A COWBOY builder allegedly ruined a couple’s dream home and forced them to move into a caravan leaving them £98,000 out of pocket.
Debs Molwuka, 62, and her retired husband say what was meant to be a dream renovation of their three-bedroom flat in Bingley, , turned into a nightmare.
A couple say a cowboy builder has ruined their home and left them nearly £100k out of pocketCredit: Supplied
They planned for a complete renovation of their three-bedroom flatCredit: Supplied
Debs Molwuka, 62, says her and her husband have lost their life savingsCredit: Supplied
Debs, a instructor and yoga teacher, moved into the flat with her husband of 32 years in 2022.
The couple, who say they are both neurodivergent, had set aside their life savings to completely refurbish and renovate the last summer.
With a planned completion date of September 1, they entrusted a to carry out the works while they visited family in , saying they paid a £25,000 deposit up front.
But upon their return, they claim they discovered their home had been left incomplete and uninhabitable and were forced to take shelter in a caravan in the Moors for the in damp conditions.
It’s claimed that £43,000 worth of fixtures, fittings and furniture were never delivered, no heating was installed, plumbing and electrics were left unsafe and debris and dust littered their home.
The ordeal has not only left them out-of-pocket but facing battles too after Debs said the stress left her with a chest infection and kidney failure as a result.
In November, she says they terminated their contract with the builder and spent a further £11,000 to ensure their property was safe before moving back in at the turn of the year.
Debs said: “The emotional toll has been horrific. I’ve never had a worst time in my life. I think we felt very vulnerable and scared.”
The Sun reached out to the builder in question who said the allegations are “either inaccurate, misleading or omit important context”.
‘THE WORK IS TERRIBLE’
The couple’s dream was to completely renovate their for the long-term after purchasing the property in a state of poor repair.
They say they embarked on a plan to ensure everything was modernised, up-to-date and future-proofed.
“We were thinking we wanted to leave a legacy in this beautiful building that we’re in. When we’ve passed away, straight away it’s a useful flat that’s updated,” Debs said.
The couple said they had planned for a one-off renovation that would be managed start to finish by a single contractor.
She said: “We bought it in a terrible state and the plan was to interview people who could do the refurb where we would not have to be chasing individual electricians, plumbers and the like.
“We were very nervous – we wanted it done in a one-off, a one-person project managing it. That’s what we’re looking for, a project manager. We did not want to do the job ourselves.”
They say they added a few tiles in the bathroom and left them with no sinkCredit: Supplied
While the traders are also said to have botched a kitchen installationCredit: Supplied
But as of today, they say £43,000 worth of fixtures, fittings and equipment that were paid for have yet to materialise.
They claim live electrical wires were left exposed, no heating was installed, plumbing was left unsafe, debris everywhere and their plans in tatters.
“What he’s done is basically spoil the place. We’ve got to have it totally done from scratch. Everything’s been taken up. A lot of the stuff they did put in is all damaged,” she said.
“The work is terrible, very substandard. Basically we’ve lost all that money and we’ve got a worse place at the end of it.”
When put to the builder he said this was “incorrect” and that all work complied with building regulations carried out by “trained and appropriately qualified” professionals subject to inspection.
He added that the claim of misappropriated funds “does not align with reality” and is “entirely false and deeply distressing” arguing many fixtures were delivered and installed.
‘HE WAS LIKE TONY SOPRANO’
Debs and her husband had settled on hiring the builder after finding him online with glowing reviews.
“He seemed very mature, very authoritative. He was hugely charming, a good ideas man,” Debs said.
Work commenced on July 15 last year with a planned completion date of September 1.
It was understood that Debs and her husband would then take the caravan down to Devon for the duration of the building and interior works.
The pair set off on July 26 under the impression that they could move back in at the beginning of September – it was a decision they said they later regretted.
From the start, Debs says the money was requested early and frequently.
She said: “We paid a £25,000 deposit and then he was pushing we pay five grand here and one grand there, very quickly. So it was being front loaded from the beginning.”
But the builder hit back saying it was a turnkey refurbishment requiring “extensive planning and significant upfront commitments” and that payments reflected “genuine project requirements rather than improper intent”.
The couple also had regular video calls with the contractors and became concerned at how much demolition work had taken place, something the builder appreciated but argued was required for the project.
They said they also received frantic calls from neighbours complaining about the works and the mess the builder and his team were making.
“They were so disrespectful to our neighbours’ property. But we couldn’t be on site because it was literally a pile of rubble,” Debs said.
Debs and her husband were shocked at the extent of the demolition when they were initially sent videosCredit: Supplied
They said the builders created a mess prompting complaints from neighbours during the projectCredit: Supplied
They also allegedly broke the apartment block’s lift and a downstairs flatCredit: Supplied
“But he kept saying ‘everyone says this. There’s always a mess and all the neighbours complain.'”
“He did £1,500 worth of damage to our neighbour downstairs because the plumbing is abysmal.”
Debs also alleges they broke the apartment block’s lift too which her husband paid £600 for.
