Pensioner loses £17,000 retirement savings after man knocked on his door

Pensioner loses £17,000 retirement savings after man knocked on his doorEric Jordan, 70, said he now cannot retire as plannedNewsAnnabal Bagdi Senior reporter09:45, 31 May 2025Eric Jordan A

pensioner who opened the door to a cowboy builder cold-calling at his home has told how he has been cheated out of his £17,000 retirement savings.

Eric Jordan was at home when a rogue trader knocked on his door and pointed out a ridge tile poking out on his roof, offering to fix it for £3,000.

‌ But after fixing the roof, he demanded £17,000 and left Eric feeling he had no choice but to pay.

‌ The 70-year-old security guard used most of his retirement savings to pay off the cowboy builder - and now cannot retire as planned.

Eric said: "I’m just absolutely devastated, I’m lost for words – it’s made me and my partner ill.

"We feel like we can’t trust anyone.

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"I was planning on retiring at the end of last year but now all this money has gone for nothing and I have to carry on working so we have enough money to live."

Eric, from Kettering, Northamptonshire, was was approached by the builder in October 2024.

‌ The builder pointed out a ridge tile on his roof which was poking in the air, allowing water inside, which Eric had not noticed.

Eric agreed for the builder to fix the roof and it was completed without any issues.

He said: "There was definitely a tile sticking out, I just did not notice it until he pointed it out…now I think he saw an easy target."

‌ The builder pointed out a piece of concrete missing on the gulley of his house and said he could 'repoint the walls' by scraping out the mortar from the bricks and redoing it to look

neater.

But he then went on to carry out the additional work without permission.

Eric Jordan was approached by a cowboy builder‌ He damaged the bathroom ceiling and left the house in a 'right state', Eric said.

Eric said: "Without saying yes or no, he started doing it, but he’s ripping out the original plaster that was in the joints, and started just pushing stuff in it.

"Basically, it looks like a right mess.

‌ "I’ve got all one side of a wall that looks like a kid’s been around there with Play-Doh and been filling in holes."

Despite his frustration, Eric asked the builder to fix a hole in the bathroom ceiling.

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‌ He said: "He pulled at the hole, and pulled the rest of the ceiling down.

"He disconnected the electrics so the shower can’t be used, and it was half painted, and there’s dust everywhere – it’s in a right state."

Despite the work being incomplete, Eric said the builder demanded £17,000.

‌ He said he paid it but the builder soon stopped showing up.

A few weeks later, Eric said the builder returned and demanded an extra £10,000 in cash.

Eric Jordan lost £17,000 to a rogue trader‌ But this time, Eric refused and now has not heard from him since.

Eric, who has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, said the botched job worsened his health.

He was in hospital for a week in November 2024 after struggling to breathe, which he said was down to the stress and the builder’s failure to use dust sheets.

‌ Eric said police have told him they have contacted Trading Standards after receiving multiple complaints about the builder in the area.

He said he has since discovered that several neighbours were also scammed by the same builder, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

It is understood the individual has gone by many different names, shutting one business only to set up another.

‌ Eric said one neighbour told him they believe the individual has even changed his legal name by deed poll.

Eric said: "He was also very careful to not give us anything with his name on it and he changed his phone number – he never came back to finish the work and we couldn’t contact him."

His partner Lorna Campbell has also been very 'stressed' and said she hates her life because of 'what they did'.

‌ Lorna, 69, who has been out of work since 2016 due to diabetic neuropathy, said: "It’s diabolical, when I go into the bathroom I want to scream…my life has gone from happiness to sadness

because of this, I hate my life because of what they did, it’s making me feel seriously ill.

"I’m fearful of them coming back or if I report them, what they’d do. They left plaster everywhere and there’s still so much dust.

"We pulled up the carpet in there because they got plaster all over it."

Article continues below Eric has set up a fundraising page to cover the costs of future repairs and get back some of the money 'wasted' on the builder who did not complete the work.

See the fundraiser here.