A BUILDER is under investigation after a group of ten people said that they had paid his company £100,000 for work but it had not been completed.

The group say they have paid thousands of pounds in deposits to IBUILD Contractors Ltd but although the work was started, none of the jobs were finished and they claim the builder subsequently 'ghosted' them.

The customers have set up a whatsapp chat to swap stories about Andrew Nathan Perry, who is the registered director at IBUILD Contractors Ltd in Pershore.

Worcestershire Trading Standards has confirmed it is investigating their claims.

However, Mr Perry says he has contacted all his customers and hopes to pay them back after his business suffered 'difficulties.'

Sarfraz Tabussom, who owns a home in Worcester, said he gave Perry more than £15,000 and the builder began work in May but had since stopped responding to messages.

Speaking for the group, he said: "He took money from each and everyone of us and has not done the work. In almost every situation, he has come to start the work for one day, made a mess and not returned."

The company's policy is to take 50 per cent of payment up front as the deposit, with Perry quoting Mr Tabbassum £32,000 for the build work.

He said: "He's taken similar amounts from us all, totalling to £100,000. I initially gave him £11,000, but when he arrived he said I needed to get the guttering done on the house, which he could do a deal on. So I transferred him a further £4,000.

Perry said his worker would come the next day to carry it out, but Mr Tabussom said nobody turned up.

Another customer Benjamin Chan said the company was set to start work on his house in May. He said he had lost contact with Perry since the start of June, after paying him "several thousand pounds".

Mr Chan said: "The most shameful point is Andy took advantage of us being new to the UK."

Mr Tabussom said all letters addressed to the Pershore-based company have been returned as "return to sender" and "not at this address."

He said: "We all saved that money to do up our homes. I'm losing £800 a month in rent (as a landlord) because of the mess he left. It's been really difficult and I'm just devastated. He needs to be brought to justice."

However, Mr Perry said he had contacted his customers and intends to pay them all back after his business suffered in the last three months.

He said: "I've had a lot of sleepless nights. I started the company in January and since then I've experienced a lot of difficulties. But I don't want the company to go under and if I liquidate nobody will get their money back. I plan to finish off four of my current jobs and make a pot to pay people back."

The builder said money troubles started after he struggled to pay his 12 members of staff, who he has now let go.

Currently working with four employees, the director said the notion of him trying to ghost his customers was "ludicrous".

A spokesman from Worcestershire Trading Standards said: "We can confirm we’ve been made aware of the actions of this trader and we will be investigating any allegations that suggest criminal offending. Beyond this, we will look to see if we can improve the situation for past and future customers through the provisions in the Enterprise Act."