Some ns have lost their life savings in an alleged tiny homes scam which has left around 170 creditors owed an estimated $6million.
Valerie Shannon and Garth Woodcock are among the people out of pocket by tens of thousands of dollars for a home they paid for but was never built.
The retired couple paid almost $55,000 to My Tiny Home Kit, which was owned by Spencer Porter, in late 2022, expecting the home structure to arrive by April 2023.
But by last August, just part of the frame and roof had arrived, and the couple, who live in Coffs Harbour on the NSW north coast, feared they would never get the $43,000 they said they were owed back.
‘It makes me feel sick because I just want my tiny home,’ Ms Shannon told ABC’s 7.30 show. ‘If I don’t get my tiny home, I want my money back.’
Mr Porter founded My Tiny Home Kit in 2022 after previously owning failed app businesses.
Launching the company in a blaze of publicity, he said tiny homes have become extremely popular and everyone wants one.
‘So, we have decided we want to change the world one step at a time.’
The businessman also said he wanted to spread ‘awareness on the devastating extreme poverty that is taking place right now, right on our doorsteps and across the world’.
Mr Porter promised that for ‘every single tiny home we sell, we are building a tiny home in a country in need, to allow those who don’t have a roof over their head to have a home because everyone deserves to have a place to call home.’
He later revised that down to a promise to sponsor children through World Vision instead.
‘Through sponsoring a child for every tiny home kit order, we are now making a consistent, positive impact on the lives of children in need,’ the My Tiny Home Kit website read.
Melbourne woman Lyndy U’Ren and her brother spent about $28,000 on a tiny home for their family’s rural holiday block in 2022.
As a cancer survivor, she was impressed by a 2019 news story about Mr Porter saying he would donate the proceeds of a self-published book based on his late mother’s voice recordings to The Peter MacCallum Cancer Foundation.
The home 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 ever got a partial frame.
Ms U’Ren has tracked down about 90 customers and suppliers who allege they are owed money or were let down by My Tiny Home Kit and Mr Porter.
‘Even though there are some people that have had their money back, the ongoing impact that it’s had on these people has been pretty significant,’ she told ABC’s Emily Baker.
Ms Shannon said the experience has affected her health.
‘I wake up thinking of Spencer Porter, I go to sleep thinking of Spencer Porter,’ she said.
‘I’ve had to go to the doctor to get medication to help me sleep … He’s been ripping us off and there are no consequences.’
Western Sydney father-of-five David Urquhart also wanted to build a tiny home, for his daughter, paying out $32,000.
Two weeks after he made his final instalment, My Tiny Home Kit went into liquidation.
‘It’s almost beyond imagining, losing that much money for nothing,’ Mr Urquhart said.
Mr Porter reportedly stopped sponsoring children through World Vision last November, and the Peter MacCallum Foundation said it has never had any donations from him.
Daily Mail contacted Mr Porter for comment, but he did not reply. He has previously rejected claims that My Tiny Home Kit is a scam.