Devon builder denies claims of poor and unfinished work

Jordan Warren said his firms' work was done to customers' specifications

Customers of a builder say they are tens of thousands of pounds out of pocket after their homes were left in need of repair following "substandard" and "unfinished" work.

Reports include allegations of missing windows and doors and a leaking roof.

One customer claimed the man behind the businesses, Jordan Warren, "destroys people's lives".

Mr Warren said his work was done to customers' specifications and he would sort anything that needed to be fixed.

Caroline and Katie Aulsberry-Vockins stand in the building works at their house

Several customers of Mr Warren, from Devon, and his businesses - which included Ironside Building Solutions, Your Builds Building and Landscaping and The Resin and Landscaping Company - claim the builder has failed to complete their projects.

After buying their "forever home", Katie and Caroline Aulsberry-Vockins saved for a single-storey extension and looked for a contractor through recommendations on Facebook.

They said Mr Warren quoted for the work through Your Builds and they paid the first instalment of £8,800 with work starting in June 2022.

A concrete lintel installed by Your Builds which inspectors said was too short

On 1 August, the couple, who showed the BBC bank statements, paid a further £6,600, followed by £9,516 on 8 August for windows, doors and garden materials.

As the weeks passed, they said work at their property in Bude, Cornwall, became less frequent.

"We started to get a bit suspicious of him when he asked for extra money," Katie said.

'Monstrosity'

"He came to us to say that his business account had been frozen and he didn't know why and his bank wouldn't tell him anything and he showed us what we thought seemed genuine proof."

Katie said Mr Warren asked for a duplicate of the £9,516 payment to be sent to his personal account for their windows and door.

"He said if we don't give him the extra money he won't be able to continue with the work and he said as soon as his bank account was unfrozen he'd give us our money back."

The couple said the £9,516 had not as yet been refunded.

Caroline and Katie Aulsberry-Vockins appealed to the public on social media to help remove the building works

It was at this stage a friend of the couple showed them social media posts making concerning claims about Mr Warren's work.

"We thought well maybe we are stupid, we've fallen for it."

The couple claimed the work was "substandard", "unfinished" and a "monstrosity".

'Atrocious'

Independent chartered building surveyor John Collinson viewed the work and said: "It's a very poor standard.

"The extension was really awful, they [builders] haven't followed any of the drawings, they haven't followed good building practice, or followed building regulations, it's atrocious."

He said the architects' plans were "very clear" and had not been followed.

"Unfortunately for them, it has to come down," Mr Collinson added.

Cornwall Council's Trading Standards team said it was investigating after receiving a "complaint regarding works carried out by a trader operating in the Bude area".

The single-storey extension built by Mr Warren's business, Your Builds

Mr Warren said the work at the Bude property was "never meant to follow architects' plans" and the couple had "only asked for a garden room".

"I'm not going to fix anything because it's been built to the way they want it," he said.

He added the second £9,516 "was just a payment" and said the couple's windows and doors were waiting for them "once they agree it was built to their specification".

Katie added: "Not once did we ever think we weren't getting what was on the architects' plans." Katie turned to social media for help: "I had messages from every tradesperson going, offering their time, their support, their help.

"I got contacted by numerous people who had also been conned by him in similar ways."

Anna and Paul Farrow claim they lost almost £20,000 after getting Ironside Building Solutions to replace the roof on their home

Anna and Paul Farrow said they were woken up by rainwater dripping on their heads after being left with an unfinished roof.

Mr Farrow said they met Mr Warren when he turned up to quote £69,500 through Ironside Buildings Solutions for various jobs at their west Devon property.

They found Ironside Buildings Solutions on Checkatrade and chose it because of a five star review.

Mr Farrow said they paid £18,625 for the first part of the work: "When I said I was worried about giving him [Mr Warren] money for things that we hadn't yet had, he said that he was trusting us, therefore we had to trust him.

"Well, that was probably the worst thing we could do, but we did."

'Water running down walls'

Work began on the roof in March 2021. They told the BBC Mr Warren began to attend the site less often and they often chased him.

"During that time we would be woken up at night with water dripping on our heads, water running down bedroom walls."

By August they said work had come to a stop and they met with Mr Warren when he told them he was "embarrassed" but could no longer complete the work.

Mr Farrow said: "Nothing he'd done was salvageable... the roof had to be redone, which would cost another £19,000.

"It was awful, really, to feel that you'd been taken for a fool and that your money had just gone up in smoke."

Mr Warren said the Farrow's situation was "unfortunate" and someone he had subcontracted the work to "ran off to the Philippines with the £10,000 I paid him".

He added he had offered to help clear up.

Mrs Farrow said at a meeting Mr Warren agreed to remove fibreglass and rubble, but "never did".

Karen and Dawn Dunnings claim they had to fix the work themselves after using all of their money on the conversion

Karen Dunnings and her wife Dawn, from Bude, wanted to turn their garage into a rehabilitation room and workshop.

They said they found Your Builds on TrustATrader with a five star review and over the course of the work paid more than £10,000.

The couple said they were left without windows or a fire safety door, a gap above a new external door and a flaking concrete floor.

"It cost us another £4,000 to correct what he did and we still have no middle door or the skylight as we can't afford to buy them again," Karen explained.

The disabled couple said they completed the work themselves: "We couldn't afford anyone to do it so it's absolutely destroyed both of us to do it."

Karen Dunnings said she had to fill a gap left above a new external door

Mr Warren told the BBC concrete floors do not flake, it was the first he knew of this complaint and the job "was in limbo, still ongoing".

Karen added: "We haven't seen him since autumn last year, he hasn't responded to our messages or refunded us for the door like he said he would."

Sadie and Noel Wright said that they paid Mr Warren in cash, one instalment was £3,000 they were gifted from guests at their recent wedding

Sadie and Noel Wright said they put out a request for a builder on Facebook and Mr Warren responded.

The couple said they were quoted £25,000 for labour for a front single-storey extension and a double rear extension at Stibb Cross, in north Devon, which was in progress until Mr Warren went on holiday in March.

Mr and Mrs Wright said they had paid Mr Warren £4,300, but after they saw Facebook posts from other customers they called building inspectors in.

They claim inspectors sent them a list of several items that were not to standard.

The couple said Mr Warren had since asked for a further £8,000 for the work and they reported him to Trading Standards.

Mrs Wright said she had been told by Mr Warren that the work in this image was £3,000 worth of labour

Devon Trading Standards said it was "aware of these concerns", but currently had "no more information to add".

The BBC has heard from a number of other customers with complaints including one family who claim to have paid Mr Warren more than £13,000 for work that never began.

Mr Warren refused to comment on that case.

'Stitch me up'

He said: "I would love to see a report and have a meeting with the building surveyor and inspectors, I would love to do that because if they think I've done a wrongdoing to them, contact me and the wrongdoings would be put right."

Mr Warren said: "They are trying to stitch me up and get away with it. I haven't run off and hid."

A spokesperson for TrustATrader said: "We removed him [Mr Warren] last July.

"All of our members, as part of their terms and conditions, have to adhere to our complaints procedure and 99% of complaints we resolve.

"Tradespersons who don't comply will never be allowed back on our site."

Checkatrade said it had "zero tolerance for any tradespeople who fail to meet our high standards".

It added: "In December 2021 following investigation of a homeowner complaint, Ironside Building and Landscaping were removed from our platform for failure to uphold the Checkatrade Standard.

"Mr Jordan Warren has had no other businesses verified or approved by Checkatrade.com since."