It sounds harmless: “Can you pay cash, mate? Saves me the VAT — I’ll give you a better price.” But behind that “friendly favour” is one of the oldest scams in the book — and it’s the reason so many homeowners lose thousands with no comeback. When you pay cash, you pay without proof — …
It’s the story no one wants to believe — until it happens to them. A 70-year-old grandmother …
An Otley family has been left devastated — and homeless — after a rogue builder took their …
You’ve agreed on a price, you’re excited to get started, and the builder says, “Just send the deposit so I can order materials.” You transfer the cash — and that’s the last you see of it. Welcome to The Deposit Scam, one of the most common and expensive tricks in the trade.
An Otley family has been left devastated — and homeless — after a rogue builder took their savings, botched the job, and then denied ever being paid. No receipts. No contract. No proof. Just a wrecked home and a builder claiming, “I never got the money.”
Imagine paying a builder to do your dream extension — and ending up paying £55,000 more just to put it right. That’s exactly what happened to one homeowner who trusted the wrong contractor. The job looked fine on the surface… until the cracks (literally) started showing.
A plumber from Suffolk who conned vulnerable customers out of £30,000 and left them with unsafe and unfinished work has been jailed. Grant Phillips, 45, of Heron Road, Ipswich, admitted to fraudulent trading and was sentenced to 26 months in prison at Ipswich Crown Court. Between April 2021 and October 2023, Phillips took payments from …
A full-time carer who thought she was hiring reputable tradesmen has been left £13,000 out of pocket and with a damaged roof — after falling victim to two separate rogue builders. Andrea Giles* says she “fell for the patter” of smooth-talking roofers who promised quick repairs but left her with a wrecked property and no …
A Norfolk Scout group has been left facing a £50,000 shortfall and an unfinished building project after their contractor went into liquidation. The 1st Belton Scouts, based near Great Yarmouth, had been awarded a £292,000 government grant through the Youth Investment Fund to extend and double the size of their headquarters — a long-awaited project …
Before you hand over a penny or let anyone near your home, there’s one golden rule: Do your due diligence. Too many homeowners get stung because they trust what a builder says instead of checking who they really are. That’s where Check A Builder comes in.
A builder described as “one of the most prolific rogue traders ever dealt with” has been found guilty of defrauding homeowners out of more than £1.25 million. Mark Killick, 56, of Shoe Lane, Paulton, Somerset, operated under multiple names — including Marc Cole and Mark Jenkins — taking on building projects across the West of …
If a builder says, “we don’t need a contract — my word’s my bond,” run. Because that’s exactly how homeowners get ripped off. A written contract is your best defence against cowboy tactics, disappearing acts, and “I never said that” moments.