the wives here.

Then one of the wives would turn up with a sister from America.

It was open house for the whole family.

Can you Adam and Eve it?

Talk about taking liberties.

Young Georgina couldn't believe how the builders treated her mum.

They'd shout at her and tell her off

and me thinking this is our property,

you're the builders you do the work or you get out.

Georgina was stunned

when the builder wouldn't agree to the most basic requests.

Outside the front we'd asked for the step to be higher.

Because of my cerebral palsy in my leg

I find it very difficult to get out of the front door.

They've never done that.

In May 2011, the builder packed up and left.

It soon became apparent the conservatory was a disaster.

Condensation was running down the windows,

there were damp patches everywhere

and when Teresa called in building inspectors

they noticed problems with the foundations.

Worse still, the whole structure had been built over a drain.

Teresa had no paperwork for the electrics

or guarantees for the windows. Oh, dear.

When I say that cowboy builders not only ruin bricks and mortar

they ruin people's lives too.

I'm thinking of experiences just like Teresa's.

The nightmare build and shoddy outcome was bad enough

but this whole affair has taken its toll on Teresa

and it's split the family apart.

Remember, Teresa hired her builder on recommendation from her sister

which means this botched build has created a family rift.

Mum's sister sided with the builders and she's gone her way,

we've gone our separate way and we just don't speak to her any more.

It's such a shame, it is such a shame.

My whole life has stopped for the last year so,

just completely stopped.

All it's been focused at is try and get something sorted on here.

It's not just your home they destroy, they destroy you as well.

Having the builders in is one of the most stressful times of your life,

there's no doubt about it.

But there is certainly no excuse for stuff like this.

I want to see after all that what Teresa has been left with

and then see what we, the good guys, can do to put it right.

'This is such a heart breaking story, I really hope

'we can get Teresa's dream back on track.'

Hello, you must be Teresa.

-I am, yes.

-Hello, I'm Clive from Cowboy Trap. How are you doing?

-I'm fine, thank you.

-Jolly good.

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

-Yes, I have, yes.

Now it involves the extension in the back.

-That's right.

-Can I get to it? Can I have a look at it?

-Yes, you can. You can get round the side.

'While Teresa puts the kettle on, I check it out.

It doesn't take long for me to find a problem.'

This is obviously where the new extension is

to the existing building. But look at this.

Where it's been trimmed up, it's standing proud. There's no need for that. That should be flush.

That's just nonsense.

And when following in the footsteps of cowboys

sometimes all you need to do is follow your nose.

This is a sewer and check this baby out.

That is in line with this extension, so you know what they've done?

They've built directly over a sewer

and because of the way that sewer is flowing, that is a public sewer.

There's no way we're leaving that open. I can guarantee you that.

Teresa's already up the proverbial creek without a paddle.

No need to make it any worse.

Uh-oh, spoke too soon.

It is getting worse.

That's the parapet top there.

On top of that you've got coping stones.

Those coping stones, the wings of them, are no way near wide enough.

They've got these built-in channels underneath

and they're designed to wick away water when it rains.

They need to be much wider than that.

As you can see, because it's so close

and because of those, you can see the grooves just at the bottom,

where the water's gathering that'll be going right in

and down behind all of this.

So, all of the render that's on the front

moisture will definitely be getting in behind there.

I'll eat my hat if we haven't got any damp ingress

already cracking off of this building.

OK, I haven't got a hat and I'm on a diet but you get the idea.

Another concern - there's no bottle gully to run rain water

from the guttering into a drain.

Water's going to flow straight down the drive onto the road.

That breaches building regs, my friends.

All that water, every possibility that could start undermining footings,

getting in the brick work.

That is rubbish.

And so is that lead flashing next to the parapet.

What a bodge!

It's bad when you look up and it's bad when you look down.

Those courses there should be engineering bricks, blue bricks.

They've just used house bricks.

I'm almost too nervous to go inside.

Duh-duh-duh!

Eurgh.

