Cowboy Builder Jailed After Leaving Home on Brink of Collapse

A rogue builder has been jailed for three years and nine months after leaving a family's home on the verge of collapse and defrauding 13 households out of nearly £700,000. Patrick Hartley, 51, was described by Lancashire County Council as one of the most prolific and heartless fraudsters they had encountered.

Joanne and Anthony Dagostina, from Failsworth, Greater Manchester, hired Hartley to build an extension and fit a new kitchen, spending £64,216 on the project. The work, which began in February 2022 with an expected completion time of 12 weeks, dragged on for seven months. During this period, Hartley repeatedly failed to show up, offering various excuses and often leaving the family without essential facilities, such as a working shower.

"He lied to us all the way through the build, coming up with more and more outlandish excuses why he wasn't working, and all the time he kept taking our money," Joanne Dagostina stated. "It was very stressful; it caused a lot of rows and extra expense. We were planning our wedding, but it was a horrible time for us."

The couple paid Hartley over £70,000, with Hartley eventually refunding £5,000 when he admitted he could not source doors for the project. By August, the work was reportedly finished, but the Dagostinas were unhappy with the results. Upon contacting Building Control to sign off the work, they were informed that photos of necessary steel beams in the extension were missing. An engineer subsequently discovered that the house was not safe downstairs and posed a significant risk, potentially affecting neighboring properties as well.

The Dagostinas had to spend an additional £14,000 to have the unsafe work ripped out and the property made structurally sound, including the installation of steel beams. Hartley refused to cover these costs. The couple reported him to the police and trading standards, later connecting with other families who had also been defrauded by Hartley, leading to a joint prosecution.

Hartley initially pleaded not guilty to 26 offenses but later pleaded guilty to six Fraud Act offenses and three under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. He was sentenced at Preston Crown Court last month and received a seven-year criminal behavior order prohibiting him from owning a business involved in private building work.

The sentencing coincided with the government's announcement of new measures to combat cowboy builders, including plans to hold customer deposits securely and release funds in stages as work progresses. This initiative aims to prevent homeowners from losing large sums on unfinished projects.