Deaf Couple Loses £72,000 to Rogue Builder, Receives Help from DIY SOS Volunteers
A couple's home renovation dreams turned into a nightmare after a builder defrauded them of £72,000, leaving their house in a dangerous state.
A deaf couple, Rifat and Ahmed Ali, from Southampton, have revealed their ordeal after a builder they hired for a ground floor extension disappeared with £72,000 of their savings, leaving their home in a perilous condition and forcing them to live in it for months with their three young children. The situation was highlighted on the BBC One show DIY SOS.
The couple had commissioned the builder in April to extend their home, aiming to create a more accessible layout for their family, including their autistic son, Adam. However, the construction work stalled, and the builder began pressuring them for payments. Rifat and Ahmed claim the builder pressured them into paying £72,000 for materials that were never delivered before ultimately abandoning the project.
By the time the DIY SOS team, led by presenter Nick Knowles, arrived, the house was a hazardous construction site. Exposed wires, broken walls, and gaping floors made the home uninhabitable. The family had resorted to cooking meals in their bedrooms for three months, and the children could not safely access the garden. "He crushed our dreams and damaged our home and left us in this mess," Rifat stated.
Knowles described the property as extremely dangerous and advised the family to move out. "It's impossible for me to leave you in this situation," he said, visibly moved.
Three weeks later, Knowles returned with approximately 150 volunteers, including builders, plumbers, and electricians, to complete the renovation. The sight of the volunteers brought Rifat and Ahmed to tears. "It's amazing, just thank you, thank you for coming," Ahmed expressed. "It's been quite a dark period, and I just feel like this is the light at the end of the tunnel."
The DIY SOS team completed roughly six months of work in about seven days. The renovated home now features an open-plan layout, along with thoughtful additions such as sensors in the children's bedrooms connected to a lighting panel, and a vibrating fire alarm for Rifat and Ahmed's room. "It's beautiful," Rifat and Ahmed said upon seeing their transformed home. "It's beyond our wildest dreams."