“He went round with men who couldn’t speak English and couldn’t communicate with us. He was the interpreter, he was like Tony Soprano.
“He set up a big desk in his property and just sat there on the phone all day, smoking and commanding his little minions.”
The builder denied these accusations and said he was in contact with Debs with regards to the lift and plumbing issues.
He added that Debs and her husband’s choice to compensate their neighbour £1,500 was both “unreasonable and inappropriate” and played down the extent of the damage, saying he was prepared to repair it.
The builder also defended his workers saying they were properly qualified and said his role as a business owner required frequent calls, adding it “does not reflect incompetence, it reflects active management”.
‘I GOT KIDNEY FAILURE FROM THE STRESS OF IT ALL’
Upon their return on September 1, Debs and her husband already knew they weren’t going to be able to move in – Debs said they arrived home to discover the work was “not even half-done”.
As a result, Debs and her husband were forced to live on a nearby caravan site in damp and cold conditions – something they would have to do until the end of the year.
Debs says it had a severe impact on their health and that her doctor was “really concerned” over her well-being.
Debs said neighbours told them a skip was put in an emergency bayCredit: Supplied
The builder has disputed Debs version of eventsCredit: Supplied
Despite repeated assurances the project was nearly finished, the work did not improve.
“We came every day and became much more of a presence. And then we’d have a meeting and he would sort of convince us that it was all our fault. We were just being too intolerant everyone goes through this stage at the end of a project.
“We were asking ourselves ‘are we going mad?’ It was looking like this and he was saying, any minute now, we’re about to complete. If you give us the rest of the money.”
But the builder disputes these version of events and claimed the project was “genuinely approaching completion” with his teams booked in to finish the remaining works.
He said any delays were “not unexplained or concealed” and were due to “significant and unforeseen issues” that had a knock-on effect.
‘IT’S LIKE HE TOOK OVER’
By October, family and friends were warning them both that something wasn’t right with even the bank allegedly telling them to stop paying money.
Debs and her husband had paid a huge sum for fixtures and fittings to be installed throughout the property which had still not materialised.
She said: “He took £43,000 for fixtures and fittings, we have not see anything. A few tiles in the bathroom, that’s it. He’s basically stolen that from us.
“He hasn’t given us the goods. We’ve asked, since October because we didn’t even know that he’s bought anything. There was no evidence because all we had was a bare shell and a few tiles on the wall.”
Debs said they discovered a trail of things that weren’t paid for and that the builder didn’t follow the specifications of the contract.
“He just didn’t listen to the brief at all. We’ve got spotlights in the lounge, which we didn’t want. Because of our neurodivergence, the bright lights are awful for us.
“We’ve ended up in a home that’s totally what he wanted. It’s like he took over.
“He kind of lived there really, while we were seeing our relatives in the South and just took over and did what he wanted to it.
“He was just so arrogant. He was totally disrespectful of us and the property around us.”
“We spoke to the bank who said stop paying him, you’ve been diddled. The bank lady said you are quite vulnerable. You don’t understand but you are being scammed, stop paying now.”
When the couple tried to introduce a payment schedule tied to the project’s progress, Debs says the builder refused to cooperate.
Fearing they had been scammed, she said a surveyor later inspected the property to check the quality of the work.
“He came in and said this is much worse than you know. This will all have to come up. This is wrong. That boiler’s wrong. That pipe work is wrong,” she said.
Debs said the builder didn’t listen to the brief at all’Credit: Supplied
The worktops were allegedly installed too low for Debs to reachCredit: Supplied
“There were live wires hanging out of the walls everywhere.”
After the surveyor’s inspection, the couple decided they had no choice but to sack the builder.
They terminated the contract on November 10, more than ten weeks after the agreed finish date.
“We were so relieved we got rid of him when we did,” she said.
But by that point, Debs said they had paid 92% of the agreed price despite the work being incomplete and their home left looking like a building site.
These allegations are strongly disputed by the builder who said progress was only halted “following the client’s refusal to continue with agreed payments” which made it “impossible to proceed in a normal manner”.
He said all design changes were discussed with the company’s interior designer and argued if there had been “genuine concerns about unauthorised work or costs, these should have been raised during installation”.
AFTERMATH
Having sacked the builder and paid £11,000 to make the flat habitable, Debs and her husband moved back in on December 30.
Since then, they say they’ve been been sleeping on a mattress on the floor while they wait for another contractor to give them a quote.
“We’ve got mattresses on the floor, no sink to wash our hands in the bathroom. We’re just living in this weird building site,” she said.
“So, it’s just outrageous we’ve lost so much money. We only look at only buying stuff that’s got a yellow sticker on, put it that way.”
The builder has disputed all the allegations and branded them a “public smear campaign” representing an “unreasonable attempt by the client” to tarnish his company’s reputation.
He added: “As a result of this campaign, my company has been subjected to extremely threatening and insulting messages on social media, including communications from individuals claiming to be friends or family of the client.”
Debs and her husband eventually terminated the works with the contractorCredit: Supplied
They say everything will need to be re-doneCredit: Supplied 
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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