Episode 26 Cowboy Trap

We're travelling all over the UK to meet the homeowners

living with the grim consequences of employing a cowboy builder.

I couldn't believe it. I'd given him £5,000,

he hasn't done much in two weeks, not even one room.

With their shoddy workmanship or downright lies,

cowboy builders are unscrupulous villains

who destroy dreams and wreck lives.

The stress of all these problems,

having worked hard and saved all my life,

just led me to have an ulcer, which I still have to this day.

We've got the good guys in our party

to turn these botched builds into ideal homes.

The chippers have been in. Beautifully finished.

But now, running water. Hello.

-It's incredible, isn't it?

-You've got a home now.

Yeah, it's like a dream. A dream come true.

It's thought cowboy builders cost Britons over £700 million each year.

So if you think you know how to spot one, think again.

The next 45 minutes could help keep you out of the Cowboy Trap.

'On today's Cowboy Trap, a heartbreaking house renovation

'which went so badly wrong,

'it ruined a romance for ever.'

It destroyed the relationship

because she couldn't see any light at the end of the tunnel.

'And, three years after we rescued her,

'we visit a cowboy-builder victim in Lancashire to see how she's doing.'

I love that conservatory.

I had a vision it would be and now it is.

It's lovely now, I do enjoy it.

'Our first saga

'revolves around a home in the London district of Tooting.'

'Now, Tooting High Street is a high street with a history.'

'The Romans build a road - Staines Street - from London to Chichester

'and Tooting High Street is built on that very thoroughfare.'

'But it's not only roads that Tooting is famous for.'

The sitcom Citizen Smith was set here in Tooting,

where Wolfie Smith presided over the Tooting Popular Front

and that's still a funny idea -

quite unlike today's Cowboy Trap, which is no laughing matter.

Although some of the building work you'll see is an absolute joke.

'And a danger to life and limb.'

'The unlucky victim of this bodged build

'lives in this two-bedroom flat,

'home to Anil Dussoye, a 67-year-old retired hospital porter.'

'Anil was born in Mauritius.'

'He moved to London in 1979

'and absolutely loved it.'

London was very exciting.

It was all music and girls and dancing.

'When he wasn't hitting the dance floor,

'Anil worked at St George's Hospital as a porter.'

'When he was 32, after eight years living in a room at a hospital,

'Anil decided to find his own place.'

The reason was I wanted to start my own business.

At the same time, I didn't want to work in hospital any more

because, having worked eight years, I thought that was enough.

'Anil purchased this two-bedroom flat for £22,000.'

'Those were the days!'

'But, despite having much more space,

'he didn't really make the most of it.'

For almost 20 years, Anil basically lived in just one room of the flat.

He was used to living like that after his hospital accommodation.

And he worked long hours, often seven days a week.

But, as Anil approached retirement,

it was time to do something about his surroundings,

especially as there was now a woman in his life.

She wanted not to get married, but to live together.

I said "I'm going to get the place sorted

"and we can live together."

'After being lonely for so long, Anil was on cloud nine.'

'He set out to create a home fit for his princess.'

'He had to renovate the flat,

'updating the kitchen, bathroom and flooring

'and bringing the electrics and plumbing up to date.'

'He also wanted to create more space

'by removing a chimney breast in his kitchen.'

The dream was to modernise the place,

make it look nice, have some nice furniture in it

and decorate the whole place, inside and out.

'Anil was chatting about his plans in the hospital

'when a colleague mentioned a builder who would be ideal.'

'Anil phoned the builder and he said he was available.'

He looked round and told me there was a lot of work to be done,

"Don't worry, we'll do everything."

"We'll do the place inside out and you won't recognise it."

"It's going to be really nice, very homely

"and you're going to be very happy."

'The builder quoted £19,500

'to refurbish the kitchen and bathroom and replace the flooring.'

'It also covered modernising the electrics

'and plastering and decorating throughout.'

