A mother and full-time carer says she was scammed out of £1,500 by con men builders who promised to fit out her kitchen.
Jennifer Susan Tilley, 58, from Sheldon in Birmingham, claims she and her son, who has mental health difficulties, were forced to live in appalling conditions after the fake firm vanished with her money.
Pictures show ripped plaster, bare walls riddled with holes and materials scattered across the floor.
She said her family had to survive on takeaway meals as they are unable to cook, according to Birmingham Live.
Ms Tilley received a leaflet through the door from a company called Armstrong Builders Ltd and called for a quote to do up her council flat kitchen.
"I thought it was genuine because they actually started on the same day and came back the next day," she said.
"They did the plugs and stuck white damp proofing on the walls."
Ms Tilley claims the builders visited her home, gave her a quote and started work on May 30th.
They asked for £700 up front the next day, and the day after they returned to start work, receiving another £800.
Ms Tilley left to let them carry out the work and went to get her son vaccinated for Covid.
When she returned the men were gone and had left sheets of plasterboard on the kitchen floor.
"Everything is cluttered in the living room", she said. "The only thing I have in the kitchen is the washing machine.
"I have nothing to cook on."
When she contacted the builders she was told it would all be "sorted" but they then blocked her number so she could not call them.
The number on the Armstrong Builders leaflet is reportedly not working.
"I've tried the police and they have basically fobbed me off", said Ms Tilley.
"I phoned the police and read the leaflet out and they said to go to Citizens Advice Bureau."
Ms Tilley says she now feels "scared" to have people in her home.
"You just don't know what they could have robbed", she said.
"I went out for the day and left my daughter [in the house with the
workmen]. It has shook me up a bit."
She also said the experience had "triggered" her son and that she has seen similar stories on social media.
A spokesperson for West Midlands Police said: "The caller was advised to pursue the matter through Trading Standards."
