Episode 3 Cowboy Trap

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

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

I just burst into tears. I just thought, "This is it."

You know, "We're not going to have windows for Christmas."

Today, I'm revisiting home-owners that got caught in the cowboy trap

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

I was so distressed.

I've never been so distressed and so angry in my life.

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

since we got them back on track.

You're having a laugh! Loving the floor.

Loving the bath!

The dream is back on because this looks amazing!

I've got what I wanted. I'm happier in here now.

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

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

Today's Cowboy Trap is a chilling reminder that if you bung a builder

a wad of your cash before the job is complete, you could be left

with a wreck on your hands and no pennies in your pocket.

Today's victims made the all-too-common mistake of foolishly

parting with their pounds, leaving their builders little incentive

to finish off the work.

Both were abandoned in the midst of bitter winters with their homes

open to the elements, leaving them completely without comfort or joy.

I was like shivering in here.

I had the central heating on, I had heater blowers

but everything was going up straight through the roof.

We were just very stressed.

We didn't know where the money was going to come from.

Later, I'll be catching up with Marcus in Essex,

who was abandoned by a cold-blooded builder

during one of the chilliest winters on record.

I was left all throughout that period

with a hole in the ceiling, with no windows.

But first, I'm returning to one of the most unforgivable crimes

against building, where a shameful cowboy builder left

a young family exposed to the elements

and freezing in their own home at Christmas.

I'm back in the lovely West Sussex village of Billingshurst

where St Mary's Church boasts a clock with a mechanism

that's an exact half-size replica of that at Big Ben.

As imitations go, it's a pukka job.

Quite unlike the poor excuse for a builder we're dealing with today.

It was cleaning company owners Sara and Mark Ellis who were left

to suffer the consequences with their three young kids,

Luke and his twin sisters, Evie and Olivia.

The couple bought their four-bedroom house in 2008

and wanted to make it bigger and better for their growing tiny trio.

We had big plans.

We wanted to extend upstairs to make bedrooms

and an extension on the kitchen, extension on the lounge

and just make it our dream house.

They approached a local builder and were more than happy

with the timescale he gave to complete the huge job.

We asked him how long it would take and he said

-six months from start to finish.

-It got better.

He quoted £90,000, well within the couple's budget to complete

the two-storey extension, remodel the upstairs and extend the loft.

So it was full steam ahead and work began.

With so much money at stake, you'd think the Ellises would have

really done their homework on this builder, but they didn't.

They failed to take up references and didn't insist on a contract.

No wonder the project went quickly off the rails

so take a tip from me.

When hiring anyone, contact others they've done work for

to make sure they have previous happy customers.

Always get a written contract drawn up signed by both parties

and make sure it details the work agreed,

the cost, payment schedule and timescale.

At first, the Ellises' builder seemed like a godsend,

but when work began to slow down, it wasn't long

before they were praying it would all be over.

Probably about two thirds through,

I realised that there was no way he was going to get the job done.

The agreed six-month timescale came and went.

As the Ellises were paying the suppliers and the builder

every time he needed wages, by now over £97,000

had been ploughed into the build

and the family were starting to feel the pinch.

I'm sure this builder felt that we just had pots of money.

We'd bought a house.

It doesn't mean we've got buckets to throw at a job.

With the festive season fast approaching,

the work was actually grinding to a halt

quicker than Santa's sleigh at a chimney.

Their family home was a shell and open to the bitter cold

and Sara was feeling the strain.

We trusted someone and that person let us down

and that's what really hurts.

Sara absolutely worried herself sick to the point

she couldn't sleep some nights, of one,

how we were going to pay for it?

How we were going to get the job sorted?

Living in a house exposed to the elements with no windows or doors

and a leaking roof would be a challenge at any time of the year.

Worse still, this was the middle of winter

and Christmas was just around the corner.

Their brazen builder then had the gall to ask for another £2,500.

When asked what the extra funds were for,

he told them it was for Christmas!

Ho-ho-ho - what a turkey!

I was so angry with him

and several times I actually burst into tears in front of him.

It didn't make any difference to him.

He was just thick-skinned, he didn't care.

The Ellises refused to fork out any more money and lo and behold,

this Scrooge of a builder disappeared.

