Belfast builder fined for leaving extension unfinished

Date published: 4 August 2025

In a case brought by the Trading Standards Service, Martin Spence (57) of Pretoria Street, Belfast pleaded guilty to one charge under the Fraud Act 2006 and one charge under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.

Martin Spence visited the property in May 2022 and provided a quote for the job of £53,000 plus VAT. That quote was accepted and Mr Spence than provided a contract, which included a schedule of stage payments. On receipt of the stage one payment (deposit) of £10,000, work on the extension commenced on 21 June 2022.

The second stage payment of £10,000 was due once the foundations were laid, the brickwork was up to the first floor and the pipe work for the bathroom was in. However, on 19 October 2022 Martin Spence advised the householder in a text message that that second payment of £10,000 was due when not all of the scheduled work was complete, e.g. the brickwork to the first floor was not done.

Once the second stage payment was made there was little further work done. From that point on Martin Spence made numerous promises in text messages to progress the work, up until 25 January 2023 when he messaged the householder to unilaterally terminate the contract.

Having paid Mr Spence £20,000, the householder eventually had to pay another builder £71,500 to complete the job. There were also additional costs for materials which should have been covered by the second stage payment. The whole episode had a detrimental effect on the family’s health and finances.