"For
neither good nor evil can last forever; and so it follows that as
evil has lasted a long time, good must now be close at hand."
Humans are a race of resilience. We fall we
get up we keep on going.
Sometimes it takes longer to recover, but we do recover.
But what if you fall in slow motion, like a 5 yearlong fall? Do you
need the same time to recover?
We believe no, because as soon as you remove the pain the recovery
has begun.
Why are we contemplating about this?

“Looks
good from far, but far from good.”
Background
Some of our followers are aware of our 5
yearlong battle with the building industry. Many not.
The recent video moderated by Zeher Khalil
shone a light on our building dispute, our battle to survive
injustice for the last 5 years.
We started out at the end of 2019 when we
chose a builder who promised us to build our dream home.
Fast forward 5 years and we do have an
unfinished house but it is as far removed from being a dream and
will need to be demolished and we are still looking at a total
nightmare and destruction of our lives.
Does this sound over the top? Maybe but that
is the reality we’re facing.
We could write a book of our journey through
the swamp of bureaucracy, threats, deception, harassment, lies and
misconduct.
It would probably be a thriller; many would see it as fiction but
let us tell you it is a real crime story. The builder, the surveyor
and his building inspector are the main characters in this story.
We, the owners are just supporting actors out of the movie “Are we
done yet?”
The building process and
discovery
When we finally started our build on our
acreage in the Golden Plains Shire, we were excited about this
process. We did our homework, so we thought, we put the trust into
persons who told us to trust and we handed over a vast amount of
money we worked very hard for (and still do).
I myself was very excited and able to visit
the building site often. I took many photos from every aspect of
the build exited to see it coming to life. In doing so I
could not have imagined that this would later serve as evidence.
It didn’t take long, asking ourselves why the
builder had just a very disturbing way with the truth. The lies he
told, and that we dismantled in a heartbeat were confusing to say
the least.
Moving forward we discovered during the
building process that plans have been altered. Features that were
not in the original plans appeared. We were asked to pay for
changes but refused, obviously.
We fought with the building surveyor for
modern technology inclusions to make the build efficient. It
took us 12 months and the Domestic Building Dispute Resolution
Victoria to convince him.
Little knowledge, lies, ignorance and misinformation made the
building process very painful. When we asked questions, they felt
offended. When we asked the surveyor to explain we got harassment.
Much of our journey is shown in the video
produced by Site Inspections. The established following of Zeher
knows his approach to building practitioners and their
non-compliant and disgraceful work.
Our build goes far beyond that, it is a demolition job and start
anew.
We will not go into details because it is
explained in the following video:
The Scandal That
Forced the Government to Rewrite Building Laws - YouTube
The damage goes way beyond the build, the
damage is done to two human beings who done nothing wrong but had
the desire to build a home in the countryside and retire.
This is far from happening and we are facing
financial ruin brought about by dishonest practitioners and their
legal representation.
The VBA
The wrong doings are not just limited to the
builder and his close friends but there is a role the government
played to enable these wrongdoers.
Failed in a big way by the VBA the building
authority who supposedly “protect” consumers but chose to protect
the worst in the industry, the builder, his trades and the building
surveyor.
After we discovered serious defects and
non-compliance with our build, we raised a case with the
authorities.
“Fast” forward 3 years the case was closed,
not once but twice. We the owners of this build who put everything
they have into this have no rights, whatsoever. We learned that the
hard way.
Litigation Process
Many times, we were close to giving up
especially when we entered into litigation. We are total novices.
Lawyers are always making things more complicated than they need to
be or are. Everything is from then on in a snail’s pace as you
follow process after process. The costs are mounting the time is
lengthy your progress is slow if you have any at all.
After the builder breached the contract and
walked of the building site in December 2020, we the owners have no
right to the building we paid for. The keys are with the builder,
we’re asking for solutions but get harassed by lawyers in a most
disturbing way. Even our previous lawyers failed us in a big way.
Inexperienced or knowingly, they put us in the most dangerous
position and leave us no option but looking for someone else. They
take our money but they do not care. Business for them, heart break
for us.
After 4 years our persistence
“paid” off
The new CEO of the building authority VBA
chose 7 “severe” cases to investigate their role in this. We as one
of these cases put a light on the failures of the VBA.
This was a year ago, result, no one yet for
us. Still investigating practitioners involved. Result for the VBA,
renaming (again) restructuring, retaining the same people in power
positions, $63 million to do so and paid by the taxpayer.
Compensation for their wrongdoing, none,
apology only.
It is painful, it is distressing, it is
unbelievable if you have to go through these lengthy processes. You
can’t sleep; you can’t eat. It rules your life, 24 hours a day, 7
days a week, 365 days a year, with no end in sight.
Is the tide turning?
All this takes a toll on a human being, it
was explained as going through a trauma. And yes, this is not a
case for the faint-hearted.
Persistence, resilience and a forced calmness will get you there.
Difficult times need to be overcome and time is ticking bye.
In short, help yourself through this nightmare because no one else
will.
…unless you search and find the right people,
people that are rare like precious gems, have the knowledge we so
crave pointing out the truth.
They are out there and we found them in the swamp of injustice,
they stood out like a beacon of hope, hope we so desperately
needed.
5 years in and the tide is turning with the
help of these good people.
People who give us back the trust we lost.
A comment on the recent video stood out to
me, it said: “You don’t mess with Germans who have time, some money
and a bone to pick.”.
It made me smile, because it is spot on. We grew up to be humble,
generous and just. We have values and we live by them. Our world
came crushing down when we were treated differently to what we
believe in.
The part of having time and money is sadly
not currently available.
Running Naturally Berry and running a
litigation is very time consuming and stressful. We have to juggle
to fit both in and most likely one falls short of the attention it
deserves.
Moving on into uncharted waters
Why are we writing about this? Because we
need your help.
The parties who brought us into this
situation are continuing to fight us. Delaying proceedings at VCAT
and dragging this case out until…. Yes, until we’re financially
ruined. This would give them the only opportunity to win this case
and walk away and leave us behind with nothing.
No house, worthless land and a whole lot of
debt.
As explained above we’re not the people
asking for handouts easily but this will explain why we have no
choices left.
Finding solutions
We asked the builder and Surveyor/company to
activate their liability insurance to pay for the damage caused. No
response.
We asked the government for compensation for
failing to protect consumers. No response.
If we go into mediation and an agreement is
reached the government will not be responsible for compensation
anymore and walks away from its obligations. Lost opportunity for
us and negotiating means we lose a lot of money.
We asked the VBA to help us through this
situation financially. No response.
We went to the media to put pressure on the
government. No response.
Recently a ABC Online article highlighted our story.
We engaged Site Inspections to compile a
defects
report for our build. His response was on that day (January 2024) a
4-minute
video that went off with a bang. I don’t go into details but it
woke up the other party’s big time. Threatening us with defamation
and else.

