Tradie to keep 12k payout

LIQUIDATORS have backed down and retracted their demand for a Bundaberg tradesman to return thousands of dollars he was paid by the collapsed builder Coral Coast Homes earlier this year.
Bricklayer Kevin Bragg was shocked to receive a bill for more than $12,000 in September this year, when liquidators SV Partners determined he should return the money.
Citing legislation from the Corporations Act, SV Partners wrote that Mr Bragg “was aware or should have been aware that the company was insolvent” when his payments were made from January to March this year — despite the fact it was still trading when the payments were made, and did not go into liquidation until June.
The liquidators supplied a history of transactions between the failed builder and Mr Bragg’s bricklaying business Brickfred, which suggested that Coral Coast Homes may have been struggling financially as early as September last year.
They demanded that the money be returned, as it gave Brickfred a preference over other creditors, who may still see nothing of the money they have lost.
But luckily for Mr Bragg, SV Partners has eased its stance, and scrapped the repayment after media attention to the issue.
“They called me and asked me to write a letter detailing everything that happened with Coral Coast Homes, and they might be able to arrange something,” Mr Bragg said.
Last week, he had another telephone call saying the matter had been dropped.
Mr Bragg said he was delighted to hear the news, but said he should never have been asked to repay the money, which he was awarded by the Commercial and Consumer Tribunal in March, after Coral Coast Homes failed to pay him for work done before September last year.
SV Partners director David Stimpson said his investigations concluded the company was insolvent in January.
“Our investigations as to whether it was trading insolvently prior to that date are continuing,” Mr Stimpson said.
He said he had passed on a report to Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), stating that the company was trading insolvent, and was working on another report with further information.
He said Mr Bragg’s defence against the liquidator’s claim of an “unfair preference payment” was valid, and he would not be pursued for the money.
“At this stage we have not identified any other unfair preferences,” Mr Stimpson said.

SV Partners bid to snatch tradie's cash !

A BUNDABERG tradie, who forced Coral Coast Homes to pay his bills when he took the building company to a tribunal, has been ordered by the company's liquidators to return the cash.

At first Kevin Bragg (pictured, right) thought a demand to hand back $12,000 was just a joke - but soon it became obvious that the letter from liquidator SV Partners was no laughing matter.
Mr Bragg, director of bricklaying company Brickfred, went to the Commercial and Consumer Tribunal in March to recover more than $12,000 in unpaid bills from Coral Coast Homes.
The ruling was made in the nick of time - Mr Bragg had received nearly all of his money back by the time the company went under in June, owing more than $1 million to about 100 creditors.
“I thought I was one of the lucky ones, that I got in just in time,” Mr Bragg said.
But that win turned sour when Coral Coast Homes liquidator SV Partners demanded all of the money back - saying Mr Bragg should never have been paid the cash he was owed in the first place.
“They're saying I should have known that (Coral Coast Homes) was insolvent, so I have to pay back the money,” Mr Bragg said.

Coral Coast Homes collapses

DAVID Kapp still faces an uncertain future after it was confirmed yesterday that Coral Coast Homes has gone into administration.

“It's going to be an awful game of waiting,” former customer Mr Kapp said.

“We don't know whether we can solve the problems with our house, and there's not much we can do about it.”

The company's problems first came to light last month, after a string of complaints about unfinished or substandard work, and unpaid tradespeople.

Last month, the Building Services Authority suspended the company's licence, amid speculation that the company was in financial strife.

The rumours were confirmed on Thursday when Brisbane-based SV Partners were appointed as external administrators - the same company dealt with the collapse of Bundaberg Master Homes in February.

Master Homes customers were left facing a struggle to get their homes finished after the builder went into liquidation, with many left to find new contractors to finish the work.

The Building Services Authority (BSA) is liaising with affected consumers of Coral Coast Homes to assess any entitlements they may have under the Queensland Home Warranty Scheme.

“Six claims have been received by BSA since the suspension of the licence of Coral Coast Homes Pty Ltd,” BSA general manager Ian Jennings said.

“Anyone else affected by the suspension of the licence of Coral Coast Homes Pty Ltd should contact BSA on 1300 BSA BSA (1300 272 272).”

Customers of Steelsmart Homes, which was also headed by Coral Coast Homes director John Biles, may also be left out of pocket with at least three people claiming their kit homes have not been delivered.

SSM Products Pty Ltd, trading as Steelsmart Homes, is being wound up after complaints by creditors.

“To date, BSA has received two complaints about Steelsmart Homes Pty Ltd, but both complaints were in regard to the supply of a kit home,” Mr Jennings said.

He said Steelsmart Homes is a “supply only” company, and as such, is not regulated by the BSA.

SV Partners did not return telephone calls to the NewsMail yesterday, and Mr Biles could not be reached for comment.

There will be a meeting for tradespeople, customers and owner-builders who have had dealings with Coral Coast Homes and Steelsmart, at 7pm on June 11, upstairs at the Bundaberg Neighbourhood Centre on Targo Street.

Kit home buyers fear they will never see their homes?

Todays News Mail Story:

SEVERAL customers have come forward with complaints that they have not received kit homes bought from Steelsmart Homes, a company linked with troubled building company Coral Coast Homes.

SSM Products Pty Ltd, which trades as Steelsmart Homes, was being wound up yesterday after the builders licence for Coral Coast Homes director John Biles was cancelled on Monday.

Steelsmart Homes customers now face an anxious wait to hear if they would receive their kits.

Rosedale couple Peter Thompson and Claudia Richardson say they are living in a shack with no running water, next to their unfinished home, nearly two years after signing a contract with Coral Coast Homes.

“We still don't have a roof, which had been promised to us since March 13,” Mr Thompson said.

He said he paid in advance for the kit itself, and for the building to be completed to lock-up stage, after their previous home was destroyed in a fire.

“We were underinsured, so we've put every last bit into building this place,” Mr Thompson said.

He said volunteers had helped piece together parts of the home after a lengthy wait for the company's builders to get to work.

“Steve Sansom and his family came up, and without them, we wouldn't even have the plumbing,” Mr Thompson said.

“The kids say, 'we're never going to live in that house, it will never be finished'.”

Pensioner Shane McMullen said he has been left paying a mortgage on the frame of a house, after the rest of the kit was not delivered by Steelsmart Homes.

The kit home was meant to be delivered to his land in Apple Tree Creek by the second week in January.

But to date, only the frame has been received, and the single father is living with his teenage daughter in rented accommodation.

“My insurance company says I have no claim because I haven't received the kit, and the BSA say they do not cover kit homes - what do I do?” Mr McMullen said.

Representatives from SV Partners, who are receivers for Bundaberg Master Homes, were reportedly at the joint office of Coral Coast Homes and Steelsmart Homes yesterday.

But Building Services Authority general manager Ian Jennings denied the company had gone into administration.

“The Building Services Authority understands that no action has been taken to appoint administrators or liquidators to Coral Coast Homes Pty Ltd,” Mr Jennings said.

The Office of Fair Trading has urged customers who have concerns about Steelsmart Homes to telephone them on 13 13 04.

Steelsmart Homes could not be reached for comment yesterday.