Shane Naylor

What began as an exciting home improvement project for a growing family quickly turned into a devastating nightmare that left a house severely damaged, a family displaced for months, and tens of thousands of pounds lost.

When I first contacted Shane Naylor he came across as professional, knowledgeable, and reassuring. During our initial meetings, we discussed extending our home to better suit our growing family, as well as replacing and insulating our ageing roof.

As discussions progressed, we decided instead to move forward with a full loft conversion and roof replacement. Shane explained the entire process confidently — architectural plans, structural engineering, council approvals — and assured us he would organise everything from start to finish. Most importantly, he repeatedly promised the work would be completed before Christmas.

Although delays began almost immediately with drawings, engineering plans, and paperwork, Shane continuously reassured us that everything was still on schedule. Despite concerns about the project running into autumn and winter weather, he insisted the work would take around eight weeks and that our family would be back home comfortably before Christmas.

Trusting those promises, we paid deposits and moved out of our home with our two young children — a toddler and a baby — into a cramped spare bedroom at a relative’s house. We accepted the disruption because we believed it would only be temporary.

At first, progress looked promising. The initial structural work moved quickly and large payments were requested and paid almost immediately. However, the problems soon escalated.

The project became plagued by constant excuses, missed deadlines, broken promises, and disappearing workers. Shane frequently claimed he was ill, had family problems, or that his phone was broken. Days and even weeks would pass with nobody attending the property, despite repeated assurances that teams of workers were supposedly on site.

As winter arrived, the situation became catastrophic.

The roof was left exposed for extended periods and rainwater began pouring into the house. Entire sections of the property flooded. Water damaged ceilings, walls, electrics, insulation, and internal finishes. During storms, roofing materials were blown from the roof into the street and neighbouring properties, creating a serious danger to the public.

Each time concerns were raised, more promises followed: the roof would be made waterproof “tomorrow”, additional workers would arrive “next week”, plasterers were “starting soon”, the project would still be finished before Christmas

None of it happened.

Instead, our family spent Christmas displaced from our home while the property remained in a dangerous and unfinished state. At times, there was no heating, exposed electrics, incomplete roofing, and ongoing water ingress. The stress became unbearable.

Despite the worsening condition of the project, Shane continued demanding money urgently and aggressively. On multiple occasions, payments were requested with promises that workers would return the next day to complete major stages of work — promises that were repeatedly broken.

As more money was paid, fewer workers appeared.

Eventually Shane admitted he had “run out of money,” claimed he had underquoted the project, and suggested we would need to find someone else to finish the work. Yet shortly afterwards he would apologise, promise to return, and convince us to continue giving him more time.

By this stage, we felt trapped. The house had been left in such a state that finding another contractor willing to take over mid-project seemed impossible. We had already invested huge amounts of money and were desperate simply to make the house safe enough for our children to return home.

Even basic elements of the build remained incomplete for months: leaking roof sections, unfinished dormer windows, incomplete electrics, poorly fitted windows causing drafts, missing gutters, unsafe external work, unfinished plastering, unresolved water damage

When concerns were raised about delays or workmanship, Shane often became defensive, aggressive, or abusive. There were occasions where swearing, and intimidation replaced professional communication.

Eventually enough was enough.

After giving repeated opportunities to resolve the situation, formal complaints and final warnings were issued. Despite agreeing new deadlines and accepting further payments, Shane still failed to complete the agreed work and ultimately abandoned the project entirely.

We were then forced to hire multiple other tradespeople to repair and complete the damage left behind.

The financial damage became enormous, but the emotional impact on our family was even worse. Months of stress, anxiety, displacement, and uncertainty took a severe toll on our mental wellbeing.

Legal action eventually became unavoidable.

Attempts to resolve matters directly were met with hostility and threats. Shane refused to provide a current address, became increasingly aggressive, and at one point behaviour escalated to the point where police involvement became necessary.

A court judgment was eventually obtained against him by default. Debt collectors were instructed but were unsuccessful.

During this process, other victims began coming forward with remarkably similar stories. Multiple homeowners described patterns of unfinished work, repeated excuses, aggressive behaviour, abandoned projects, and significant financial losses. Further investigation revealed complaints stretching back years across social media and online platforms.

What started as a family’s dream to improve their home became a prolonged nightmare involving flooding, financial devastation, legal battles, and months of emotional distress.

No family should have to go through what we experienced.