Episode 23 Cowboy Trap

We're travelling Britain on a mission to rescue homeowners from the curse of the cowboy builder.

I trusted the builders in the beginning, when they started.

I could kick myself.

It's impossible overestimate the damage these guys do.

Whether they're blatant amateurs or simply crooks,

cowboy builders not only mess up homes, but ruin lives, too.

You get this feeling that some sort of electrics had been done -

some pretend electrics going on, some pretend plastering.

-You didn't have hot water, did you?

-Not for about three weeks.

-You couldn't even wash in your own house?

-No. I had nothing.

We've rounded up the good guys to help turn these helpless homeowners

into merry mortgagees.

We've got a practical kitchen for an older lady.

-You've actually got a shower in here.

-Yeah.

-You can see it cos you've got light. Do you like these?

-I love them.

-I'd like them all round the house, if it was possible!

-Really?

Anyone can call themselves a builder, which is why it's crucial to know how to spot a wrong'un,

and why the next 45 minutes

could help keep YOU out of the cowboy trap.

'On today's Cowboy Trap, a lonely 82-year-old pensioner,

'who got taken in by con artists posing as builders.

'She wanted a kitchen conversion.

'She got a disaster zone.'

I thought, "They must be good." How wrong I was.

How wrong I was!

I made the biggest mistake of my life.

'And three years after we rescued him,

'we catch up with a cowboy builder victim in Newcastle, to see how he's doing now.'

After our builders sorted your wet room out,

-you thought, "I'll have another one of those!"

-Yeah.

-"I like that! I'll have another!"

-I didn't like it. I loved it.

'Our first Cowboy Trap saga takes place in Hereford,

'a cathedral city and county town of...well, Herefordshire.

'Hereford is renowned as a shopping and trading centre.

'Its produce includes leather goods, poultry and cattle,

'plus two personal favourites - beer and cider.

'Hereford has another claim to fame, too.'

The man behind Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear,

actor and puppeteer Frank Oz was born here in Hereford.

And my cowboy trail has brought me here on the heels of a right pair of muppets!

'Their unlucky victim lives in this three-bed house,

'home to 82-year-old Joan Davies,

'a widow with four grown-up children who's proud of her independence.

'Joan was married for 50 years

'before her husband, Robert, died in 2002.

'After Robert's death, Joan grew increasingly lonely.

'She moved to her present house six years ago,

'to be closer to daughter Janet and because she loved the garden.'

I'm a gardener.

What attracted me was the garden more than anything else.

And that was it.

'It was quite a wrench for Joan to leave her home after 35 years,

'but she was looking forward to a fresh start.

'The new house did need a lot of work,

'particularly in one of her favourite rooms.'

Joan's kitchen was a bit of a botch.

The previous owner, who was blind, had needed to put a bathroom at the back.

For Joan, that didn't work at all. It blocked out the light and used up valuable space.

As cooking is one of Joan's passions, it simply had to go.

'Joan wanted to make the kitchen bigger, too,

'and to create a new bathroom with a shower to the side,

'where it wouldn't affect the light coming in.

'But it was a big commitment for a frail 82-year-old lady.'

It took me a long, long time to make my mind up, you know,

because I was frightened of what would go wrong.

'Joan's son knew a builder and arranged for him to come around and look at his mum's property.

'Initially, Joan had a bad feeling about the builder.

'When he said he'd worked for the local MP, she reckoned he must be all right.'

Shall I or shall I not? Something's telling me "no".

So he started on about the MP and I thought, "He must be good."

How wrong I was.

How wrong I was!

I made the biggest mistake of my life.

'The builder came up with a quote of £4,000, just for the labour.

'Joan was to pay for materials.

'This quote covered removing the old bathroom,

'extending the kitchen and creating a new shower room.

'It included knocking down a wall which blocked the light

'and modernising Joan's kitchen and electrics.

'It was a verbal quote. There was no payment plan and no contract.

'Oh, dear.

'Take my advice...

