A retired couple lost tens of thousands of dollars in an alleged tiny house scam that left some 170 creditors owed an estimated $6 million.
Valerie Shannon and Garth Woodcock paid nearly $55,000 to My Tiny Home Kit, owned by Spencer Porter, in late 2022, expecting the structure to arrive in April 2023.
But by last August, only part of the structure and roof had been delivered, and the couple, who live in Coffs Harbour, on the New South Wales north coast, feared they would never recover the $43,000 they said they were owed.
“It makes me feel bad because I just want my little house,” Ms. Shannon said. ABC 7.30 show.
“If I don’t get my little house, I want my money back.”
Valerie Shannon (right) and Garth Woodcock (left) are among those who lost tens of thousands of dollars for a house they paid for but was never built.
The retired couple paid nearly $55,000 to My Tiny Home Kit, owned by Spencer Porter (pictured), in late 2022, expecting the shell of the home to arrive in April 2023.
Porter founded My Tiny Home Kit in 2022 after owning failed app companies.
Launching the company with great publicity, he said that tiny houses had become extremely popular and everyone wanted one.
“So we have decided that we want to change the world one step at a time.”
The businessman also said he wanted to raise “awareness about the devastating extreme poverty that is taking place right now, on our doorstep and around the world.”
Porter promised that for “every tiny house we sell, we are building a tiny house in a country in need, to allow those who don’t have a roof over their heads to have a house because everyone deserves to have a place to live.” call home.’
He later revised that into a promise to sponsor children through World Vision.
“By sponsoring one child for every home kit order, we are now making a consistent, positive impact on the lives of children in need,” the My Tiny Home Kit website reads.
Melbourne woman Lyndy U’Ren and her brother spent about $28,000 on a small house for their family’s rural holiday block in 2022.
As a cancer survivor, she was shocked by a 2019 news story about Porter saying he would donate proceeds from a self-published book based on his late mother’s voice recordings to the Peter MacCallum Cancer Foundation.
The house Ms. U’ren and her brother paid for was supposed to arrive within three months, but as with Ms. Shannon and Mr. Woodcock, she only received a partial mark.
U’Ren has located about 90 customers and suppliers who allege that My Tiny Home Kit and Porter owe them money or let them down.
“While there are some people who have had their money returned, the ongoing impact that it has had on these people has been quite significant,” he told ABC’s Emily Baker.
A promotional photo of My Tiny Home Kit is shown. The company has gone into liquidation.
Shannon said the experience took a toll on her health.
“I wake up thinking about Spencer Porter, I go to sleep thinking about Spencer Porter,” he said.
“I have had to go to the doctor to give me medication to help me sleep… He has been scamming us and there are no consequences.”
David Urquhart, a father of five in Western Sydney, also wanted to build a small house for his daughter, paying $32,000.
Two weeks after making your last payment, My Tiny Home Kit went into liquidation.
“Losing so much money for nothing is almost unimaginable,” Mr Urquhart said.
Porter reportedly stopped sponsoring children through World Vision last November, and the Peter MacCallum Foundation said it has never received any donations from him.
Daily Mail Australia contacted Porter for comment but he did not respond. He previously rejected claims that My Tiny Home Kit is a scam.