KUALA LUMPUR: For Kumar (not his real name), hundreds of thousands of ringgit was spent, but his dream home remains as distant as ever.
What began as a grand plan to demolish his new house and rebuild it using industrialised building system (IBS) ended in a nightmare when he lost a tonne of cash in the process to an unscrupulous contractor.
Kumar, 63, from Kuala Lumpur, had initially spent almost RM300,000 in 2021 on buying a double-storey house in Serendah, Rawang.
With his IBS plan in mind, he put up a post in a Facebook group seeking recommendations. It wasn't long before he was approached by a contractor, who claimed he was well-versed in IBS.
The contractor, who claimed to be a Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) licence-holder, asked for RM168,000 in payment.
They proceeded to draw up an agreement.
"When he sent me the agreement, I saw that the company was under his wife's name. The agreement didn't seem right, so I asked my lawyer to check it.
"My lawyer did a thorough check on him and told me it was okay to sign the agreement," he says.
He then made an initial payment of RM58,000, as stipulated in the payment schedule.
The contractor, however, failed to start work on the agreed date. Kumar's lawyer then sent a letter to him.
"So on Dec 5 the same year, what he did was he came with a bulldozer and damaged the house.
"I told them that I wanted to reuse the wooden frame because it was expensive wood but they knocked everything down," he said, adding that a neighbour's house was also damaged in the process.
Kumar later discovered that the contractor had built the footing of his house incorrectly. However, the contractor refused to rectify it.
They failed to reach an agreement, and the contractor expressed a desire to discontinue the project.
Kumar's lawyer then sent another letter to the contractor to seek clarification on the progress made with the initial payment.
The contractor's response included bank statements and invoices purportedly received from dealers.
"He gave us bank statements as proof that he paid two hardware shops. However, when we checked with them (hardware shop owners), they said they never received such payments.
"One of the shop owners also said the contractor warned her not to tell us what he had bought from the shop.
"That was when I knew he used low-quality materials that did not meet specifications to build my house," Kumar says.
Kumar lodged several police reports but claimed nothing happened to the contractor.
Instead, he was advised to pursue civil action against the contractor for breaching their contract.
Unfortunately, having paid so much money to the contractor, he no longer has the financial means to do so.
"Even then, he won't go to jail because the company is under his wife's name. He can wash his hands clean off it.
"Now the house is just an empty plot of land. I feel sick looking at it each time I go there," says Kumar.
The same contractor also preyed on another customer, who only wished to be known as Lina, who hired him to renovate her kitchen in July 2022.
The contractor initially projected an air of professionalism, sharing his CIDB certification and company registration with Lina.
Work got off to a quick start, but slowed midway and the contractor started to demand for more funds.
Lina stopped paying once she realised she had given the contractor RM18,750, which was about 75 per cent of the total amount. Less than 50 per cent of the work had been completed.
"He told everyone that I wasn't paying him and refused to continue with the renovation," she says.
She says she has since met at least four more victims of the contractor.
Lina went beyond filing a police report. She reported the contractor to the Consumer Claims tribunal to get her money back.
However, she found the entire process inconvenient due to the constant postponement of her hearing, which was delayed for five times.
She had to fork out RM1,000 as she had to get a quantity surveyor to provide an expert view on the renovation.
"This is unfair to us. We are the victims but we have to bear so much additional cost," she says.
Data furnished by the tribunal, however, indicated that more than 80 per cent of cases reported to them last year had been solved.
More than 99 per cent of reported cases were solved in 2022 and all reported cases were solved in 2021.
Lina also criticised CIDB for doing little to help her.
"I reported the case to CIDB but it was very slow in taking action. I emailed them before but nothing happened.
"Since we spoke, I actually emailed them again, and finally received a reply from them, asking for the contractor's details," she says, adding that the contractor is still actively promoting his business on social media.
TOMORROW: New Construction Industry Development Board chief executive officer Datuk Mohd Zaid Zakaria spells out his plans to enhance transparency and protect homeowners from falling victim to rogue contractors.