Anger after Harrogate builder James Moss declared bankrupt

Three women owed thousands of pounds by Harrogate cowboy builder James Moss have said they feel let down by the system after he was declared bankrupt.

Mr Moss has lost a string of civil court cases in recent years for poor quality or unfinished building work. He owed over £30,000 to five different homeowners who won cases against him.

Going bankrupt means that Mr Moss, who lives in Summerbridge, won’t be liable for his debts and it is unlikely his claimants will ever see a penny they are owed or recover legal bills.

‘Completely flabbergasted’

Karen Macgillivray-Fallis spent her life savings on a £30,000 garage conversion in Burton Leonard for her elderly mother-in-law, but Mr Moss left it in such a state it had to be demolished.

Her mother-in-law passed away and Ms Macgillivray-Fallis blames Mr Moss for denying them of their final days living together as a family.

She said:

“I am completely flabbergasted how easy it is for someone who owes money to declare themselves bankrupt. 

“I am not a big business, I am a normal person who has lost life savings in an attempt to provide a home for my elderly mother-in-law who never had the opportunity to come and live with us due to the actions of Mr Moss. She died alone in April 2019.

“It is very frustrating that the court look at all the evidence, make a decision and then the decision seems to be unenforceable. I have worked for charities all my working life so I really support systems that protect people in genuine need but I have not seen any evidence that this is the case with Mr Moss.

“It is really important to me that justice prevails and we will be taking further steps to ensure that this happens.”

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Gill Lawrence works for a homeless charity and takes vulnerable young people into at her home near Wetherby Road whilst they get back on their feet

Mr Moss left a £13,000 kitchen conversion half-finished whilst pocketing almost the total agreed quote.

Ms Lawrence said she feels “let down” by the legal system, which has cost her even more money trying to recover the money she was owed.

“I have paid to take him to court, who agreed with me. They instructed him to pay me £8,700 which he refused to do. The courts do nothing else to ensure you get the money they have instructed him to pay.

“At that point I think it should be up to them to enforce payment, but no, you have to pay them even more money for them to instruct payment, and then you have to pay even more money to instruct bailiffs to collect from him.

“He has still refused to pay. So now he has declared himself bankrupt, I feel like I have been let down three times, by him, the courts and the bailiffs who I paid a fortune to and I’ve ended up with nothing. How can that be right?.”

‘More regulation is needed’

Vicky Cooke is a French teacher from Ilkley who needed a new roof on an extension at her home. Ms Cooke paid Moss £3,400 for the job, and he even offered a 25-year guarantee that the work would be built to last.

But after apparently completing the job it took just two months for the roof to start leaking.

Ms Cooke said:

“I’m not really surprised that Mr Moss is declaring himself bankrupt. The debt will be written off. In the meantime, we’ve worked hard and honestly to earnt the money to pay a reputable roofer to repair what we’d already paid to Mr Moss to do.

“The whole building and roofing trade needs regulating to protect consumers from cowboys like James Moss.”

‘The system is unfair’

Andrew Gray, founder of Harrogate law firm Truth Legal, said the small claims court process was stacked against the claimant and that “crafty defendants” know how to play the system.

He said:

“If a claimant engages a solicitor to pursue a claim, then, even if the claim succeeds, the claimant is unlikely to recover their legal costs. In claims for smaller sums, perversely, the legal fees can dwarf the amount of damages. With or without lawyers, the process is slow and always stressful.

“When defendants become insolvent, the litigation process usually becomes pointless, further annoying a genuine claimant, who is left significantly out of pocket and further aggrieved.

“Frankly, the system is unfair and is deserving of a significant upheaval.

“Crafty defendants know how to play the system, to the massive disadvantage of the rule-following majority.”

The Stray Ferret asked Mr Moss to respond to this article but we did not receive a response by time of publication.

Harrogate cowboy builder James Moss declared bankrupt

Harrogate cowboy builder James Moss has been declared bankrupt, following a string of civil court cases in the past few years for poor quality or unfinished building work.

