‘We weren’t his first victims’: Melbourne builder leaves couple $117k out of pocket

A Melbourne couple has slammed Victoria’s building regulator as a “toothless tiger” after discovering a builder who left them more than $100,000 out of pocket was formerly bankrupt and previously ran two collapsed construction firms.

A couple has slammed Victoria’s building regulator after discovering their rogue builder was formerly bankrupt and previously operated two collapsed construction firms. Picture: Supplied

A Melbourne couple has slammed Victoria’s building regulator as a “toothless tiger” after discovering a rogue builder who left them more than $100,000 out of pocket was formerly bankrupt and previously operated two collapsed construction firms.

The homeowners, already owed more than $110,000 from shoddy work and associated losses, have now been forced to pay tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees to take Essendon-based SCAL Construction to court in a bid to shut down the business.

The married couple with five young children claim SCAL Construction owner Craig Wellington had notched up decades of “corporate carnage” before they signed a contract with him and should have already been banned by the Victorian Building Authority.

“The VBA failed us and the financial and emotional damage our family has endured at the hands of a builder that should have been suspended long before has been catastrophic,” the wife told the Herald Sun.

The married couple with five young children claim SCAL Construction owner Craig Wellington had notched up decades of ‘corporate carnage’. Picture: Supplied

They said their rogue builder left them more than $100,000 out of pocket. Picture: Supplied

“This has left us in a highly stressful position, particularly given that we have five young children under 11 to support,” she said.

“As parents, the stress and devastation of our situation inevitably took a toll on our children.

“Throughout this process, we had to watch our once beautiful family home transform into a derelict and abandoned building site.

“It was despicable to see our home left rotting by those who caused this mess.”

The couple signed with SCAL Construction, which traded as LCW Carpentry and Construction, in December 2020, to transform their single-storey house in Melbourne’s north into their double-storey dream home.

They had previously hired Mr Wellington as a builder in 2017 for a small room extension at the property when he was the director of the now defunct business SCAL Nominees.

As there were no problems with that project, they thought they would be in safe hands.

But their dream build soon turned into a nightmare and the couple found countless defects on the new extension, including issues with the cladding, steel columns and concrete stumps.

The couple signed with SCAL Construction, which traded as LCW Carpentry and Construction, in December 2020. Picture: Supplied

A building inspector’s report revealed damage, including to the ceiling and walls, caused by the “careless actions of employees and subcontractors”.

The couple was also forced to call WorkSafe after finding workers were on the roof with no fall protection or harnesses.

“Instead of using scaffolding, they used a cherry picker and destroyed the garden, causing $6000 worth of damage,” the husband said.

“WorkSafe came along and shut the site down on the spot.”

The couple was eventually able to terminate the contract with SCAL Construction after it failed to comply with orders to fix faulty works from their surveyor.

“The builder was clearly just wanting to get the lockup payment and then who knows what would have happened after that,” the husband said.

Months after taking SCAL Construction to the Domestic Building Dispute Resolution Victoria and VCAT – where Mr Wellington was ordered to pay $117,921 for faulty works and related losses – the couple still hadn’t received a cent.

In October last year they succeeded in having the Supreme Court appoint a liquidator to the business.

They said the builders used a cherry picker and destroyed the garden, causing $6000 worth of damage. Picture: Supplied

While they have received some money back from an insurance payout and were able to finish off their build with Square and Triangle, they will never recoup the $20,000 spent on legal fees or “countless late nights, high stress, anxiety and missed outings with (their) children”.

A report from Rodgers Reidy liquidator Brent Morgan completed in January this year revealed SCAL Construction may have been insolvent from at least July 2019.

Records lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission also reveal Mr Wellington had two other building businesses placed into liquidation after facing winding up orders in court prior to starting SCAL Construction.

His company C.R. and S.B. Wellington collapsed in 2009 owing secured creditors close to $1m, and an additional 57 unsecured creditors $373,948.

Unsecured creditors received nothing back in the collapse.

Mr Wellington was declared bankrupt at the time, from 2006 to 2009, after legal action by lender Barclay Finance.

His wife was the director of C.R. and S.B. Wellington at the time of its collapse.

The couple was able to terminate the contract with SCAL Construction after it failed to comply with orders to fix faulty works. Picture: Supplied

Another of Mr Wellington’s company’s, SCAL Nominees, collapsed in 2020 owing unsecured and ordinary creditors $277,968 and $177,378 respectively.

SCAL Nominees was started in 2007 with Mr Wellington’s wife as the director and transferred to Mr Wellington as sole director in 2010 after his bankruptcy order ended.

Its liquidator said the company could have been trading while insolvent from as early as 2014.

No assets or cash have been realised to date.

There have been more than 20 insurance claims processed by the Victorian Managed Insurance Authority from the collapse of SCAL Nominees resulting in payouts totalling over $420,000.

The company had three cases brought against it in VCAT in 2018 and 2019, two by domestic building clients for abandonment of project, incomplete or defective works and one by a contractor for unpaid debts.

Two cases saw the applicants awarded damages of $250,000 and $1450 respectively.

The VBA had already received complaints about Mr Wellington and SCAL Nominees in 2018 and 2021, alleging defective and non-compliant works.

The couple found countless defects on the new extension. Picture: Supplied

“The VBA should have taken this 2018 complaint seriously, investigated and sanctioned Mr Wellington,” the couple told the Herald Sun.

“At the very least, any serious disciplinary action would have been on the public register for prospective clients to see.”

The VBA had also previously issued a $5000 fine to Mr Wellington when he was operating SCAL Nominees in 2017 for carrying out building works without a building permit.

Despite this fine, complaints to the VBA and the VCAT cases, Mr Wellington was able to obtain his Domestic Builder Unlimited registration from the VBA for SCAL Construction in December 2019.

The couple submitted their first complaint to the regulator in 2021 asking for the immediate suspension of SCAL Construction, pointing out Mr Wellington was a director of a company in external administration (SCAL Nominees), and his lack of compliance with safety legislation.

The complaint was closed by the VBA which said the matter was already under consideration.

A building inspector’s report revealed damage, including to the ceiling and walls. Picture: Supplied

The couple later submitted another complaint regarding building incompetence, lack of adequate insurance, defective works and professional misconduct.

The VBA said it was a “contractual matter” and that the couple should go through the DBDRV.

In March 2022 the regulator imposed the condition on Mr Wellington that he structured his business affairs only to be conducted jointly with his son, Leigh Wellington – who also has a business called LCW Carpentry and Construction.

Leigh was listed as an employee owed wages on both the collapse of C.R. and S.B. Wellington and SCAL Nominees.

The couple said they had been “failed by the very organisation that was meant to protect families like (them)”.

“Our home is the place where we spend the most amount of our time, it is a place that is a safe haven, a place of comfort, a place to live with our family, a place to build memories,” they said.

“For us, it is a place that now holds the memories of the most tumultuous time in the lives of our young family after enduring a disastrous building project with Mr Wellington and SCAL Construction.”

A VBA spokesperon said the new Building and Plumbing Commission will have expanded powers to better protect consumers and help avoid costly and time-consuming legal action.

“This includes a new power to order builders back to fix non-compliant work after an occupancy permit is issued,” they said.

“Homeowners can currently access domestic building insurance up to $300,000 when a builder becomes insolvent.”

Mr Wellington was contacted for comment.