'Anil gave him the green light

'and the builder drew up a contract of staged payments - good -

'but didn't detail the work that needed to be completed

'to trigger the payments - bad.'

He said to me "Don't worry,

"I'm going to do everything you want me to do,

"even though it's not in the contract."

'Does that sound too good to be true to you? It does to me.'

'But our Cowboy Trap victim failed to spot the warning signs.'

Anil then made a catalogue of errors.

He failed to carry out any checks on the builder or take up references

and he didn't get any other contractors round for a quote.

He paid a five-grand lump sum upfront

and the contract he signed was a joke. Dear, oh, dear.

'And the builder immediately began to take advantage

'of this unwitting victim.'

I didn't even look at the contract. I just trusted him.

I just gave him the money.

'The builder started work in November 2009,

'promising the job would be done in six weeks.'

'He suggested Anil move out because it was going to get messy.'

'Phew - not half.'

I did ask the hospital if I could have accommodation for eight weeks

and they said yes

and I stayed there for six months.

'Six months?! Nightmare.'

Moving out of his home would prove Anil's undoing.

He had no way of keeping tabs on his builder's progress - or lack of it.

And, because he worked long hours,

it wasn't possible to carry out checks.

So Anil failed to notice what was really happening -

nothing.

'Take my advice - don't embark on a major building project

'if you're not there to supervise.'

'And, if you can't be there, ask a neighbour or friend

'to make sure your builders are turning up when they're meant to.'

'Ask them to alert you with any concerns

'and act on them by talking them through with your builder.'

'The rented accommodation was costing Anil £400 a month

'and he became concerned that the project was proceeding

'at a snail's pace.'

When I looked, I couldn't believe it -

he hasn't done much work.

But he's... I said to myself "I've given him £5,000,

"he hasn't done much work in two weeks, not even one room."

'Anil also noticed what little work was being done

'was being done badly.'

'The electrics were awful, the plumbing pitiful,

'the flooring absolutely dreadful,

'the front door looked dodgy

'and the boiler stuck out like a sore thumb in the living room.'

I challenged him, he said "Everything takes time,

"plastering takes time, I've got to get everything in order"

and he said "Don't worry, after eight weeks, you'll be OK."

"You'll get your place back."

So I just believed him.

'Anil was being asked to hand over money

'like there was no tomorrow.'

'£5,000 here, £5,000 there -

'in addition to the £5,000 upfront payment

'and a one-off payment of £2,000.'

'Before he knew it, Anil had handed over £17,000

'and some extra money for materials.'

When people asked me "Why did you give him that kind of money?",

I said "To be honest, I don't know."

It was very stupid, very naive of me.

'It was now February 2010

'and the project still didn't look anywhere near completion.'

'Anil decided to go to America with his girlfriend

'to take his mind off it.'

'The builder promised he could move back in when he returned.'

When I got to New York, I did call him.

When I called him, he was not answering his phone.

So when I came back, I looked at the place and he hasn't been there

for one week.

'Anil called the builder, who said he would not be doing any more work

'because he'd run out of cash.'

He said "If you want me to finish the job, give me all the money."

I said "No, because I'm not happy about the quality of the work."

He said "What's wrong with it?"

I pointed out all the jobs, like the electrics, the gas, everything,

and he said "It'll be sorted out."

I said "No, I'm not happy about it."

'You won't be surprised to hear that the parting of the ways

'was far from amicable.'

'The cowboy was supposed to pay back all the cash he took for materials,

'but he didn't.'

'What he did do was vanish off the face of the earth.'

I spent nearly another £5,000

buying all these units, all the floors - everything.

I bought them thinking he was going to give me the money back.

'Anil had been left in an incomplete building site.'

'Water was coming through the ceiling,

'he had no central heating and the shower was in a shocking state.'

'Anil had to go to the local gym to wash.'

'As you can imagine, his girlfriend wasn't impressed.'

'He tried to track down the builder,

'but it became apparent the cowboy had disappeared into the sunset.'

I went round to his place,

but when I asked people there, they said "He's moved out,

"he doesn't live there any more."