Mr Moss left a trail of shoddy workmanship across the Harrogate district and owed over £30,000 to five different homeowners who won cases against him.

A document on the public records website The Gazette says Mr Moss filed for bankruptcy last week and his application was accepted the next day. It lists him as not working and living in Summerbridge.

Mr Moss has multiple claims outstanding from people who hired him for building work. 

Last year, the Stray Ferret heard how two women won cases against him in the civil court.

They included a woman in Harrogate who said he left a £13,000 kitchen half-finished whilst pocketing almost the total agreed quote.

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Three different claimants have also won cases in the county court against Mr Moss this year alone.

In January, he was told to pay £11,495 to a woman who was unhappy about the quality of his work.

In February, he was ordered to repay money after a £30,000 garage conversion was so poor it had to be partly demolished.

In April, he was ordered by a judge to repay a man from Knaresborough £1,275 after he took a deposit but failed to show up on a job.

None of them have received any money from Mr Moss.

The Stray Ferret asked Mr Moss for a comment but he declined.

Harrogate cowboy builder James Moss ordered to repay deposit by courts

Harrogate builder James Moss has been ordered by a judge to repay a man from Knaresborough £1,275, after he took a deposit but failed to show up on a job.

The Harrogate Justice Centre held a virtual hearing yesterday with claimant David King. Mr Moss failed to attend.

District Judge William Josling read out an email sent by Mr Moss to the court on April 16. It said the business that he claimed provided the work, DBL Yorkshire, has now ceased trading and he has no association with it any longer.

The judge said he had also submitted a defence of bad weather and supply.

However, this was not accepted by Judge Josling who proceeded to hear the case in the builder’s absence.

Mr King, of Beech Grove in Knaresborough, told the court that he had paid £1,275 in a deposit in June 2020 for building work that was never started.

He said a date was set to begin the work in August 2020 “which came and went”.

He added:

“The excuses came in, he said there was problems with the weather and the scaffolding. Then he ceased communications.”

Judge Josling ordered Mr Moss to pay Mr King the full £1,275 plus costs.

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Three different claimants have now won cases in the county court against Mr Moss in 2021 alone.

In January, he was told to pay £11,495 to a woman who was unhappy about the quality of his work.

In February, he was ordered to repay money after a £30,000 garage conversion was so poor it had to be partly demolished.

Last year, the Stray Ferret heard how two other women also won cases against Mr Moss in the civil court for poor workmanship.

None of them have received any money from James Moss.

North Yorkshire County Council’s trading standards department has been criticised for its response to the builder.

Trading standards criticised for response to Harrogate builder

North Yorkshire County Council’s trading standards department has been accused of not taking complaints about a Harrogate builder seriously.

Over a period of at least seven years, James Moss has set up and closed several new companies and has been ordered by the civil courts to pay tens of thousands to customers following multiple complaints of shoddy workmanship.

Yet trading standards, which has been aware of Moss since at least 2014, recently closed an investigation following a complaint due to a lack of evidence, which it said was “hampered” by the covid pandemic.

Trading Standards has the power to investigate cases that could ultimately result in a criminal record, fines, disqualification from acting as a director or even imprisonment.

People who have made complaints against Moss though to trading standards told the Stray Ferret that it could have acted against him years ago and spared a trail of misery for his customers.

2014: “Nothing happens”

Kev, who asked us not to use his surname, bought a fireplace from James Moss in Harrogate in 2014.

After the builder “made a mess of it”, the county court ordered Moss to repay some money back, which he has not received seven years later.

Kev said he complained to trading standards about Moss but was disheartened after the complaint went nowhere. He said “they didn’t seem to be bothered.”

Even though his dealings with Moss were many years ago, Kev said it was a stressful time for him and his wife who are still troubled by the experience today. 

He believes that if trading standards had taken tough action following his complaint in 2014, it could have prevented James Moss from trading by the courts.

“At the end of the day they have procedures, but nothing happens.”