It was becoming the nightmare before Christmas

and the family had no reason to be jolly.

I just burst into tears, I just thought, "This is it.

"We're not going to have windows for Christmas."

Mark and Sara were left with a wreck and needed our help.

When I first met them in 2009, I couldn't believe my eyes.

-The building site as we like to call it.

-That is a real, real mess.

Just looking around, straightaway, to the naked eye,

we've got no insulation on the ceiling there, no boarding out.

If I'm taking a look at the mortar, it's a real mess on the blocks.

The flooring is a mess as well.

To cap it all, there was only some flimsy plywood

between the Ellises and the outside world.

For us, the security issue.

We've got no doors, it's freezing cold, we're open to elements.

In my opinion, Evie could have done a better job.

Worse was to come. When I went out to the garden for an inspection,

things were far from rosy.

Got rusty nails, brick ends, we've got really sharp slate.

Metalwork that's gone rusty and sharp.

Cans that are cut open and exposed and the Ellises' son Luke

climbed on here and cut his hand open on a knife blade.

This should have all been disposed of correctly, but he didn't do that.

He certainly did leave this family in danger.

Any builder with his salt wouldn't leave a home in a state like this,

especially with kids around.

When independent surveyor Tracy Robb had a shufty, she agreed,

that this build was in bedlam.

There are lots of problems with this property and if we take the porch,

for example, we can see it's been left in poor condition.

There's missing guttering, the roof has not been finished,

there is a missing lintel above the doorframe.

The mortar mix used is incorrect

and there is missing insulation from within the cavity wall.

-What marks would you give it out of ten?

-I'd give it a two.

That was a pretty pitiful score

for so-called professional building work.

There was clearly a mountain of work to do but getting the Ellises' house

secure by finishing off the porch area was everyone's top priority.

First, I wanted to hear from the Ellises

how their builder's disappearing act had affected the family.

All we've done is live and breathe this house for the last 12 months.

When you come home, it's even not somewhere nice to come home.

You just hate it.

We used to just row about it, didn't we?

Our team are an excellent team

and we're going to set about that porch and get it done right.

More importantly to me is that you're happy

-and that we can put a smile back on your face.

-Thank you very much.

Our platoon of good guys were well armed

to bring the Ellises' porch back from the point of no return.

But when work started, they immediately hit a problem.

Tell us what you found.

Looks like the concrete's only three inches deep.

The foundations should have been

six-inches deep to support the flooring.

Boy, was this guy a cowboy!

Still, we're used to rolling with the punches here on Cowboy Trap

so we set about putting it right. Those wonky walls were replastered.

We sorted the shocking electrics,

mended and reinsulated that leaking roof,

installed some new doors

and gave it a lick of paint and varnish.

It was time for my big reveal and I hoped

it would be a grand entrance the Ellises would be proud of.

OK, guys.

What do you think?

Wow, I love the floor! Doesn't the floor look great, Mark?

-Absolutely brilliant. And the doors even lock!

-And there are doors!

Really good. And it's so safe as well for the children

cos we had an issue with safety for the kids. Oh, it's just fabulous. It's really good.

There is a little bit more. It is the piece de resistance!

-Dah-dah!

-Oh, wow! Look at the steps.

-Don't they look fab, Mark?

-Absolutely brilliant.

-And look at the lights, look at the lights!

-That's not all, Sara.

Take a look at this.

-You got some little lights.

-Ah, weenie lights!

Oh, look!

Our good guys have brought Sara and Mark a ray of sunshine after months of darkness.

But the family still had plenty to do

to get the dream home they longed for.

It's been over three years since I last saw the Ellises.

And although we helped get them back on track,

they had huge plans for this house.

And I've got to say already from the outside, I can see a lot of changes.

Let's go find out how they got on inside.

I tell you what, it's looking good.

-A-ha!

-Hello.

-Long time no see. How are you, Mark?

-Fine, thank you.

-How are you, lovely?

-Lovely to see you.

-And you.

-Lovely to see you.

I'll tell you what, I can already see there's changes outside.

So, shall we go inside? It's great to see, first of all, the porch looks fantastic still.