'Anil had hit rock bottom.'

'His home was a wreck, his money had run out

'and, worst of all, the havoc unleashed by this bodger

'led to his girlfriend leaving him.'

It destroyed the relationship

because she couldn't see any light at the end of the tunnel

because I wasn't going anywhere, I didn't have a place

and she was living in hospital accommodation,

so she said "We're not getting anywhere"

and we started having rows and rows.

'Eventually, the rows became too much.'

'Anil's partner left him and he was alone again.'

'This cowboy took Anil's money and trashed his flat,

'he also robbed him of his future.'

'And, to add injury to insult,

'he wrecked Anil's health too.'

The stress of all these problems,

having worked hard and saved all my life,

just led me to have an ulcer

because I was thinking about it all the time, I was not eating,

I was losing a bit of weight

and I developed an ulcer, which I still have to this day.

Such a shame, this one -

this guy's spent years working for the NHS, helping others.

He's put up with basic living conditions

because he's worked such long hours.

His crumb of comfort was the thought of spending his twilight years

in a warm, snug home with the woman he loved.

Now all that's gone thanks to a cowboy builder.

'But what is the full extent of this building bodge?'

'How dangerous is the disaster zone the cowboy left behind?'

'We asked independent building surveyor Simon Levy

'to inspect the work.'

'He's been through it thoroughly

'and we're about to discuss his findings.'

'Firstly, the first thing you see when you arrive - the front door.'

That entrance door is

an appalling piece of workmandship.

The door itself has been fitted into

a completely deformed and defective frame,

which should've been replaced. I don't know why it was installed.

In winter, his heating's going to be bleeding out into fresh air.

Well, the gap is huge.

It doesn't conform to any decent standard of workmanship.

'As soon as you cross the threshold, things get worse.'

You can't leave a house like this.

No, the electrical installation and the plumbing installation

were left incomplete.

The electrics were left still connected

and therefore elements of the installation were profoundly unsafe.

'Like light switches hanging off the walls - unbelievable.'

'As is the fact Anil was abandoned without the heating.'

The pipes were left in a condition - without caps on the ends

so that you could get contamination in the pipes, cause blockages -

the job was left in disarray.

'Disarray up, disarray down,

'disarray all around.'

The flooring is a tragic waste of good building materials.

The job has been done so badly, the whole floor needs to now come up

because it's just lifted up,

there's been no expansion joint provided round the outside

and the job has to be started again.

Whether or not you can use that flooring again, I'm not sure.

'This floor was clearly laid by someone

'who had no idea what they were doing.'

'And Simon fears the same goes for the steel supports in the ceiling,

'and that's serious.'

'If the steels aren't right,

'this side of the building could collapse like a pack of cards.'

They've taken out the chimney breast - you've got a suspicion there.

I can't see any visible evidence

of a steel having been installed from within the building

and I recommend exploratory work to find out what's going on there.

If your suspicions are proved right,

that means there's a massive chimney stack,

a massive load, that isn't supported

and that's bearing... that's on top of Anil's head.

Well, it's in breach of the building regulations

and it's exceedingly dangerous.

'Whether the chimney breast upstairs is being adequately supported

'needs to be investigated as soon as possible.'

'I think I know the answer,

'but I'll ask Simon for his verdict anyway.'

After what you've seen, how would you mark this builder out of 10?

-It's going to be a 1.

-1 out of 10.

-There's paint on the walls and that's it.

-He's lucky to get that!

'No kidding - check out the evidence.'

'A badly hung front door,

'a badly laid floor,

'the ceiling is sloppy,

'the electrics are shocking,

'the plumbing pathetic,

'the shower room shambolic

'and, according to a heating expert, the boiler needs condemning.'

And remember, in the kitchen,

Anil asked the builder to remove the chimney stack to create more space.

So were the right steels put in to support the rest of the stack?

Time to bring in our good guys.

'And here they are -

'head honcho Richard Burgess and his colleague Tony.'

