Families who were ripped off by a “prolific and heartless” cowboy builder from Rossendale have spoken out after they were conned out of more than £1 million.
Patrick Hartley, 52, targeted 13 households across the North West, including in Bacup, Rawtenstall, Oldham, Tameside, Sale, Bury, Bolton, and Stockport.
Almost £700,000 was paid to Hartley for building work between the households, though losses totalled around £1 million once the cost of remedial work and finishing abandoned projects was taken into account.
Hartley, of Weir, Rossendale, was jailed for three years and nine months at Preston Crown Court on August 28, a hearing which the Lancashire Telegraph attended.
Some victims have now spoken out, saying the sentence was too lenient.
One victim was Phillippa Edgar, 48, who lost out on £185,000 due to Hartley’s actions.
She approached the builder for the construction of a single-storey rear and double-storey side extension to extend the garage of her four-bed detached house in Stockport.
She agreed a deal of around £105,000 for the project, which Hartley said would take around 10 weeks.
He started the work in April 2020, with Phillippa giving him around £95,000 in the space of eight months, and the extensions were never completed/
The family have since been forced to spend nearly £90,000 for remedial works, including to get it structurally safe and in line with building control regulations.
Phillippa said: “This was supposed to be our dream home – but it became far from that.
“The situation was extremely stressful and extremely upsetting; it strained everything from my children’s school lives to my marriage.
“Hartley is a conman who knew what he was doing – lie after lie was told about why work wasn’t complete.
"He then just left the extensions as two brick shells - and stole our hard-earned money.
"He left our roof open to the rain, which flooded into our house to the point we set up a pump to suck as much out as possible.
"Hartley is a horrid man who deserves to rot in prison."
Another victim was Joanne Dagostina, 42, who in November 2021 was provided a quote of £34,800 by Hartley for an extension and fitted kitchen at her semi-detached three-bed home in Failsworth, Oldham.
Work started in January 2022 and was to take 12 weeks, but as work progressed, further jobs were agreed, including the installation of a damp-proof course to the existing property and a new bathroom.
But by August 2022 Jonanne sacked him from the job, and by that time he had been paid £64,216.
It was only after a structural engineer came around to the house that she found out he hadn't installed the steel beams and that the house could collapse at "any moment".
She had to spend an extra £14,000 to install the beams, which included ripping up part of her kitchen.
Joanne said: "The blatant lack of care and disrespect to put my family in danger is unforgivable.
"The engineer told me the extension ceiling was failing by 200 per cent and to prop it up as soon as possible.
"He said it would collapse if we didn't, and if it did, it would take the next-door neighbours with it - I was furious.
"I am disappointed with his sentencing as to me it was premeditated and he knew how to take advantage.”
Pelin Akin, 49, and Wellington Tsang, 55, also fell victim to Hartley, losing over £105,000.
They approached Hartley for a loft conversion with a dormer window as well as a driveway at their three-bed house in Sale, Trafford.
Hartley quoted her £48,000 with the work starting in April 2021, but by June the Senior Travel Consultant said work "slowed down" before he left the site in early 2022.
The cowboy said the renovations would take eight weeks to complete.
Read more
-
East Lancs man pleads guilty to rape but denies further alleged offences
-
Trial date set for East Lancs man accused of historic sex offences in Hampshire
-
East Lancs woman to face sexual assault trial at Guildford Crown Court
Including other agreed work, she paid him £47,500 but had a "no roof and an empty attic to show for it".
The family has since had the building work completed by a reputable trader at a cost of £59,000.
Approximately £8,000 of this cost has been to correct Hartley's work to bring it into compliance with building control requirements.
She said: "The excuses he gave for the work not being completed were ridiculous - they included his workers being drunk and his and the van needing its MOT.
"Hartley started with being very accommodating.
"But when we started challenging him for why he wasn’t on the site, his messages became more threatening.
"My work suffered; I was signed off with stress.
"I added lots of cameras and security to our home just in case he or his representatives decided to visit us.
"I am starting to relax knowing that he is behind bars.”
More victims included a couple in Bacup, who were left devastated when their plans to take in an elderly relative and provide her with end-of-life care went wrong when Hartley failed to complete an extension for her.
The homeowner's mother spent her final days in the front room of the property, which had no heating or hot water.
Videos from SWNS also show Hartley becoming angry and threatening to "bounce" one of the victims.
A story published by the Lancashire Telegraph earlier this month featured photos and videos provided by Lancashire County Council’s Trading Standards team which laid bare the extent to which Hartley had left projects unsafe and unfinished.
Hartley denied 26 offences under the Fraud Act 2006 and the Consumer Protection Act from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 at a hearing in 2024, with a trial listed for last year.
However, in May 2025, he pleaded guilty to six counts under the Fraud Act 2006 and three counts under the Consumer Protection Act from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.
As part of the sentencing by Judge Andrew Jeffries, Hartley was made the subject of a seven-year Criminal Behaviour Order which prevents him from directly or indirectly carrying out management functions connected to building work, although it does not stop him working as a builder for someone else.
A Proceeds of Crime Act investigation will now follow to recover his ill-gotten gains.
Councillor Joshua Roberts, Lancashire County Council cabinet member for rural affairs, environment, and communities, said Hartley "is one of the most prolific and heartless fraudsters" that the council has come across.
Share