Exposing the Serial Fraudsters Timothy and Lisa Slack.
Unveiling the truth about fraudulent builders and trade scammers. We reveal the tactics used by Timothy and Lisa Slack using their company RR Build and Design Limited to defraud homeowners across the UK and scam more than 8 seperate families and counting with more families coming forward.
The £58,852 Deception
At this blog, we reveal the tactics used by these fraud pros to deceive and scam homeowners into handing over significant sums for work they never intend to complete.
We start Specifically detailing the fraudulent practices of Timothy and Lisa, and how they have scammed over £58,000 from us alone. As more victims come forward, it becomes evident that their actions were pre-meditated.
As you will get to learn, the play is simple. Collect money for work they do not intend to do, and once enough has been collected they simply exploit limited company law, liquidate the company to evade liabilities. They have opened and closed By registering and closing down multiple LTD companies, they escape accountability for their scams when claims are brought to court.
Serial Fraudstars
The Slacks have opened and closed 20 LTD companies since 2019
How they got us
Detailed accounts of specific steps they used to defraud us.
It began like so many home improvement projects do – with hope, excitement, and what seemed like the perfect builder. In July 2022, I posted our extension project on RatedPeople.com, and within days, Tim Slack reached out. He seemed professional, responsive, and keen. On the 13th of July, he came to view the property, walking around with confidence, measuring, nodding, making notes. He assured us he could handle the job – no problem at all. The quote arrived shortly after: £69,712.56 for a complete rear extension. It seemed reasonable for the scale of work involved. We discussed timelines, materials, the usual concerns any homeowner has when embarking on a major build. Tim was reassuring throughout. When we asked about completion, he was clear and confident: the extension would be watertight by 12th December 2022. With winter approaching, this was crucial to us. We agreed to proceed and paid the initial deposit. The paperwork was signed, hands were shaken, and on the 26th of September 2022, work began. Diggers arrived, the ground was broken, and our extension project was finally underway. Looking back now, this was the honeymoon period – when everything seemed possible, when Tim appeared to be exactly what he claimed to be. We had no idea we were already caught in a trap that would cost us nearly £60,000 and leave our home in a dangerous state. The promise of December seemed entirely achievable. After all, we'd done our research, asked the right questions, and Tim had come highly recommended on the platform. What could possibly go wrong?
Part 2: The Money Grab
As the build progressed into autumn, Tim's payment requests became increasingly frequent – and increasingly urgent. Each time, there was a plausible reason. Materials needed to be ordered, suppliers required payment upfront, his trade account needed settling before the next delivery. The requests came with detailed explanations that seemed entirely legitimate for a project of this scale. The most significant came when Tim approached us about the sliding doors for the rear of the extension. These weren't just any doors – they were statement bi-fold doors that would flood the new space with light. Tim quoted £8,000 for them, explaining that he needed to order them now to ensure they'd arrive in time for installation before the December deadline. The supplier, he said, required payment upfront for custom orders of this size. We paid. Then came requests for other materials: structural steel, roofing materials, windows, flooring. Each time, Tim had an explanation. Each time, we transferred the money, trusting that these materials were being ordered, that they were sitting in warehouses with our name on them, that our extension was progressing according to plan. By the 25th of November 2022, we had paid £59,996 – a staggering 86% of the total £69,712.56 contract price. For a project that was supposed to be complete by mid-December, it seemed like we were on track financially. But when we looked at the actual work on site, something didn't add up. The shell was there, yes, but 86% of the payment for what appeared to be barely 20% of the work? Where were all those expensive materials we'd paid thousands for? Where were the £8,000 sliding doors? The discrepancy was glaring, but Tim always had an answer. Materials were delayed in transit. The doors were on back-order. The steel had been delivered to the wrong site. There was always a reason, always an excuse, always a reassurance that everything was fine. We wanted to believe him. We'd already paid nearly £60,000 – what choice did we have but to trust that the money had gone where he claimed?
