"Look at all the awards I've won," said Jason Gow three weeks ago, pointing to the wall in his Warilla office.
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Peter Vincent ignored him.
He was disgusted that a man he believed had "no pride in his work or business" could mention awards at a time like this.
Mr Vincent had driven from Sydney to Warilla to try to resolve a stalemate with Mr Gow.
The issues surrounding the building of his new house at Hurstville allegedly constituted a breach of contract and so he had asked for a meeting in an attempt to negotiate a way forward.
An independent inspection of the half-built home showed there was mould growing on the frames near a window, the floor was warped and had been exposed to the wet weather, and the beams were not built to specifications.
"I couldn't believe he was standing there pointing out his awards to me," Mr Vincent said. "It's so hypocritical to try and push those awards down people's throats when so many of his customers have issues with him. He is a man with no pride in his work."
Mr Vincent signed the contract in December, 2013 - 14 months later, his house is nowhere near completion.
"It takes so long for anything to happen," Mr Vincent said. "I'm paying $550 in rent on top of my mortgage repayments. It's not easy."
Receiving no firm guarantee from Mr Gow to rectify the issues, Mr Vincent then lodged an application with the Department of Fair Trading.
He said he had signed the contract just a few weeks before an exclusive, investigative report on Gow Constructions was published in the Mercury in December, 2013. In that report the Mercury spoke with 10 unhappy customers and former employees of Gow Constructions. Most of the complaints were similar in nature and involved drainage, waterproofing, painting, brickwork and roof defects.
One customer, Michael Sullivan, was in a wheelchair, while another, single mother Maria Pozzar, said every time she heard Jason Gow's name she suffered an anxiety attack and became depressed.
"If I had known all that then, I would not have chosen to go with Gow Constructions," Mr Vincent said. "At the time I thought G.J. Gardner, which has a reputable name in the industry, would back me up if anything went wrong."
In 2013, Mr Gow won the Illawarra Business Leader of the Year Award. The same year he won best contract home under $300,000 in the Master Builders Association Excellence in Regional Building Awards. In 2014 he was a finalist for Citizen of the Year in Shellharbour City Council's Australia Day Awards.
"Jason Gow is a show pony," said Warick Vaseo, who is another dissatisfied customer. "The minute you sign that contract you start to see his true colours. The fact he's won all of those awards is a farce."
Mr Vaseo said he chose a G.J. Gardner home because of their good reputation. He and his wife signed the contract in September, 2013.
"A tradie will come on site for one day, maybe two, and then disappear for months," Mr Vaseo said.
Last week, 17 months later, the Vaseos handed over the final payment and received the keys to their new Kiama home. But instead of it being a happy event - it's been a misery.
"The house is a shemozzle. The tradespeople Gow employed were pathetic. They have done a terrible job," Mr Vaseo said. "The only decent thing that's been done well are the floors and the roof. If I had to rate this house out of 10 it would be a four."
Mr Vaseo said there were already cracks in the brickwork and there was a huge gap in a retaining wall where drainage work had been carried out.
"There's going to be a big repair bill to fix all of this," he said. "The brickwork alone is atrocious."
Mr Vaseo said he had complained to G.J. Gardner Homes' main office in Queensland eight months ago but had been disillusioned with the response.
Pensioner Diane Etchells said her dealings with Jason Gow, Gow Constructions and the franchise G.J. Gardner had been a journey from hell.
She dissolved into tears as she described the previous 18 months.
"It's destroyed our life completely," Ms Etchells said. "I'm depressed. I don't sleep, I hardly eat because I'm constantly worrying every single day."
When Ms Etchells and her husband signed the contract in June, 2013 she told Mr Gow that they needed to move into the house by that November because of Centrelink regulations.
When the date passed and there was no house, Centrelink halved their pension considering everything they owned an asset.
"What we get in the pension now doesn't even cover our rent," she said. "Our savings which has taken us our entire life to build has now disappeared. All our money is gone in rent."
The floor and frames of their Kiama home were constructed in December, 2014 but no work has been carried out on the home since the week before Christmas.
"I can't believe he's won awards for his building work. It's disgusting and disgraceful," she said. "We chose G.J. Gardner because they had a good reputation and were well known but I feel like they too have deserted us in all this."
G.J. Gardner terminated the franchise with Gow Constructions and Jason Gow last week.
In a written statement, it said that Gow Constructions was legally bound to complete the projects.
G.J. Gardner's NSW managing director Matthew Hope said while the company was no longer affiliated with Gow Constructions, it would continue to push to have customers' homes completed.
"We appreciate the patience and understanding customers are displaying and we assure them we do not take this situation lightly," Mr Hope said.
West Wollongong man Wayne Gregory has been fighting for an end to what has been a 6½-year battle to complete his Tarrawanna home.
He signed a contract with Gow Constructions in June, 2008. Last month in mediation at the Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal, Mr Gow agreed to finally remedy outstanding outdoor drainage issues on the property and to pay compensation to Mr Gregory by the end of April.
Mr Gregory has set up a Facebook page detailing his dealings with Mr Gow and his company, including a timeline of events.
On Monday, Mr Gregory was relieved that the long saga was close to an end.
"I'm hoping that the insurance company will now have to step in and rectify the defective work," Mr Gregory said. "I've written to them and will just have to wait for a response." It is believed that at least one customer who had recently signed a contract with Gow Constructions and handed over a deposit was not insured.
The voluntary administrator advised all of Gow Constructions' customers, both current and former, to seek legal advice regarding their rights under the Home Owners' Warranty Act.