Dozens 'ripped off' in £500,000 building 'scam'

Sian and Simon Romsey say they lost nearly £16,000 after paying a deposit to secure a start date for work to create their dream family home More than 30 customers claim they were scammed after paying deposits totalling nearly £500,000 for building work that was not delivered, the BBC has learned. The BBC has heard from 13 of those customers who say they paid tens of thousands of pounds to South Coast Construction (Sussex) Ltd (SCC) which operated in Dorset, Hampshire, Sussex and Surrey. Sussex Police said it was investigating "a number of reports of alleged fraud" in connection with the company. SCC's director strongly denied he had deliberately scammed customers saying he did not take customers' money without intending to carry out the work and that he was "deeply sorry" to all those affected. More stories from Hampshire & the Isle of Wight Watch the latest episode of South Today from Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Sian and Simon Romsey from Southampton were planning a double-storey extension with two extra bedrooms, a new kitchen-diner and shower room. They said SCC had appealed to them because the company claimed to offer a full design and build package and appeared to have a number of endorsements on its website. "They had all of their accreditations... even talking to them on the phone very, very reassuring... even down to the contract, I looked through it with a fine-tooth comb and everything was just so slick, so professional," Simon said. The couple said they paid a deposit of nearly £16,000 in March which they were told would cover architectural drawings and secure the last available start date in June. But Simon said "alarm bells started blowing up in our heads" when the architect contacted them to say she had not been paid and would not release the drawings a week before work was due to start. "We tried getting in contact with South Coast - they'd disconnected the phone, couldn't get through... my whole world just crumbled and it's a feeling that I never, ever want to experience again," said Simon. Sian added: "Having no control over that was really scary... the fact it can happen in an instant is really frightening." The couple have since joined an action group made up of 36 other customers who also claim to have all paid SCC thousands of pounds for work that was not done. Simon said he called his bank multiple times over two months before he finally got his money back in August.