'..No need to involve lawyers.

'Just get a pen and paper and write it all down.

'Joan gave the builder the green light and work started in early July 2011.

'But the builder and his sidekick didn't seem to care

'about the effect their work was having on Joan.

'They kept leaving a terrible mess.'

I trusted the builders in the beginning, when they started and I could kick myself.

The state they left my backyard in was bad enough.

Bricks everywhere. Like a builder's yard - and the house was.

'These cowboys were about as slapdash as you can get.

'I mean, check out the plastering.

'And the stud work was truly amateurish.

'For some reason, they were leaving holes all over the place.

'The wallpapering in the hall was OK - because Joan did it!

'Then one of the builders carrying tar managed to cover the wall in black marks.'

Black on the wall, on the paper I'd put on.

It's got to be done again.

'It wasn't just the scruffy careless work that concerned Joan.

'The builders were demanding money left, right and centre.

'And always in cash. Hm, funny that.

'£1,500 for this, then £1,400 for that.

'£500 here and £1,400 there.

'Before long, Joan had paid over three times the £4,000 the cowboys had originally quoted.

'Poor Joan was an elderly lady living on her own

'being cynically exploited.'

I kept thinking, "If I don't give it to them, I'll never have this place finished.

"I've got to keep on and on for them to finish it."

That is what I've done. I gave in in the end.

I just paid them to get it finished, but they didn't finish it.

Joan's story is a sobering reminder of the need to insist on a payment plan.

Shelling out cash here, there and everywhere -

first for sand, then for skirting, then for who knows what -

no wonder she lost track of the money and made herself a sitting duck for those callous cowboys.

'They were treating Joan like a cashpoint machine.

'Soon, they insisted she pay them another £1,500.

'She plucked up the courage to say no, but these con men weren't having that.

'They put pressure on the vulnerable 82-year-old and she relented,

'handing over another £1,000!

'Sickening, isn't it?'

All I was thinking about was getting the house finished.

Getting it done and getting them out.

I kept on saying to them, "How much longer are you going to be?"

"Won't be long."

'Four weeks after starting, the job was far from finished.

'Then, with no warning whatsoever, the builders packed up their tools and walked out.

'They left Joan's kitchen in a state of chaos.

'They left her without any hot water.

'They left exposed wires in the walls.

'And they left her with no bath or shower because the facilities had been ripped out and not replaced.

'Absolutely appalling.'

The only thing I can do here is wash my head.

'A couple of weeks later, one of the builders sorted out the hot water

'and said he would soon return to finish the job.

'But he never did. Joan was left high and dry.'

The kitchen is nothing but full of bricks.

I had to sweep it all out, bleach it all out.

They took the toilet out, almost, and when you pull the chain it makes a noise for half an hour.

Joan was left with nothing - no kitchen, no bathroom,

no security and, even worse, no company.

'During the building work, Joan's grandson, Adam, stayed with her,

'but he's had to leave because of the lack of washing facilities.'

He's in a high job, you know.

He had to use the shower morning and night.

And that was it.

'It's not just her grandson moving out that's left Joan lonely.

'Because there are loose wires everywhere,

'it's not safe for her younger grandchildren to visit, either.

'Such a sad story!'

You can't expect children in a house like this. Can't.

Wouldn't be fair to them, anyway.

It never ceases to amaze me how many lives are blighted by cowboy builders.

Here's another heartbreaking example.

I reckon these guys had no intention of doing this job.

This was a cold, calculated rip-off from the moment they spotted

an elderly lady who looked like an easy target.

'Cowboy builders have a habit of trying to hoodwink homeowners

'by hiding bodges and bungles under the surface.

'So, what is the true extent of the havoc these guys have left behind?

'We asked chartered building surveyor Geoff Hunt to inspect the work.

'He's been through it with a fine tooth comb and is about to fill me in on what he found.'

This made me think that these aren't builders, just people who know what to make things look like.

'First, dangerous-looking wiring in the kitchen.'