-A few little extra little...

-Yeah, little girlie touches.

Girlie touches. I was just about to say that!

Yeah, it's lovely. We're really impressed with it, aren't we Mark?

Thanks to a bit of TLC, and some personal touches,

the Ellises have made this porch a welcoming entrance

anyone would be proud of.

I can't wait to see what they've done to parts of the house

we didn't give them a head start with.

I'm going to keep my eyes closed for a minute, Mark. Let me feel my way in.

You're having a laugh!

Last time I was here the en suite bathroom was dirty, dark and dingy.

But they've flushed away the bad memories of their old cowboy builder

and have created a fresh, modern and classy finish in here.

The Ellises have clearly learnt a thing or two.

His-and-her sinks, fantastic. Loving the floor. Loving the bath.

The things you learnt from when we were first here,

-did they come into play?

-Yes. We got a reputable plumber to come in and finish the job properly.

-And tiler and everything else?

-That's it.

Wow! It's fantastic!

Having got their own good guys in,

Mark's shown that their upstairs dunny scrubbed up pretty darn well.

Over to his other half to show me the transformation

they've made to a downstairs bedroom.

This was where we were sleeping when upstairs wasn't finished.

-I'm not to sure it was as glamorous as it is now though.

-No! No!

We've obviously re-decorated and glammed it up again, ready for guests.

In the last three years since I was here,

the Ellises have been busy bees, and their house looks a million dollars.

I mean, I love this room anyway. It's massive.

But looking now at the wood burner,

-it's just such a fantastic focal point.

-Yeah, it's lovely.

It's our little treat. And we love it.

If I was watching those flames, once that's in, on a nice winter's evening,

-I'd rather watch that than watch the television over there.

-Oh, I'm so looking forward to the winter.

It wasn't that long ago that the Ellises were forced to spend

a miserable, cold, dark Christmas here.

But thankfully, that's a distant memory.

Their home has undergone huge changes.

But before I go, I want to see if family life's looking brighter too.

Actually in those dark days it did drive a bit of a wedge between you guys, didn't it?

Oh, yes, we were definitely... We were arguing an awful lot, because I blamed him, he blamed me.

But there was only one person really to blame, and that was the builder.

But, um, we sort of took it out on each other, didn't we?

Cos we were just very, very stressed. We didn't know where the money was going to come from,

how we were going to get it done, who we could trust to get it done.

So do you think then that, from that experience,

and from us coming in and the advice that I was handing out,

do you think that really has made a big impact on where you are today?

It sort of inspired us to carry on to do - we took it a room at a time,

-and didn't rush anything, did we?

-No. It was one area done properly,

and we can move on from that area.

I think we've since discovered that we have to be a bit more careful.

Yeah. And you've done that, you've shown that already.

And it's not just behind closed doors

where the makeover's taken place.

Their back garden was once a danger zone for the kids.

It's now a place where the whole family can relax and enjoy.

I tell you what, well done, guys.

You have done a brilliant, brilliant job.

It's been great to come back and see you again

and I'm really inspired myself now and I'm inspired

by the fact that you were inspired and motivated after we arrived.

Yes, it definitely made a difference to make us carry on.

We were going to give up, weren't we, Mark?

-Yes, thank you, Clive, for all you've done.

-Absolute pleasure.

Thank you for having me back. It's been lovely to see you.

Take care of your good selves.

It was sink or swim for the Ellises.

But at last, they are out of the hot water

and learnt that only cowboys want tens of thousands of pounds

before the job is complete.

But sadly, the next old friend I'm catching up with

made the same mistake of being too trusting with his pennies,

only to also be left in the midst of winter

with gaping holes in his home.

I'm back in Essex, in the market town of Waltham Abbey.

Apparently, statistics show that people who live here are 38%

more likely to be hit by falling aeroplane parts

than anywhere else in Great Britain. Whoa!

I guess that's pretty unlikely,

as opposed to being hit by a cowboy builder, as Marcus Elkeslassy was.

When we first met, divorcee Marcus

had just bought this bijou end-of-terrace maisonette

to live in with his miniature Yorkshire terrier, Macy.

But with a grand French famille, he needed more space.

