Wishaw residents have been left in the dark as to whether work to their homes will ever be completed.
Three neighbours in Netherton Road claim they have wasted £15,000 between them due to the unfinished work, which was started back on June 24.
One resident, Tommy Wilson, told Lanarkshire Live : “This has been the worst experience of my life - the amount of stress has been unbelievable.
“I haven’t seen or heard from any of the workers over the last few months.
“I have been left with scaffolding on the outside of my house and the front and back door is just a complete mess.
“You don’t believe that people would be able to do something like this.
“I sold my car because I got a works van so I wanted to put some money into my house.
“I had my back garden done at a cost of £9,000 and got new windows costing £5,000 so I wanted the outside of my house done and they’ve butchered it.”
Tommy had organised for another builder to view his property while he spoke to the Wishaw Press.
The builder told us: “It’s a complete mess, it’s going to cost more now to fix it, we would have to strip the roughcast off and start again.”
Tommy’s neighbour, Susan Matthewman, also had work started but not completed.
She added: “The whole place is a mess and I don’t want other people having to go through this situation.
“We should never have given them a deposit which was £1,000. I gave them a second payment on July 7 and they haven’t been back since except two weeks later to ask for their ladders back.
“Anytime you call the number there is no answer.”
The work was carried out by a team claiming to be from Forsyth Roofing and Roughcasting Ltd, whose registered office address was Main Street, Wishaw.
However, details from Companies House reveal that company was dissolved in August 2021.
A Google search lists the company’s address as Stanhope Place. But when Lanarkshire Live made efforts to contact the firm there was no answer.
Trading Standards and the police are now investigating the claims made and are meeting with residents this week.
A Trading Standards spokesman told us : “If you are planning to have work done to your home, ask for recommendations from family or friends. If this isn’t possible, shop around for a number of quotes and ask for examples of similar work the company has done recently.
“Make sure you get contact details for their customers and check if they were happy with the work done; don’t rely on written recommendations.
"Be wary if the company only provides a mobile number; always get full contact details and check the business does exist at the address.
“You should not feel pressurised into agreeing to immediate work. Do not pay cash up front or offer to go and get money and never agree to pay for goods or give money to strangers who arrive at your door.”
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