by A woman says she was left living a nightmare after paying builders more than £16,000 to renovate a dream home – just weeks into the project.
Ionie Smallwood alleged that a company she hired to extend her three-bedroom home from the 1930s “did it” last September. The 33-year-old, who lives alone, said workers abandoned her home just three weeks into the project, leaving her without a kitchen.
And now, having depleted her life savings, she can’t afford to finish the work. For the past nine months, Ionie says she has struggled to “cook food properly” relying on a £1.50 carton of soup from Morrisons, which is heated in a microwave in her living room. She also left her bedroom for fear of the ceiling collapsing and, as the bathroom sink was too small to use, she resorted to washing the dishes in the bathtub.
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Hoping to mortgage her property to finance the completion of construction, the bank informed Ionie that “her house is not considered to be in good structural condition”. Ionie said: “I went completely blindsided because my brain was like ‘I’m so excited, my house is finally going to be my home after four and a half years’.
“I’m back now and I wonder why I didn’t hear all these alarm bells that were screaming in my ears?”
Ionie, who lives in Winsford, Cheshire, bought her three-bedroom semi-detached house in 2019 and has spent the past four and a half years transforming it into her dream home. Last year, she finally managed to save enough money to complete the final part of her renovation project – renovating her bathroom and building a rear extension to expand her living room and kitchen.
“I’ve been renovating the property since I moved in four and a half years ago,” shared Ionie. “The property was built in the 1930s, so I just wanted to make it more modern, homey and warm.”
She advertised the renovation on Facebook and chose one of the recommended companies that quoted £19,550. “They showed me some of the work they had allegedly done before and it looked very clever,” Ionie recalled.
Ionie agreed to pay cash, including £3,850 for the bathroom refurbishment and a £12,850 deposit for the extension in advance, after being told the project would take four to six weeks. “They renovated my bathroom first and then they had the plan to do the extension,” she explained.
“They told me there was a cancellation so they could start earlier than expected, in September (2023), and they asked me to pay cash in advance because they had to pay for materials. “
The property was uninhabitable while it was being built, so Ionie booked a two-week trip to Scotland after work began on 6 September. She said the builders promised the walls and roof would be in place when she returned, but it never materialised.
After questioning them about the lack of progress, she was told that it was due to a bricklayer who came to work drunk. She added that the builders had confirmed to her that they would seek Building Control permission retrospectively using photographs, but were “defensive” when she asked to see the images.
Building Control is an essential legal step required before any construction work or building alterations commence in the UK, ensuring compliance with building regulations and policies.
“They told me, ‘if you’re not happy with the construction, we can stop the work and you can have building control involved’, almost as if it was a threat,” she explained.
Reflecting on the situation, she admitted, “I’m back now and I think I was very, very naive. I think it was because I was so taken with my to finish a house, so I just blindly followed what they said.”
The situation escalated when Ionie decided to contact Building Control on September 23, causing the workers to suddenly leave the site, block her number, and cease communication.
“After that they didn’t come back. It was at that point I knew exactly, I’m done over here,” she said.
Ionie lives without a kitchen to this day and said she can’t afford to “live on giving up”. “It’s a lot of microwave soup, for example from Morrison’s, they have those little cartons that are £1.25 or £1.50,” she explained.
“So I can’t cook food properly and I have to wash my pots in the bath. I’ve lost a lot of weight as a result.
“Recently my sister suggested getting a George Foreman grill so I can cook some meat and fish, but it was very frustrating.”
She also doesn’t have a washing machine since the plumbing was in the kitchen, forcing her to use the local launderette at £11 a visit. After the builders left, Ionie felt it was safer to leave her bedroom for fear of the ceiling falling.
“The bricks looked like they had fallen down a bit, so I was worried that the house would collapse on me while I was sleeping at some point.
“They didn’t put in what they call acre props, which are designed to hold up the first story … they just left it.”
Ionie, who now faces financial challenges to complete the renovation, noticed puddles forming as the house was left unsealed and the concrete floor uneven. “That was my savings over several years,” she revealed.
In desperation, Ionie contacted her bank, NatWest, to inquire about re-mortgaging her home to pay for the necessary repairs. She explained: “When I looked at re-mortgaging, the bank told me I can’t,” with a letter from the bank confirming the property “doesn’t appear to be sound or watertight and doesn’t any kitchen is equipped”.
Ionie expressed her frustration, saying: “It’s so frustrating. But I have no choice, I have nowhere else to live.”
Her attempts to make a claim on her home insurance were in vain as they informed her that faulty workmanship was not covered. She was also told by private loan companies that they would not lend her the necessary funds, and she worried that repeated rejections could damage her credit rating.
Ionie has taken a number of steps to seek justice, including reporting the company to Trading Standards, considering legal action with the help of her solicitor, and contacting her MP Edward Timpson. “I reported them to every possible way and it is infuriating because the justice system has just completely failed, because it is clear that there is a gap in the law that is being exploited,” she lamented.
If she can make the house waterproof and fit a basic kitchen, Ionie might be able to get a remortgage. She has been quoted £42,000 to fix the structural problems and restore her home.
“My problem is that I need money to fix it up so I can re-mortgage it, so I’m between a rock and a hard place,” she admitted. With no other options left, Ionie has made a public appeal: “Basically, I have no other choice but to reach out to the public and say ‘can someone please help me with this?’
To raise the money needed, Ionie started a GoFundMe campaign, which has so far raised £2,000.