2018: “Fobbed off”

In March 2018, four years on from Kev’s complaint, trading standards began an investigation into James Moss following a complaint from Karen Macgillivray-Fallis from Burton Leonard.

Ms Macgillivray-Fallis submitted her complaint after the builder left a garage conversion in such a state it had to be demolished.

But she has grown frustrated with the speed of their investigation into her case and says she felt “fobbed off” and “not taken seriously” by the department.

She said it took until September 2018 before she was even asked to submit a formal statement.

In October 2020 she received a letter from NYCC’s trading standards which said its investigation into Moss has been closed.

It had been exploring whether he had breached the Consumer Protection From Unfair Trading Regulation 2008 and the Fraud Act 2006 whilst working for Ms Macgillivray-Fallis.

The letter, which has been seen by the Stray Ferret, said it was closing the investigation due to a lack of evidence. It also blamed the covid crisis for hampering its inquiries, which Ms Macgillivray-Fallis said is not good enough.

She said:

“Using the pandemic as an excuse for inaction is a bit crass.”

“It’s just heartbreaking. I hate injustice.”

“Toothless tiger”

In the time that Ms Macgillivray-Fallis made her initial complaint to trading standards in 2018, others, including Gill Lawrence, Vicky Cooke and Anna McIntyre have all won civil cases against James Moss.

Moss has also set up eight new companies and dissolved five of them.

Last month, Ms Macgillivray-Fallis won her own case against Moss in the Harrogate small claims court when he was ordered to pay almost £10,000. 

Despite the civil courts ruling against Moss time and again, we are not aware of trading standards taking any firm action against the builder.

We spoke to one person who was so defeated after a previous experience with trading standards that he didn’t bother making a complaint after being unsatisfied with the quality of James Moss’s work.

He called the department a “toothless tiger”.

“A strong track record”

James Moss has always maintained his building work has been of good quality and has disputed some of the court claims against him. He told the Stray Ferret in November last year that he has ceased trading as a builder.

In a statement released to the Stray Ferret, Matt O’Neill, assistant director of growth, planning and trading standards, said he would not comment on individual cases but defended the department’s track record.

He said:

“Our trading standards service is determined in its enforcement work, not only to protect the residents of North Yorkshire as consumers, but also to ensure a level playing field for the many legitimate businesses in the county.

“The service receives about 7,000 complaints from consumers each year. Officers assess these to determine which should be investigated. Following an investigation, enforcement may range from advice and guidance to prosecution and confiscation or forfeiture of assets following conviction.

“In deciding whether to prosecute, the service must first be satisfied that there is sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction. A decision to prosecute is not taken lightly. Prosecution is a serious step with considerable repercussions for those who face criminal charges.

“The service has a strong track record. For example, a joint operation with colleagues from other agencies last year saw the courts order offenders to give up £140,000 in proceeds from their crimes to compensate their victims.

“There are occasions when the standard of businesses’ work does not meet consumers’ expectations. This is not acceptable and consumers could take action in the civil courts for breach of contract. However, such conduct would not necessarily amount to a practice over which the trading standards service could take action.

“Equally, businesses sometimes fail. This is recognised in law, with provision for the management of bankruptcy and insolvency. A business failure alone will not amount to conduct about which the trading standards service could take action. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has a remit to investigate sole traders and companies that have acted illegally in relation to the formation or solvency of trading entities.”

Harrogate builder left £30,000 conversion ‘in such a state’ it was demolished

Harrogate builder James Moss has been ordered to repay a customer after a court heard a £30,000 garage conversion was so poor it had to be partly demolished.

Karen Macgillivray-Fallis, from Burton Leonard, told a virtual hearing at Harrogate Justice Centre yesterday that in 2018 she paid Mr Moss to create a living space for her mother-in-law.

Unhappy with the quality of work, she asked Mr Moss to either reimburse the money or continue working. He then ended contact with her.