I was absolutely...shocked

when I first saw those hanging out.

You do see electricians trailing the cables, but they are there!

-They would never leave anything like that.

-No.

You suddenly start thinking they either left quickly...

But then, all the sockets were more or less square.

You get the feeling that some sort of electrics had been done.

There's some pretend electrics going on, some pretend plastering.

-That's the old kitchen that should have been ripped out.

-Yeah.

The reason it's still there is because there's no new kitchen.

All she has got is some sockets put in.

It looks like there's an intention to have the switch for the cooker,

a couple of sockets for other power, but you've just got a shell of a socket and wires sticking out.

What is this unfinished, unplastered rectangular hole in the shower all about?

You must have had your head in your hands!

Well, again, you're scratching your head.

Why have they done the finished plastering and not the other side?

What were they going to do? What is this rectangle required for?

There were plans, but you'd need to see that they were going to fit something in there.

There was no plumbing for the shower. There's cabling on top.

That's wrapped in insulation tape, which made me fear that might be live.

That's part of the original system. They've pulled that through.

My heart sank a bit when I saw that.

And my heart sinks when I see this bathroom.

I would describe that as a scratty old bog.

Yes! That was the original loo that was in there.

Presumably, that was due to be re-plumbed,

but there were no fittings or things there.

They ripped out all her appliances and took them away.

Anything that she had, because there was a bathroom as well,

they took straight away so she was left with nothing.

Literally nothing. Not even a floor here.

No.

'It's as clear as day that it isn't real building work here.

'It's done for effect, to give the impression work is happening,

'while more cash can be extracted out of Joan.

'Plastering before you put the sockets in?

'No builder who is making a real effort would do that.

'The evidence that this was a money-making charade goes on and on.'

There's other things missing. This is going to be a shower room.

I don't see wiring

or any attempts made for provision of any ventilation.

No ventilation at all, and that's absolutely known

that you have to put some sort of mechanical ventilation in there.

And there's going need a door to separate it from the other room.

There's no preparation for that.

Clearly, the guy who thought he could do brickwork built the wall.

The guy who thought he could do a roof did a roof, but they had no idea where to go from there.

'Even if they did have an idea,

'I don't think these shysters would have put it into practice.

'I dread to think what lurks beneath the surface of that flat roof.

'Has it got insulation? Are there proper membranes?

'Does it satisfy building regulations?

'I suspect the answer to all three of these questions is a big fat no.'

No-one had any inkling that a building inspector had been there.

-There's no proof that these works have been signed off.

-No.

'Well, that's no surprise because, by the sound of it,

'the last thing these duplicitous cowboys wanted was building inspectors sniffing around.

'I think I know the answer, but it's make your mind up time for Geoff.'

After all that you've seen - and not seen!

-Yes!

-What would you score this builder out of ten?

Ah. Right.

Jonnie, I can't give him any score at all.

Because these chaps are not from my industry. They're not contractors.

What is this worth in construction terms? It's not worth anything.

I'm afraid it's a zero for me.

-Zero out of ten? Not even got on the page.

-No. Not at all.

'Zero out of ten?

'As a former surveyor, I have to say I concur.

'Check out the catalogue of disaster on this faked fiasco of a build.

'Sloppy stud work,

'a suspicious space,

'abysmal wiring, careless cabling,

'horrible holes, premature plastering,

'a worrisome roof, oh, and I almost forgot,

'an ugly box on the ceiling that surely hides a multitude of sins.

'And if that wasn't enough,

'Joan's home is now an unsafe building site.'

What's more, this 82-year-old handed over £4,000 for labour

and an incredible £8,000 for materials.

Just heartbreaking. So we called in the good guys.

'Head honcho Adam Devaney arrives

'and within minutes Adam's army swings into action.

'They rip off that rubbish old roof and, guess what!

'There's no insulation and the timber needs replacing, too.

'The extension's foundations were woefully inadequate.

'They'll need sorting.

'Then the new fully insulated roof goes on.

