Pensioners home ruined by rogue builder

David Hobbs 77 and his wife Teresa of Wroxall,wanted the conservatory to be an extension to their bedroom .

They contacted Martyn Deathridge of Md Building and roofing after he placed an ad in the local parish magazine.

This started back last September payment's were made for materials to be purchased and a handwritten itemised quote for £8500.

Originally when he started the job he was here for four days a week and knocked the wall through. He asked for more money and the couple refused as work was not completed .

He then stopped coming and has left them with a mess. Another local builder was called and the couple were told the work was not fit for purpose and it would have to be taken down and restarted .

Although some money was returned by the builders family as a good will gesture they are thousand of pounds out of pocket and taken all their savings .

They have contacted trading standards and citizens advice but they could not help .

This is impacting on their health and wellbeing ,having no bedroom to sleep and getting little rest it is heartbreaking.

The fundraiser was set up by Teresa Preston a family friend and Son James Hobbs who will collect the funds so has to sort out new builders and materials.

We would be very grateful for any support for this couple thankyou

Hi there, I am posting this on behalf of pensioners David & Teresa, who have been scammed out of thousands of pounds by a rogue builder.

David & Teresa are in their late 70’s and have lost a total of £8,500. They have managed to recover a small amount from family members. However, it will cost far more to put things right, including remedial work to fix the damage done to their bungalow. They now have worries about the structural integrity of their property.

David & Teresa are not the sort of people who would usually reach out and ask for help. They have been sleeping on the floor for the past six months and are very stressed by the situation. They both feel foolish and depressed that they were taken in and deceived by a conman who came up with excuses and demanded more money before leaving the job unfinished. They've lost their faith in society so please help them to restore some of this.

The nightmare began with David responding to an advert listed in the Parish magazine. The quote was the most thorough of three they obtained. Unfortunately, it turned out the builder was fraudulently using a family members address and trade account. Without a valid address, David & Teresa cannot start court action to recover their money.

They have had little to no help from Citizens Advice or Trading Standards.

The work started in October 2023 and was left unfinished. The builder departed, having left a large hole in the side of their property. Having taken their money, the substandard construction work now needs to be ripped down. The work undertaken has been deemed unsalvageable by two independent builders, due to major flaws in the design and construction.