A family has been left with a destroyed home and thousands of dollars out of pocket by a builder targeting struggling Australians.
Zane and Melody Ralph, from Melbourne's western suburbs, face a bleak Christmas after their renovator went missing with their money.
NT Kitchens owner Hiep T Phung was paid $9,000 by the couple in April as a deposit to carry out renovation work on their home.
NT Kitchens owner Hiep T Phung has come under fire for failing to complete orders
Although work did begin, it remained unfinished and remains a mess eight months later.
Mrs. Ralph described the builder as a “Grinch,” whom she had tried to contact repeatedly throughout the year to get the job done.
A litany of text messages sent by Mrs Ralph to the builder shows how her desperate pleas for help were largely ignored.
When Mr Phung responded, he told the family lies about when he would come to their home and made excuses as to why he had not arrived.
“We paid almost $9,000 to complete this work. We paid every time he asked. No questions asked. We took it in good faith that he would complete the job within the time frame he gave us,” Ms Ralph told Ny Breaking Australia.
'We were told it would take five weeks to complete the job. That was in April. It should be ready by the end of May. It is now December. We have now received a lot of excuses, we have lost count.'
A quick look at the NT Kitchens social media page indicates that the Ralph family is not alone in their grief.
'If I could give zero stars, I would. I started a small pantry project in March and by October it was still not finished,” another unhappy customer wrote in October.
'It never showed up when promised, damaged the table top in at least five places and had large chips missing. Hundreds of screw holes in the cabinets, accidentally screwed through cabinet doors, no shelves, edges of cabinets etc. produced. So many lies and drama.'
Daan and Melody Ralph are penniless and their house is in disarray
Melody Ralph claims she has been stringed along by Mr Phung for almost a year
An image posted to Facebook by another angry customer of Mr Phung's work
Mrs Ralph said the stress of their ordeal had had an impact on her entire family.
'We have been living with half a renovation for months. “We have stuff all over the house because we don't have anywhere to put it all,” she said.
'My husband and I wasted more than two weeks of our time waiting around the house for him to show up, only for him not to show up. We would be happy if we got a text from him letting us know he wasn't coming. It's simply beyond comprehension. Who runs such a company?
'We are honest, hardworking people. We just want this work to be done. Now we have no money to finish the job because he took everything.”
When Ny Breaking Australia contacted Mr Phung on November 13, he claimed he was determined to complete the work he had started at Ralph's home.
Mr Phung claimed that his father had recently passed away, causing him to stop all correspondence with his clients.
“I didn't rob them… I'm not a thief. I'm so sorry about what happened… I didn't rob them. They know my friend and I didn't rob them. “A lot of things happened, that's why,” he said.
NT Kitchens owner Hiep T Phung may get coal in his stock this Christmas
NT Kitchens owner Hiep T Phung has been accused of unreliable and incomplete work
All talk, no action: Melody Ralph still can't get a satisfactory result from NT Kitchens owner Hiep T Phung
Mr Phung said he was struggling financially to complete the construction due to his recent divorce.
'I'm not running. “I’m not a runner…I don’t play games,” he said.
'Too many things have happened to me in the past eleven months. I know it's my business but I'll call them this week… what can I do? When I have financial problems, I have to get the money together and keep the job going.'
Mr Phung told Ny Breaking Australia he would arrange the renovation of the Ralph.
“I will contact them to resolve the issue and continue the job,” he said.
Although Mr Phung contacted the Ralph family days later, the work remains unfinished and is now likely to end up at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
'He begged me for two more weeks after being contacted by the Ny Breaking. I gave it to him reluctantly,” said Mrs. Ralph.
'We have been completely taken advantage of. It's disheartening to know that this has happened to other people too. I just don't want anyone else to experience what we have. It's so disturbing.'