A man told how he hired a private detective to track down a bathroom fitter who disappeared with more than £3,000.
Paul Howson, 36, said he paid the tradesman to do a "two week job" on his bathroom that is still incomplete eight months later. The 36-year-old moved back in with his parents on the Wirral to save enough money to buy his first home.
After starting to get "fed up" with the search, he took the plunge and purchased his Mossley Hill property in spring 2021. The sale didn't complete until August of that year.
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Paul said: "The other issue was finding workmen. Post-covid people were either moving or renovating and I was getting people either not turning up or not replying."
On their first meeting, Paul initially "really liked" the bathroom fitter, who came recommended by his sister's friend: "I had a really good feeling - he was an ordinary guy, polite and patient."
In May 2022, Paul was told the work would only take two weeks. He added: "I remember me and my mum looking at each other with big smiles and thinking I'll have a bathroom before summer and can finally move in."
Paul told the ECHO "the excuses started" after he handed over thousands of pounds for materials and labour, paying £3,190 in instalments. He last saw the fitter at his house "at the end of May or beginning of June" and realised there had been no progress when he returned to the property in August.
"It's hard for me to take time off," Paul said. "It's a 40 minute drive with no traffic and I have a stressful job so I hadn't really been going to the house."
Tiles that had been laid had fallen off the wall and smashed, denting the brand new shower tray that had been fitted. Paul said: "You could literally pull the tiles off the wall with minimal force."
After Paul raised concerns, the bathroom fitter gave a September completion date, which was then moved back to October. Communication eventually broke down in November.
The situation has had wider repercussions; Paul hoped to lock in at a lower rate of mortgage before prices spiralled in autumn, but due to him having no bathroom he couldn't secure a lender. Many mortgage lenders class a home without the likes of bathrooms or kitchens as 'uninhabitable'.
Elsewhere, he has had to spend hundreds of pounds on a new shower tray and replacement tiles, bringing the total amount spent to £3,521.92.
In an attempt to get his money back, Paul even went as far as hiring a private detective to find the fitter's address after communication halted and has also been in contact with a solicitor.
He has not spent one night in the house he completed on almost 18 months ago. Paul told the ECHO the experience has left him "sick with stress".
He added: "I've just had enough of this. It's supposed to be an exciting and happy time. I'm at the point where I want to sell up.
"Everyone says a good tradesman comes recommended. People had tagged him on social media and his work looked good."
In future, Paul said he would be more cautious. He added: "He's not a member of a professional body. In future I'd get a quote, get it in writing, get a fixed address and preferably a landline number.
"I really had a good feeling about him and thought I had a really good person who cares about their job and reputation."
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