'It's looking good, fellas. Even the gnome's impressed.

'Inside, urgent work needs to be done to rectify the bodged bathroom

'and fix the kaput kitchen.

'Lots to do, but Devaney's dynamic team are all over it.

'It's a great start, but can the good guys put a smile back on Joan's face?

'Only time will tell.'

I'm in Hereford, where 82-year-old Joan Davies hired a builder

to make big changes to the layout of her home.

These contractors were cowboys who ripped her off

and left her home virtually uninhabitable.

Our good guy builders have now finished their work, so let's see how Joan's getting on.

'Fingers crossed Joan's extension is in better shape than the weather.'

-CHEERFUL: Hello.

-Hello. I'm Jonnie.

-Nice to meet you.

-Can I have a look around?

-Yes.

'That's the happiest hello I've heard in a while.

'And taking a quick peak, I can see why Joan's so chipper!

'The transformation is remarkable.

'Remember, when the cowboys left, the kitchen looked like this.

'Now check it out.

'And the bathroom looked like this!

'From before to after!

'The good guys have clearly gone way beyond the call of duty.

'Before I take a closer look, I'd like a chat with Joan

'about how she got into this mess in the first place.'

-When did things start to go wrong?

-Nothing went right at all, really.

He kept on. I was going to give him £4,000.

-And then pay for the materials, or whatever.

-Right.

I bought the materials, all right.

Then he kept on asking for 1,000, 2,000.

I thought to myself, "Well, if I don't give it him he won't finish."

-And that's what happened.

-You didn't have any hot water, did you?

-Not for about three weeks.

-You couldn't even wash in your own house.

-No.

I had nothing.

I didn't know what to do, where to turn.

What emotions have you gone through throughout this process?

I don't know. I went numb, I think.

-I, er... Well, you can't forget it, can you?

-No.

You can't just let it go. You think about it.

So what happened when Cowboy Trap got involved?

Oh, that was different. That was good.

-I was so glad to see him.

-Were you?

-Mmm. Well, you would.

If you were sat like I was in this house.

It was a heck of a mess! I can't describe it.

How would you find the right builder now?

-I don't know. I wouldn't do it again, to be honest.

-Put you off?

I wouldn't have a builder again, no.

No. Never, never.

I wouldn't advise anybody, unless they actually knew who they were.

'Wise words, Joan. When it comes to choosing your builder, it's all about the three Rs -

'research, references and more references.

'Right, time to compare our good guys' handiwork with the cowboys'.'

Ha! Well! What a difference!

The first thing, if you remember, there was...

You couldn't call it a kitchen!

There was some sort of horribleness in that corner. That's disappeared.

If you remember, there was the bulkhead.

That's been skimmed and plastered.

This whole wall looks so much better.

Over here, you couldn't really get to the doorway.

This is a lady in her 80s.

Access is prime here.

Now you've got a brand new door that...

opens! Good!

'Yeah, an opening door! Funny how that's beyond some cowboy builders.

'And the horrendous holes and loose wires have been fixed.

'Remember what it looked like before?

'Now check it out.

'This looks great.'

This is now someone's home.

Joan's got her Welsh dresser, all her trinkets here.

It feels warm. It feels cosy. You know what?

It feels like somewhere that you would want your grandmother to stay.

'How anyone can leave a frail 82-year-old in an unfinished building site is beyond me.

'Now the room has been transformed from this...to this.'

We've got a practical kitchen for an older lady. It's safe.

You've got no wires hanging out of the walls.

The sockets have been put in properly and all the fuses added.

It's been tiled nicely and she's got brand new fittings here.

Yeah, the difference between before and after is astonishing.

Right, into the bathroom.

Oh, wow! Before, there was not even any lights. Now, we've got lights.

Must be a huge relief for Joan to go to the loo in the light.

We've got a fan going. It's light-activated.

All these walls are finished. I assume they've been insulated.

That was another thing the building regs pointed out.

You've got a brand new loo, sink, everything's been skirted.