'They head straight for the suspicious steels.'

Here we go -

all shall be revealed.

'It's not good news - there isn't a steel support of any kind

'stopping the chimney breast upstairs from crashing down.'

'The cracks appearing on the exterior

'may be due to this schoolboy error.'

'Richard's men get the materials they need to salvage the situation.'

'And now it's time for Burgess's boys to swing into action.'

'First job - making safe that danger zone

'and getting the support wall up as quick as possible.'

'Then they make hay with the RSJ.'

'A solid start, but can the good guys help Anil's dream renovation

'get back on track?'

'Only time will tell.'

I'm in South London, where 67-year-old Anil Dussoye's dreams

of retiring with his girlfriend to his renovated flat in Tooting

were shattered by a cowboy builder.

Well, our good guys have finished their work,

so let's see how Anil's getting on.

'Let's hope the building doesn't fall down

'when I knock on the door.'

-Hi, how are you?

-I'm good, how are you?

-Not too bad, thanks.

-I tell you what - this is looking good.

-It does look nice.

-Can I take a look at the other work?

'As soon as I enter, I can't resist a quick peek.'

'It's not just the door that's massively improved.'

'Remember the kitchen before?'

'Now check it out.'

'Our good guys cooked up a treat for Anil

'and that horrible hall - not so horrible now.'

'The transformation is astonishing.'

'Before I take a closer look,

'I want to chat to Anil about how he got into this mess.'

'First, I want to hear about the money side of things.'

-I gave him £5,000 upfront.

-That's a lot of money.

I don't know what happened, what came over me,

I just gave him £5,000.

After four weeks, well, three to four weeks,

he asked me for another £5,000.

-So, four weeks - you're £10,000 down.

-£10,000.

-And what had he done in those four weeks?

-Not much.

-Like what?

-He was just stripping the plaster

in the bedroom and the front room.

Must've been heavy plaster - 10 grand's worth of plaster stripping.

When I gave him money, he didn't buy anything.

He only bought a few sacks of plaster - that was it.

'Oh, dear. £10,000 for basically nothing.'

'Take a tip from me -

'before you agree any building project, draw up a contract

'with a detailed payment schedule.'

'It should include what the builder needs to have achieved

'to trigger the next payment.'

'Don't hand over money unless a stage is completed

'and keep a chunk until the end -

'only pay that if you're 100 per cent happy.'

'It's fair to say that at no stage was Anil 100 per cent happy.'

This must've had a tremendous effect on you emotionally.

You're haemorrhaging money

and nothing's happening to the home that you've got all your hopes on.

If I didn't give him that money, he could've left the job,

then I would need another builder and I'd been in the same...

-Having seen his work, that might've been good.

-Looking back, yes.

'Looking at this mess, it would've been better if he'd never started.'

'His start wasn't great - his finish was even worse.'

He disappeared on a Friday

and when I came in, I just looked around

and there were no clothes, no tools, there was nothing.

I said "What's happening?" I called him and he didn't answer.

How much money has he disappeared with?

Altogether, it was £17,500.

And how much money do you think he spent on your home in that time?

About £2,000.

'And the builder hadn't just left Anil poorer -

'this cowboy had also left him in severe danger.'

If this thing happened to fall down, what am I going to do?

There are kids living upstairs.

Doesn't bear thinking about.

And the electrics were not right,

so I was worried about these things.

This place was a terrible job, but it was dangerous,

-that was the thing.

-Very dangerous.

'But, luckily for Anil,

'our good guys have come to the rescue.'

'Let's look at their handiwork.'

'I want a close look at the front door

'and I like what I see.'

This is such a good job,

bearing in mind that they were faced with a huge job.

Building a new door frame and put the windows in

or try and make good with refurbishment.

They've done the latter and it's quite amazing

how good a job that really is.

'The improvement is dramatic.'

'Look at that hole above the door before.'

'Much better now, eh?'

'Looks like they've weaved their magic on the floor too.'

