We spent £13,000 on a dream extension but cowboy builder left it a roofless wreck

A COUPLE spent £13,000 on a dream extension to their home – but cowboy builders left the addition a “roofless wreck”.

Kylie Thomas, 34, and husband David, 39, hired Mark Jones, 52, to build a new room at the rear of their house last year.

A couple paid £13,000 for an extension to their home in Stafford – but builders abandoned the work before it was completed Credit: SWNS

Kylie and David Thomas, pictured with son George, have been left with a half-finished wreck in their back garden Credit: SWNS

The single-storey addition to the property near Stafford – which was priced at £15,000 – was supposed to take a fortnight.

But months later, the work is still not finished. Shocking pictures show half-built brick walls abandoned in the garden.

A packed green skip overflowing with debris and buckets has been left outside the front of the property.

Kylie and David, who have two children, said Mark asked for money upfront but then went off the radar.

And the pair claim that, since the ordeal, they have been told that he wasn't qualified to do the promised work.

Nurse Kylie said: “This was a horrendous experience. It sapped our time, money, and energy and left us feeling stupid and upset.

'ROOFLESS WRECK'

“We both work very hard – we worked all through the pandemic. He's taken our money and ruined our garden, and left us with a wreck.

“When he asked for money I paid it, because it was getting colder and darker and I was worried the work wouldn't get finished if I didn't.

“We knew building materials were running low in the country, so we were really understanding about it.”

Kylie and David hired Mark, the managing director of Chase Home Solutions, to build onto the sitting room of their 1960s townhouse last year.

They say he first visited the family home at the end of July and quoted them £15,000.

That cost would cover a three-by-three metre squared pitched roof extension and the replacement of windows in two upstairs rooms, it was said.

NURSE'S DESPAIR

The couple were told the work would take just a fortnight, with builders set to begin on September 6.

Mark asked for £7,500 upfront, with £3,000 paid when the extension reached the height of the roof, £3,000 more than the roof went on, and £1,500 when the building had electricity.

Kylie made two payments in August – but the builders failed to arrive for work on the first day. Eventually, a bricklayer arrived, but said the extension hadn't been measured correctly and would need to be bigger.

Mark said he needed another £2,000 for the work, which was paid.

But Kylie claims workers only turned up for around four hours a day.

She paid another £2,000 – but builders stopped turning up altogether. When the couple asked for their money back, they claim Mark turned off his phone.

They haven't spoken to him since.

It's been horrendous. It sapped our time, money, and energy and left us feeling stupid and upset

“This has been incredibly stressful. It's such a mess, and we don't have loads of money,” Kylie said.

“People need to be aware that there are cowboys like him out there. There's no way we could have known – he seemed so professional.

“I wouldn't pay all that money upfront again. Every business should have enough in the account to buy materials.”

When confronted with Kylie's claims, Mark said: “During the pandemic I put £25,000 of my own money into starting a building business.

“I sub-contracted the work and paid them in advance. One build failed an inspection and another was completely incorrect.

“It snowballed on social media very quickly. Kylie was one of my customers and I apologised to her mother and offered to put her work right, but they wouldn't let me.

“I lost all the contracts and have been left with £45,000 debt and my company is not viable.

“I really feel for Kylie. The builders have let everyone down. Both have changed their phone numbers and one has closed down his business.”

The couple, who say the 'horrendous' experience has left them feeling exhausted, stand in front of a skip dumped at the front of their home Credit: SWNS