Decorated. There's no holes anywhere.

She's got a finished bathroom and kitchen,

the two most important rooms in the house. Brilliant!

'Outside, the botched extension's been sorted out, too.

'Our fellas played a blinder.

'Head honcho Adam's talking me through the challenges he faced.

'First up, replacing the extension roof.'

-Did you have to take it all off?

-Took it all off.

New timber deck, new insulation,

new flat roof, made it all secure.

-That's a new roof, then?

-Totally.

Right. OK. What was the job they'd attempted to do?

They'd put a roof on. They'd sealed it with no insulation.

-A bit of felt and some timbers?

-No ventilation, so the timbers would have rotted.

-So that was going to last a year or two and it would have been gone?

-Yeah.

'A year or two - max. Talk about a slapdash job!

'There was no insulation in the internal wall, either.

'And Adam made a worrying discovery in the cowboy's bungled bathroom.'

The electrics for the shower was just left live in the wall.

-We had to find those.

-Live electrics in a shower room?

That's amazing.

'That was endangering the life of Joan and her grandchildren.

'Disgraceful! Thankfully, our good guys have made it safe.

'Their work has got the all-clear from Building Control.

'Great news for Joan if she ever wants to sell up.'

-What was the worst thing you saw?

-For me, the electrics. A killer.

Especially as she's got children walking around.

-Doesn't bear thinking about.

-No.

So, looking at the job that you've done, what are you most happy with?

Two things. She's able to wash herself now and she can cook meals.

-Yeah. She's got independence back, hasn't she?

-Totally. Yeah.

'That's terrific news for Joan, one of the most resilient 82-year-olds I've ever met.

'Before I do the grand tour, I want to chat to Joan

'about the builders who left her in such a fix.

'I wanted to find out their side of the story, so I could hear Joan's responses to their version.

'Unfortunately, that's proved easier said than done.'

Joan, we always give the cowboy builders

a right to reply, to have their say.

-Mm.

-But on this occasion,

despite numerous attempts to get in contact with them,

they've ignored our approaches, they haven't got back to us.

No?

Why do you think they haven't got back to us?

Well, I don't know. The same way they took the money off me.

They haven't got back to me, either. I haven't seen them.

What does your family think of these cowboy builders?

-Are they angry? Are they upset?

-Yes.

They went berserk. They didn't know what to do.

We'd never had nothing happen like that before, to any of us.

-You're unlucky.

-Didn't know where, how to turn.

And they were so good, like.

I could have gone and lived with any of them, but I want my own place.

I've always been independent.

Well, unfortunately, what they left you with was endangering that.

I'll never forget it. Never.

So, if you were to see the cowboy builders now,

what would you say to them?

You'll get caught one day, robbing people,

going to their houses, breaking their houses up,

making it worse than it is.

What do you hope happens to them when they get caught?

They'll go to jail, I suppose.

That's where I'd put the likes of them. Should be in jail.

'It's hard to argue with that,

'but the good news is our guys have totally transformed this place.

'Time to find out the difference their work has made to Joan's life.'

-Now, Joan, this looks so different to how it was, isn't it?

-Yeah.

Here, we had your favourite old cooker.

That was the only good thing about this kitchen, wasn't it?

-They just left it like a bomb site.

-They did.

-Yeah, it was terrible.

-Yeah.

-Then you had that old sink.

-The old sink all along there.

And it's all nice and smooth.

-You've started to move in.

-It is nice now.

-And that wall there is really nice. Before, you couldn't touch it.

-No.

It was horrible.

'Horrible before. Homely after.

'And thanks to the good guys, Joan can indulge one of her favourite passions -

'cooking.'

-Now, you've got a brand new kitchen here.

-Yeah.

-There was nothing here before, was there?

-No. It was horrible. Only boxes.

-Yeah.

Boxes and pots of everything.

Have you got used to doing the washing-up facing the other way?

Oh, yeah. I keep turning and going that way, but it comes back.