Part 3: The Collapse
December 12th came and went. The extension wasn't watertight. It wasn't even close. After that final payment in late November, work had slowed to a crawl, then virtually stopped altogether. The December deadline passed with the build exposed to the winter elements. We started chasing Tim for updates, sending messages, making calls, asking the simple question: when is someone coming to work? The excuses began to pile up, each more elaborate than the last. There were issues with suppliers. One of his team members was ill. His van had broken down. The materials hadn't arrived yet. Each excuse bought him a few more days, and then we'd have to chase again. The situation on site became increasingly concerning. When workers did occasionally turn up, they would sit in their vehicles outside without doing any work. Eventually, we learned why: Tim hadn't been paying them. These tradesmen would arrive at our property, see the state of things, realize they weren't getting paid, and simply wait out the day before leaving. The build site itself had become dangerous. Rubble was left scattered across the property. Structural elements were incomplete or improperly secured. The space was exposed to weather, creating hazards and potential damage. Our home, which should have been progressing toward completion, had instead become a liability. Tim's communication became increasingly sporadic. Messages went unanswered for days. When we finally managed to reach him, there was always a reason for the silence. We even visited his listed office address, only to discover it was a car garage – not the professional premises we'd expected. That visit must have prompted someone to contact him, because shortly afterward, Tim finally responded. His message claimed he'd suffered a bereavement and that was why he'd gone quiet. It was a tactic we would later learn was part of his pattern: personal tragedies, family emergencies, medical crises – anything to elicit sympathy and buy more time. The lies and deceit were becoming impossible to ignore, but we were in deep now. With nearly £60,000 already paid and our home in pieces, what were our options? We felt trapped, desperate for Tim to simply finish what he'd started. We had no idea the worst was still to come.
Part 4: The Kitchen Scam - The £19,000 Final Blow
Just when we thought things couldn't get worse, Tim presented us with what seemed like an olive branch – one that would become the most calculated and devastating part of his entire scheme. The Setup: A "Better Deal". We had been sourcing our kitchen independently through Wren, doing our research, comparing prices, and planning what would be the heart of our new extension. But Tim approached us with a proposition that seemed too good to refuse: use Howdens instead, specifically through his trade account with RR Build. The pitch was compelling. As a trade customer, he explained, he could negotiate significant discounts that wouldn't be available to us as retail customers. We'd save money, he could ensure the kitchen was specified correctly for the build, and the ordering process would be seamless since he already had an established relationship with the supplier. It seemed like a win-win situation – and perhaps, we desperately hoped, a sign that Tim was genuinely trying to get the project back on track after months of delays and broken promises. Interestingly, as these kitchen discussions progressed, work on site briefly resumed. Over the course of a week, the roof was slowly completed while Tim continued his persuasive campaign about the Howdens arrangement. He apologised profusely for all the previous delays, assured us that the problems were behind us, and promised it would be "smooth sailing from here on in." Worn down by months of stress, financial pressure, and desperate to see progress, we agreed to use his Howdens account. The Design Process: Everything Seemed Legitimate. We were put in touch with Rawnie at Howdens Kitchen Castleford, who provided what can only be described as fantastic service. We went through the entire design process with her – measurements, cabinet configurations, worktop materials, appliances, the works. She was professional, knowledgeable, and patient with our questions and changes. After several discussions and design iterations, we settled on our dream kitchen. Rawnie provided detailed specifications and pricing. The final quote came to £19,000 – a substantial sum, but in line with what we'd expected to pay for a kitchen of that specification and quality. Before committing, we did our due diligence. We specifically asked Rawnie to