Driving instructor left without drive after builder he paid leaves job unfinished

The drive left unfinished

A local driving instructor has been left without a drive after a builder took the money and failed to complete the job.

Mike Fowler, from Rochdale, paid £1,750 earlier this year to have his drive resurfaced. However, the work at his home on Croxton Avenue has been left unfinished by a Stalybridge landscaper, rendering the drive unusable.

Since 3 April, Mr Fowler says the builder, who called himself Mark Barsom from DBR Landscaping, blocked his phone number to prevent contact.

In total, Mr Fowler paid £1,750 for materials and to dig up and resurface the drive. This included Indian stone, a full dig out, a sub-base, and labour, with a two-year guarantee.

Whilst the flags were removed as contracted, no further work has been carried out, leaving Mr Fowler out of pocket and without a drive.

Mr Fowler said: “I had a couple other tradesman offer to help me out but as you can imagine it's taken me a while to save up that much and it's left me penniless.

“All I really want is either the driveway promised in his signed contract or my money back. It's terrible that hardworking people save months for something then get ripped off by conmen.”

The incident has been reported to Action Fraud and the police.

A spokesman for the City of London Police confirmed: “This report has been received by Action Fraud and is currently being assessed by our National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NIFB).”

Neither Mark Barsom nor DBR Landscaping could be traced for comment.