A ROGUE builder is being investigated after dozens of families claimed he conned them out of thousands of pounds for botched home extensions.
More than 20 horrified homeowners said they have been left in the lurch by Andrew Nathan Perry, 39, who "ghosted them" after raking in ￡100,000 for unfinished work.
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Homeowners claim the alleged cowboy has left their properties and their finances a mess Credit: SWNS 4
Andrew Nathan Perry allegedly conned customers out of ￡100,000 for botched building work Credit: SWNS
Residents complained that their properties have been left strewn with rubble while their finances are in tatters - as Perry whined that he had run into "difficulties".
Sarfraz Tabussom, 47, who is representing the furious clan of clients, said he stumped up ￡15,000 for a job on one of his homes before the accused cowboy began giving him the run-around.
The dad-of-three explained: "He said he would come back with a digger to dig the foundation.
"He kept saying he would come the next day, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday, but it never happened for two months.
"I can't stand it. He told me he'd finish the job in four to six weeks and it has been two months and nothing has been done."
The nurse hired Perry through Bookabuilder.com to extend two rooms on the back of a house he was renting out in Worcester - but the trader convinced Sarfraz to deal with him directly, rather than via the website.
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Sarfraz sent Perry ￡7,000 before he began work on the house on June 1 - but after demolishing part of the back of the property, he says the builder vanished.
"He asked me to send another payment of ￡4,000 for extra staffing costs.
"He did finally return to fully demolish the rear side of the property but then requested a further ￡4,220 to fix guttering," Sarfraz continued.
"I transferred the money but the job was never started. As soon as he had the money he said one of his family members died and disappeared for two weeks.
"He got the money from me with tricks and I believed him. He started work in June and hasn't done anything since.
"Because of all the rubbish there, I had to pay another builder to remove it.
"He is not answering now - the company address is wrong and all the letters are returned to me."
Other homeowners claim they paid Perry, who is the registered director at IBUILD Contractors Ltd, tens of thousands before he disappeared.
"SCAM ARTIST"
Worcestershire Trading Standards has confirmed it is investigating Perry for alleged "criminal offending".
The TrustPilot review page for Perry's business is also plagued by comments dubbing him a "scam artist" while warning others not to use his services.
Sarah Phipps, 50, said she and her disabled husband Martin, 54, from Solihull, West Midlands, have lost their life savings to Perry.
They were forced to pay for repairs with a ￡45,000 bank loan after paying him a ￡17,000 deposit for renovations and extensions in April this year.
Children's services worker Sarah said: "Andy Perry has taken over ￡30,000 from us and caused us immense financial harm and upset.
"We were paying him ￡5,000 a week and he claimed he needed more to pay wages.
"His workers would swear offensively, smoke, break things and to make things worse, their work was really, really poor quality.
"We ended up with the roof hanging off without the budget to pay for it. We had to pay a roofer ￡10,000 to put the roof back on.
"We paid for materials that didn't turn up and wouldn't pay subcontractors that would turn up at our door asking for payment."
EXCUSES
Sarah said he continuously duped them with excuses that his grandad had died and that his girlfriend was pregnant.
"We kind of fell for it because he had seemed plausible and checked out online initially.
"The work that they had done and I use that word loosely, it was really bad. Everything he says is a lie."
The mother-of-five said she is in contact with 22 other victims on a WhatsApp group and has been left "staggered" by the chaos the alleged cowboy has caused.
"An elderly lady who lives on her own said she's been on the verge of suicide because she's handed over so much money," Sarah explained.
"He causes so much pain and seems to have no moral compass at all.
"As soon as he has the money, he buggers off and you can't find him, he vanishes."
An elderly lady who lives on her own said she's been on the verge of suicide because she's handed over so much money.
Sarah Phipps
Another fed-up customer, Benjamin Chan said he lost contact with Perry a month after he was due to begin work on his home in May, after forking out "several thousand pounds".
"The most shameful point is Andy took advantage of us being new to the UK," he said.
But Perry claims he has contacted his customers and intends to pay them all back after suffering "a lot of sleepless nights".
"I started the company in January and since then I've experienced a lot of difficulties.
"But I don't want the company to go under and if I liquidate nobody will get their money back. I plan to finish off four of my current jobs and make a pot to pay people back."
The 39-year-old said the idea he was ignoring his customers was "ludicrous".
A spokesman from Worcestershire Trading Standards said: "We can confirm we've been made aware of the actions of this trader and we will be investigating any allegations that suggest criminal offending."
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Furious Sarfraz Tabussom says Perry needs to be brought to justice Credit: SWNS 4
Residents have had to fork out for repairs on top of the cost of the unfinished work Credit: SWNS