STEPHEN READ - rip off builder

Hi JenDave,

I'm sorry to hear that you've been conned too.  There have been several threads about Stephen Read on here - you've already commented on another - but I see you've suggested "emailing" other complainants.  As this man has already tried to infiltrate the forum - objecting to his photo appearing on here! - by setting up different user accounts (fortunately, Alex detected it and banned him), others may be wary about going 'off forum'.  In any event, you don't need to do so, as there's a Private Message option available.

If you look in the blue band at the head of your post, where your user name appears, you'll see two small white boxes with blue borders - one says Follow and the other says Private Message.  Go to a post by the person you want to privately message and click on that box in their header - a new dialogue box will pop up, with their user name as the addressee, you just need to add a title and then your message.  Only you and the other member will be able to see your PM and they can reply to you privately as well. 

I hope you're lucky in tracking him down - armed with the all the info you have between you, I hope it's enough for the police to work on.  Good luck!

Kind regards,

Kim

Yes....good luck with this. I really hope you get enough people together to take action but most importantly win your case. However it sounds like he is a slippery character and probably has no assets and rents so easy for him to escape the legal system and just move on.

Hopefully the taxman and other government bodies will be on to him as sell at some point.

Shame he can't be set up on a few jobs with people so you can all meet him or at least find out where he lives for serving legal documents etc.

Just a low life piece of scum.

Good luck!

thank you, I most certainly will share any info I get.  I am guessing all the addresses etc I have for him are no longer correct as he told me he moved a few weeks ago.

Sorry to hear that there are still people like this who think nothing of ripping people off and causing distress without any remorse. 

Hi....what i mean by this is to find out his address so any papers can be served on him or served in person.

Nothing else.

Hope he is not a member of this forum or he will be well clued up!

Thank you, we are getting together all the information and we will go to the police.

He was a member of this forum, which is how he managed to contact me, and the others I assume.

Alec kicked him off and blocked him.

I have contacted my solicitor in Spain for advice.  

This is David Northcote here, I would like to share our experience of Stephen Read installs. A warning against paying this man money up front for goods he did not deliver or work not carried out.

After we received a written quotation we adhered to his terms of full payment to cover purpose made materials as a deposit with a balance of labour upon completion, He also stated pay extra 300 euro today to GUARANTEE your fitting date slot for 30th July - FOOLS I KNOW BUT HE COMES ACROSS AS A NICE TRUSTWORTHY CHAP! Even introduced his partner Caitlin and his son on a deposit collection.

As pensioners we come to Spain for a better life but he has caused us so much grief over the past 4 months making my disabled wife very ill as she suffers anxiety and heart problems.

We did post on NAME & SHAME on August 16th [copy enclosed] but Stephen Read said take the post down before I can deal with you, we did however todays post IS A WARNING TO OTHERS.

Following 4 failed supply & fit dates for stairs, doors & gate I confronted him at his home address in San Miguel - WOW he was shocked considering an hour before he messaged he was in London! He asked who gave you my address!

From our experience in communications with him he is cocky and arrogant, he is certainly used to customers complaining! He recites the laws in Spain with his fancy words, and mountains of excuses and monstrous Lies [and more Lies] and worthless threats of involving police “if you visit again”

We sincerely wish we had read of his scamming and his money grabbing tactics as reported on Guardamar del Sagura forum, Talk Quesada, Costa Blanca Forum, & Name and Shame BEFORE we ever got involved.

Post to be read NAMED and SHAMED costa Blanca Spain.

Hi David,

This is amazing, thank you so much!  I'm so sorry you've been subjected to this - there are many others trying to track down this low life.  I don't know how you managed to get his address - and I don't need to know! - but may I suggest that you make contact with the other victims on this forum and get together to report all the details to the police.

In a previous thread, I suggested discussions take place via the Private Message function, as we know that Read has been on this forum under another guise and as good as Alex is at spotting it, he can't always get to it as quickly as he would like.

I'll find the other thread on this forum from another victim and update this post with the link.

EDIT: here are the links, David, I sincerely hope you can get the police to respond:

STEPHEN READ - rip off builder 

Stephen Read 

Kind regards,

Kim