A retired couple who expected their home to take three weeks to renovate ended up paying almost £40,000 more than planned, with their house still unfinished two years later.
Malcolm Carter, 72, a retired firefighter from Hythe, Southampton, says the saga has completely drained his pension and he is still paying for the restoration two years later, after selling his car and releasing the equity in his home.
After Malcolm and his 71-year-old wife Terri rated Nationwide Construction Specialists Ltd as ‘highly recommended’ on reviews website Checkatrade, they paid the construction company £23,891 to renovate their four-bedroom detached house in the countryside in September 2022.
They booked a holiday in Guernsey after being told the property would be uninhabitable during construction. When they got home, Malcolm described the house as a “complete dump with tools everywhere”, so they spent another three weeks in nearby hotels.
Malcolm said that little progress was made during that time and because he was convinced the project would never be finished, he eventually asked the builders to leave.
A spokesperson for the company said they “completely disagree” with Malcolm, claiming the job had been “completed and approved” and that the only reason “it went wrong” was because there was an unpaid electrician bill.
A survey carried out by loss adjusters Crawford & Company on 21 January 2023 found that “the work carried out on the property is unacceptable”, with the cost of completing the build estimated to be in excess of £40,000.
Hampshire County Court ordered the company to repay Malcolm around £8,000 after he filed a claim to recover some of his losses. However, he has still not received a penny.
The work is still being carried out by another construction company and Malcolm says he has spent a total of £61,415 on the renovation, almost £40,000 more than originally planned.
“The money I had came from my firefighters’ pension, but that’s gone now,” Malcolm told PA Real Life.
“It was a logistical nightmare, living out of suitcases and having to hire construction workers again.”
“It was very traumatic.”
“What should have lasted three weeks is still with us and it has taken its toll on our mental health.”
Malcolm contacted Nationwide Construction Specialists Ltd in August 2022 to renovate their home after seeing the company had a “five star” rating on Checkatrade.
He was quoted £24,612.39 for the work, which included fitting a new kitchen, converting part of the garage into a storage room and utility room and converting one of the upstairs bedrooms into an en-suite bathroom.
On 4 September, Malcolm paid a deposit of £6,700 to Nationwide Construction Specialists Ltd and booked a three-week holiday in Guernsey, as their house was uninhabitable during construction.
Over the next few weeks he would make further payments totalling £17,190.
“I now regret leaving the house unattended,” Malcolm added.
He and Terri were enjoying their vacation when work began on September 20. They thought they would come home to a finished house.
A few days before the couple were due to return home, Malcolm asked for a “progress report” and was told that the builders were a week behind schedule.
They therefore decided to extend their trip and stay an extra six nights at the Imperial Hotel in Guernsey, which cost them over £800.
But when they got home on October 15, Malcolm said the house was still “dirty” and there was no water or heat upstairs, so they checked into a local Holiday Inn Express for another two weeks.
After another two weeks, Malcolm said he felt the company would never complete construction and decided to throw in the towel.
He wrote a sharp letter stating that the builders, despite being given ample opportunity, had failed to deliver their services and requested them to vacate the premises.
Malcolm said: “I asked him if I would get any money back, but he just said, ‘No, you owe me money’.”
“Then we had to make the place livable, so we brought in other companies.”
Representatives of Nationwide Construction Specialists Ltd strongly deny the allegations, saying construction was “a few weeks late” due to additional requests, but that the work has since been completed and approved.
A survey conducted by loss adjusters Crawford & Company on 21 January 2023 found the work would cost more than £40,000.
Checkatrade removed the company from its platform following the investigation, saying that cases such as Malcolm’s are extremely rare and are always taken very seriously.
Malcolm contacted a solicitor in Lymington, Citizens Advice and Hampshire County Council Trading Standards before filing a claim for £8,454 against Nationwide Construction Specialists Ltd on 29 March 2023.
The Hampshire County Court ruled in his favor after the company failed to respond, but Malcolm still hasn’t gotten a cent back.
“He completely ignored everything and hasn’t paid a cent to anyone,” he said.
A company representative said they have been advised not to comment on the ruling as the company is currently in the process of closing.
Now, almost two years later, Malcolm is still renovating his home, having hired another construction company to do so.
To pay for the new law, Malcolm had to file for home equity because his firefighters’ pension had been exhausted.
With a home equity mortgage, a homeowner takes out a loan from the bank using his house as collateral. In that case, he must repay a certain amount each month.
“We pay about £470 a month and that’s just the interest. Otherwise, in 10 years the house would be completely theirs (the bank),” Malcolm said.
In February of this year, with his finances running low, he decided to sell his 2012 Mercedes E-Class AMG station wagon to pay for another week’s worth of labor and materials.
At the time of writing, there is still work to be done, including connecting the extractor hood in the kitchen and installing a water pump. The floor and tiles in the bathroom also need to be replaced.
Malcolm said he paid Nationwide Construction Specialists Ltd a total of £23,891 and the renovation ultimately cost him £61,415.
A spokesman for Nationwide Construction Specialists Ltd said: “I strongly disagree with Malcolm’s assertion as the job has been completed and approved.”
“Contractors did their utmost for him and the only reason it ultimately went wrong was because he had thousands of euros worth of electrical work done by an electrician who knew it was extra work and was not included in the quote.”
“Yes, it was a few weeks late, but that was only because he kept giving us more work and changing things several times.