'Constant lies, delays and deceit': Northamptonshire homeowner's warning after builder takes him for £73,000

A Northamptonshire builder has been ordered to pay back over £70,000 after "trashing" a homeowner's barn and leaving his garden like "a pile of bricks".
By The Newsroom
Published 9th Feb 2018, 15:12 BST
Updated 10th Feb 2018, 16:18 BST
David says his dreams of building a room for his adopted son have been 2shattered" by Mr William's "shoddy" work.David says his dreams of building a room for his adopted son have been 2shattered" by Mr William's "shoddy" work.
David says his dreams of building a room for his adopted son have been 2shattered" by Mr William's "shoddy" work.

David Jones, from Chapel Brampton, says his dreams of building his adopted son a room of his own have been "shattered" after enlisting the help of Northamptonshire builder Kurt Williams, from Mears Ashby Road, Earls Barton.

Now, David is warning other homeowners of his experiences with the builder.

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After paying Mr Williams some £65,000 for building materials, David was dismayed that after 18 months the only work he saw done was to see his garden in ruin and the roof pulled off his barn.

David Jones says his garden has been left like "a pile of bricks".David Jones says his garden has been left like "a pile of bricks".
David Jones says his garden has been left like "a pile of bricks".

He took the builder to court and won £73,000 in damages - but Mr Williams reportedly never showed up to proceedings, and David has not heard from him since September last year.

David said: "It's a betrayal of trust. The new extension was for a young lad I'm adopting and his dream is shattered.

"I paid him £28,000 in 2016 for materials to get started. Then nothing happened for 18 months. Every time I called there would be some excuse for why he couldn't start yet.

"It was constant lies, delays and deceit."

David Jones says his garden has been left like "a pile of bricks".David Jones says his garden has been left like "a pile of bricks".
David Jones says his garden has been left like "a pile of bricks".
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Court papers show the work was contracted for completion by the end of May 2017. Instead, Mr Williams started the work in August.

The total damages amounted to £4,000 and included wrecking a barn wall, destroyed some of the building's antique timbers and even damaged the neighbour's fence.

David said: "The work was shoddy. He pulled the roof off the barn where the extension was going to go. Then he demanded more money, and didn't come back.

"After a while you just wanted him to put the roof on at least so you could fire him.

"Eventually, I just felt like I was getting fleeced."

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David wrote to Mr Williams asking where his money had gone. Mr Wiliams never wrote back, and shortly after changed his number.

David said: "It's been very sad but now I just want to warn people. I don't want to think he's still quoting people for jobs they'll never see done."

Related topics:David JonesNorthamptonshire