大象传媒

Builder Dean Ward just doesn鈥檛 know when to give up.

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In 2013 he was given 200 hours' community service, and ordered to pay 拢3,000 in compensation and costs for his dodgy work on a garage roof in Caerphilly.

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His work was so bad that trading standards officers said a primary school child could have built a better roof.

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But instead of giving up building, he moved on to Trimsaran in Carmarthenshire where he set up a new building company.

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He advertised this company, Building and Home Improving Ltd, on the builders鈥� website myhammer.co.uk and was contracted to build an extension for Laura Lowe and Michail Nechajev in Swansea.

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Laura told X-Ray he was a good salesman. She said: "He seemed nice, fairly young chap... seemed to know what he was talking about."

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But the couple were horrified when they saw the extension wall.

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Laura said: "The standard was appalling; nothing looked sturdy, the bricks didn鈥檛 look like they鈥檇 been cut properly."

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Building Inspector David Hartill from Swansea Council was also shocked by the wall, which had crumbling mortar and gaps between the bricks.

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He said: "Basic building practices have not been adhered to. I could physically push the wall over 鈥� I was rocking it. There was no alternative for this wall to come down."

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Dean Ward has been ordered by a court to pay more than 拢5,000 to Laura and Michail but he has not paid it. He also failed to pay the compensation to the family he worked for in Caerphilly. He has other unpaid court judgements against him.

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Despite his terrible work on the roof in Caerphilly and the extension in Swansea, he still seems to be working in the building trade. He was leaving for work in builders鈥� clothes when X-Ray reporter Rachel caught up with him.

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He tried to blame sub-contractors for his bad work even though nobody else had seen them.

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He claimed he had paid off all his debts and said he had lots of happy customers in his ten years in the building trade and that customers return to his companies. He told us on the phone he was currently running several building jobs.

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He added: "I don鈥檛 rip anybody off."

Nearly three million people in the UK buy a used car every year, and while we used to check the small ads or wander round the forecourt, many of us now spot a motor we fancy online.

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But while it seems there鈥檚 plenty of bargains available online, there鈥檚 also a maze of pitfalls to navigate.

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X-Ray鈥檚 Rhodri Owen investigated how to avoid the conmen who leave your bank account running on empty.

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Adrian and Nicola Lear from Pontypool in Torfaen were scammed while trying to buy a campervan.

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They searched the internet for the perfect van and in August they found one on an online auction site for 拢4,600.

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The seller, who called himself Robert Nomad, said they could reserve the van if they transferred money into a holding account which he claimed was run by the website.

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Mr Nomad told Adrian the money would only be released to him once Adrian had inspected the van at his London home.

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Feeling reassured Adrian put 拢4,600 into the holding account, but when the Lear鈥檚 arrived in London a few days later they didn鈥檛 get the welcome they were expecting.

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To their dismay the real owner of the house told the couple that neither Mr Nomad nor his van lived there.

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The Lear鈥檚 checked to see if their money could be retrieved but they quickly found out the holding account was a fake - and their cash was gone.

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Adrian said: 鈥淚 knew then we had been done. We could have both sat down in the road and cried.鈥�

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Rhodri asked motoring expert Tim Shallcross to share some of his top tips - and to lead him through the maze of car-buying pitfalls.

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Tim鈥檚 first tip is to check the MOT history of the vehicle you want.

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He said: 鈥淲hen you speak to the seller either via the website they're selling the vehicle on, email or over the phone ask them for the MOT test number from the VT20 test certificate. You can go to the , enter that number and you will get the details of the car from its previous MOT鈥檚. That includes any advisories and its mileage at each MOT, which will allow you to verify that the advertised mileage is the correct one.鈥�

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Tim also suggests:

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• Check the seller is actually allowed to sell the vehicle. There may be an outstanding loan on the vehicle, in which case it still belongs to the finance company which gave them the loan in the first place. For around 拢3 there are various companies online who will do a background check to see if there is any outstanding money owed on the vehicle.

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• If you are looking at a vehicle on an online auction site you should check the history of the person selling it. You should be able to see what they鈥檝e sold in the past and what feedback they have from other people.

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• Never pay large amounts of money to a seller upfront. Consider paying the seller a 拢100 deposit to show you are a genuine buyer, then go and meet them in person at their home. You can then check that the VIN (vehicle identification number) on the V5 or 鈥榣ogbook鈥� matches what is on the vehicle and that the vehicle actually exists.