BOTH LAUGH

And I can see out. A bit more light.

-Yeah.

-That's what I wanted.

'That's excellent news.

'On to the other half of the job, the bathroom.'

-You've actually got a shower in here.

-Yeah.

-And you can see it! Do you like these?

-I love them.

I'd like them all round the house, if it was possible!

-Really?

-I do like them lights. They're gorgeous.

It was unbelievable that your cowboy builders had left you without lights in your bathroom.

-They left me without anything, door knobs or anything!

-No.

-No doors. No nothing.

-That's why it feels so different in here.

-He's put the floor down, hasn't he, Adam?

-Yeah. That's nice.

The tiling is nice and clean and simple.

-Everything's clean-looking.

-Yeah.

'It couldn't be more different

'to what was left behind when the cowboys vanished into the sunset.

'Just what Joan deserves.'

-How do you feel...

-Oh!

..from how you felt when the cowboy builders disappeared

to how you feel now that the good guy, Adam, has finished?

Oh! It's a thing to come in here, really.

It's really nice, because there was nothing before.

-Only bricks and wood.

-Yeah.

'And the bricks and the wood were in a pretty ropey state.

'Not now, though.'

Your reaction is music to my ears.

Adam, our good guy builder,

-he's come round and he's turned this whole home around.

-Oh, he has.

-He's done a good job.

-And you look a lot brighter and happier now.

-Ooh, I am now. I'm satisfied.

-Good.

-Yes.

Well, if you're happy, I'm happy.

'Not kidding. Now Joan has a home that's safe and sound,

'she can have her much-loved grandchildren around to visit.

'Result!'

Well, after spending time with Joan, it's hard to imagine

how those callous rip-off merchants can sleep at night after they left this place in such a state.

But thanks to good guys, well, you can see for yourself.

The kitchen, the bathroom not only safe to use,

but the way Joan enthuses about what she now has,

she's clearly proud to call this house her home.

I'm chuffed to bits for her.

'Next, we're off to revisit a homeowner we met in 2010.

'Like Joan's, this story revolves around a cowboy builder

'who had no qualms about leaving his unwitting victim in a death trap.

'Three years ago, dental surgeon Fahad Shabbir from Newcastle

'wanted to create the home of his dreams.

'Stage one of his plan was to invest in two luxury wet rooms.'

I've stayed at some nice hotels in Dubai and America.

I've seen a few wet rooms and I knew that's what I wanted in my house.

'Yeah, Fahad was a man of fine tastes

'and knew his dream wouldn't come cheap.

'Working long hours in a stressful job took its toll

'and he realised the importance of quality relaxation time.'

Fahad knew if he wanted five-star hotel style luxury

he would need to buy high-quality fittings.

He bought the best he could afford - smart suites and expensive marble tiles.

All he needed was some top-class bathroom fitters

to fit the materials he'd bought.

'Fahad researched on the internet and found some builders

'he hoped might be up to the job.

'Next, it was time to meet them all face-to-face.'

I had six or seven people come in.

Some of them hadn't done wet rooms.

They'd done bathrooms but they weren't experienced in wet rooms.

Some quotes were extortionate, so that was a no-no.

'Then Fahad met some builders who ticked all the boxes.

'They said they'd fitted wet rooms before,

'they came in with a good price

'and they said one wet room would be ready in two weeks.

'Result!'

The quote they gave me for the first bathroom was five grand,

which was fine.

They gave me a quote for the second bathroom for 3,500.

I didn't have that much money and I said, "I can't afford it right now.

"Maybe at a later stage."

Instantly, he dropped it to 2,500,

which I was surprised at, but if I'm getting a bargain, why not?

'Why not? Because with builders, you often get what you pay for.

'Take my advice...

'..if yours does and sounds desperate for work, ask yourself why

'and run for the hills!

'Fahad gave the builders the green light, but soon realised he'd backed the wrong horse.

'Outside, they were leaving his garden in a state of devastation.

