Pensioner ‘devastated' after losing his £17,000 retirement savings to ‘cowboy builder'

Independent

a day ago

A pensioner says he has been left unable to 'trust anyone' after being scammed out of £17,000 by a cowboy builder.
Eric Jordan, 70, was cold-called at his home in Kettering, Northamptonshire, in October 2024 by a builder who pointed out a loose ridge tile on his roof and offered to fix it for £3,000.
After seemingly fixing the roof, Eric claims the builder then carried out additional work without permission, damaging the bathroom ceiling and leaving the house in a "right state".
Despite the work being incomplete, Eric claims the builder then demanded £17,000, which Eric paid despite it being most of his retirement savings, forcing him to continue working. The builder soon stopped showing up to complete the work.
A few weeks later, Eric said the builder returned, demanding an extra £10,000 in cash, which Eric refused to pay, and he has not heard from him since.
Eric believes the botched job worsened his health, as he suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and was hospitalised for a week in November 2024 after struggling to breathe, which he attributes to the stress and the builder's failure to use dust sheets.
His partner, Lorna Campbell, 69, who has been out of work since 2016 due to diabetic neuropathy, has also been very 'stressed' and said she hates her life because of 'what they did'.
'I'm just absolutely devastated, I'm lost for words – it's made me and my partner ill,' he said.
'We feel like we can't trust anyone. I was planning on retiring at the end of last year but now all this money has gone for nothing and I have to carry on working so we have enough money to live.'
In October 2024, Eric stepped outside his house and saw a builder knocking on his neighbour's door.
With no answer, the builder instead approached Eric and pointed out a ridge tile on his roof that was poking in the air, allowing water inside, which Eric had not noticed.
Eric agreed for the builder to fix the roof, which ended up costing £3,000 and was completed without any issues.
He said: 'There was definitely a tile sticking out, I just did not notice it until he pointed it out… I think he saw an easy target.'
Then, Eric said the builder suggested additional work.
Eric claims the builder said he noticed a piece of concrete missing on the gulley of his house and that he could 'repoint the walls' by scraping out the mortar from the bricks, and redoing it to look neater.
Eric said that, without asking for permission, the builder proceeded with the work.
'Without saying yes or no, he started doing it, but he's ripping out the original plaster that was in the joints, and started just pushing stuff in it,' Eric explained.
'Basically, it looks like a right mess.
'I've got all one side of a wall that looks like a kid's been around there with Play-Doh and been filling in holes.'
Despite his frustration, Eric asked the builder to fix a hole in the bathroom ceiling.
'He pulled at the hole, and pulled the rest of the ceiling down,' Eric said.
'He disconnected the electrics so the shower can't be used, and it was half painted, and there's dust everywhere – it's in a right state.'
Lorna added: 'It's diabolical, when I go into the bathroom I want to scream…my life has gone from happiness to sadness because of this, I hate my life because of what they did, it's making me feel seriously ill.
'I'm fearful of them coming back or if I report them, what they'd do.
'They left plaster everywhere and there's still so much dust.
'We pulled up the carpet in there because they got plaster all over it.'
Eric claims the builder then began demanding money before finishing the additional work.
Feeling he had no choice, Eric paid a bill of £17,000, which was most of his savings.
However, after receiving the payment, Eric said the builder stopped turning up.
Eric said the builder returned to his door a few weeks later, demanding an extra £10,000 in cash, which Eric refused to pay.
At the time, the builder parked his van outside Eric's home and police walking by asked him to move it, and the builder saw this as a sign to leave, driving off.
Eric said police informed him they had contacted Trading Standards, having received multiple complaints about the builder in the area, and advised Eric to report any further contact.
Eric said he has not heard from the builder since.
He claims to have since discovered that several neighbours were also scammed by the same individual, who cannot be named for legal reasons.
The individual has gone by many different names, closing down one business only to set up another, and Eric said one neighbour told him they understand the individual has even changed his legal name by deed poll.
Eric said: 'He was also very careful to not give us anything with his name on it and he changed his phone number – he never came back to finish the work and we couldn't contact him.'
In November, Eric said he was taken to hospital after he suddenly became unable to breathe – his partner called an ambulance, and he remained in hospital for one week.
Eric has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and believes the stress and dust from the work triggered the episode – the builder did not put any dust sheets down while working.
'It was very scary, I literally could not get a breath,' Eric recalled.
Eric's partner, Lorna, has been 'suffering a lot too' and is 'stressed' because she wants the work repaired and completed, but 'won't trust any builders'.
In the meantime, Eric has set up a fundraising page to cover the costs of future repairs and get back some of the money 'wasted' on the builder who did not complete the work.