Lives 'shattered' by scam builder as victims warn others

A couple who were put "through hell" by a rogue builder making false promises about their dream seaside home say his trail of destruction has left them and others "heartbroken".

Michael Anderson, 76, from Porthcawl in south Wales, was jailed for three-and-a-half years after admitting to cheating his six victims out of £260,000.

Among them were Andy and Denise Fitzgerald, whose picturesque retirement on the coast was ruined after both suffered back injuries trying to rectify Anderson's sub-par work.

Another victim, Jessica Reader, lost more than £130,000 to Anderson on her eco-friendly home but said his prison sentence had brought some justice.

A judge said Anderson's actions had "shattered people's lives and their dreams".

Mr and Mrs Fitzgerald were living in Bedford when they enlisted Anderson's help to build their retirement home on the beachfront in Porthcawl in 2019.

Mrs Fitzgerald was keen to move back to Wales, and Anderson even arranged for them to move into short-term rental accommodation nearby, after promising that the work was almost complete.

But when the couple arrived, it became clear that there were "lots of problems" still needing to be fixed, including the roof and outdoor decking.

The couple said months of chasing Anderson to fix the issues ended with him telling the couple he had run out of money, despite promising the house would be ready in a year.

"It was heart-breaking," said Andy.

"But there was a lot more rage and anger at that point, as much as heartbreak, that 'you've conned us'.

"You've known you were going to be doing this for some time. So that was really quite difficult."

Andy and Denise were forced to raid their pensions and savings to fix the work, ruining their hopes of a mortgage-free retirement.

The fraud amount against them was said by the court to be £43,000, although their estimate of the total loss was significantly higher.

Mr and Mrs Fitzgerald also suffered back injuries while trying to do some of the work themselves, having run out of money to pay others.

It was a particularly cruel blow for Mrs Fitzgerald, a former competitive cyclist.

"Now I can't do my cycling, I can't do running, so my dreams of triathlon, I've given all that up," she said.

"For me that was my mental outlet, to keep myself sane. And I've not been able to do any of that."

The ordeal put a strain on the couple's relationship too, with Mrs Fitzgerald telling the court that Anderson was a "bully" who had "put us through hell… [and] never once apologised".

"How we've managed to stay together as a couple, I don't know," she said.

"It's been this black cloud around you all the time, and no way to get out of it."

Jessica Reader was another of Anderson's victims, having paid him more than £130,000 to build a small eco-home on land in Wenvoe near Cardiff.

"He just seemed so professional, and said he'd been in the building trade for 50 years," said Ms Reader.

But a promise that the house would be ready by May 2021 – barely two months after work had begun – turned out to be well off the mark, and serious issues with the roof soon became apparent.

"It was just a basic shell with some felt covering on it, and there was just black plastic on the roof, [which worsened] as the rain started to come in and the weather got colder," she said.

"He kept saying 'we will sort it out for you, don't worry'."

But that never happened, and a despairing Ms Reader had to resort to climbing onto the roof herself to cover or air it, depending on the weather.

She has since spent tens of thousands more paying new builders to rectify the mistakes, paid for by extra shifts at her veterinary job and an inheritance she received.

But the mental burden took its toll on Ms Reader, who told the court in her victim impact statement that the ordeal had left her feeling suicidal.

"I completely fell apart," she said.

"I can't even describe how awful it was at the time… when someone has inflicted that on you knowingly.

"By that time I had no funds left to do anything about it. The building was falling apart.

"Other things in life were happening at the same time, and it was one of the most despairing, hopeless [feelings].

"There's nothing worse than feeling powerless in a situation like that, where you've got no control over what you can do."

Following an investigation by Bridgend County Council, however, Anderson was charged with four counts of fraud, and three consumer protection offences.

After pleading guilty, he was sentenced on 28 April at Cardiff Crown Court to three-and-a-half years in prison.

His wife Sandra Anderson, 66, also pleaded guilty to possessing criminal property, namely £35,000 from two other victims, Andrea and Richard Booth.

She was given an 18-month suspended sentence.

The court heard that the total amount of Anderson's fraud was £263,000, although he had assets of around £200,000 which could now be the subject of steps to recover proceeds of crime.

Sentencing Anderson, Judge Eugene Egan said he had left a "trail of misery" in his wake, showing "dishonest and shabby conduct" and a "reckless disregard" for his customers.

"In colloquial language, you ripped them off," he said. "You have shattered people's lives and their dreams."

The judge added: "Cases like these shake the confidence of the public."

The outcome came as a surprise to Anderson's victims, most of whom were in court to hear the sentence.

"He said 'nobody's ever got me, you won't get me – it's pointless'," said Mrs Fitzgerald.

"So we were actually pleased with the sentence that he did get."

Mr Fitzgerald said that it may be a "wake up call" for other unscrupulous builders.

"Maybe it's not as cut and dried for some people, who might think they're going to get away with it," he said.

"Maybe there will be that deterrent, [so] other people are not going to be affected in the same way."

Ms Reader wants to see changes to the law, so the building trade is "more tightly regulated".

"I didn't realise until what happened to me that anyone could call themselves a builder," she said.

"And if anything happens, they can just shut down and start up again under a different name, possibly in a different area. So yes, this is very difficult."

Mr Fitzgerald said seeing Anderson jailed had given him an element of closure.

"If he'd have walked away with a slap on the wrist, it wouldn't have felt the same," he said.

"But to feel that there is some element of justice in there… it really is a good thing."

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