If you remember, all these floorboards,

they were poorly fitted with no expansion gaps,

so when it did expand like most wood does,

there's only one way that could've gone - up.

But, thankfully, they've managed to use pretty much all of it again,

which is brilliant.

Here, I think this was just open,

but the chippers have been in - beautifully fitted and finished.

What's most impressive here is the attention to detail

that, in order to get this far,

they must've done so much work, it's really good.

'Remember that problem with the lack of support for the chimney stack?'

'The good guys have put a steel girder in and hidden it away.'

'The electrics before were in a right state -

'now they've been beautifully sorted.'

Anil was living in one room, now this is a fully functioning flat.

It looks fantastic.

'And the boiler wasn't working before. Now it is, which is nice.'

'The change from what the bad guys left behind

'to what it looks like now is striking.'

'Right, onwards and upwards.'

He's got a shower room! And there's no wires coming out of the walls.

This has been tidied up brilliantly.

He didn't have any water. The shower's been fitted...

Ahh! Anil at long last can have a shower.

He was having to go to the gym to wash himself, poor guy.

It looks fantastic, doesn't it?

The damp on the ceiling has gone.

For me, this job is twofold.

First of all, the whole place was so unsafe -

wires hanging out everywhere,

the floor trip hazards -

it's the finish. The finish is... well, it's immaculate.

'Yep, the good guys have played a blinder.'

'Richard's come to talk me through the challenges he faced.'

There was an issue with the boiler. Had that been condemned?

They'd turned the boiler off and condemned it.

It was unsafe to use.

It was not pulling enough gas

and there was a problem with the gas valve.

We put a new pipe in and now that is as good as new and safe.

'And it wasn't only the boiler that was unsafe.'

We had problems with the electrics in the bathroom.

-Live wires hanging down.

-Were they live?

-Yes, they were bare-ended

and they were live wires,

so that was probably the most dangerous thing here.

Live wires on their own are dangerous, but in a bathroom -

I'm surprised he'd been living here.

'So apart from the boiler that was on the verge of exploding

'and the potentially lethal electrics,

'this flat was safe as houses, right?'

'Well, we all know the answer to that - wrong.'

You've got a chimney breast here,

take that out - you've got an entire chimney stack above.

-How dangerous is that?

-Well, very dangerous.

Although the chimney is built into the wall of the house

and that holds it there to a degree, it's not built to stay like that,

so you take the bottom out,

at some point, it's going to start to fall down.

There's no longevity in it

and it could stay there for a week or a day - you just don't know.

'Well, make no mistakes,

'this place was a danger zone.'

'Before I do the grand tour with Anil,

'I'm going to chat to him about the cowboy builder.'

'I wanted to find out his side of the story,

'but that has proved easier said than done.'

We always give the cowboy builders

a right to reply, to give their side of the story,

but on this occasion, despite considerable efforts,

we haven't been able to track them down, which hardly ever happens.

What would you say to him if you met him now?

Well, I wouldn't say anything, I would just take him to court.

What would you say to someone considering employing this builder?

I would say "No. Don't even go there."

First of all, make sure the builder is a qualified builder,

you've got to have at least three quotes

before you do anything to your place. It's just not worth it.

'Good tip, Anil, especially when you're hiring a builder

'to remove a chimney breast -

'an exercise which needs expertise.'

'So here's a tip from me -

'chimneys are part of the structure of your house

'and removing them is a serious business.'

'You'll need a structural engineer

'and the approval of local-authority building control.'

'If you do anything to a party wall - one you share with neighbours -

'you'll need their written consent.'

'Hire a novice to do this and you're taking a real gamble.'

'Right, it's time to find out how Anil's finding his new life

'now he's got his dream home

'with secure front door, beautifully finished floor

'and, of course, carefully crafted kitchen.'

-This is the main event.

-This is good. We could have a little party!

It'd be nice to have a party.

'Even nicer to have a party without the threat of the upstairs floor

'crashing down on your heads.'

