British homeowners are being forced to shell out millions of pounds a year to fix ‘botched’ jobs carried out by cowboy builders, according to a new report.

Direct Line Insurance discovered that more than half a million people in the UK have had to pay someone to fix shoddy tradesmen’s work, spending a combined total of £529,011,745 – on top of the cost of the original work, estimated at £33 billion.

That works out as just under £1,000 per person – a high price to pay for work that could be got right first time.

Among the worst culprits of carrying out substandard work are carpenters (who account for 11 per cent of all botched jobs), builders (eight per cent), plasterers (eight per cent) and electricians (seven per cent).

“Our research confirms that poor workmanship and few guarantees are causing unnecessary expense and inconvenience for many homeowners and even worse may result in making their homes unsafe,” said Andrew Lowe, head of home insurance at Direct Line.

Building insurance can help ease the stress of home repair work. Direct Line arranges for the property to be inspected and engage trusted builders to carry out the required work, which is then guaranteed for a year.

Click here to find out more about building insurance.

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