Case study: It got so bad we had to sack our cowboy builders

We thought we'd done all the research, selected builders recommended by our architect and, as we signed the contract, even joked with them about the Don't Blame the Builder series that was on Channel 4 at the time.

But within weeks, things started to go wrong - so wrong that we were ultimately forced to sack the builder just weeks before my wife was due to give birth.

Alarm bells started to ring when I found materials and tools dumped in rooms supposedly off-limits.

The lack of care over everything from protecting our possessions to mud-strewn floors was difficult to stomach.

Later, anger turned to disbelief. They were late or simply didn't turn up, left tasks half-finished all over the place rather than working from room to room, and seemed unconcerned at near disasters like a water leak causing part of the ceiling to crash down into our hall.

We were forced to bring in another firm to sort out the mess, and consoled ourselves that we had paid only in instalments.