Nottingham family left with damaged house as builder disappears

Trading standards are warning people about rogue traders after a Mapperley family left their home looking like a building site.

Leila Simms thought she was getting a good deal after finding a builder through an online trader site – but says she was instead left with holes in her house and unfinished work that put a strain on family life.

After buying their dream home in May, Mrs Simms and her husband hoped to completely renovate the kitchen.

The family says instead the builder – who cannot be named for legal reasons – used a catalogue of excuses to put off completing work on their home.

The excuses kept coming – he said his cat had died

According to the Simms, they paid £2,000 upfront – but when the builder turned up for the first day of the job, he asked her for a further £3,000 to ‘buy materials’.

The family handed over the cash, and didn’t expect anything suspicious when handed a legitimate receipt.

The Simms say he then asked for a further £5,000 in order to buy a kitchen through provider Magnet, and said he’d pay through his business account so they could benefit from his discount.

After plastering four rooms and knocking down some plasterboard doorways, the family says the builder disappeared, telling the family that he was going through marriage problems.

Mrs Simms said: “He said he had a marriage breakdown – and as decent people, we were understanding, that was one week. Then the next week, he said he had tonsillitis; we were again understanding, but the excuses kept coming – he said his cat had died, and then it got to a point where we began to worry a little bit.”

After calling Magnet to ask when the new kitchen would be coming, they were told that the payment had not been made by the builder.

Picture: Mrs Simms in the kitchen, which has since been finished off by a different builder

Mrs Simms said: “It was awful, there was rubble everywhere, there were exposed wires – it was a complete mess and my three and four year-old daughters were living in that – it was horrendous.”

The builder has since paid back £4,500 of the money.

Nottinghamshire County Council Trading Standards Officer Paul Gretton said: “You should always expect to make your final payment when you are happy with the work – upfront payments are normal, but this should all be in a contract so you can see what they expect and when they expect it.”

The Simms are considering taking the rogue builder to court to claim back some of the costs.

Mrs Simms said: “I know it’s only money at the end of the day, but he took advantage of us – and that’s a horrible thing.”

The builder could not be reached for comment.