Marcus had eight brothers and sisters dotted around the world,

as well as two grown-up kids of his own.

The dream was to convert the loft to create an extra bedroom

and bathroom so his family could come and visit.

I have a very large family and if somebody

was to come up here, I have nowhere to put them up.

You know, so I... I opted for a loft conversion.

That way I can put them in the guest room

and I can have my own bedroom upstairs.

Marcus searched around for a builder and sensibly got a few quotes.

But worried the work would be messy and disruptive,

he made a crucial mistake and went straight for the builder

who said he could complete the job the fastest.

Oh, Marcus!

I just thought...

this is a professional guy, he knows what he's doing.

You know, he's told me

that he would do the job five weeks from start to finish.

So, happy with the quote of £24,590,

Marcus decided not to move into his new home

until the builders had finished the messy work.

I actually rented a place for five months

and put all my stuff in storage for five months.

Unfortunately, Marcus had forked out the deposit for the builder

and guess what, the promise of an immediate start never materialised.

Months passed and the builder still hadn't begun.

Marcus couldn't afford to pay the rent any longer,

so had to move in, just as the builder finally got to work.

I had to actually endure

everything that I was trying to avoid in the first place.

It must have been a relief that when the work did eventually begin,

the builders went for it all guns blazing.

After all, Marcus had handed over £21,500, almost the full amount.

But the good start wasn't to last.

They probably fitted in...

five weeks of work into two weeks.

But then everything came to a standstill.

Full stop.

About two and a half weeks later,

the scaffolding was gone and I thought something was wrong.

I try to make contact, he wasn't responding.

And then eventually, he would send a man,

like one afternoon a week to keep me sweet, basically.

The problem for Marcus was, once the rogue had his hands on the money,

it gave him no incentive to come back and finish the job.

So take a tip from me.

Never pay a big wad of cash in advance.

Come up with a payment agreement to dish out your dosh in stages.

And always hold back the final payment

until you're completely satisfied with all finished work.

And in this case, Marcus really paid the price.

Marcus was left with a complete wreck.

And a gaping hole in the roof

where dormer windows and doors should have been.

What's more, it was the middle of winter.

And I was like, shivering in here, I had the central heating on,

I had heater blowers,

but everything was going straight up through the roof.

So it wasn't just the cold that cut through Marcus,

his heating bills were costing an arm and a leg.

I was so distressed, you know?

I've never been so distressed and so angry in my life, you know?

By being let down and being conned, basically.

With no money left,

Marcus needed someone he could trust to fix this mess.

So, in 2010, we had our first rendezvous.

-You must be Marcus.

-Yes, I am.

-Do you mind showing me the damage they've done?

-Come in.

-Thank you, sir.

'And even by Cowboy Trap standards, I was in for a shocker.'

It looks a bit of a mess, that's for sure. Is this how it was left?

-Yes, absolutely.

-No other remedial works?

-No.

Exactly as it was.

How long has that been in the state it's in, with your door and window?

Since October. The worst winter we've ever had, I think, in this country.

'And if that was cold, a decision made by this cowboy

'could have meant a truly chilling end for Marcus.'

I noticed as well there is no steel.

No, in the initial plan, there was supposed to be a ridge beam up there.

But the builders have taken it on themselves to do away with it.

-So they ignored your original plan?

-Absolutely.

-Did they say why they weren't putting the steel in?

-No explanation.

'The lack of a steel beam could have made this loft structurally unsafe.

So once Marcus got the all clear from an architect, our priority

'was to make sure he didn't spend another winter shivering.

'But first, I wanted to understand how Marcus got himself

'into this mess in the first place.'

I would say that people get blinded by this dream.

They can see the vision, the vision of this wonderful new room.

And they can see nothing but that.

You've got to remember,

this is the place you want to spend the rest of your life. That sort of thing.

And you want to make it right.

You don't want things to go wrong,

therefore you don't want to fall out with people,

you want to be as nice as possible.

Marcus had paid so much money upfront that he was forced

to give his builder the benefit of the doubt.

And it took Marcus months

until the penny eventually dropped that he'd been had.

He wasn't answering my texts, he wasn't answering my calls...

..er...e-mails.