Zeher
Khalil and Ed Waldman (Senior Director at Site Inspections)
He warned them that there may be a full investigation coming up and
it went silent with the builder and surveyor, because of the VBA
all of a sudden waking up for an investigation after 4 years asking
them for doing so.
Results - Are we done, yet?
The ”VBA - The Case of Transformation”
was launched and knowingly not solved yet.
We were waiting, and waiting to get results
but it was clear to us by release of the investigation reports
something was off. After our own research we found a huge Conflict
of Interest with the investigator and asked for a truly independent
investigation.
This was granted to us in a meeting with the
CEO and State Building Surveyor, and we chose the best surveyor, a
person living by our values and we could trust. This report is
being finalised now and we are sure, it will be a revelation to
everyone involved.
As the VBA has not taken any disciplinary
actions after one year against the practitioners involved, Zeher
started his own investigation and uncovered publicly what we went
through in the last 5 years. The result was the video on YouTube on Sunday 27 April 2025,
and released on Facebook
and TikTok.
The YouTube video brought immediate attention
and results. The well-deserved backlash to the builder and
surveyor, who for the first time were named and who took our money
and treated us in the most disturbing and disgraceful way, cannot
be unseen.
Recent developments show their true faces and it is not
pretty.
The tide is finally turning but
we aren’t out of the woods, yet.
Our costs are mounting and our funds are
being drained. To bring the guilty parties to justice we have no
choice but go to trial and set things right. We have the strongest
evidence and the best in the building industry as witnesses. We
have a strong legal team who are on our site to put things right.
This came at a great cost to us.
After spending already $240,000 in reports,
lawyers and barristers fees an estimate for trial was set at
minimum $158,000. This is a sum no one has lying around anymore
after a 5-year battle. But it shows that justice is only for the
once who can afford it. Even so that our Go Fund Me Page is
asking for an extraordinary sum, we do not expect to ever reach the
funding goal.
I know that our current lawyers are doing the
very best they can, after discovering failings in their own
industry that cost us a lot of additional funds over the years.
After 5 years fighting a mortgage, rent,
legal expenses every month but nothing to move into, we are
exhausted, mentally, physically and financially.

Paying it forward
The only way for us in our situation is
“Paying it forward”.
That’s why we ask in a very humble way for your help if you can.
We established a GoFundMe page Home Construction Disaster -
Support Our Fight for Justice, we sadly now need.
This can be in any way you see fair.
A purchase, a donation or simply a note of encouragement.
We are grateful for everyone who thinks of us, and we are thanking
everyone who has supported us already.
We have to get back on our feet, find
strength to fight on and still don’t know what comes next.
The unfortunate results
We know what we have to do when a ruling took
place and we have two options.
Option 1 Rectification
We know that it is impossible to rectify a
highly defective build like ours but still we have to wait it out
at VCAT. Do they have the knowledge? This needs to be seen.
So far $672.000 in rectification costs, which
is way exceeding our original construction cost, and climbing as
recent found sewage defects showed.
500mm too deep foundation, slab , and veranda
footings, un-compacted clay soil, soil/slab heave, steel
non-compliance, non-compliant frame, non-compliant roof, inability
to collect our rainwater in rural area, failure to manage the site,
3 bathrooms and laundry need total demolition, the roof needs to
come off and the build stripped of the frame. Not much left if the
slab is defective too.
All non-compliant works need to be rectified.
This would only be a work around but not making the build totally
compliant.
Many defects that could have been avoided if
the VBA would have intervened in time for a Stop Works Order when
we needed them.
It would also trigger a Section 32 caveat for
the life time of the build. Not a desired prospect.
Option 2 Total demolition
Our property is made worthless through to the
defective build on it. It can never be brought back into compliance
unless you start anew. This is what we’re asking for and be fair to
us, the consumer.
This can only be achieved going to trial and
hold the builder, building surveyor, inspector and guilty trades to
account.
They all have indemnity insurance but do not
activate it because of higher premiums or loosing insurance all
together.
And that is our life, every day,
week, month and year. There is no reprieve, there is no relieve.
Help if you can in a way you
choose and encourage us to not give in to this criminal
behaviour.

If
you choose to place an order you can apply the following optional
discount code “NB-0525” for the next 4 weeks.
Thank
you it means so much to us.
Andrea
& Gerold
NATURALLY BERRY
www.NaturallyBerry.com.au
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