{
  "id": 6384694,
  "title": "Cowboy builder tore my home apart and disappeared off the face of the earth with £14k",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/09/cowboy-builder-tore-my-home-apart-and-disappeared-off-the-face-of-the",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-09T05:00:30.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "BBC Business",
    "slug": "bbc-business",
    "url": "https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clykjmjm6m0o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A woman named Sheri Ingram from Cardiff lost £14,000 after a builder named Lee Slocombe tore her home apart and vanished with the money. Slocombe was jailed for six years in February for defrauding nine victims of £400,000. The government announced plans in August to give homeowners greater protections against \"cowboy builders\" through a database of trusted tradespeople. Ingram welcomed the plans but questioned the incentive for tradespeople to join the voluntary scheme. Another couple who were \"scarred for life\" by a rogue trader who left them £30,000 out of pocket said the database would give more confidence to homeowners. Slocombe was recommended by a serving police officer, but Ingram questioned why they didn't \"trust him\". He had been on bail while committing the offences, and had pleaded guilty to a fraudulent business in March 2021 to May 2023. Slocombe had called himself Lee Lewis to avoid his previous convictions and was banned from carrying out building work in the UK for life. The government plans to create protections for people renovating their homes against \"cowboy builders\" through a database and a payment system with safeguards.",
  "summary": "Victims of cowboy builders describe how they were exploited with one couple left \"scarred for life\".",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "BBC News",
        "title": "Cowboy builder tore my home apart and disappeared off the face of the Earth with £14k",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/09/cowboy-builder-tore-my-home-apart-and-disappeared-off-the-face-of-the-6415794",
        "published": "2026-09-09T05:00:30.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}