confirm that Timothy Slack's trade account with RR Build was active and legitimate, and whether it would be safe to purchase through this account. Her confirmation was unequivocal: yes, the account was active, and yes, we would be okay to purchase using it. This verification from Howdens directly was crucial to our decision. We weren't just taking Tim's word for it – we had independent confirmation from the supplier themselves. What could possibly go wrong? The Payment Trap: A Masterclass in Deception. With the design finalised and Howdens' confirmation in hand, we agreed to proceed. Timothy and Howdens then went back and forth finalising the specifications and pricing. Eventually, Tim came back to us with the final price: £19,000 exactly. We confirmed with Rawnie that we wanted to go ahead with the purchase. Shortly after, both Timothy and Howdens advised us that the kitchen had been ordered. Everything seemed to be progressing exactly as it should. Then came the crucial moment – the trap springing shut. On the 3rd of January 2023, Timothy contacted us with urgent news. He claimed he had just paid Howdens the full £19,000 for our kitchen via bank transfer. He even provided a screenshot as "proof" of this payment. His message was clear: he'd now laid out £19,000 of his own money to secure our kitchen, and he needed us to reimburse him immediately as he was now short on cash. This is where Tim's scheme became truly sophisticated. Rather than simply asking for money, he'd created a paper trail, a sense of urgency, and apparent proof that he'd already spent his own money on our behalf. It was a classic advance-fee fraud, dressed up to look like a legitimate business transaction. Our Due Diligence: The False Security. We weren't foolish enough to simply hand over £19,000 based on Tim's word alone. Before making any payment, I contacted Howdens Castleford directly on the 3rd of January to verify his claims. I needed to know: Had the kitchen truly been ordered? Had Timothy paid for it? Was it safe to pay him? Rawnie and the Howdens team confirmed what we desperately needed to hear: yes, the kitchen was truly ordered, and yes, it was safe to pay Timothy and RR Build for it. With this confirmation directly from Howdens, we proceeded to pay Timothy. Given the large sum involved, we split it into two instalments: £10,000 on 3rd January 2023, £9,000 on 30th January 2023. Before the second payment on the 30th of January, we contacted Howdens again to reconfirm everything was in order. Once again, they confirmed it was safe to proceed. We transferred the final £9,000, bringing our total payment for the kitchen to £19,000. The Disappearance: When the Truth Emerged. After receiving that second payment on the 30th of January, Timothy Slack effectively vanished. Work on the extension stopped completely. Tim stopped taking our calls. Our messages went unanswered. The brief period of resumed work and reassuring communication evaporated overnight. It was as if, once he had secured that final £9,000, he no longer needed to maintain the pretense. We waited. Days turned into weeks. Weeks turned into months. After three months of call avoidance and complete silence, we made the difficult decision to move our building work away from RR Build entirely. We had to – our home was in a dangerous state, and it was clear Tim had no intention of finishing the job. The Kitchen Revelation: Betrayal by All Parties. However, we still had one hope: the kitchen. Even if Tim wasn't going to complete the extension, we'd paid separately for the kitchen. It was ordered through Howdens, confirmed by Howdens, and should have been sitting in a warehouse somewhere with our name on it. That £19,000 hadn't gone to Tim for building work – it was specifically for the kitchen. Surely that, at least, we could salvage from this disaster. We contacted Howdens Castleford to arrange delivery of our kitchen. What they told us was devastating. The order had been cancelled almost immediately after we'd paid for it. Let me repeat that: the kitchen order that Howdens had confirmed to us – twice – as being legitimate and safe to pay for had been cancelled shortly after our money had gone to Timothy. Throughout the entire period we'd been waiting, trying to contact Tim, hoping to move forward, that kitchen had never existed beyond an entry in a computer system. The Howdens Complicity: A System Built for Fraud. What came next was perhaps even more shocking than Tim's fraud itself: Howdens' complete refusal to take any responsibility for their role in this deception. When we confronted them with the facts, Howdens