'Rogue builder' left Blackburn family with collapsed ceilings

Izaz Akoo, who also goes by the name 'Leo', was ordered by a judge at Burnley County Court on February 1 to pay his customer £20,400 in compensation for shoddy, unfinished work carried out at the customer’s property in Blackburn in 2021.

The former customer, who did not wish to be named, said: “This ‘builder’ fleeced me for tens of thousands of pounds and didn't complete the job he was contracted to do.

“The judge took less than 10 minutes to come to her decision, and he has been ordered to pay the extra costs it took for me to get the job completed by other tradesmen.

“He also must pay my legal costs.

“I feel that the local community need to be made aware of such builders so that the same fate doesn't fall on them like they have to me.”

Buckets piled in the customer's home and the mess left outside his property (Image: Public)

The customer said Akoo left him and his family with incomplete works, including extensive damage to internal ceilings and walls, and left his house in a “state”.

Images and video footage shared with the Lancashire Telegraph show how the customer had to place buckets on the floor throughout his home in order to catch water from leaks following periods of heavy rain and bad weather.

The customer, a father-of-three, said Akoo started work on a dormer extension at his property in April 2021, and initially said it would take 10 weeks for the work to be complete.

However, by September 2021, with work still unfinished, the customer said he asked for some of his money back.

He said: “He refused and promised me he’d complete my job in a four-week period, but this didn’t happen and the workmen didn’t show.

“He then demanded more money than what we’d agreed, and he eventually turned up at my house in December 2021 for an hour, after he’d received a letter from my solicitor, but again he said he needed more cash.

“That’s when we decided to take him to court.

The outside of the customer's property with shoddy work on the roof (Image: Public)

“None of the internal work was done and he left me without flooring or walls in the dormer extension.

“The picture of the buckets shows how many I needed scattered around my house for the influx of rainwater during bad weather.

“I'd stuck to the payment schedule that was agreed with him and had even gone beyond that by paying him in advance as he left me with a leaking roof, but he didn't finish the job in the timescale, and then started to demand more money to get the job finished.

“It's been a very difficult few years for me having three young children and him leaving me with collapsed ceilings and the cold and rain coming in.

“Financially it's been a strain too as I ended up having to pay double for the job to be completed by other tradesmen just so my house was in a state to be habitable.

“Thankfully the jobs have almost been completed, but I have been left out of pocket and I don't want anyone else to have to go through what me and my family went through because of builders like this person.”

The ceiling in the customer's home (Image: Public)

According to the customer, Akoo offered to pay the £35,400 compensation at £10 per month, which would result in the full amount only being paid after 300 years.

The Blackburn dad went on: “Unfortunately, he is stating he does not have the funds to be able to pay me back.

“We've responded to his proposal by saying it's not acceptable and are now waiting for the court to get back to us as to what steps to take next.

“He’s been ordered to pay back £35,400 in total and this should have been paid within 14 days of the court decision.

“He has proposed to pay back £10 per month, which would result in the payment being completed in 300 years’ time, and that's not taking the interest incurred into consideration!

“I offered him two opportunities to settle out of court over the course of the two years that this has been going on for, for lesser amounts, however, he refused to participate fairly in the informal mediation that was organised.”

Attempts were made to contact Akoo but the Lancashire Telegraph was unable to find a working telephone number for him, and the number listed online for a business believed to be owned by Akoo, PLB Services, was no longer in use.