Tradie’s company collapses into liquidation, leaving trail of devastated customers

A disabled war veteran and a mum have lost thousands of dollars after a tradie took a deposit for work that never started and then shut down the business.

A South Australia landscaping business has collapsed into liquidation, just days after customers raised the alarm to news.com.au and consumer authorities issued a public wanning.

On Thursday, Joshua Jones, the director of Adelaide-based 111 Contracting Pty Ltd, trading as 111 Earthworks and Landscapes, placed the company into liquidation.

Mark Lieberenz of insolvency firm Heard Phillips Lieberenz is the appointed liquidator.

Customers learned late on Friday and have been distraught over the weekend, with very little hope of seeing their money again.

News.com.au knows of two people — one a disabled war veteran on a pension, and the other a new mother with a baby in the special care ward — who had paid Mr Jones thousands of dollars as a deposit.

But the work they paid him for nearly a year ago was never started.

Margaret Hodson, 63, a disabled pensioner who used to work in the navy, is now $9500 worse off, without the fence that should have been completed in November last year.

“Who can afford to be without that kind of money?” she told news.com.au.

Elise Mac, a young mother and customer of 111 Earthworks and Landscapes, having paid nearly $14,500 in a deposit.

Margaret Hodson, who paid Joshua Jones $9,500, is doubtful she will see a cent of her money again.

Earlier this month, South Australia’s Consumer and Business Services issued a public warning over Joshua Jones as they deemed it would be in the public interest to alert customers not to engage with him because of his failure to complete jobs.

The Acting Commissioner for Consumer Affairs, Fraser Stroud said: “Based on the information we have received to date, I feel it is only proper to issue a public warning, as our investigations into this trader continue.

“In at least two cases the work was never started, with another two complainants telling us that the work was both incomplete and substandard.”

The warning also pointed out Mr Jones was an unlicensed builder.

“I cannot stress the importance of checking the register to ensure that the individual you’re dealing with is licensed to do the job you’re considering hiring them for,” Mr Stroud continued.

“I would also urge any consumers who have dealt with this individual who have not contacted us already to do so on 131 882.”

The Commissioner said there was “reasonable grounds” to suspect that Mr Jones’ conduct had contravened Australian Consumer Law (SA) and the Building Work Contractors Act 1995.

Just a week later, the company officially collapsed.

In an email to customers on Monday morning, Consumer and Business Services said they would continue to investigate Mr Jones even though the company was in liquidation.

“While the company has now been placed into liquidation, our investigation will continue in relation to Joshua Jones, and whether he is personally liable for any breaches of legislation administered by the Commissioner for Consumer Affairs,” the email, obtained by news.com.au, read.

Mr Jones, who isn’t accused of any criminal wrongdoing, declined to comment when contacted by news.com.au.

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Joshua Jones operating machinery in Ms Hodson’s backyard.

Ms Hodson said she found 111 Earthworks and Landscapes on social media and contracted Mr Jones in November last year to level the ground around her swimming pool.

“I paid him straight away and he did the job he said he was going to,” she recalled.

“We thought he was a straight-up guy.”

She had been looking to get some yard work done, such as adding a sliding gate to her driveway and a 7-foot fence, and Mr Jones said he was the man for the job. Ms Hodson and her husband agreed to a $15,000 quote.

Of that, they gave him $7500 as an initial deposit but later gave a further $2000 when he requested for more.

Ms Hodson had been having problems with intruders coming into her front yard without a fence, and also had friends parking in her neighbour’s yard because of the confusion over the driveway space, so she was keen to get the project completed quickly.

But Mr Jones to this day has not started.

“He said the materials hadn’t shown up, the supplier had sent the wrong order,” Ms Hodson said.

“Then he sends me another message, the price of everything’s gone up and he asks for another $2000. He kept saying he’d be there at this day and this time. Later on he’d say sorry I’ve got other work on.”

Then one night, they saw on their security feed someone trying to break into their car one night — the very reason they had wanted a fence urgently built in the first place.

Ms Hodson said her front yard was exposed without a fence.

A person tried to break into her car parked in her front yard while she waited for Joshua Jones to build a fence.

“We’re at home on our veteran’s pension. We worked hard all our life, saved money, we don’t expect some person to come along” and do this, Ms Hodson lamented.

Things escalated in March when she demanded a refund. In response, Mr Jones said she would have to take him to court for the money back.

“Put a civil claim in please and they will sort out an agreement,” he texted her.

In April she lodged a complaint with South Australia’s Consumer and Business Services and sent him a stern final notice letter.

Here, Mr Jones agreed to her version of events and said he would pay her back $500 a fortnight until the debt was settled.

He made one payment of $250 and that was it.

“I have nothing to give atm (at the moment),” he texted Ms Hodson. “I’ve been ripped off $12k this week (sic) I’m probably going to lose my business.”

Ms Hodson replied “Sorry for your circumstances however we are pensioners. $9500 is a lot of money”.

Elise Mac is dealing with a new and sick baby.

Losing $14,500 is the last thing the new mother wants to have to sort out.

The initial deposit Elise Mac paid the landscaper.

Elise Mac, a young mother, paid $14,500 to Joshua Jones for fencing work and was in the process of taking him to court to recoup her losses when the company abruptly shut down.

Ms Mac has gone through six miscarriages and four rounds of IVF and finally gave birth to her miracle baby who is currently in the special care ward, and said dealing with the tradesman is the last thing she needs on her plate.

“Instead of cherishing my long awaited pregnancy, I’ve had the stress of losing a huge amount of money at a time it’s desperately needed,” she told news.com.au.

“I wanted the house ready for baby. This has been so stressful at the worst time possible.”

She paid him a $12,259 deposit in October last year but the following month he said material prices had risen, so she forked out an extra $2000. Since then, there’s been no development on her site.

“I haven’t heard from Josh since January when he agreed to return my deposit but blocked me instead,” Ms Mac explained.

“I tried to serve court papers via email but he blocked me on email as well as social media.”

She has filed a general civil claim for debt recovery in the Magistrate’s court.

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