We've got mould spores. We've got moisture ingress coming in.

That's all to do with that parapet and those copers, I'll tell you that now.

Look at that.

That is a lot of water that's been coming in at some stage.

Sunny day today, but I bet you when it rains

it trickles down all the time.

What's going on in that corner, I have not got a Scooby Doo.

You know me by now, that means clue.

And not even Scooby and his gang can solve the mystery

of how the man who did all this could call himself a builder.

MUTTERS LIKE SCOOBY DOO

There's no vents in these windows

and you know that that means - condensation.

With the emphasis on 'con'.

There are no doors between the main house and the conservatory

which means this structure isn't legal.

'Time for a heart to heart with Teresa

'about this sorry state of affairs.'

What I'm really concerned about is,

I tell people how cowboy builders coming into your home

and into your life can ruin your property

but they can also ruin your life.

You tell me about it. What I've gone through.

I just sit on the bed crying, crying, crying all the time.

Even this morning I was in the bathroom crying my eyes out.

I just hate getting up on a morning.

I don't want to face the day no more.

I've never been in a place like it in my life.

Are you saying with what you've got left, they've taken the £32,000?

No, they've taken £44-£45,000 off me.

-What?

-Yeah.

-How come?

I'd ask them how much is this going to cost

and he'd go we'll sort that out, we'll sort that out.

We've jumped from 32 to 44, a full £12,000 more...

I know.

I've got to be honest, this is doing my head in now.

The whole thing is just doing my head in.

Oh, dear.

£44,000 for this shambles?

Take a tip from me.

If you're paying out thousands of pounds on a building project

spend a few extra quid on some ink and paper for a formal contract.

Confirm in writing the overall cost, the payment schedule

and the fact receipts must be provided on request.

If costs start to multiply, your builder is in breach of contract

strengthening your position if you do need to go to court.

This is the most unusual situation that I've ever come across.

-Is it?

-Without a shadow of a doubt.

In terms of the finances, the way the build has gone, you've now,

you're light of £40,000-odd, what have you got for that £40,000-odd?

Have you got anything for that money that is worth having?

No, nothing.

This is an absolute disgrace.

One of the worst Cowboy Traps ever. I'm determined to get it sorted.

To help make sure I haven't missed anything

I've asked independent building surveyor, Matt Belgrove, to take a look.

-You can see the problems.

-That's right, yeah.

There's clear signs of water ingress internally here.

The plaster itself is heavily saturated

and I think it's fairly apparent that behind that the wall is damp.

In here there is probably a hidden problem we've got

-and that is, it could be sitting on a drain.

-Yes, yes.

We understand from Building Controls' comments

that there could be a drain immediately below this.

You can build over them but you need to do it correctly, really.

And looking at the rest of this botched build that is highly unlikely.

Matt's mind is made up.

What mark out of ten would you give for the work that you've seen?

I'd certainly struggle to give it more than five, I think, Clive.

In this instance, four.

OK, so we're giving it a four out of ten,

that's nothing to be proud of in any way, shape or form.

Especially when you've forked out £44,000 for it.

Value for money? I don't think so.

I've seen enough of this, it's a real mess.

It's a total disgrace in actual fact as a build goes.

As far as I'm concerned I'm now declaring it a no-go zone

because we need to rip it up and start again.

I'm going to cordon it off and say to you this,

the only people allowed past this tape are myself and those good guys,

so let's bring them on.

Bring them on indeed.

Here are my knights in shining armour

led by all-round good guy, Paul Hilton.

Before he gets cracking I want a chinwag with the moustachioed maestro.

This whole extension-cum-conservatory is a debacle. What's your plan?

Basically, it's to demolish it and rebuild it, you know,

-to the extent it would satisfy conservatory rules and regs.

-Yeah.

It can never, ever be an extension.

Not without chucking loads and loads more money at it

which, unfortunately, the original cowboys have had it away with.

There's loads of things wrong with it

and probably the worst offending one would be

-that it's actually been built over a public sewer.

