A bank worker was forced to remortgage her home after a rogue builder dug a huge trench in her garden which she likened to a crater from World War I film 1917.
Sharon Davis, 38, from Watford, Hertfordshire, was quoted £21,000 for a patio that would allow her disabled elderly mother to access the back garden.
She reached out to McDonagh’s TJ Paving & Landscaping firm through a board on a nearby driveway.
After: Sharon Davis, 38, from Watford, Hertfordshire, was quoted £21,000 for a patio yet was left with a huge trench after the builder removed a retaining wall and tonnes of boggy clay
Builders working on the garden after Ms Davis requested a patio that would allow her disabled elderly mother to access the back garden
Builder Thomas McDonagh (left) reportedly suggested Sharon pay him in cash to avoid VAT in November 2018. Ms Davis (right) reached out to McDonagh’s TJ Paving & Landscaping firm through a board on a nearby driveway
Builder Thomas McDonagh quoted her £21,000 and reportedly suggested Sharon pay him in cash to avoid VAT.
But when the builder removed a retaining wall and tonnes of boggy clay, the garden began sliding ominously towards the bungalow.
Ms Davis said: ‘I asked for a 50 square metre patio and I got given a 90 square metre crater that looked like a tough mudder assault course on steroids or a trench from 1917.’
The trench was so hard to cross Ms Davis was unable to feed her pet fish in the garden pond which meant they died.
Ms Davis said: ‘I asked for a 50 square metre patio and I got given a 90 square metre crater that looked like a tough mudder assault course on steroids or a trench from 1917’
In an email McDonagh sent to Ms Davis two days later, he said: ‘Perhaps it was naivety but I can see I grossly underestimated the work. Pictured: The state of the garden after the builders left the job
Ms Davis had already paid McDonagh £12,000 in cash, when he realised he had underestimated the task.
The banking assistant was at work in The City when she spotted McDonagh on her Ring doorbell camera fleeing the site on January 4 last year.
She said: ‘I saw him he loading up all the good ply and leaving me with crap ply and a ladder. I tried to talk to him over the speaker, but he completely ignored me. I know he could hear me.’
In an email McDonagh sent to Ms Davis two days later, he said: ‘Perhaps it was naivety but I can see I grossly underestimated the work and costs involved and I want to now see if we can reach an agreement we are both happy with.’
The original retaining wall that was removed by the builders which caused the garden to begin sliding ominously towards the bungalow
The trench was so hard to cross Ms Davis was unable to feed her pet fish in the garden pond which meant they died
McDonagh, who uses a brief appearance on BBC’s DIY SOS to plug his TJ Paving & Landscaping company on Facebook, did not return to complete the patio.
She said: ‘When you meet him he is like a choir boy, well-spoken, honest and explains things well.
‘But when it starts going wrong he reveals his true self as a completely irresponsible chancer. He doesn’t care who he hurts in the process and at what costs, as long as he’s okay.’
Ms Davis took McDonaugh to court for damages and last month the builder was ordered to pay her £45,000, which he has not yet done.
She rated her chances of being paid as ‘little to none,’ but said she is acting out of principle to defend vulnerable people against rogue labourers.
Ms Davis was at work in The City when she spotted McDonagh on her Ring doorbell camera fleeing the site on January 4 last year
The builders are seen on Ms Davis’s Ring doorbell. Ms Davis said: ‘If I can prevent somebody else being taken for a ride I will’
‘If I can prevent somebody else being taken for a ride I will. It’s on principle now. Try-ing to take something to court and sue a builder is not an easy task,’ she added.
The former BNP Paribas worker added: ‘In the worst case scenario I would not have been able to mortgage the house, take legal action or pay to fix the mess.
‘There are a lot of vulnerable people out there who defend themselves and these guys get away with it.’
Once the patio was finally completed (pictured), Ms Davis said her mother was overjoyed and spent three-hours in it ‘soaking up the sun and listening to the birds
Ms Davis has taken out a mortgage on the house, which was previously fully-owned – in order to pay the £45,000 bill for the patio to be completed – taking the total cost to more than £57,000.
She said: ‘I used to beat myself up because I made a massive mistake and error of judgement.
‘I had to take out a £90,000 mortgage on the house, and I am now faced with the risk of being unable to meet the repayments. Before, all we had to worry about was paying the bills.’
Once the patio was finally completed, Ms Davis said her mother was overjoyed and spent three-hours in it ‘soaking up the sun and listening to the birds.’
Reflecting on the ordeal, she said: ‘My advice to others is get references, a decent contract and make sure the builder is VAT-registered.
‘And if they ask for you to pay them in cash, don’t do it. If they are asking for cash-in-hand for a large job there is something really wrong.’