You were told there was no steel.

No steel, no support at all. I just didn't know what to do.

-I was scared.

-But they've put the steel in there.

-That's peace of mind.

-Thanks to the Cowboy Trap.

'And the good guys sorted electrical sockets out for Anil too.'

'Let's see how Anil's found his new shower since we fixed it.'

Now, then, at last we've got a shower room you can use.

Yeah, I never had a shower before.

Wondered what the smell was!

No, just one of those things. It's really nice the way they've done it.

This was very dangerous before. Live wires...

Christ, yeah, there was no light.

There was no light at all.

I don't think the shower was fixed to the wall either, properly.

-No.

-But now - running water. Hello.

-It's incredible.

-Well, you've got a home now.

Yeah, it's like a dream. A dream come true.

-It's a new chapter in my life.

-Is it?

-It is.

With a shower, with a proper flat,

it's great. I'm very, very happy.

'Anil has had a new lease of life since being rescued.'

'Time to leave him to enjoy his lovely new home.'

Well, it's hard to believe that,

after spending so much of his life helping others,

Anil had everything taken away from him because of a cowboy builder.

But, thanks to the good guys,

Anil now has a flat that's structurally sound

and electrically safe, which must be a weight off his mind,

but also a home that's beautifully finished and presented.

So now he can move out of living in that one single room

and into the rest of his home,

something I know he's always dreamt of and something he deserves.

'Next we're off to Preston

'to revisit someone we first met three years ago.'

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

'who left his unwitting victim

'powerless in the face of appalling events.'

'Social worker Mary Thorpe had long dreamt about having a conservatory

'and decided to take the plunge.'

I wanted more space for the hobbies I wanted to take up in retirement

and I wanted more space for visitors.

'Mary's hobbies included writing

'and she thought it'd be nice to have somewhere to write a novel.'

'Son Ian scoured the internet

'to find builders specialising in conservatories.'

I went onto a price-comparison website for conservatories,

got a leaflet out the next day,

phoned them up, they seemed to know what they were talking about.

They were available that week, so we thought we'd give them a go.

'A contractor from the conservatory company came around.'

'He quoted £9,600 for the work

'and when Mary mentioned her central heating needed updating,

'he said they'd install a gas boiler as part of the package.'

'Mary and Ian were impressed by the builder's apparent knowledge.'

Knew how to lay foundations, told us no plans would be needed

because it would be Permitted Development,

so I looked up what Permitted Development was -

it tied in with what they said -

checked out the company on Companies House,

looked at their website and I thought "Yeah."

'Satisfied by those checks,

'Mary paid a £40 deposit to confirm the job with the contractor,

'saying she wouldn't pay another penny until the work was completed

'to her 100 per cent satisfaction.'

'Mary asked for paperwork to be posted to her with a receipt.'

They would get me a contract and then, from the contract,

we would then agree to do the job or when they would start.

What happened next was extraordinary - no start date had been agreed,

but suddenly, without any warning and with no contract in place

less than 48 hours after that initial meeting,

the builders rocked up and got stuck into Mary's garden.

She was horrified, quite rightly,

because it would prove to be the beginning of a nightmare.

They turned up one morning while I was at work,

dug out the foundations without any prior knowledge to anyone.

'Mary tried to get hold of the bosses

'to find out what was going on.'

It was literally phone call after phone call after phone call,

trying to get them to come and see me.

And it was just...

This building was going up all of the time and there was no contact.

Despite her misgivings, Mary let the work carry on.

But though she'd been told she'd pay nothing until the job was done,

the demands for money came thick and fast.

'And the money always had to be in cash - funny that.'

'Within weeks, Mary had handed over thousands of pounds.'

By this time, I was sick to my stomach,

I was stressed out

and I said "What is it you want from me?"

"You promised this job would be done without any money -

"now here you are demanding money all the time."

'And it wasn't only the money that was causing Mary heartache.'

'The quality of work was atrocious.'

