Built on distrust and lies
Homeowners, contractors lose $60k as ’builder’ fails
A GEELONG tradie who didn’t turn up to start work after taking a deposit worth thousands, has left homeowners and contractors $60,000 out of pocket after declaring bankruptcy.
The Geelong Advertiser has seen evidence of a money transfer that suggest landscape gardener Brent Macleod was taking money from a client after he declared bankruptcy this year.
About 10 of Mr Macleod’s former clients, including multiple mum-and-dad homeowners, are owed between $700 and $9000, Australian Financial Security Authority documents show. Documents from the authority also show Mr Macleod was bankrupt as of May 28.
Multiple clients have outlined Mr Macleod’s questionable business practices that have included taking full payments for jobs that are left incomplete or never started.
All have warned those responding to online advertisements to check the credentials of tradies before taking them on to complete work.
“Had I Googled his name,
A GHERINGHAP farmer is fed up with rubbish dumpers, after about 70 old tyres were abandoned on the side of a local road in a matter of weeks.
Farmer and former local councillor Des Guinane said rubbish dumping had become a “serious problem” in the region after twice discovering piles of old rusted tyres dumped on the side of Ryan Road in recent weeks.
“About three weeks or so ago there was a dump of the issues would have come up and I would have avoided him like the plague,” a client of Mr Macleod said.
Mr Macleod, who engaged a Geelong region client on the premise he was a builder last year, said that he would complete a five-figure renovation, but not one post or beam has been erected. The client said Mr Macleod took thousands and never came back.
Mr Macleod pleaded guilty in an Adelaide court in 2016 to failing to complete building work after taking deposits.
After facing court, he reabout 30 old tyres. I rang the council and the council shifted them, and just this week I was driving up Ryan Road and there was a fresh dump of tyres, it was about 40 tyres in that particular lot,” Mr Guinane said this week.
“Rubbish dumping is a serious problem in the region.”
The Golden Plains Shire’s Environmental Strategy 2019-2027 includes an aim to turned more than $6000. A client said Mr Macleod, a onetime Geelong District Football League player, encouraged him to spend thousands to prepare for a renovation.
“I did all the groundwork and no one has turned up. He told me he was going to fix me up.”
Another client, who paid Mr Macleod thousands for a fence and concreting, said the fence was incomplete months after full payment was made and the concreting was yet to begin.
Geelong resident Michael halve reported incidents of rubbish dumping in the region by 2027.
The shire received 108 reports of illegal rubbish dumping prior to passing its strategy in 2017/18, identifying hot spots in Harvey Road Bannockburn, Brislane Road Murgheboluc, Parker Road Sutherlands Creek, Bakers Bridge Road Sutherlands Creek and Gheringhap, and
Close took on Mr Macleod to build two fences and widen a driveway in May 2019. He was quoted $5454 and paid Mr Macleod $3900, but was left with just five posts concreted in the ground after six months. Mr Close said Mr Macleod promised to pay him back in January, but he hadn’t seen “a cent”.
Mr Macleod said late last year that he’d contacted a debt help company to manage his business because it ran into difficulty after his tools were stolen. On Wednesday, he said: “My partner and parents have advised me not to comment.”
Sharkeys Road and Robbs Road in Sutherlands Creek.
Mr Guinane’s concerns come just days after the City of Greater Geelong revealed it was exploring the use of CCTV cameras to catch illegal dumpers in the region, following a “significant increase” in the illegal activity.
The city spends about $800,000 annually on collecting dumped rubbish.