Five years after being exposed by MailOnline as a “repulsive parasite” who pocketed homeowners’ money in exchange for shoddy, unfinished construction, we can reveal that a cowboy builder is ripping off vulnerable clients five years after being exposed by MailOnline.
Thomas Dorney looted retirees in 2018 and ran off with the money without completing the work he was paid to do.
He left houses in ruins before going for a run and even complained that he couldn’t finish his work because he had a headache.
Now MailOnline can reveal he’s at it again – this time setting up a ‘bespoke furniture business’ – and has denied at least one pensioner £3,500.
Nick Stewart, 63, ordered a polished concrete garden table and matching benches from Dorney’s Bespoke Table Company, just one of several companies the dubious builder has registered with Companies House.
Cowboy builder Thomas Dorney (right) is still ripping off vulnerable clients five years after being exposed by MailOnline as a ‘repulsive parasite’ who pocketed homeowners’ money in exchange for shoddy, unfinished construction
Nick Stewart (pictured left with wife Sheila), 63, ordered a polished concrete garden table and matching benches from Dorney’s Bespoke Table Company
The concrete table and benches were well below expected standard as the benches would not fit under the table, the color was not what Mr. Stewart wanted and the finish was ‘s***e’
Mr Stewart paid £2,576.55 in advance in January 2022 via Dorney’s crooked website.
But when he received the goods five months later, he found that the table and benches fell far short of the standard he had expected.
Speaking to MailOnline, Mr Stewart said: ‘Thomas Dorney arrived with another chap to deliver the table and benches. It was night, about eight o’clock in the evening, so it was dark.
“The goods didn’t look good, but he seemed sincere. I couldn’t get a good look at them until the next day.
“The benches didn’t fit under the table, the color wasn’t what I thought it should be and the finish was just nasty.”
Complaining that the work was shoddy, Dorsey of Manchester lifted the goods before demanding a further £950 to make the necessary repairs.
“I got him to agree to lift the table and benches, which he did a few weeks later in May,” Mr Stewart said.
‘There was a lot of talk between May and September when he told me it would cost me another £950 to fix it.
“I thought, fuck me, I paid for the goods that are not as described and substandard.
‘I tried to meet him half way through but he said no, £950 or more.
“I was caught between a rock and a hard place.
“At the time I still thought the man was in the lift, so I reluctantly paid £950 in September.”
But when Mr. Stewart handed over the money, he found himself left high and dry, unable to reach Dorsey or his company.
He said: ‘I kept emailing him and the last email I got from him was in November 2022 saying he was waiting for new steelwork to be delivered and the table top and benches were almost finished.
“He said he hoped to install them within two weeks. i heard nothing. Since then my e-mails to him keep coming back.’
Mr Stewart (pictured) prepaid £2,576.55 in January 2022 via Dorney’s website
A table similar to the one Nick Stewart ordered from cowboy builder Dorney
Mr Stewart lodged complaints with Companies House, HMRC and the Insolvency Service.
He said, “I thought nothing was wrong. I’ve been cheated. So I filed a request with the court. And finally, on March 7, a district court ruling in my favor was overturned. I just want my money back.’
MailOnline has since discovered that Dorsey’s website is still online, despite no bills being filed with Companies House, which describes The Bespoke Table Company Ltd as being engaged in the ‘Manufacture of other articles of concrete, plaster and cement’.
The Bespoke Table Company advertises tables and chairs from £639 to £2099.
He also registered Unique Table Company NW Ltd and Mainstream Build Ltd under the name of Thomas Dale Dorney with Companies House.
In January Dorsey also set up another company, Cemtec Table Company Ltd, which, according to its Companies House registration, is also involved in the ‘Manufacture of other articles of concrete, plaster and cement’ according to its Companies House records in the
In 2018, Mailonline recounted how retiree Mary Doherty hired builder Thomas Dorney in January 2018. After taking £1,500 from her, he complained that he had a headache and left her high and dry.
Retired Mary Doherty’s bathroom and upstairs after he left with £1,500 after failing to finish work
Retired Mary Doherty, 68, hired builder Thomas Dorney in January 2018 but claims after handing over £1,500 he ‘complained of a headache’ and left – and she never saw him again
Craig Wilson and his partner Rhys Evans nearly lost their house after incurring expenses to fix it, when they put down an eye-watering £9,705 before Dorney disappeared because his ‘baby wasn’t well’.
The couple spent more than £60,000 to repair their home.
The Trust Pilot website for the Bespoke Table Company contains a litany of one-star reviews.
One of them stated: ‘Furthermore, the director has started a new company called Cemtec Table Company Ltd. One to chase as soon as he starts advertising. All records are registered at Companies House.”
Another warned: ‘Crooks – now set up as Unique Table Company. Look after ….’
Craig Wilson and his partner Rhys Evans, 38, say they paid an eye-watering £9,705 to Dorney in 2019
They nearly lost their home after incurring expenses to repair their home in Manchester
Mr Wilson says there were several flaws in the Dorney-built roof, such as re-using old insulation he had just removed
Another said: Not a legit company. Paid money. Never received table. Never heard from the man again after he took our money. Emails don’t work, phones don’t work, company name keeps changing. When I paid them, it was Bespoke Table Co.’
One reads, ‘Zero Stars – Fraudulent Company Now Gone MIA! Stay clear!’
Mr Stewart, who took Dorney to court and won a County Court ruling in his favor in Dorney’s absence, but has yet to see any of his money.
He said, “I am so outraged by the way this man has behaved towards me and disgusted by what he is doing.
“I just feel like this guy will just keep doing what he’s doing, be able to move from one venture to another.
“I would do anything to get my money back and second, I don’t want other people to lose like I did.
“According to his company records, he was born in March 1995 and is 28 years old, so he has a few good years ahead of him to bring misery and despair to others.”
The post ‘Reformed’ cowboy builder once known for defrauding people of thousands, now refurbishes furniture. appeared first on WhatsNew2Day.