'The floor was crumbling, the decking was dreadful,

'the pipework was pathetic, the garden was left in a right mess

'and the boiler wasn't put in by a qualified installer

'so couldn't be used - and that was illegal.'

'It's got to be gas safe.'

The massive list of problems wasn't the end of Mary's ordeal

as things were about to get worse.

Remember how her builder said she wouldn't need planning permission

because the conservatory fell under Permitted Development?

Well, you won't be surprised to hear

that, when council building inspectors paid a visit,

that turned out to be nonsense.

I said "I don't believe this,

"I just don't believe this."

My instant reaction was to start crying

because I was just so fed up with them at that point.

It was horrible. We couldn't do anything.

We couldn't touch the house because we had no plans.

There's no point finishing the work because it could all get taken down.

'Take my advice - Permitted Development means

'you can build a conservatory without planning permission,

'but only if it's within certain dimensions.'

'A builder might say it's Permitted Development to save hassle,

'but don't take his word as gospel.'

'Always check your plans with the local council planning office

'because work done without their approval could be demolished.'

'Poor Mary didn't do any of that

'and her conservatory hopes were crashing around her ears.'

'It looked like this author's fledgling career would never start.'

'And, when she thought it couldn't get any worse, it did -

'the "builders" upped and left, never to return.'

After paying out this substantial amount of money,

I was left with a roof that hadn't been sealed or flashed,

I was left with a garden that was heaped with rubbish

and all piled up,

I was left with a floor that wasn't sealed,

all of the decking outside was supposed to have been completed

and the boiler wasn't working either.

'Mary had spent £14,000, a total waste of money.'

'But you know what happens next - our good guys entered the fray...

'..and pulled out all the stops to put a smile back on Mary's face.'

'First up, a monumental makeover in the garden.'

'Then they fixed her heating and boxed up the boiler beautifully.'

'Perfect pipework and fantastic fluming, fellas.'

'Not sure if that word exists, but you get the idea.'

'From before

'to after.'

'The cowboys' bodge was history, but there was still much to do

'to create Mary's perfect home.'

'The conservatory needed sorting.'

'Where would Mary craft her debut novel without that?'

'Thanks to our good guys, Mary was back on track,

'but would she be able to go on and create her dream home?'

'Only time would tell.'

It's been about three years since we helped Mary out of the Cowboy Trap

and, after sorting out that boiler,

we gave her some peace of mind.

And, of course, central heating.

'But the million-dollar question is

'has Mary got the conservatory of her dreams at last?'

-Hello.

-Hello, Jonnie. How are you?

-We've been expecting you.

-Oh, good, thank you.

'Well, at last, a really impressive conservatory.'

'Mary's done a fantastic job transforming it since we left.'

This has moved on. Did you put this floor down?

Jonnie, there's a lot been done that you really wouldn't think.

The floor's been down, that cost me a fortune,

and underneath is all padded and everything.

Those windows were walls and they've been knocked down and are windows.

And there's been a door put on here.

'And the conservatory's been given retrospective planning permission

'by the local council

'and Mary's clearly getting tons of use out of it.'

I've been able to fit my table in and fit the desk in.

It's three-in-one - living room, dining room, desk.

Do you do a lot of work out here?

I use it quite a lot.

I started writing a book and I've written that book there.

'Excellent - Mary has realised her ambition to become an author.'

'Her book's a historical novel,

'written as a tribute to her much-loved gran.'

'But I reckon her cowboy builders' tale is quite absorbing itself.'

'Remember the beginning of the story - a harrowing descent

'into building-bodge hell.'

'Then the plot took an unexpected twist -

'our good guys rode to the rescue.'

'And now, happily ever after outside...

'..and in.'

'Bizarrely, it was meeting the bad guys

'that gave Mary inspiration for her book.'

"I'm not going to let them get to me, I'm going to move on now."

And I've done it.

I tell you what - it astounds me you've done that here.

You can't let them get you down.

If you do, they've won,

and I couldn't let them win, I just couldn't.

