Shelley Weeks Fundraiser
After lots (well thousands actually) of comments on my sisters original Facebook post (see below), I have decided to set up this Go Fund Me page (with 50% of ALL donations made going to Bloodwise (now called Blood Cancer UK))-a charity VERY close to Shelley’s heart. The other 50%, will of course go towards making a fresh start on the works that Shelley had wanted for her house but as you all know, did not even get off the ground due to CHRISTOPHER JOHN HOOK running off with her money and never completing the works!
In Shelley’s own words, here is Shelley’s story:-
Hi everyone, I really need this post to be seen by as many people as possible.
I need people to know about this man. To recognize his face. His name is CHRISTOPHER JOHN HOOK, he owes me almost SEVENTY THREE THOUSAND POUNDS!!!
PLEASE can you share this and ask your friends to share?
If you do have time to read this – this is what it’s all about …
I will try to keep this short, and factual.
As many of you know, my gorgeous, kind and funny husband died from Mast Cell Leukemia in 2013. Since then I have brought up our super special little boy Olly by myself (with lots of help from my amazing family and friends), held down a responsible job and tried my best to create a new life for us and be positive still.
A small sum of money had been left to me from my husbands Pension, for years I didn’t know what was best to do with it. Keep it in the bank, invest it, treat ourselves to nice things? Eventually, I thought that a sensible thing would be to invest it back into our family home and give us the extra space we needed.
Fast forward to Early 2018. After getting several quotes I settle on a builder for the extension and renovations. He was a personal recommendation from a dear friend (who obviously feels terrible now), his family also worked with some of my late husbands family, and his catalogue of work and experience was impressive. He also seemed very professional - headed paper, contracts, insurance etc. But most of all, I trusted and liked him. We chatted for hours in the early weeks of the quotation stage and start of the build.
On signing the contract I made my first mistake. I paid too much deposit. By the end of our arrangement his work hadn’t even covered this. Then adding in the stage payments for the remaining amount he has ended up with 50k of my money. I also needed to get a small mortgage to cover the cost of the whole job.
It’s a whole other story to mention the excuses, lies and delaying tactics that ensued until September 2018 when he admitted he didn’t have my money anymore and couldn’t carry on with the work. He would have to sell his house to pay me back, but he couldn’t sell his house until he had refurbished it. He also refused to tell me where my money had gone.
I felt so unbelievably stupid, and embarrassed. I still do. You hear about cowboy builders all of the time so I couldn’t believe that this had actually happened to me. I refused to be defeated though and started legal proceedings. I needed a solicitor, quantity surveyors, barristers and High Court Enforcement Officers. This has all cost me 13k and the very last of my savings. But still my debt remains unpaid.
The court has awarded me a CCJ to the sum of £72,391.18 This is made up of the original sum overpaid (minus the 10k value of the work he completed), plus the surveyors reports, legal costs, court fees and interest. During the whole process Mr Hook never responded to any correspondence.
After this I instructed the Sheriffs Office to apply for a Writ of Control, meaning that High Court Enforcement Officers would attend the property he owns jointly with his wife in Ditton. They have visited him 3 times now. The door is never answered and the letters left are never responded to. His Neighbours have confirmed that he still lives there.
At further expense, I proceeded to secure a charge on his property. This has cost me a further £1500. The courts confirmed the charge. So if the property is ever sold, I will be informed. It is still unlikely that I would get any money. His house is not of great value, he has a mortgage on it, I can only claim against his half of the equity, and there are already three other charges in his name before me which will get paid first. Without throwing a lot more money at solicitors, courts and private investigators I cannot know how much his mortgage or charges are. And I also cannot afford to force the sale of his property. He has no other assets bar his tools, a very old van and his fishing gear.
I have reported him to the Police via ActionFraud – they are not responding to my emails.
I have reported him to Trading Standards, to be told that they will pass the information on, but do not get involved with individual cases.
So I have reached a dead end now. Hence me venting on social media. But if just one person sees this and decides not to hire him for a job then I have succeeded. If Chris himself, or his family see this, then please feel free to feel bloody ashamed.
I feel bad if I owe somebody £1! I’m not looking for pity, and I’m definitely not asking for money – just some kind of justice would be nice.
Chris Hook, you have stolen my money. I want it back. I will tell this story to anyone who wants to hear it. Until your face is in the papers and all over the internet. If the law won’t get my money back, then maybe the shame of your actions will.
Please share this post and ask your friends to share x
#chrishook #christopherhook #trigon #trigonpropertycare #cowboybuilder #cowboy #builder #ditton #roguetraders #fraud
