Tradie in court after alleged renovation scam costs families thousands

A warning has been issued after almost a dozen Perth families allegedly fell victim to a renovation scam.

Police claim Allan Jason Dean Howard pocketed almost $80,000 in deposits then vanished without doing the work.

The 30-year-old fronted court yesterday as police warned others to be careful when booking renovations online.

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What was meant to be a dream renovation turned into a costly nightmare for Piero Staci.

"We have no savings anymore, which we would have otherwise," he told 9News.

The Cooloongup father-of-two refinanced the family home, paying a tradesman a $21,000 deposit for the job. 

But on the day work was meant to start, the tradie never showed up. 

"He basically pulled everything he could pull out to delay: 'I couldn't pick up'. 'I was busy'. 'I was sick'," Staci alleged.

Police allege that tradie was Howard, trading as Allan's Plastering.

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Consumer Protection says it's received 11 complaints about the same man, with claimed losses of almost $79,000. 

Customers from Mindarie to Cooloongup claim they paid upfront but the work was never done.   

Howard faced Armadale Magistrates Court yesterday charged with stealing and forging a document. He is yet to enter a plea.

The alleged victims may never get their money back but they hope their warning prevents others from being scammed.

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