Dream house ruined by nightmare contractor

Contractor can't be found after taking $85,000 deposit, leaving Pasir Ris house in ruins. -TNP
Najib Siddik

Mon, Oct 10, 2011
The New Paper

With six rooms, a sea view and just a walk from Pasir Ris Park, it was to be his dream house.

But insurance agent Vincent Koh Keng Hin, 38, had his dream hacked down, literally, and he has been living in a nightmare since earlier this year.

His contractor allegedly took a down payment of $85,000 and failed to deliver.

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The renovation works were abandoned and his contractor could not be contacted since August.

No wonder the executive director of Vincent Koh and Associates is frustrated.

He is married to IT analyst Belle Wong Roo Pee, 38, and they have two sons, who are six and nine years old.

They jointly earn between $20,000 and $30,000 monthly.

He said: "My entire family has been inconvenienced this entire year.We were hoping to move in by July, but it's impossible now."

When The New Paper visited Mr Koh's two-storey inter-terrace house at Pasir Ris Heights last week, the basic structure was still intact.

But that was about it.

There were yawning gaps where walls had been hacked away.

Rocks, rubble and wood were strewn all over the place.

There were also puddles of stagnant water with mosquito larvae.

Mr Koh, who bought the house for about $1.3 million, said: "There's no way anyone can live here. We're left with one big mess of a house. People now think I've no money to pay for my renovation."

Mr Koh first met the contractor in October last year when he viewed the house with a property agent.

Mr Koh's friend, a 39-year-old cargo officer who declined to be named, took the contractor along for the viewing at Pasir Ris Heights and recommended his services to Mr Koh.

Dream house ruined by nightmare contractor Click on thumbnail to view

 

In a phone interview last Friday, the friend said he was a secondary school friend of the contractor.

"I've seen some of his works and they were good, so I told Vincent about him. I'm really sorry to hear about what happened between them. Frankly, I didn't gain anything from this and I don't know where he is now."

Mr Koh, who has represented Great Eastern Life Assurance for 16 years, completed his purchase last November, and took out a 30-year bank loan at about $3,000 a month.

At present, Mr Koh rents a terrace house at Still Road for about $3,000 a month. Good first impression

He said of the contractor: "I had a very good impression. I was impressed by his professionalism, his mannerisms and even the BMW 6 Series which he drove.

"My friend kept telling me that he's a 'steady' contractor. So I trusted him and the deal was on almost immediately."

Mr Koh then requested a quotation at a meeting in last November.

They met a few more times and the contractor explained the payment process.

Said Mr Koh: "We're supposed to make payment on a progressive basis. Once a job is completed, we have to pay him based on work done."

Mr Koh was quoted $320,000 for the project. When he asked for a discount, the contractor said that if MrKoh could pay $85,000 upfront, he would reduce the quotation to $300,000.

"He said he needed the $85,000 to buy materials," said Mr Koh, who agreed to the deal.

On Dec 28, Mr Koh engaged the contractor's services for a "full reconstruction" of the house, and handed him the house key and a cheque of $85,000.

The contractor started work in January but by the end of February, the work had slowed down.

Said Mr Koh: "From March onwards, nothing was done, so we kept calling him to find out what was going on. He kept saying he was waiting for approval from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and the Building and Construction Authority (BCA). I suspected that he didn't submit anything for approval at all."

Some work resumed in April.

Mr Koh said: "In April, he claimed that the URA and BCA had approved the works, so he started hacking the house. At one point, I became suspicious.

Usually, when reconstruction is involved, a board stating the names of the owner, builder, engineer and other parties will be placed outside the house to show that the works are approved by the authorities.

"However, there was no board. Not wanting to get into any trouble, I kept chasing him for it. He kept telling me the board was coming soon.

In mid-April, the board was put up, so Mr Koh felt reassured.

The couple made occasional trips on weekends to check on the progress. Although it was slow, they still trusted their contractor.

On July 26, the authorities inspected the house.

Shortly after, to his dismay, Mr Koh received information from a BCA officer that it had discovered that the Project Reference Number on the board was registered to another property, which was also undergoing renovation.

The officer advised Mr Koh to lodge a police report, which he did on Aug 14 at Marine Parade Neighbourhood Police Centre.

The police confirmed the report and said Mr Koh was advised on his legal recourse.

Mr Koh said he confronted the contractor in early August at the house.

That was their last encounter.

Mr Koh said of that encounter that the contractor insisted everything was on track.

But when Mr Koh asked him about the board, the contractor told him that all the licenses were approved.

Mr Koh said he was very convincing and kept his cool. He didn't elaborate further.

TNP called all the phone numbers listed to the contractor but received a "not in service" response. Invoices provided by Mr Koh and his wife listed addresses in Clementi, Queensway and two along Balestier Road.

TNP went to the offices last Friday at Balestier Plaza and Shaw Plaza, both on Balestier Road.

A security guard at the former said the company had closed down while tenants at the latter said the office there had been closed for a month. While an invoice listed a third-floor unit in Balestier Plaza, our check showed that there were no retail units or offices on the building's third floor.

The contractor also could not be found at residential addresses provided by Mr Koh at Zion Road and Teban Gardens.

A check with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority showed that the business was registered to an address in International Plaza, Anson Road.

But TNP was unable to contact the contractor at that address as well.

A BCA spokesman said: "Since June 16, 2009, the Building Control Act requires builders carrying out works to have a builder's licence from BCA.

Case: Contractor woes among top 10 complaints

 Failure to honour promises made.

Contractors disappearing halfway through a job. Shoddy workmanship. Defective goods and misleading claims.

These are some of the complaints against renovation contractors received by the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) this year.

A spokesman for Case said that complaints against contractors usually fall into the top 10 category of complaints it receives.

So far this year, Case has received a total of 986 complaint cases, of which 65 were filed. Filed cases are those where the complainants authorise Case to handle the case on their behalf.

Non-filed cases came in the form of feedback and enquiries where consumers decided to deal with their vendors directly after seeking advice from Case.

Last year, 1,313 complaint cases against renovation contractors were reported, of which 87 were filed.

Case executive director Seah Seng Choon said that trends such as property booms have an unwanted side effect: A spike in complaints against renovation contractors.

As to why contractors fail to meet the standards they have promised, Mr Seah said: "Some contractors face the problem of not having enough skilled workers.

"Poor communication between home owners and contractors or unclear contractual terms are some of the other reasons."

A Building and Construction Authority spokesman said that during construction, the builder must display a project signboard at the construction site.

He added: "A sample of the signboard is provided in the Conditions of Permit appended to the permit issued to the joint applicants."

Details stating clearly the project title and contact details of its developer or owner, architect, professional engineer, expected date of completion, and hotlines of the relevant authorities should be included.

Case will mediate real estate cases - for a fee ranging from $35 for members with a claim range of below $5,000 to $400 for non-members with a claim range of above $40,000.

Consumers can also approach the Renovation and Decoration Advisory Centre (Radac).

They are also advised to request quotations from more than one design firm and pay their contractors progressively for work done.

This article was first published in The New Paper.