She said:

“We heard nothing from you. My elderly mother-in-law was very poorly at the time. The build took five months not four or five weeks like you had said. We just wanted the thing finished. Despite various attempts to communicate, you never responded.”

District Judge Helen Wood ordered Mr Moss to pay Ms Macgillivray-Fallis £9,586 plus costs. The small claims court has a £10,000 upper claims limit.

The judge accepted this would mean that Ms Macgillivray-Fallis “is going to be out of pocket”.

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Chartered quantity surveyor Peter Slater told Judge Wood that Mr Moss’ work on the extension did not comply with building regulations. Mr Moss disputed this.

The half-finished extension.

Mr Slater said there were problems with the plumbing, plastering, insulation and electrics and recommended that the extension was demolished.

He added.

“Works were in such a bad state that you would have to demolish the extension and rebuild it.”

Defending himself, Mr Moss said he was only an employee of Yorkshire Outdoor Design, the company contracted to do the work.

The sole director of the company, which has now been dissolved, was Mr Moss’ wife.

Judge Wood struck out this defence and said Mr Moss “had provided no evidence” that he wasn’t the frontman of the company.

The case was originally due to be held in December 2020 but was adjourned after Mr Moss told the court he was self-isolating.

Court orders Harrogate builder James Moss to pay £11,000

A court has ordered Harrogate builder James Moss to pay £11,495 to a woman who was unhappy about the quality of his work.

The Harrogate Justice Centre held a virtual hearing yesterday with claimant Anna McIntyre, which Mr Moss failed to attend.

District judge Helen Wood said at the hearing:

“I understand that you have limited your claim to £10,000 to get this small claims court hearing and that it would cost £22,705 to put this right.

“I have no difficulty giving you what you have asked for. As well as the £10,000 for your claim I can give you £745 for your court fees and £750 for your expert fees.

“The company has filed a counter claim without any supporting documents so I am striking that out.”

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The judge added enforcement of the claim was “a different matter”.

In a separate case last month, Harrogate Justice Centre adjourned another civil claim against Mr Moss after he told the court he was self-isolating.

Karen Macgillvray-Fallis claimed £9,996 through the small claims court, which is close to the maximum threshold of £10,000.

The court said Ms Macgillvray-Fallis’s case would be held in January but it has yet to be heard.

Harrogate builder James Moss in court

A judge has adjourned a civil claim against Harrogate builder James Moss, after he told the court he was self-isolating.

Karen Macgillvray-Fallis says she paid Mr Moss over £30,000 to convert a garage in Burton Leonard into a living space for her mother-in-law, but she was not happy with the quality of the work.

Ms Macgillvray-Fallis is claiming £9,996 through the small claims court, which is close to the maximum threshold of £10,000.

At Harrogate Justice Centre, Judge Ross attempted to proceed with the case against Mr Moss via a hybrid hearing, which would involve him defending himself via telephone.

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Ms Macgillvray-Fallis is suing James Moss, trading as Yorkshire Outdoor Design, but Mr Moss told the judge he was only an employee of the company, whose sole director was his wife, Paula Moss.

He also claimed that building control signed the work off, which Ms Macgillvray-Fallis disputed.

However, as proceedings continued Mr Moss repeatedly told the judge that the telephone line was poor and he was unable to hear what was going on in the court, which forced Judge Ross to adjourn the case until January.

Women ripped off by ‘shoddy’ Harrogate builder

Two women who say they have been ripped off by a builder from Harrogate have formed a Whatsapp group called “The Avenging Warriors” to try and get their money back.

They claim the group has six other members who have had similar experiences with James Moss, who they say owes thousands of pounds and has left a trail of ‘shoddy’ workmanship across Harrogate.

“Mr Charming himself”– Gill’s story

Gill Lawrence works for a homeless charity and takes in vulnerable young people into at her home near to Wetherby Road whilst they get back on their feet. Last year, she decided she wanted a kitchen extension at her house to create more space for her guests. 