confirmed several things: Timothy's payment claim was false – he had never paid them the £19,000 he claimed to have transferred on the 3rd of January, RR Build still had an active trade account with Howdens, They were now refusing to release the kitchen we'd paid for, even though we'd paid based entirely on their advice. But here's the truly infuriating part: we had called Howdens for verification before each payment – on the 3rd of January before the £10,000 transfer, and on the 30th of January before the £9,000 transfer. Both times, Howdens had confirmed it was safe to pay Timothy. Both times, they had verified the order was legitimate. How could they confirm an order as legitimate when their own trade customer hadn't actually paid for it? How could they advise us it was "safe to pay" someone who was, in fact, defrauding us? How could they cancel an order immediately after we paid for it, yet continue to confirm to us that everything was fine? Their response to these questions was shockingly nonchalant. There was no accountability, no acknowledgment that their verification process had been the deciding factor in our decision to pay Tim. They seemed entirely indifferent to the fact that their systems, their confirmations, and their name had been used as tools to steal £19,000 from us. The Fraud Triangle: Tim, Howdens, and the Perfect Scam. This wasn't just Tim Slack operating alone. This was a fraud that required Howdens' systems – whether through negligence, incompetence, or something worse – to function. The mechanics of the scam were elegant in their simplicity: Tim establishes a legitimate trade account with Howdens (easy for any builder to do), He convinces customers to order through his account, promising trade discounts, Customers design kitchens with Howdens staff, who process orders through Tim's account, Tim shows "proof" of payment to customers (fake or relating to something else entirely), Customers call Howdens to verify, and Howdens confirms the order exists (because it does, just unpaid), Customers pay Tim directly, Tim cancels the order immediately and pockets the money, Howdens shrugs and claims it's between the customer and the trader. The genius of this scheme is that it leverages Howdens' credibility. We didn't pay Tim £19,000 on blind faith – we paid him because Howdens told us to. Multiple times. After our own due diligence. With their explicit confirmation that it was safe to do so. The Aftermath: No Kitchen, No Accountability, No Justice. We provided Howdens with every piece of evidence we had: Our payment confirmations to Timothy, Records of our calls to Howdens requesting verification, Screenshots of Tim's claimed payment to them, The timeline showing the order cancellation immediately after our payment. None of it mattered. Howdens maintained that the transaction was between us and RR Build, and they had no responsibility for the outcome. The fact that their staff had confirmed the order as legitimate multiple times, that they'd advised us it was safe to pay, that their systems had been used to facilitate the fraud – none of this generated any sense of accountability or obligation to make things right. RR Build still had an active account with them, meaning Tim could potentially do this to other customers. When we pointed this out, Howdens showed no interest in investigating further or preventing future fraud using their platform. The True Cost: More Than Money. The kitchen scam was the final blow in a long series of financial hits, but it was also the most psychologically damaging. With the building work, we could at least tell ourselves that things had gotten away from Tim, that maybe he'd overextended himself, that circumstances had spiraled out of his control. It was still fraud, but we could almost see how it might have happened incrementally. But the kitchen scam was different. This was premeditated, calculated, and executed with cold precision. Tim had: Deliberately convinced us to switch suppliers to one where he had control, Resumed work temporarily to maintain the illusion that things were improving, Created fake payment evidence, Timed the scam perfectly to extract two large payments, Disappeared immediately after securing the final payment. This wasn't a builder in over his head. This was a con artist running a long-term operation. And Howdens' role – whether through incompetence or indifference – enabled every step of it. Their verification system was either so flawed that it confirmed unpaid orders as legitimate, or their staff simply didn't check before confirming to customers that paying a trader was "safe."
