I was forced to spend £13k after rogue builder ripped off my roof & ran away with my cash…now I’m finally safe again

STARING UP through the gaping holes where her roof used to be Sakhile Zimbwa couldn’t quite believe that her long-awaited home improvement had turned into a scene of pure destruction. After demanding the final payment for a job barely half-done, a rogue builder gave the 59-year-old mum a ruthless ultimatum: pay up now, or watch it all get ripped down. Sakhile Zimbwa has been left £4k out of pocket after a builder removed her roof Credit: SWNS After Sakhile refused to pay her builder until work was completed she says builders removed her roof Credit: SWNS When she refused to hand over the cash before the work was finished, the builder kept his promise – smashing tiles, stripping beams, and driving off with her deposit, leaving the Sheffield nurse terrified in her own ruined home. Sakhile had agreed to pay £4,000 upfront to the builder for a new roof and guttering to be fitted to her three-bed semi-detached house and neighbouring garage. Sign up for the Fabulous newsletter Thank you! But after completing half of the roof he ordered her to pay him the remaining £6,000 of the quote or he would ‘pull it down’, according to Sakhile. When she refused, the terrified mum-of-three claimed the builder and several of his workers took down the tiles, smashing several, took other materials, as well as damaging her roof, before leaving the property. READ MORE ON COWBOY BUILDERS The builder said he took down the roof as he thought Sakhile was ‘scamming’ him by refusing to pay. Sakhile said the incident has left her feeling ‘unsafe’ in her own home. She said: “I do not understand why someone would act like this. “I have never been so stressed in my life, I just felt helpless. It took me four years to save up for the renovation. Most read in Fabulous “They were supposed to be relieving stress, not adding to it. “He left my house badly damaged, if it had rained, it would have damaged my ceilings and they could have fallen in, thank God it didn’t. Shocking pictures reveal the damage left behind in her home Credit: SWNS The nurse says she has never been so stressed in her life Credit: SWNS “It also made us susceptible to burglars and they could have just jumped into the house through the garage roof. “That night my son and I didn’t sleep at all.” Sakhile decided to replace her roof after snow sat on her house over the winter period last year and began leaking into her son’s bedroom. The nurse had saved up for four years so she could replace them after she noticed they began looking ‘tired’ in 2022. In mid February, the mum-of-three put out a request on the trusted builder directory website Checkatrade and received a response from a builder. The builder came round to her house on Monday, February 23, where he inspected the roof and told her he could start work that Friday and would be finished the following Monday. Sakhile said the builder was ‘very friendly’ when she first met him, stating he even knocked £1000 off his original quote and also agreed to replace her gutters. She received messages from the builders claiming she was the one scamming Credit: SWNS She admits that she has been left afraid of living in her own home Credit: SWNS Sakhile said he started as soon as the materials arrived on Friday and she transferred the first £4,000 to his account. When she asked if she would get a contract to sign, a receipt for her payment, or a quotation detailing the materials, he said he would email it, yet according to Sakhile he never did. She said: “At first the work was going well, he was working with a number of his men putting it up. “It was great as finally a big stress in my life was being lifted.” But on Monday he had only completed half of the work and became verbally aggressive over text demanding her to send him the remaining £6,000 so he could finish it, according to Sakhile. The nurse said she would pay him upon completion. She then asked if he had organised a builder inspector to assess his work after it was complete to which he replied he had never used one and said he would ‘pull it down’ at 12 pm if she didn’t pay. He then said he had a private one who was available but it would cost £2000. Sakhile said she was able to get one from the local authority to come out after it was complete for £280. Sakhile said: “I had a hospital appointment at the time in the morning. “While I was sitting in the waiting room, he texted me demanding money to finish the work. “It got worse after I asked about the building inspector, he told me he had never used one in his 15-year career. “I reassured him that as soon as he finished, I would pay him and get an inspector in afterwards. “He continued to be aggressive and it stressed me out, saying he would pull down the roof. “The council told me it was a legal requirement for them to assess the roof.” Sakhile returned home at 11 am and she claimed the builder came to her property at around midday and began pulling it down – including tiles and wooden support beams – as well as damaging it in the process. Shocking images show gaping holes which she says the builder caused. He then packed up the materials into his van and drove off at around 4 pm and hasn’t returned since, according to the mum. She said the builder still has her £4,000. She said she has since contacted the South Yorkshire Police and reported the builder to Checkatrade. Sakhile was forced to get another builder to fix her roof. It cost her £13,000 to fix the damage and repair the roof, gutting, and replacing faucets and a facets. She said: “I was desperate to have my roof fixed as the whole situation was a nightmare. “I’m now out of pocket but at least I have my house back.” The builder who carried out the initial work on Sakhile’s house said: “She was trying to bump me out of my last payment. I have had customers like her before. “I wasn’t going to wait and potentially never be paid. I told her I wouldn’t be leaving until I was paid. “Labour and materials cost me £7000 and I am now £3000 out of pocket.” The Sun has contacted Checkatrade for a comment. Comment now