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  "path": "/news/cambridgeshire-pensioners-cowboy-builder-building-site-nightmare",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-25T05:16:23.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "couple have now started a GoFundMe",
    "Mysterious donor gives away £100,000 to save beloved community centre - 'This is a game changer'",
    "'Britain's worst neighbour' is banned from every house in town except her own",
    "National Trust refuses to compensate family after tree damages 500-year old cottage",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\nTwo pensioners have been conned out of their life savings by a cowboy builder who left the couple living in a cold, damaged home.\n\nVeteran Tony Wade, 82, and his wife Sue, 77, decided to move to quiet Cambridgeshire to enjoy their retirement in 2022.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThey planned on transforming their new home by converting their garage to a liveable space, kitted out with a new kitchen, dining room and shower space.\n\nHowever, the pair were swindled out of £65,000 by a construction company found through Checkatrade.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\nThey hired BSW Construction Projects, a company they deemed to be reputable after planning permission was granted for a new garage, conservatory and redesign of the layout.\n\nMrs Wade told the Daily Mail the couple were attracted to the idea of a speedy renovation, with builders telling them in October 2022 the job would be finished by that Christmas.\n\nThe couple said they paid £37,000 upfront before realising the builders seemingly did not have the skills to see out the job.\n\nMr Wade said he told builders three times the driveway appeared not to be level.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\"The last time they came, I asked one of the men: 'Have you got a spirit level?' and he said: 'No.' But when I gave him my spirit level, he still put it the wrong way around,\" the veteran said.\n\n\"It's been very stressful. We feel devastated.\"\n\nThe couple said builders repeatedly failed to show up and left work half-done.\n\nThroughout December 2022 and 2023 there were repeated payment requests and unstable communication, the couple said.\n\nThe couple handed over £45,000 directly to the builders, and paid out a further £20,000 for them to continue their work.\n\nWork on the property was halted in November 2023 - and the couple have now started a GoFundMe to complete the shoddy work.\n\n### LATEST FROM THE EAST OF ENGLAND:\n\n\n\n\n  * Mysterious donor gives away £100,000 to save beloved community centre - 'This is a game changer'\n  * 'Britain's worst neighbour' is banned from every house in town except her own\n  * National Trust refuses to compensate family after tree damages 500-year old cottage\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe pensioners attempted to contact the cowboy builder multiple times, even protesting on his doorstep, but their attempts were unsuccessful.\n\nTheir property has 35 defects left over as a result of the abandoned work, including a shoddy garage, half torn-down conservatory, and numerous problems within the house, the couple said.\n\nTwo winters were spent without heating in certain areas of the house, the Wades added.\n\nMrs Wade said: \"We wouldn't see a builder for three or four weeks. So nothing was getting done.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nShe added that their garage is leaky and damp due to the failings of the builders, and after the garage flooded they received no support to repair it.\n\nBoth Mr and Mrs Wade had been left unable to sleep over safety concerns, with Mr Wade now taking stress medication as a result of the multi-year ordeal.\n\nWhen work started, the builder said he had a separate banks account to keep their money safe. But he later admitted their savings had been shifted to a different job.\n\nThe couple contacted Checkatrade to complain about the builder, but said they had to phone about \"six or seven times before getting anywhere\".\n\nCheckatrade did eventually send someone to write a report on the incomplete work in February 2024, and Mrs Wade said the representative told the couple \"he had never seen such a bad lot of work done in his life\".\n\nThe tradesman-finding website offered £1,000 in compensation, but the couple has said a survey determined it would cost in excess of £30,000 to completely finish the planned renovations.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nA Checkatrade spokesman said: \"We take the experience of Mr and Mrs Wade extremely seriously and recognise the distress this situation caused.\n\n\"It marks a failure in the delivery of work by BSW Construction Projects Ltd, who were removed from our platform over two years ago.\n\n\"We accept that the handling of the Wades' claim could have been dealt with more quickly. At the time, we understood they were still in discussions with the trade to resolve the issue directly and were awaiting further evidence before escalating the case to an independent surveyor. Since then, we have bolstered our industry-leading vetting, monitoring and complaints processes, and cases like this would now be escalated automatically.\n\n\"Our best-in-class guarantee exists to protect homeowners on the rare occasions work goes wrong, and we remain committed to maintaining the highest standards of trust and safety for everyone who uses Checkatrade.\"\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter**",
  "title": "Cowboy builder conned pensioners out of life savings and left them living on building site in three-year nightmare"
}