Part 5: The Serial Scammer Revealed
As the reality of the situation sank in, we did what anyone in our position would do: we fought back through every channel available. We reported Tim Slack to Trading Standards. We filed reports with Action Fraud. We applied pressure to Howdens, who had been complicit – whether knowingly or through negligence – in the kitchen fraud. We sent formal letters, made countless phone calls, and demanded answers. Tim and his wife Lisa's response was calculated and telling: they moved to liquidate the building company. This is when we truly understood the scale of what had happened. This wasn't a builder who'd overextended himself or mismanaged a project. This was a deliberate, systematic scam – and we weren't his first victims. Research into Tim Slack's business history revealed a shocking pattern. Over a five-year period, he had opened and closed approximately 20 limited companies. The pattern was always the same: set up a company, take deposits and payments from homeowners for building work, complete minimal work while pocketing the majority of payments, then liquidate the company to avoid personal liability before moving on to the next one. By operating through limited companies, Tim had insulated himself from personal financial responsibility. When customers like us pursued legal action or sought compensation, we found ourselves chasing a dissolved company with no assets, while Tim simply opened a new company and started the cycle again with fresh victims. The liquidation meant our money was gone. There would be no compensation, no completion of work, no recovery of the £58,852 we'd lost. The legal structure he'd deliberately chosen had protected him while leaving us completely exposed. We were left with a half-completed extension full of structural faults, no kitchen, no materials we'd paid for, and a property in a dangerous state. The build site had to be made safe urgently – exposed electrics, unstable structures, and winter weather were creating genuine hazards. We brought in a new, legitimate builder to assess the damage. His review was devastating: only about 20% of the original scope of work had been completed, and much of what had been done was so poorly executed it would need to be rectified rather than simply continued. The new builder provided a quote for completing the work properly. When we added this to what we'd already paid Tim, plus the cost of the kitchen we now had to purchase again, the total financial damage was £58,852. The Final Toll: £59,996 paid to Tim Slack for the original build (86% of contract for 20% of work), £19,000 paid for a kitchen that never existed, Additional tens of thousands to rectify faulty work and complete the project properly. Total loss: £58,852. Countless hours of stress, fighting with authorities, and living in a construction site. The emotional toll of being systematically deceived and financially devastated. Tim Slack is still out there. The company he used to scam us is dissolved, but the pattern suggests there will be others. New limited companies, new websites, new listings on trade platforms, and new victims who don't yet know they're walking into a trap. We're sharing our story not for sympathy, but as a warning. Check Companies House records before hiring any builder. Look for patterns of dissolved companies. Don't pay large sums upfront regardless of the excuse. Verify orders independently before releasing payment. And if something feels wrong, trust that instinct. We learned these lessons the hardest way possible. We hope our experience can prevent even one other family from suffering the same fate.
Part 6: The Can of Worms - When One Story Becomes Ten
The Website That Changed Everything. After months of fighting alone – battling Tim Slack's disappearing acts, Howdens' indifference, and the frustrating inadequacy of official complaints channels – we made a decision that would prove more impactful than we could have imagined. We built a website. Not a sophisticated platform, not a professional investigation site – just a simple, honest account of what had happened to us. We laid out the timeline, the payments, the lies, the £58,852 loss. We named Timothy Slack, Lisa Slack, and RR Build. We detailed the pattern of company formations and liquidations. We shared our story because we felt powerless, because the authorities seemed unable or unwilling to act, and because we desperately didn't want this to happen to anyone else. We titled it simply, a memorial to our experience with these worms who had burrowed into our lives and finances: "The Tim Slack Scam: Our Story." Then we waited. The First Message: "It Happened to Us Too". The first email arrived three days after we launched the site. The subject line made our hearts sink: "We were scammed by Tim Slack too." A family from Leeds described an almost identical experience – the initial professionalism, the mounting payment requests, the promises of materials that never materialised, the eventual disappearance, the liquidated company. Their loss: £42,000. We replied immediately, sharing notes, comparing timelines, realising with growing horror that while Tim had been making promises to us, he'd been running the exact same scam on them simultaneously. Then came the second email. And the third. And the fourth. The Floodgates Open: A Criminal Enterprise Revealed. Within two weeks of launching our website, we had been contacted by ten different families. Ten separate households, ten different projects, ten variations of the same devastating story. Each family had their own unique details, but the pattern was unmistakable.
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