I am writing to you in support of the horrendous damage done by a building company called Solidium to our family home.

After years of saving and planning we paid for architects’ drawings to add a rear and side extension to our 1930’s detached house. It hadn’t been renovated since the 1980’s so it really needed modernising.

We were cautious about which builders to choose and after reading complimentary reviews, a recommendation from friends and a reasonable estimation from Dan, the owner, we chose Solidium. All emails and documentation seemed very professional and informative. The contractor and his team were friendly, knowledgeable, and amenable.

At first the build went as planned with a large work crew keeping the project on schedule. In fact, we were so impressed we referred the company to close friends in Bromley who also employed Solidium. (Later this project was also left abandoned.)

Gradually, through the winter months of 2023 less workers arrived each week and the work/payment schedule started to get out of kilter. A variety of excuses were made such as bad weather, illness, a production delay for the roof tiles, which were supposed to have been ordered and paid for by the builder and then Dan’s son had apparently been rushed into hospital desperately ill with long Covid. This happened on two occasions and out of respect the couple held back from contacting him. During these times, the builder was unattainable for weeks and now we question if this was a stalling tactic.

Other excuses were made such as flooding to another of their projects doing a basement construction and damaged machinery but during this period one third of the family’s roof remained open to the elements. In fact, for the best part of a year rain damage penetrated the original lounge, two kid’s bedrooms, the study, and the garage.

To compensate for the delays, the builder offered us incentives such as a reduction in costs and he offered to lay the kitchen floor tiles for free. Dan repeatedly told us to trust him and reassured them the build could speed up now with better weather ahead. He instructed us to order and pay for their fitted kitchen even though two walls still hadn’t been removed to expand the kitchen/diner area. The builder must have known he was going to abandon the project but cruelly insisted the kitchen must be ready for installation.

Public holidays such as Christmas and Easter were extended and by early April only one or sometimes two workers would arrive for work. It felt like a ‘Catch 22’ situation, if payment were withheld then the project would stop completely.

During this period , I collapsed in John Lewis’s at Horsham and was told I was sick with a serious E. coli infection which was virtually sepsis. Although I continued working from home, I needed seven courses of the strongest antibiotics over six months (January - June 2024) to eradicate the illness. I felt dreadful at this time and had not been able to concentrate on what the builders were doing.

By early May I checked the gov. website Company House to see how Solidium were doing, and I remember my dismay to find that the firm had gone into liquidation in December 2023, but the company had not informed us. All the builders’ promises were nothing but lies and deceitful tactics for predatory gain. We had paid our total savings of £165,000 to the contractor and only 50% of the project had been finished. Unfortunately, there is no legal recourse as Dan was always too busy to sign the contract, he would do it next time. On top of this, Dan had created a new company in November 2023, before the liquidation of Solidium, called Dan’s Team Projects Ltd which is still trading today.

The site was left in a dangerous and uncertain state with no guards on scaffolding, unattached ladders, abandoned machinery, huge piles of broken tiles, glass, and rubble in the back and front gardens. There was no thought of the children’s safety who were aged three and five at the time.

Neither the scaffolder, nor the skip hire company and the suppliers for storing the new kitchen have been paid by the builder, as promised. Also, Dan had failed to get key stages of the build certified by the council planning department and now certain structural issues have emerged.

Today, not one room of the build has been finished. No new plumbing and electrics connected, four walls to be knocked out still, a ten-foot-wide hole in the family room two feet deep into bare earth and floors of rubble.

With support from my parents they paid for the roof tiles and helped us climb and install them on the roof. Yet this is not finished, and in a downpour, rain leaks badly into the new and existing parts of the house.

In his last contact, Dan the builder tried to justify his failure by saying he was not their enemy, and the project had taken a huge mental and financial toll on him. We wonder if he has any idea what devastation and trauma, he has inflicted on us with all our hopes and dreams shattered, our hard-earned money gone. Now, and for the past 2 years we have lived on a building site with stacked boxes, tools, materials, chipboard, and rubble in rooms. Please study the photos carefully.

I'm not a person to freely ask for charity or help. However, without your help I feel we will be living in these depressing circumstances for years to come.

Thank you for reading this and any donation would be gratefully received.