Liverpool ECHO investigates building company linked to dozens of consumer complaints
The unfinished work the builder left Rachel from Westhead with(Image: Liverpool Echo)
A woman said she feared losing her unborn baby from “stress and misery” after hiring a building firm linked to a growing number of consumer complaints.
Her story is one of many which paint a harrowing picture of financial hardship and emotional distress allegedly wrought by the actions of company director Frank Deary and his business Celsius Home Improvements.
The same firm was also hired by Liverpool GP Dr. Murugesh, who says he “hit rock bottom” and feared for the future of his medical practice after engaging Celsius. These stories have surfaced following further investigations into the company.
The Liverpool ECHO previously uncovered a network of 28 households who claim to have been financially and emotionally devastated after hiring Celsius Home Improvements. Collectively, reported loses are estimated to be in the region of £1.5 million.
Many of these individuals entrusted their life savings to the firm, only to be left with half-finished, unsafe homes, while Mr Deary lived in his multi-million pound home in Aughton, West Lancashire.
Despite multiple households reporting their experiences to Merseyside and Lancashire Police, they were informed their concerns fell below the criminal threshold and might instead be suitable for civil court proceedings. Meanwhile, Trading Standards departments in Liverpool, Sefton, Knowsley, and Lancashire received numerous complaints.
All the claims made about Mr Deary in this article have been put to him. Despite numerous efforts to reach him, Mr Deary has not provided any comments for publication, although he initially indicated he would do so.
Though Celsius Home Improvements was officially dissolved in February 2022, its branding continued to be used for quotes and promotional materials well beyond that date. Instead, Deary’s operations were trading as Clearmetric Ltd., a company which was subsequently issued a winding-up order in the Manchester District Registry on January 7 2025.
Dr Deepa Murugesh at Langbank Medical Centre in Norris Green.(Image: Liverpool Echo)
One of the most striking cases involves Dr. Murugesh, the principal GP at Langbank Medical Centre, who had planned to expand the practice to accommodate growing patient needs. After receiving several quotes, a Celsius representative cold-called the practice and offered to complete the job for £128,000, undercutting the other bids, and promising to start work immediately.
What convinced Dr Murugesh, however, was Celsius’ promise to begin work immediately and deliver the completed project between May and July 2024.
Dr. Murugesh said Celsius communicated well in the early stages and Frank Deary presented himself as attentive and reliable. But after the first 25% deposit was paid in May 2024, he says the behaviour of the company shifted dramatically.
According to the GP, he faced escalating demands for payment and pressure to issue a “water-tight” payment long before any substantial progress was made. By July 2024, Dr Murugesh said he had paid £115,500 – 90% of the job’s total cost – but the work had barely progressed beyond basic demolition and some scaffolding.
With the upper floors left gutted and unsafe, and no work completed by the July deadline, Dr Murugesh said he hired a structural engineer who identified serious flaws in the project. Shortly after this, Dr Murugesh formally terminated Celsius’ contract.
Already out more than £115,500, Dr Murugesh said he spent an additional £250,000 to repair the damage and finish the job through a new contractor, adding: “This wasn’t just a renovation gone wrong, it was psychological warfare.
“The emotional and financial toll has been unbearable. But I couldn’t walk away. This centre is vital to the community.
Condition of GP practice after final visit from Celsius workers(Image: Handout)
“It was such a difficult situation and there were many days when I would be crying in my house.”
A father of three, Dr Murugesh considered shutting down the practice altogether, “I’ve served this community for nine years. My patients and staff rely on us. I had to keep going, no matter what.
“There’s a clear, dangerous pattern here. I feel ashamed I trusted them—but now I know I’m not alone. This company must be investigated. No business or family should endure this.”
This sense of disbelief is certainly a feeling shared by couple Jennifer Rawlinson and Matthew Brown.
Following the birth of their second child, the couple decided to build a ground floor extension to their home in Sefton and engaged Celsius after receiving a quote of £40,000.
Having already been burned by a previous builder, Jennifer made it clear to Frank Deary their project carried significant emotional and financial stakes for their family. But once the deposit of £8,000 – and an additional £12,000 for materials – was paid in May, work barely began.
Couple Jennifer Lisa Rawlinson and Matthew Brown(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Matthew said a trench was dug in one day, and then no more work was ever done – except when an electrician visited to disconnect a porch light. They discovered that Celsius no longer held key accreditations from TrustMark and FairTrades having received confirmation the company’s membership had been revoked due to a string of complaints.