After advertising for a builder to do the work on the website MyBuilder.co.uk, she was contacted by James Moss, a tradesman based in Harrogate who said he would do the job for £13,000 plus VAT.  She told the Stray Ferret she thought this was a really good deal. 

Ms Lawrence described Moss was “Mr Charming himself”. After agreeing to the quote, work began in June last summer. 

Fast-forward six months to December 2019 and Ms Lawrence claims Moss left the kitchen half-finished whilst pocketing almost the total agreed quote.  

She says the problems with the kitchen were endless with the walls needing replastering, faulty electrics and plumbing, and a “wonky” window.  

How Ms Lawrence’s electrics were left by Mr Moss.

So far this year she has spent around £5,000 repairing the work — and it’s still unfinished. 

She said she feels very naïve for trusting Moss and that it’s had a big impact on her mental wellbeing. 

 “It’s soul-destroying. I don’t trust anyone anymore” 

Ms Lawrence subsequently wrote to Moss several times urging him to finish the job he had started, without reply. In March 2020 she took Moss to a small claims court, who ordered the builder to pay her £8,297 plus court costs.  

MyBuilder.co.uk told the Stray Ferret that Mr Moss’s account was banned in July 2019 after a complaint. 

A chequered business history 

According to Companies House, a government website that publishes information about businesses in the UK, he has been a director of 11 different building companies in the Harrogate district since 2012 with 8 of them now dissolved. 

A search on the website Trust Online also reveals that Moss currently has three county court judgements against his name, worth almost £8,000. 

However, a Companies House spokesperson told the Stray Ferret they have no powers to reject someone forming a new company unless they have been declared bankrupt. 

The name of the company which undertook Ms Lawrence’s kitchen extension was Yorkshire Outdoor Design. The company was dissolved in October 2019 whilst Moss was still working on Ms Lawrence’s kitchen extension.

Normally, Ms Lawrence would not be able to bring a civil case against a dissolved company but she managed to prove to the courts that there was no mention of Yorkshire Outdoor Design being a limited company in any of her correspondence with Moss, so she was able to sue him personally, even after the company folded. 

She has even hired a private investigator to find out where Mr Moss currently lives so she can send him letters about the money he owes her.

However, Ms Lawrence said she does not expect to ever see the money repaid to her. She has reported him to trading standards but said they have so far been “absolute rubbish”. 

North Yorkshire County Council trading standards told the Stray Ferret they would not comment on individual cases.

A 25-year guarantee — Vicky’s story

Vicky Cooke is a French teacher from Ilkley who needed a new roof on an extension at her home. After struggling to find a local builder who was available, she found a website for another one of Moss’s companies, DBL Yorkshire, in November 2019. 

Ms Cooke paid Moss £3,400 for the job, and he even offered a 25-year guarantee that the work would be built to last. 

But after apparently completing the job in December, it took just two months for the roof to start leaking. 

She said:

“There was no insulation, and it was obvious the roof was bad. It wasn’t properly fixed on. It was loose with big gaps in between the coping stones and water was getting in.” 

From being a “really nice bloke” when work began, Ms Cooke said Moss became “evasive and quite unpleasant”. 

After asking Moss to repair the leaking roof without reply, Ms Cooke took him to the small claims court who ruled in her favour, ordering Moss to pay £2,745, which he is now refusing to pay. 

She’s since spent around £1,000 repairing his poor work and says she now feels like an idiot for trusting Moss to do a good job. 

She said:

“Me and my husband feel quite stupid, angry and upset. I work properly for my money. I turn up to work and do what I’m paid for and I get my money. Then there are people like him who take that money from you.”  

Mr Moss’s response

Mr Moss told the Stray Ferret he disputes the allegations made by both women and confirmed that he does not intend to pay the money the courts have ordered him to pay.

He claimed he did not receive any correspondence from the small claims court regarding the civil cases. As a result, he was unable to defend himself at the court which is why they both ruled against him. He said he is now trying to fight both rulings.

He added he has now ceased trading as a builder.