'Inside, the builders didn't seem to know what they were doing.'

A couple of tiles they placed on the floor.

Two days later, the tiles started cracking.

When we finally had the sink installed,

there was no pressure for cold water.

When you turned the hot water on in the shower,

when we started using the shower, the radiators started heating up.

'If that's not a worrying sign, I'm not sure what is.

'And another worrying sign - work was proceeding at a snail's pace.

'So slow, in fact, that Fahad started to worry the builders would never finish the job.

'13 weeks after starting what they said was a three-and-a-half-week project,

'his worst fears came true.

'The builders did a runner, with the wet rooms far from completed.'

Fahad paid the builders £7,500,

but they ruined his £12,000 worth of quality tiles and fittings.

What's more, when they scarpered, they left all their building rubbish dumped outside the house.

Fahad feared all his hard-earned money had gone down the drain, along with his dream.

'Not surprisingly, Fahad felt betrayed.

'He'd treated the fitters like kings, cooking for them,

'making them coffees every hour.

'All he got out of it was a pair of bungled bathrooms.'

All the work's been condemned.

We've been recommended to get it all ripped out and start from scratch.

'It's appalling that the cowboys didn't tidy up their rubbish

'in the garden on the way out.'

Fahad's house was left looking like a building site,

but it turned out the builders Fahad had looked after so well

in between his long shifts at the hospital

had repaid him with bodged building work

that turned his home into a death trap.

'Days after the cowboys left, Fahad had an experience

'that would send a shiver down his spine.'

Water was pouring down from the ceiling straight on the bed.

One of my lodgers had had a shower in the top bathroom,

and water had seeped through the floor into the ceiling

and just started pouring out.

'Pouring out near Fahad's light fittings.

'And water and electricity don't mix.

'Fahad got some electricians round to make his house safe

'and their report made grim reading.'

The electricians said, "It's a matter of time -

"weeks, if not months - until you have a fire in the house."

It's my savings. It's my investment. It's my house that I've bought.

How can I just sit and watch it burn?

'And possibly burn with it. Fahad's dreams were in disarray.

'He was told not to have a shower in either of the wet rooms he'd paid thousands of pounds for.'

Nice big hole up there, what the electricians class as a fire hazard

because the wires haven't been earthed.

That's why we've been told not to use the shower in this bathroom.

'Problems when you looked up and problems when you looked down.'

The floors, you can see cracked floors there,

which is quite unacceptable in a wet bathroom.

If you lean over, there's a nice big gap underneath the loo.

The floor's not watertight and that's where water can go in.

'And things weren't any better in the second wet room upstairs.'

A lot of issues with this one.

The floor's tilting away from the wet area, rather than towards.

So there was a lot of water seeping out of the bathroom there,

going into this bedroom, causing a lot of damage.

'And check out that mirror and de-mister! What a joke!

'No wonder poor Fahad was devastated.

'He took the builders to the small claims court but didn't get a penny

'because they declared themselves bankrupt.'

I'm exhausted because, as a surgeon, you're working so many hours.

You're bringing back a lot of stress from work. The last thing you need is stress at home.

'But you know the plot.

'Our team of stress-busting good guy builders swung into action.

'The cowboys' light fittings were officially fire hazards.

'Not after our good guys did the biz, though.

'Upstairs, they sorted the electrics and fixed the floors.

'From before...

'to after - now THAT is impressive.

'In the downstairs bathroom, priority number one,

'the all-important plumbing - got to get that right.

'From bad-guy bodge...

'to good-guy glory.

'Nice one.

'Thanks to our helping hands,

'Fahad's wet rooms were back on track.

'But would he be inspired to finish creating his dream home?

'Only time would tell.'

It's been almost three years since we helped Fahad out of the cowboy trap

and fixed those wretched wet rooms.

I know he had other plans for the place, so let's see how he's got on.

'Fahad's now got three jobs - two in local hospitals and one at a nearby dentist's.

'Plus, he's doing a post-grad diploma.

