The ECHO has spoken to more Liverpool families who claim to have been left tens of thousands of pounds out of pocket by the same builder.
Last month, the ECHO published the claims of three Merseyside families who hired APL Property Services Ltd to carry out works at their homes between 2021 and 2022. Collectively, they estimate they have lost more than £45,000.
Two more families have now come forward, claiming to have gone through a similar experience with the builder in 2019.
Andy, from north Liverpool, bought his first home with his partner four years ago and got in contact with APL Property Services to fit their kitchen after picking up a brochure.
READ MORE: Families claim builder has left them 'tens of thousands of pounds out of pocket'
APL Property Services is no longer in operation. However, on Companies House, the same builder is named as a director of dissolved business Liverpool Kitchen Suppliers Ltd, and the sole director of M&A Property Specialists, which was incorporated in January 2022 and is still listed as 'active'.
Andy told the ECHO there were initially "no concerns" about the tradesman. He said: "We went in with a budget and had a look at a few designs so we ended up stretching that a little bit. He offered to do a cash price to make it a bit cheaper and broke the payments down. We paid the first instalment, he came round and did a few bits, then messaged to say the kitchen had arrived so he'd need the second payment."
As the summer progressed, Andy said the builder "wouldn't turn up" and then took a longer than expected holiday. He added: "We'd had to take a loan out to pay for the kitchen and our fixed-term mortgage was up. We were on a variable rate so we planned to get the kitchen in, get the house revalued and take equity out. The bank wouldn't renew with no kitchen so we were stuck paying the loan off."
Andy said the builder eventually admitted he had not purchased the kitchen. He added: "He basically said he had no money to finish the job and was on the verge of bankruptcy."
Andy claims he paid APL "about £12,500" in total but said the work carried out was "worth about £4,000". He did not take things further due to costs: "When I spoke to a solicitor they wanted £500 just to look into it, but our credit card was maxed out. We moved in on New Year's Eve in 2019 and not long after we were in lockdown."
Another former customer, who did not wish to be named, claims their family had to take out further loans to pay for a kitchen from another supplier after hiring APL in 2019. They added: "Prior to our relationship ending I asked him several times where our kitchen was, but he couldn't give me a straight answer. The feeling I get now is just anger."
The customer claims they handed over a total of £16,906.16 to APL and the job was left "40% to 45% complete". They attempted to recoup £10,000 via solicitors but eventually made the decision to "cut their losses".
They added: "We could have taken him to court, but the fees were £6,000 and we'd paid solicitors £4,000. There was no confirmation we'd get any money back and we weren't in the financial position to pay for it. We had to take out another £10,000 loan to buy another kitchen from another provider. We ended up in £30,000 worth of debt."
The latest accounts come after Jon and Cath Maher from Formby approached the ECHO in February to share their experience after hiring APL Property Services in March 2021. After handing over a £12,000 deposit, the relationship between the couple and APL broke down.
Jon and Cath were eventually awarded a County Court Judgement (CCJ) against APL Property Services for £12,740.70, which was made by default as the builder did not turn up in court. No payment has yet been made.
Two more families from Liverpool made contact with the Formby couple after seeing a review that Jon had posted online. One told the ECHO they were left out of pocket by "upwards of £20,000" and pursued APL via a solicitor, but received no response.
They said they reported the issue to Merseyside Police via action fraud. It was reviewed by the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB), but was not taken any further because they could not "identify a line of enquiry which a law enforcement organisation in the United Kingdom could pursue".
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