Family left £10,000 out of pocket after builders left extension half finished and wiring and piping from their home ‘went missing’ say they are relying on foodbanks to survive

• A family said they have been left reliant on foodbanks due to bad building work
• Read more: Mould-ridden house ‘worse than I left it’ says mother-of-two  

A ‘financially comfortable’ family whose home was allegedly ruined by builders have said they’ve been forced to rely on foodbanks. 

Amanda Cardy, 49, and husband Antony, 59, were financially comfortable when they decided to get an extension for their youngest son’s bedroom.

However, they claim they are now £10,000 down after the build wasn’t completed properly.

Wiring and piping also went missing from the empty property in Shipston-on-Stour, Warwickshire, the family said.

Amanda says the horrific ordeal has left the family unable to afford groceries after they had to pay to have the problems fixed.

Amanda Cardy, 49, and her family say they have been left out of pocket by builders after extending their home 

Amanda Cardy said her mental health and her husband Anthony’s company had suffered as a result of the building work 

The mother-of-three said: ‘We’ve gone from being normal comfortable family and now next week I have to go and get food from a food bank.

‘My children’s mental health is ruined, my husband’s company has suffered, and I got really ill and depressed.

‘It’s mental torture. I feel like I can’t take it anymore – I’ve never been in the situation where I can’t afford to put food on the table.’

The family decided they wanted to add an extension to their home to allow their youngest son to have a bigger bedroom.

They hired a builder in April 2020 who started the works – but then stopped turning up to the site and left the house without doors or windows.

The family had moved into a rental property as they were told the extension would take just 12 weeks.

But they quickly realised they were in for a much longer process.

The family hired a builder in April 2020 and moved into a rental property during the building works but returned to find their extension unfinished 

The stairs of the family home in Shipston-on-Stour before the work was begun (left) and after builders started the extension (right)

The dining room of the family home now. The family say they’ve been forced to rely on foodbanks as they are out of pocket for the money for the extension 

The living room before the work began (left) and after the builders left (right). The family said copper wiring and pipes were taken from the home 

Hoping for more luck, they hired another builder. But they say they were let down again and say works were never started by the second contractors.

Amanda also alleges that copper wiring and pipes were taken from inside their home.

The couple paid £10k for materials and the work, but say they have been left with no money and say works were never started by the second contractors.

Despite reporting it to the police, they have been unable to take any action as it is believed to be a civil matter.

The family has been left to live in an unfinished home and owe money to tradespeople they hired to fix the problems.

Amanda said: ‘We just wanted a two-metre extension at the back as we wanted our youngest to have a slightly bigger bedroom.

‘It was during lockdown and we had to move out, so we found a rental and were told it wouldn’t be longer than 12 weeks.

‘After the first builder left us with no windows and no back doors, we decided we couldn’t keep renting the other house and needed something done to make our house airtight.

‘I put an ad up in June 2020 and a builder contacted me and wanted to come over straight away.

‘I cried to him about what the first builder did and he told me he had a group of guys and could get it finished in five weeks.

The garden of the property. Mrs Cardy said the family were being forced to rely on foodbanks after losing thousands of pounds 

The kitchen has been left in an appalling state, the family say, with exposed bricks and wiring as well as an unfinished floor 

The bathroom of the family home as it was left by builders who the family say left their house extension incomplete 

‘He said he would do everything at trade price but needed to buy materials – he would call me at night asking where the money was and I sent him £5k for materials.

‘He said it would cost £10k in total and I told him that once that had gone, I didn’t have any more money.

‘When the contractors were due here, they didn’t turn up and only rocked up for one or two days.

‘We were left with no water and no electric – they didn’t even leave any plumbing. They stole all the copper.

‘We’re now living in this house and it’s not done at all. We owe so much money to different trades people.’

The second builder hired by the couple claims the building was left open and without any security, saying anyone who wanted to could have entered the premises.

He also claimed his business crashed during the contract, leaving him unable to complete the work he was hired to do.

The builder said he believed a mediator was being brought in to help find a solution to the issues.

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