-Yeah.

Which, er, the reason they weren't allowed to have an extension

was because the extra weight would have just have collapsed that sewer

and then the whole street would have been in trouble.

Not only that, the home owners are going to be in big trouble, that's for sure.

Trouble with a capital T.

As the song goes it's time to -

# Rip it up and start again. #

So much needs doing, Teresa is chipping in.

First up - old conservatory down.

Good to see the back of that.

Next they measure the new doors

which will separate the kitchen from the conservatory.

Then it's time to work on the gable wall.

Soon Paul's posse are piecing together the new conservatory.

Can they bring Teresa's dream back to life?

Only time will tell.

I'm back in Bristol where Teresa Joseph and her daughter, Georgina,

were facing the stuff of nightmares with a painful, shoddy botched build.

Our good guys have now finished their work

and I'm here to find out if they've saved the day.

Before I talk it through with Teresa and Georgina,

I can't resist taking a sneaky peak.

I can see straight away that the actual downspout for the surface water is missing

so all that water that was gushing here

and probably undermining the footings as well as just rushing down the driveway,

that was a real pain, certainly in winter that would have frozen up,

that's gone.

Paul's addressed that conservatory wall which is now flush.

And talking of flush, remember the sewer situation?

It's now gone from pooh to phew.

Building Control is happy the new design of this conservatory

doesn't contravene building regs.

Time to check out the new design for myself.

Yeah, I mean, straight away you can see what a total change.

This sort of Victorian-stylee conservatory now is...

Oh, man! It looks so different.

It's almost unrecognisable from before.

Nice one!

Let's take a look from the garden.

It looks a million dollars.

If you were coming to buy that property, this would be

a real winner on the back of the house, because you've got a lovely

garden to look at, but now you've also got a great conservatory, too.

I mean, before, that conservatory was a real mishmash.

This looks top-bombing.

Time to check out the inside.

Remember, before, it looked like this.

Now, it looks like this.

What Building Control wanted was to definitely define this as a conservatory.

So, therefore, that opening there needed a door in it.

Paul and the boys have put in this bifolding door. Let's look at it.

If you wanted to, you've got the door to open there, glazed as well.

You can open that fully so that it becomes, really,

flowing into the kitchen. Furthermore, look at this.

You can actually now open that right up. And that's fantastic.

This is what she wanted, really, was the fact that she could

flow from the kitchen into the dining area.

But now, you've got a wonderful conservatory to go with it.

These roof panels, you'll see there's a blue tinge in that.

What it does is, in winter, it keeps the warmth in, and in summer,

it'll reflect the sun so that it keeps it cooler in the conservatory

as well as having that lovely, light fan.

It just looks a whole heap better.

Yes, indeed-y!

Before I talk it through with Teresa, I'd like a powwow

about her cowboy builder.

I wanted to find out his side of the story

so I could hear her responses to his version of events.

Starting with why he didn't take more precautions to avoid

the damp problem in Teresa's conservatory.

He says he was under no obligation to put vents into the windows that he replaced.

He replaced those windows because the old windows didn't have them.

Did he say he was going to put vents in there?

No, we didn't say he was going to put vents in, but the condensation

was just so bad that it needed some ventilation in there.

I just felt as though he didn't want to help me anyway.

Everything I asked him, you know, or suggested, he said,

-"Who do you think is going to pay for it?"

-OK.

He also says he did come back and try and sort out the condensation

and the mould problems for you. Is that true?

Yeah, with a bottle of mould and mildew.

He said I had to do that all the time.

Personally, I don't get that,

-because the problem needs to be solved at source.

-Yes.

You can't keep spraying that sort of thing on.

-At first, he told us that it was definitely

-your

-idea

to have a conservatory, because you couldn't afford an extension.

-Now, this is in two parts, if you like.

-Yeah.

But then, he changed his mind

and said you had indeed originally wanted an extension.

So, what's the truth in that?

I did want an extension.

I wanted a proper extension, where we could eat out there.

