The Sydney builder that sent a $100,000 bill for ‘fake’ roof

The NSW Building Commission has broadened an investigation into the embattled ANSA Homes after it received allegations the company used a fake photo to solicit a payment of nearly $100,000 for a roof that had not been completed.

Run by brothers Mark and Dylan Maloney, ANSA Homes had its building licence suspended in late June after this masthead revealed an investigation into a litany of complaints from clients alleging serious defects, repeated delays and broken promises.

Correspondence from ANSA Homes has been provided to the Building Commission’s chief investigator.

Maloney denies wrongdoing, securing the services of McGirr Lawyers to challenge the “purported suspension” in the Supreme Court. However, a directions hearing scheduled for Monday appears to have been withdrawn.

One client, who was overseas at the time, received an invoice from ANSA accompanied by two photos: one of the completed Colorbond roof and another pixelated photo of their house taken from the street. Thinking the images were real, they transferred the funds.

The client spoke to this masthead across several interviews on the condition of anonymity.

Correspondence and a witness statement provided to the Building Commission’s chief investigator detail how ANSA Homes allegedly used a manipulated image of a roof to obtain the final tranche of payment for the build in Sydney’s inner southern suburbs, despite the work not having been completed.

The image of a roof ANSA Homes provided to a client as evidence of completed work.Credit: ANSA Homes

“Congratulations! Your house is now at Roof Completion Stage. This is exciting because you can see what your house will look like when it’s complete,” the email from ANSA Homes stated.

The attached invoice included the only line item under claim details: “Roof Completion: Substantial completion of: External wall coverings and fascia, gutter and roof coverings.”

Driving by the house the next day to check out the completed work, the client was stunned to realise there was no roof on their half-constructed home in Sydney’s inner-south.

“Hi Sharon, I just drove by the house today where there is no roof installed (see photo). Can I ask whether the photo of the roof you sent was of our house?” the client emailed.

Two hours later, an ANSA site supervisor emailed saying: “Roof will be completed by lunch tomorrow.”

Hi Sharon, I just drove by the house today where there is no roof installed. Can I ask whether the photo of the roof you sent was of our house?

A customer’s email to the builders

The company’s account manager followed up, first in a call to the client confirming it was “not a real photo of our house”, according to the witness statement. A later email conceded the mistake, saying she had “requested several photos of each claim for all future claims to ensure that these are up to ‘substantially completed’ as per the HIA contract.”

Through lawyers, Maloney denied the image was photoshopped, claiming the photograph provided was from a second property which was “misdescribed and therefore misinterpreted” as being for the client’s property.

“This was a genuine error which was explained to the client at the time and the work was completed before any payment was made by the bank. There was no ‘photoshopping’ of images and your suggestion to that effect is both offensive and incorrect,” the statement said.

The homeowner asked via email four days later whether Mark Maloney “or someone else will be in touch with me regarding the fake photo and subsequent claims around roof sheets at the back when ANSA has investigated and resolved this internally”.

According to an email included as part of the homeowner’s witness statement, the company’s account manager once again did not deny the photo being fabricated, saying: “This issue has been dealt with internally and can assure you that it will not happen again.”

ANSA is now facing four separate cases in the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal, with another matter brought in the District Court over defects across several properties built by the building company.

In a statement, a spokesman for the Building Commission said: “Building Commission NSW is aware of these serious allegations of misconduct against ANSA Homes, and they are under further investigation.”

“Builders and contractors are required to appropriately invoice for work. Using falsified images to evidence work could be considered fraudulent behaviour and grounds for serious disciplinary action, including prosecution by Building Commission NSW.”

Unable to lodge a home warranty claim until ANSA Homes goes into administration or has the Building Commission cancels its licence, dozens of homeowners awaiting hundreds of thousands dollars worth of renovations have been left in limbo.

As previously revealed by this masthead, ANSA Homes ignored Building Commission-enforced rectification orders on properties, part of a litany of complaints levelled against the company which have formed part of an ongoing investigation into the firm.

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