In the end, I sent him recorded letters, you know.

-How much of your money had he got by then, of the £24,500?

-£21,500.

-Wow! What did they leave you with?

-The loft conversion itself...

I think it needs rebuilding, if you ask me.

Time to get our good guys in.

They got Marcus and his loft back on track by closing up the holes,

making it watertight and preventing any further damage.

Then it was time for my favourite bit.

To show him what we'd done to his new bedroom.

Wow!

-Yes, that's more like it.

-Exactly, that's definitely more like it.

What was it before?

-Two holes.

-And it was covered by a bit of tarpaulin.

Not even tarpaulin, it was a bit of plastic.

The guys have put the window in, you've still got loads to do,

I understand that. We've started the ball rolling.

-Elements, you're protected against.

-Yeah.

But what about this fantastic set of French doors?

-Hey!

-What do you think?

-Brilliant!

-Viva, the good guys!

What was once an abandoned shell became a safe and warm room

with a set of French doors for our French Romeo.

He now has a Juliet balcony he can enjoy,

and thankfully his story didn't end in tragedy.

Although the space still needed finishing touches,

it was finally weatherproof,

so no more winters of discontent for our lead character.

It's been two years since I last saw Marcus.

We helped get him back on track

by making his loft conversion watertight.

But that was just the beginning of the story,

there was still loads left to do.

So I wonder how he's been getting on since we last met. Let's find out.

Come on.

Well, as I live and breathe, young Marcus.

I can't believe it.

I want to see how far you've come since we were last here.

-Do you mind showing me what you've done?

-Not at all, it's my pleasure.

Come on, let's go.

Lead the way, I can't wait.

This is a massive difference.

When I was last here, this staircase was grubby and rickety.

But, thanks to Marcus, it's come on leaps and bounds.

I'm going to tell you to close your eyes and then open them.

-Oh, OK.

-Like you did to me before!

And with the loft conversion at the top, I've got a feeling

it's gone from a stairway to hell to a stairway to heaven.

Now you can open them.

Well, it's not very often I'm lost for words.

But I'm lost for words, because in here...

In fact, I'm struggling to get my bearings,

because when I left you, we'd managed to get it watertight

get it airtight, put the doors in, put the window in,

and, to be honest, when I first came here I didn't know

where we were going to start, or even where we were going to end.

It was very, very complicated.

I'm staggered that, in just two years, Marcus has managed

to completely eradicate all signs of the cowboy.

He's put the lessons he's learned to excellent use,

and made this loft a stylish but cosy bedroom.

It was a long haul, but he's clearly on cloud nine.

The dream is back on, because this looks amazing.

Yeah, absolutely, absolutely.

It was hard work, because to rectify somebody else's work

is harder than to start from scratch.

Bang on.

Fixing another builder's dodgy work is a tough task,

but Marcus's good guys have worked wonders,

and even the en suite was fantastique.

Well, I'm loving it.

And this is all your design and ideas and everything you wanted?

We shared, you know, the ideas.

-Between you and the builders.

-Absolutely.

And this is what I came up with.

Do you mind if I ask you how much extra this has all cost on top?

Double.

-Double!

-Double what was quoted initially.

Ouch!

Marcus's dream loft conversion sure hasn't come cheap,

but what was once a freezing, uninhabitable shell

is now warm, welcoming, and with a stunning finish.

But, before I bid Marcus adieu,

I want a final tete-a-tete with him to see how he managed it all.

Where is Marcus Elkeslassy now?

Where is he here, and here?

It's behind me, because I've got what I wanted,

you know, in the first place.

I hated it before, and I'm much happier.

It's a weight off my shoulders.

You know, because I ignored a lot of things that were happening in here.

I didn't know that the place was unsafe, for one.

So, what tips did you take forward to your building?

Do a payment plan, which you have to pay in stages.

-It's paid dividends, no two ways about that.

-Absolutely.

Voila! It may have been a long and costly road for Marcus,

but he got there in the end, and all that's left to do

is to invite the family to stay for a good old celebration.

It's been great to catch up with Marcus,

and just look at how much he's done in that short space of time.

And what a sweet guy he is.

And, of course, now he's got the loft conversion of his dreams.

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