'A despicable individual': Queensland Attorney general calls out tradie accused of fleecing pricey deposits from customers

Brendan Hawxwell is the fleeing fencer who gave us a spray.

He races to get people's deposits, then customers claim he runs the other way.

Since we exposed him, the list of customers who say he's let them down has grown even longer.

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And now the government is on his case.

Brendan claims to run Brisbane's number one fencing and decking company, but there's a growing list of people he has unfinished business with.

That includes Jane, who handed over an $8000 deposit to Brendan to build a fence around her Gold Coast home.

She claims he tore down her fence and never returned.

Recently she came face to face with Brendan again, as he fronted court.

"It's really hard to see him. He doesn't care, he doesn't care at all," she said.

But he's not facing court over his dodgy business dealings..

He pleaded guilty for driving unlicenced and suspended.

He's also facing another 11 unrelated charges including possessing dangerous drugs, weapons and unlawfully taking native animals.

The rabbit hole on Brendan has become even deeper, as more victims continue to come forward.

Brisbane mum Claudine said Brendan vanished with $10,000 of her hard earned money.

"We're another one that's been caught because he's very good. He's very good.

"It's really sad. So without you guys getting the word out there, someone needs to get a hold of him so that he knows that you can't keep doing this to people."

In July last year she paid a deposit for a new retaining wall and was told the wall would be completed within six weeks.

"He's very charming, very lovely. He talks you through everything... He's great with his words."

But approaching one year later, the work is still not done, he hasn't offered her any reward and he's uncontactable.

"He's out there. And we need to tell everybody, this is him."

Wayne was another victim who fell for Brendan's empty promises.

"I'm happy that he's been exposed because hopefully we'll stop other people from losing money," Wayne said.

Wayne saw his business on Facebook and paid an $8000 deposit for his retaining wall.

He said his wife withdrew money from her superannuation to pay for Brendan's fence work.

Brendan dug holes in the ground, but never came back.

"We have to draw even more out to get it finished. So we paid twice in effect for it," he said.

Wayne too can't get ahold of Brendan and hasn't seen a refund.

"I was absolutely gobsmacked at the amount of people he's done it to," he said.

"The guy obviously has no conscience at all."

So angry, he even resorted to calling Brendan's father.

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"Yeah, I called his dad and spoke to him and said, 'Do you know what your son's up to with his work?' And his dad said 'No'."

To make matters worse, Wayne claims he has seen Brendan advertise for work in Byron Bay, under a different name.

"People in Byron Bay and Nimbin be aware of Brendan Hawkswell. He's coming you know, and he'll take your money because he does not care," Wayne said.

Brendan has tried re-branding to Queensland Fencing and Decking and has worked using the name Cartier Constructions.

Now he's banned from contracting work as a business owner under Cre8tive Construction Group.

After complaints to the office of Fair Trading, Queensland's Attorney General Yvette D'Ath is calling Brendan out.

"It's disgusting, it's deliberate ... to rip people off," D'Ath said.

"He's a despicable individual and he should be held accountable for what he's doing."

She warned consumers of the tell tale signs of a serial fraudster.

"They will keep reinventing themselves and keep changing names," she said.

"Don't pay a huge deposit, don't pay money upfront, or certainly don't pay the full amount upfront.

"Often, if it seems dodgy or if it seems way too good to be true, then it often is.

"We don't want to see consumers lose another cent."