Pensioners' Retirement Dream Turns Into £65,000 Building Nightmare
For retired couple Tony and Sue Wade, moving to tranquil Cambridgeshire was meant to be the peaceful chapter they had long envisioned. Seeking to create their perfect countryside oasis, they embarked on converting their garage into a comfortable living space complete with a new kitchen, dining area, and shower room. What began as a simple home improvement project, however, spiraled into a devastating three-year ordeal that consumed their life savings and left their home in ruins.
A Trusted Platform Leads to Disaster
After securing planning permission for the garage conversion, conservatory addition, and layout redesign, the Wades turned to Checkatrade to find a reputable construction firm. They selected BSW Construction Projects, which promised to complete all building works within just two months. Confident in the company's assurances, the couple paid an upfront sum of £37,000 to commence the project.
Almost immediately, red flags emerged. The builders displayed a startling lack of basic construction knowledge. Tony Wade, 82, recounted to the Daily Mail how he had to repeatedly point out that the driveway was uneven. "I asked one of the men, 'have you got a spirit level?' and he said 'no'," he explained. "When I gave him my spirit level, he still put it the wrong way around."
Mounting Costs and Vanishing Builders
Despite the early warning signs, the Wades continued to trust the builders, who had promised completion by Christmas 2022. They handed over an additional £45,000, with payments eventually totaling £65,000 as the project dragged on. The promised eight-week timeline quickly unraveled as builders repeatedly failed to show up, leaving work half-finished and communication increasingly sporadic.
By December 2022, delays had become constant. Throughout 2023, the couple faced more payment requests amid unstable communication from the construction team. Work finally ceased entirely in November 2023, despite the Wades' desperate attempts to contact the builder—even staging a two-person protest on his doorstep.
A Home Left in Ruins
Three years after beginning their dream renovation, Tony and Sue Wade are left living in a cold, damaged home with 35 documented defects. The garage leaks profusely, the conservatory stands half-demolished, and dozens of problems plague the interior. The couple endured two winters without proper heating in parts of their house.
"The garage leaks and it's damp there because they didn't do it properly," Sue, 77, explained. "When it rained the water came in at the drive doors and just flooded the garage. We got no help from him at all to put it right."
The builder had initially promised their money would be kept in a separate bank account dedicated to the project, but later admitted to diverting the funds to another job.
Checkatrade's Delayed Response
When the Wades approached Checkatrade to complain about BSW Construction Projects, they faced another frustrating battle. The company took nine months to respond to their case, requiring multiple follow-up calls from Tony. "I had to phone them about six or seven times before getting anywhere," he said.
In February 2024, Checkatrade finally sent a representative to assess the property. According to Sue, the inspector stated "he had never seen such a bad lot of work done in his life." Despite this damning assessment, Checkatrade offered the couple just £1,000 in compensation—a minuscule fraction of their £65,000 loss.
Devastating Health Consequences
The prolonged saga has taken a severe toll on the Wades' mental and physical wellbeing. Both struggle with sleep due to safety concerns about their unfinished home, and Tony has been prescribed stress medication. "We were that stressed and upset and worried about it that we had to go to the doctors," Sue revealed. "Tony was put on medication for stress. I couldn't sleep at night."
They now reside in an unsafe environment with a cold, incomplete kitchen, having lost the life savings they had carefully accumulated for their retirement years.
Checkatrade's Response
A Checkatrade spokesperson acknowledged the seriousness of the situation: "We take the experience of Mr and Mrs Wade extremely seriously and recognize the distress this situation caused. It marks a failure in the delivery of work by BSW Construction Projects Ltd, who were removed from our platform over two years ago."
The spokesperson admitted that "the handling of the Wades' claim could have been dealt with more quickly," noting that the company believed the couple were still in direct discussions with the trader at the time. Checkatrade claims to have since "bolstered our industry-leading vetting, monitoring and complaints processes" to prevent similar cases.
Despite these assurances, for Tony and Sue Wade, the damage is done. Their retirement dream has been replaced by a living nightmare in a home that should have been their sanctuary, serving as a cautionary tale about the risks of home renovations gone wrong.