'And they most certainly haven't.'

'This conservatory is spectacular.'

-So what's your favourite thing about this room?

-All of it.

I come down in the morning, get me paper

and look out at the garden.

I love there, cuddling up on the sofa,

if the grandchildren come around.

'This conservatory has everything.'

'And, since we left, Mary's worked wonders in the garden too.'

-So this was a right old state, wasn't it?

-It was a mess.

Absolute mess. There was rocks, everything, lying all over.

And, quite honestly, I got depressed every morning when I got up.

Knowing that in there wasn't finished

and then looking out here, it was just absolutely terrible.

And when this was done, the day it was done,

I just felt so overjoyed that I could walk out through that door...

See it all the time. One thing about a conservatory

-is everything is on display.

-Absolutely.

And it's wonderful to look out and think "That's my garden",

rather than a building site.

'Yep, when the cowboys left,

'the garden was a total mess.'

'Then our good guys did a makeover and left it like this.'

'And since then, Mary's taken it further

'and it's looking fabulous.'

I love that conservatory,

I love the way I had a vision that would be and now it is

and not the building site or walls knocked down and nothing put up.

So it's lovely now. I do enjoy it.

'Time for a heart-to-heart with Mary about what she learned

'from her cowboy-builder experience.'

Say you were to build another conservatory,...

-Mm-hm.

-..what would you do differently?

I wouldn't get anyone out of town.

I would not get anyone out of town, I would go to the local people,

which I should've done at the start.

You have to look at their work and speak to people they've worked for.

-I would do that, no question.

-That's hindsight, isn't it?

Yeah, in hindsight, we're all perfect, no doubt about it.

'No doubt indeed.'

'Finding a builder on the internet is always fraught with risk,

'but it's great that Mary is now out of the danger zone.'

Would it be fair to say that having the good guys in

gave you the confidence to kick on with the project?

It did because I was at a period

where I was so depressed.

I was in tears going to work and coming home,

didn't want to go to work or come home from work,

it was terrible situation.

And Ian was at uni at the time...

-Your son.

-Yeah.

He wasn't able to think either because he was upset for me

because I was crying all the time.

He was trying to support me

and he wasn't focusing on what he should've been focusing on.

Between the two of us, it was a terrible time.

'But, thanks to our good guys, Mary is now in a much happier place.'

'The other good news is that local-authority building control

'have now given our good guys and all Mary's work

'a clean bill of health.'

The day the guys told me that it had passed,

I was just so ecstatic.

If I'd won a million that day, I don't think I'd have felt as happy.

-It's hard to put a price on peace of mind.

-There isn't anything else.

Money wouldn't give you peace of mind and so it was brilliant.

So from thereon in, we could carry on by putting the floor down...

-Before that, we couldn't move.

-No, you were hamstrung.

'So, for Mary, as another famous author would say,

'"all's well that ends well."'

'All right, Shakespeare was a playwright, but you get my drift.'

I'm really happy that I have this place now.

I love it, I love sitting out here

-and I do my typing - I'm starting on another book now.

-Are you?

I've started the research.

-A follow-up to that.

-Really?

-Yeah.

Can I get a copy of the first one?

-Yeah, sure.

-I want something to read on the train home.

-You do that!

Well, I wish you the best of luck

-and I'll look out for the next book, shall I?

-You will indeed.

-I don't know the title yet.

-Could be influenced by cowboy builders.

-Maybe.

-Then you can write your own savage ending for them.

I would. I'd put them in the ground.

'Wow. Expect a grisly cowboy-builder-bites-the-dust novel

'to be hitting your local book store soon. I'd read it.'

Well, Mary has definitely turned the corner.

In spending time with her, in these few years, she's obviously happier,

but she's got her confidence back.

So much so that the conservatory's not only finished,

but it's signed off by building control

and she's got planning consent.

She spends so much time in there,

she's even had time to write a book in the conservatory.

That's a first on Cowboy Trap.

And now I've got something to read on the way home.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd