‘IT IS A NIGHTMARE’: Sudden building collapse devastates families

PHOTO: Tozer Construction Group’s Warren Clunes and Corey Tozer ahead of their The Longest Day challenge at Wagga Country Club. DAILY ADVERTISER

Yet another family have fallen victim to Australia’s building crisis after their construction firm “ghosted” them for over a year and then collapsed, leaving them thousands of dollars out of pocket.

On Friday, regional NSW builder Tozer Construction Group, based in Wagga Wagga, was court-ordered to go into liquidation.

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Stephen Hundy of Worrells was appointed as the liquidator but he told news.com.au he does not yet know how much the company owes or how many homeowners have been left in the lurch.

However, a look at the firm’s credit history reveals a trail of disgruntled contractors and homeowners.

One of those is 44-year-old Anita Kemp, a mum-of-three who paid a $14,000 deposit to add an extra bedroom to her house, only for work to stall for a year and a half.

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She sent multiple legal letters to Tozer Construction Group asking for her money back after nothing was done for over a year but never received a response.

Ms Kemp has since learned she is not protected by the Home Builder’s Compensation Fund (HBCF), as the builder didn’t register her build, meaning she can’t get back any money through insurance.

“It’s unravelled to be a nightmare,” the mum told news.com.au. “The deposit was $13,200, which may not sound like a lot, but it is a lot for our family.

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“(They’ve) taken my money and run.”

Anita Kemp and her husband have been left out of pocket from the company’s collapse.

“We were totally ghosted, (they have) taken the money and didn’t want to have anything to do with us since,” Ms Kemp continued.

Ms Kemp and her husband have three kids – two of whom share a room – and they wanted an extra bedroom in time for their eldest daughter’s final year of school.

“She’s in a little sardine box in her little room,” Ms Kemp said. “Our family has grown but our house hasn’t grown with us.”

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The plan was for their daughter to move into the new room where she could fit a desk, while their two sons would inhabit the two pre-existing rooms.

Unfortunately, Ms Kemp’s daughter had her exam last Friday, on October 28 – the same day that Tozer Construction went into liquidation when the bedroom hadn’t even begun to be built.