A mum says her family have been forced to rely on food banks after builders allegedly ruined their home - costing them £10k.
Amanda Cardy, 49, and her husband Antony, 59, were financially comfortable when they decided to get an extension for their youngest son's bedroom.
However, they claim they are now thousands of pounds out of pocket after the build wasn't completed properly.
Wiring and piping also went missing from the empty property in Shipston-on-Stour, Warwickshire, they claim.
They've since had the repairs fixed, but Amanda says the horror ordeal has left the family unable to afford groceries after having to then pay to have the problems sorted.
The mum-of-three said: "We've gone from being a normal comfortable family and now next week I have to go and get food from a food bank.
"My children's mental health is ruined, my husband's company has suffered, and I got really ill and depressed.
"It's mental torture. I feel like I can't take it anymore - I've never been in a situation where I can't afford to put food on the table."
The family decided they wanted to add an extension to their home to allow their youngest son to have a bigger bedroom.
They hired a builder in April 2020 who started the works - but then stopped turning up to the site and left the house without doors or windows, it is claimed.
The family had moved into a rental property as they were told the extension would take just 12 weeks.
But they quickly realised they were in for a much longer process.
Hoping for more luck, they hired another builder. But they say they were let down again and say works were never started by the second contractors.
Amanda also alleges that copper wiring and pipes were taken from inside their home.
The couple paid £10k for materials and the work, but say they have been left with no money and say the works were never started by the second contractors.
Despite reporting it to the police, they have been unable to take any action as they believe it to be a civil matter.
A second builder hired by the couple claims the building was left open and without any security, saying anyone who wanted to could have entered the premises.
He also claims his business crashed during the contract, leaving him unable to complete the work he was hired to do, and he believed a mediator was being brought in to help find a solution to the issues.
Amanda now says she owes money to tradespeople they hired to fix the problems.
She continued: "We just wanted a two-metre extension at the back as we wanted our youngest to have a slightly bigger bedroom.
"It was during lockdown and we had to move out, so we found a rental and were told it wouldn't be longer than 12 weeks.
"After the first builder left us with no windows and no back doors, we decided we couldn't keep renting the other house and needed something done to make our house airtight.
"I put an ad up in June 2020 and a builder contacted me and wanted to come over straight away.
"I cried to him about what the first builder did and he told me he had a group of guys and could get it finished in five weeks.
"He said he would do everything at trade price but needed to buy materials – he would call me at night asking where the money was and I sent him £5k for materials.
"He said it would cost £10k in total and I told him that once that had gone, I didn't have any more money.
"When the contractors were due here, they didn't turn up and only rocked up for one or two days.
"We were left with no water and no electricity – they didn't even leave any plumbing. They stole all the copper.
"We're now living in this house and it's not done at all. We owe so much money to different tradespeople."
If you've had work done at home and there’s a problem caused by the trader, you should be able to get it fixed - or get at least some of your money back. For more information, head to citizens advice https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/getting-home-improvements-done/problem-with-home-improvements/
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