He kept saying to me that it was too expensive

and I wouldn't be able to afford it.

Then he said to me, "I can do you an extension,"

and he promised me it would be as good as an extension.

For what I was paying, I thought it was going to be wonderful.

You know, really, really nice.

And nice it most certainly wasn't.

As Frankie Howerd would have said,

"Nay, nay and thrice nay!"

The builder also denies that Teresa paid him £44,000.

He reckons that it was nearer 30,000,

so there's a discrepancy there of £14,000.

No, I didn't know what I was doing.

As soon as they came in, they wanted 5,000 straightaway.

They said they wanted it for materials and that.

All I was doing was pulling money out, pulling money out.

£500 here, £2,500...

And that's when I got my building society book out

and added it all up, and that's what it came to - £44,000.

Unfortunately, Teresa didn't get receipts for the payments she made,

which would've resolved this dispute over how much

she paid her builder.

He also said you were spending your inheritance like water

and buying all sorts of things.

I guess what he's trying to say is that you lost track of the money,

because, in his opinion,

you were spending money like it was going out of fashion.

-SHE GASPS

-I was not spending it!

All I bought was some curtains and some blinds for...

Well, that's what you buy, isn't it, when you have jobs done?

I didn't spend it as though it was going...

As you can see, I got most of my stuff from charity shops,

things that were in the sale, and I didn't... I did not...

I did not... Oh, I think that's disgusting!

Y-ouch!

Well, I reckon Teresa needs a bit of cheering up.

And I know just the tonic.

The Josephs have lived with the work as it's been going on.

But now, I am about to reveal the finished results in all their glory.

One, two, three...

open your eyes.

Oh!

-It's lovely.

-Oh, isn't that beautiful?

That's superb.

Oh, beautiful, isn't it? Oh, look, I can see outside!

You can see outside!

Before, you had, of course, the plastic roof,

-and it was more of a sloping roof.

-Yes.

Now you've go this more Victorian-style roof on it.

It's beautiful. We'll be able to see the stars at night, won't we?

Oh, isn't it absolutely beautiful?

Oh, Georgina, look at the French doors!

It's got French doors as well. Of course, what about these doors? Do you like these doors?

Haven't had a chance to look at them. Oh, aren't they beautiful?

See, they are like bifolding doors, so they just open up.

-You don't have to have them like that.

-No?

You can turn them around or have one door open or have them all open,

but it gives you the flow, then.

What sort of a difference, now you've got this,

do you think this is going to make to your life?

Oh, completely.

I want to do things to this, where the other,

I just didn't want to clean it, I didn't want to bother with it.

What do you think to it, Georgina? Give it the thumbs up?

-Very nice.

-Yeah.

-Very nice.

And what's also very nice is that local building control

will sign it off, because there are now doors separating

the conservatory from the house.

Time to see what it looks like from the garden.

The Josephs are impressed.

Oh, isn't that fantastic?

-Isn't it beautiful?

-Wonderful!

-Yeah.

Now, I remember, Teresa, you were saying to me

that you use to weep at night thinking about having to look

-at this old conservatory you had before.

-Yes.

-Do you think that might change?

-Definitely. I have stopped already!

-SHE LAUGHS

-I've stopped already!

I like it! Yeah. Which is great.

I mean, from the outside, I'm loving it,

cos you've got the fleur-de-lis at the top there, the crowns.

It just looks fantastic, doesn't it?

Well, it's...

-It's beautiful.

-Anyway, listen, it's been lovely to help you out.

-Best of luck for the future.

-Thank you so very, very much.

See you soon.

'What a great result!

'More cowboy trap victims rescued.'

You know, I am chuffed to bits for Teresa and for Georgina, of course.

After their nightmare, I am so glad we've been able to bring

a ray of sunshine into their life, quite literally.

And what about our good guys? What a fantastic job they've done.

And I tell you something else,

it proves there are good guys out there if you only do your research.

And as for you cowboys out there, we're declaring it high noon,

and we're coming to get you!

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