'He wanted a home to relax in. I hope he's got it.'

-Hi. How are you doing?

-Good. A bit cold, but northern weather!

-Yeah! You can count on it.

-Can I come in?

-Of course.

'As soon as I get in, it's clear that Fahad has rung the changes.

'He's only gone and created another luxury bathroom in the hall! Crikey!

'How many bathrooms does one guy need?'

I'm trying to remember that I'm in Newcastle and not...

This could be in any top-end hotel, probably abroad.

-Somewhere like a Dubai hotel or something.

-That's the idea.

'And what a great idea it is, keeping the exotic theme going

'which he started in the bathroom upstairs,

'and which our good guys got back on track.'

I just liked the idea so much, I carried the same theme downstairs.

After our builders sorted your wet room out,

-you thought, "I'll have another one of those!"

-Yeah.

-"I like that! I'll have another!"

-I didn't like it. I loved it.

-Yeah?

So, yeah, why not?

'Why not, indeed! And Fahad's been busy elsewhere in the house.

'The nicely tiled stairs take us up to a striking first floor.

'Nice touch with those little lights.

'And that marble is, well, marvellous.'

-What's your influence here?

-Mum and Dad's house in Pakistan.

It's marble, top to bottom. Absolutely loved it.

It's nice. It's easy to clean.

'When we first met, he didn't know where to turn.

'Now, he has a wonderfully glamorous home and it's relaxing, too.

'It needs to be, to take him away from the stresses of three jobs plus his studies.'

When you show it to someone who hasn't seen it before, how does that make you feel?

I feel proud of what I've achieved.

I know I've been through some rough times three years ago.

It was a horrible place to be in.

Knowing that I've learned from what happened and built up on it,

and I've done what I've done since, I'm proud of it.

'And quite right, too.

'Fahad has ridden an emotional roller coaster and come out on top.

'From bad-guy building bodge inside...and out...

'..to what it looked like after our good guys came to the rescue.

'And now, the striking culmination of his dream.

'Even the garden's had a makeover.

'Amazing!

'Fahad's got so much right over the last three years, it begs a question

'about how he got into such a pickle with the wet room wallies.'

-What went wrong?

-Well, originally, I...

Hand on heart, I did a lot of research

on the materials I wanted to use, on the styles I wanted.

-Yeah.

-But I thought, "Right, if I can translate what I want

"to the people I'm getting to do it, job done."

-Yeah.

-But I didn't realise that I'll need

the right kind of people to do the right kind of job.

That's where it all fell to bits.

'Fell to bits is an understatement. This house could have burnt down.

'At least Fahad is older and wiser.'

It's been a learning curve. It's always a learning curve.

-Quite a severe learning curve!

-Pity I had to learn the hard way!

But since then, I have spent more time researching

the kind of people I want to get in, the kind of builders I want.

Whether they're a reputable company or independent builders.

Whether they can show me the right paperwork, they can answer the right questions,

they can show me evidence of previous work and I can get in touch with people they've worked for.

'Fahad's either learned from every mistake he's made,

'or listened to every top tip we've ever given!

'It's apparent he won't be hiring any more cowboys in the near future.

'So, did our good guys inspire him to pursue his dream?'

I'd lost faith in builders altogether.

There are good builders out there.

You've just got to find them. Then once you've found them, keep them.

'Fahad has kept his builders of choice very busy.

'This house is a credit to him.'

For me, it shows just how much, not that you've turned the corner,

this house has been a springboard for you to have confidence

-to put into practice what you dreamt about.

-Yeah.

So... Happy home now?

Yeah.

'On that note, it's time for me to leave Fahad to relax

'in his incredible home.'

I'm surprised to be walking out into Newcastle after being in there!

It's an amazing house, but also, what an amazing story and a turnaround!

Fahad has got the confidence now to create something

that draws on all his experiences, positive ones,

he's had over the past three years.

Now he's got a home that not only reflects his personality,

but also reflects the hard work of all the people that have helped him.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk