00:02Sam Hall worked hard to buy this house, but now she can't live in it or rent it out.
00:10In 2023, she paid Derby-based builder Stephen Keenan and his company,
00:16Keenan Building and Maintenance, over $13,000 to renovate her laundry and shower.
00:22I wanted the floor tiled, I wanted new cabinetry, I wanted the shower re-tiled,
00:28which that's what he did do, and then it all went downhill from that.
00:33Miss Hall says the grout started giving way and water wasn't draining.
00:38Paying customer, I haven't got what I paid for, so that's when I made the complaint to the building commissioner.
00:44Mr Keenan contested the complaints, but the State Administrative Tribunal later found the work did not comply with Australian standards.
00:53I received an award of $9,970, which was supposed to be paid in January.
01:00Mr Keenan was not present for the tribunal decision, and Miss Hall hasn't been able to contact him.
01:06In February, I started my proceedings with the Magistrates' Court to try and get the money out of him.
01:13That's gone on for another 12 months now, and nothing's become of that.
01:17The court issued orders for Mr Keenan to refund the money, but they couldn't be delivered because Miss Hall couldn't
01:24locate the builder.
01:25He didn't respond to multiple ABC requests for comment via previously used email addresses and phone numbers.
01:33It's just one of 256 complaints from Regional WA received by the building commissioner since 2024.
01:40We need a strong industry, and it's critical that we have people that do the right thing, that look after
01:47consumers.
01:48Miss Hall hopes her story is a warning to anyone planning building work in regional Western Australia.
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