A heartbroken widow claims that a ‘cowboy builder’ has left a gaping hole in her garden after he abandoned building her extension.
Shelley Weeks, 43, hoped that a rear extension to her three bedroom house would give her and her son Olly, 8, their forever home after the tragic death of her husband Wayne from Leukaemia in 2013 at the age of only 33.
The Design Manager from Coxheath, Kent, paid £60,000 in total for the high spec rear extension, renovations and landscaping using a lump sum from her late husband’s pension fund and a short term mortgage.
Shelley Weeks and her son Olly, pictured outside their home in Coxheath, Kent, complain they have been left with an eyesore at their rear of the house after being let down by builder Christoper Hope
Before work on the extension began, this is what Mrs Weeks’ back garden looked like
However, now she has been left with a dangerous area where the building work stalled
When the work began in March 2018, Hook told Mrs Weeks it would take around 12 weeks
Mrs Weeks claims to have handed over £30,000 upfront as a deposit and signed a contract with builder Christopher Hook back in March 2018 and alleges she was told the project would take 10 to 12 weeks to complete.
But almost 18 months on, Mrs Weeks claims that she has been left with a five by three-and-a-half metre hole in her garden after work on the project ground to a halt in August 2018.
In a battle for justice, Mrs Weeks secured a county court judgment and charging order for £72,391.18 on the builder’s house meaning she will get her money back if he sells his home.
She said: ‘I know it’s cliche to say but it’s been a nightmare. I still can’t believe this has actually happened.
‘It’s been so embarrassing for me. My trust has been completely broken. I thought Christopher was an honest, decent guy who had my best interests at heart but I was a complete fool.
‘It’s really affected my confidence and my ability to make important decisions or trust people that I don’t know.’
Wanting to give her young son Olly and herself some much needed extra space, Mrs Weeks decided to extend the rear of the house to create a dining room and to remodel the downstairs layout and garden patio.
Mrs Weeks’ husband Wayne, pictured with their son Olly, died in 2013 of Leukaemia
Mrs Weeks, pictured with her husband Wayne, left, and their son Olly has described the ongoing situation as a ‘nightmare’
Mrs Weeks received several quotes from a number of builders before settling on Mr Hook
She received quotes from a number of builders but eventually settled on Christopher Hook.
Mrs Weeks said: ‘He came with a personal recommendation, and we also had several friends in common. His body of work impressed me and he seemed to understand the simple, contemporary style that I wanted to achieve.
‘He really listened to me and spent a lot of time discussing the finer details with me.
‘I felt like I could trust him, he spoke about his own hatred of “cowboy builders” and how they have ruined the reputation of a once respected industry.’
Mrs Weeks claims that she paid Mr Hook £30,000 upfront and that she would pay the remainder over the rest of the build.
She said: ‘My first mistake was to pay such a large deposit – I really don’t know what I was thinking at the time.
She said she felt secure paying over a large deposit as she had in a possession a written contract which would offer her some protection
‘I felt secure that we had a written contract, and was excited to get the work underway. Most of the other builders that had quoted requested deposits, so it didn’t ring any alarm bells for me at the time.
‘I just wish I had stopped to think properly and discuss it with someone else. I don’t consider myself a stupid person, but I really cannot understand how I thought this was a good idea. ‘
Work began in March 2018 but Mrs Weeks claims it never really picked up momentum.
The builder allegedly blamed the delays on hold ups with suppliers, personal issues and a lack of staff.
Mrs Weeks said: ‘To start with everything was fine.
‘Then as things slowed Christopher started pressuring me for money to speed the job up. When delays kept happening there would always be an excuse.
‘I find it very hard to deal with confrontation, but knew I had to step out of my comfort zone to confront him.’
Mrs Weeks said that the experience has devastated her.
She said: ‘I’ve not been as present as I should have been for Olly. I’ve been very distracted by it all.
‘Over the past year I have put my trust in the legal system and despite obtaining a charging order I am no closer to getting my money back.
Builder Christopher Hook, pictured, has been ordered to pay Mrs Weeks more than £72,000 when he sells his own home after she secured a charging order against the property
‘I promised Olly back in 2018 that the following year we would go abroad on holiday, as he has never flown before. But, because of all this we haven’t been able to afford to go away.
‘Olly is a very sweet little boy and doesn’t deserve to keep missing out on things. He couldn’t even play in the garden last summer as it was still unsafe.
‘I’m a very positive person and always try to look on the bright side, but I’m left feeling very let down not just by Christopher, but by the law.’
Mrs Weeks added that the government needs to introduce clear regulations to govern the building industry.
She said: ‘I decided to tell my story as a last resort, I wanted to warn people.
‘If every builder worked to a code of practice it would eventually weed out the undesirables from the industry.
‘On the whole people have been very supportive, I’ve heard from others in similar situations. I’ve had some good advice too, and it’s also made me even more determined to gain some kind of justice.
‘Even if one person can learn from my mistakes, then it has been more than worth the embarrassment.’
Christopher Hook has been approached for comment.
Her family are raising money on GoFundMe to help restart the project. 50 per cent of all monies raised will be donated to the the charity Blood Cancer UK.