Help rebuild my home destroyed by cowboy builder Sept 2023

I am reaching out to the public for help, please donate, even if it is just £1.

Last September, I hired a contractor to undertake a rear extension of my residential property. The extension was to convert two small rooms (a kitchen and conservatory) into one large living room to make my home more spacious for me and my dogs. Given how ludicrously high house prices are, I knew I would never be able to afford to buy a larger property as a single lady living alone, so needed to make my home more functional and try to work with what I had. Regrettably, the contractor led me down the garden path and swiftly departed with my life savings leaving my home in a desolate state of disrepair. He abandoned the site after I voiced my concerns about the quality of the build and querying whether it was being done to building regulations (turns out it was not, on many levels including him using old, mouldy loft insulation as cavity insulation, wall ties were upside down, brickwork was not level, PAD stones were not in the correct place, foundation was not insulated correctly nor level and needs completely removing to rectify, not supporting the upper floor so that the brickwork has dropped, the list is devastatingly endless!). As a result, I have been living in devastating situation for almost a year now, in a home that is without a kitchen, without a washing machine, being unable to heat my home throughout the bitter winter last year as it was left unsealed by the contractor, and battling a persistent rodent issue as a result of it being unsealed. Living in such dire conditions where I am unable to properly feed myself as I have no cooker to make a homemade meal, unable to heat my home, and resorting to washing my dishes in the bath. All of which has been a trying experience; both mentally and emotionally it has tested my strength and resilience to breaking point.

To try to find a way forwards, I initially attempted to recover the costs of the damage by exploring suing the contractor to learn that this was not an option as my solicitor advised that he has no money in his accounts so I would lose further money attempting to repair the damages (building, structural damage, garden and patio damage from machinery, drain damages etc). This as you can imagine was very disheartening as I do not have the personal funds myself to repair the damage and rectify my home to a secure and safe condition. I explored personal loans as a means to fund this as I have no more personal savings. Though I was not able to attain a personal loan due to high amount being requested for a first-time personal loan. I also explored remortgaging my home and using the capital in my property to try to obtain the funds to repair it, though when my property was surveyed by my current mortgage company NatWest and other mortgage companies, they all advised that as the property is deemed ‘uninhabitable’ given it is unsealed with no kitchen, it is therefore that it is not mortgageable in the present state. I even reached out to the local MP to explain the situation I have been left in and that it should be a criminal offence for tradespeople to do this. I hope to change the laws to make this a criminal offence and protect others in the community from suffering the same situation.

Please, any donation however big or small, even just £1, will make such a meaningful impact on my life and quality of living conditions. Please, please help me rebuild my home.

Thank you for your kindness.

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