Family handed £250k bill after loft extension disaster brings entire house crashing down

A family was left with a £250,000 bill after builders’ insurance didn’t cover a botched loft extension that saw their terraced home collapse.

James Hobby, 54, and his partner were left massively out of pocket and their son suffered a broken leg in the renovation disaster.

The £38,000 extension was supposed to add two more bedrooms to the property in Windsor.

But the upper floor of the house ended up caving in when the roof was removed, completely destroying the floor below.

Their son was inside and suffered a broken leg and a subcontractor was seriously injured too.

Fire crews were called out when the home collapsed.

The cause of the accident was down to the builder failing to prop the gable, party wall and chimney.

Mr Hobby and his wife, who share their home with their two sons, were away on holiday while the work was taking place.

Speaking on BBC’s Rip Off Britain TV show , Mr Hobby said: “We were really in deep shock and couldn’t really comprehend how that could possibly have happened.

“The damage was so extensive and the injuries were shocking. I was completely shocked by it.”

Mr Hobby told the BBC that his building insurance wouldn’t cover the damage, due to a clause that states it won’t pay out for poor workmanship.

Instead, the insurance company said liability for the damage would rest with the builder.

But six months after the collapse, the builder’s insurance company, Direct Line, said that it wouldn’t cover the cost either.

Direct Line said it had found three County Court Judgements (CCJs) against the builder’s name – and said these weren’t disclosed when taking out the policy, meaning they wouldn’t pay out.

The builder said he was unaware of the CCJs and has since paid them off, meanwhile Mr Hobby hasn’t been able to take the case further with Direct Line as he isn’t a customer with them.

He also isn’t able to complain to the Financial Ombudsman for the same reason, and hopes the builder will appeal to them.

Mr Hobby and his family have since moved back into their home after spending life savings on repairing the house and having to borrow money from family.

A spokesperson for Direct Line Business Insurance told the BBC: “We sympathise with the situation Mr Hobby finds himself in because his builder failed to disclose the full facts when he took out his insurance policy.

“As Mr Hobby is not our customer, we are unable to discuss the details relating to the policy we voided and any questions should be directed to his builder.

“However, when buying business insurance it is important that customers provide accurate information and disclose relevant facts when prompted because it determines whether we will accept the risk.

“Once a policy is issued we make it clear that customers should tell us immediately if any details are incorrect otherwise the policy could be invalid or voided.”

• Rip Off Britain is on BBC One at 9:15am