After sparse communication, missed deadlines and no progress, the couple requested Celsius provide evidence it purchased the materials they paid for. None was ever presented, they say, with Matthew and Jennifer issuing a termination notice on July 25.
They were left with a hazardous trench surrounding the back of their home. The total cost of fixing and completing the job came to £60,000.
“The financial strain has been enormous and we’re still trying to recover,” said Jennifer. “The stress, the guilt, you feel like it’s all your fault. Frank Deary has done that to us and so many others.”
Rachel Mordaunt from Ormskirk had been pregnant when she contracted Celsius in early 2024. She paid the company £27,000 for an extension project that never came close to being finished.
Rachel said her home was left in disarray, with construction debris and an “uninhabitable” kitchen space at the back of the property.
The emotional burden during her pregnancy was profound. “It was the worst time of my life, losing sleep, continual stress about bringing a baby into the world with what was a construction site”, Rachel said.
“It made what was meant to be such a happy time of our lives into a misery, the stress of not having a kitchen to prepare meals or for any means to sterilise and prep bottles, the stress just grew as the pregnancy got farther along.
Rachel from Westhead with the unfinished work the builder left her with(Image: Liverpool Echo)
“I was up all night and fearful that this stress will have a huge impact on the baby, horrible thought going through my head that all this constant stress is going to send me into early labour potentially losing the baby.”
Months after cancelling the project, the site remains incomplete and the family are still hoping to find a way to fix what was broken. However, the financial cost has had a significant impact on their ability to do so.
Frank Lennon, a 68-year-old man from Kirkby, opened his home to host the first in-person gathering of victims of Celsius. He had hired the firm in 2023 to build a small rear extension, including a disability wet room, to accommodate his needs after suffering a stroke.
Frank said a Celsius representative visited him the same day he made an online inquiry. After signing a contract, Frank said the company quickly began demanding more money under threat of pulling staff from the job.
Adding: “Before even a spade was put in the ground, they wanted 60% of the total and I was promised that the project would be complete by Christmas that year. This was not the case.
“It was like blackmail. They knew they had me because I was desperate,” he said.
“From poor wall and floor tiling, loose fitting of bathroom fittings, burst pipes, left without double glazing for three months, leaving me in a very vulnerable situation, waste water drainage from the shower runs towards the internal door, that even building control are unhappy with.
“So till this day I have not received a Final Completion Certificate that satisfies the Local Authority or my House Insurance.”
Frank Lennon at home in Kirkby(Image: Liverpool Echo)
The job remains unfinished almost two years later. “It’s been hard and I can’t seem to get it out of my head. We want justice and accountability,” he said. “I want to see Deary banned from being a director of any company.”
The impact of Celsius’ practices has now drawn political attention. Six Merseyside MPs—Ian Byrne, Kim Johnson, Paula Barker, Anneliese Midgley, Peter Dowd, and Bill Esterson—have penned a joint letter to the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Jonathan Reynolds MP, urging the government to investigate.
The letter reads: “We believe affected constituents are owed fair compensation for what they have lost and for the impact these dealings have had on them. We therefore ask the Government to investigate these issues, tighten up the regulations, and ensure none of our constituents are failed again by companies like this.”
Liverpool Wavertree MP Paula Barker also raised the issue in Parliament, questioning what justice exists for her constituents who have fallen victim to what she termed a ‘scam’.
There is now a Celsius Victims Support Group with 68 members at the time of writing. They are now backing a campaign by the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) calling on the government to introduce a national licensing scheme for the building industry.
In response to the unfolding scandal, the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) is pushing for systemic reform. Brian Berry, FMB Chief Executive, said: “The devastating experiences of dozens of families across Merseyside show exactly why the UK desperately needs a robust licensing system for building companies.
Tracy Daly’s ‘nightmare’ experience with Celsius Home Improvements was covered in previous ECHO report in April(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)
“Without licensing, rogue traders can exploit loopholes, dissolve companies, and simply reappear under new names. It’s unacceptable that consumers have so little protection for such major investments.”
The FMB presented its campaign at the Houses of Parliament on May 20, advocating for a national licensing scheme that could prevent similar tragedies in the future.
As the stories of shattered trust, financial turmoil and emotional breakdown continue to emerge, a larger picture comes into focus: a regulatory system ill-equipped to protect consumers.
For the victims, the scars left behind are far more than structural, they are personal, enduring, and, for many, life-altering.