"Honest people don't win."
That's how Claire Goode feels after fighting for six years through a system she says failed the good guy, while the bad guy got away scot-free.
Goode is still searching for justice after going through the Disputes Tribunal - a quicker, cheaper and less formal way to settle small claim disputes - over a building job gone wrong.
During the process, each side is given a chance to explain their point of view and a referee determines who's in the right and who's in the wrong, with the loser ordered to pay remedies.
Sounds good in theory - but when the loser refuses to pay, things get complicated.
In 2015, Goode hired Stephen Winslow's building company RMN Construction to fix a sloping bathroom floor in her Auckland cottage. He quoted her $9000 and she paid him a deposit of $3500.
He got to work on it but a week later, her bathroom was in a sorry state - and when she contacted Winslow he became increasingly aggressive.
Goode got in touch with the local council, who told her it was aware of the builder and advised her to get a structural engineer's opinion on the work.
The engineer told her she would need to get a reputable builder in to fix it. Incredibly, the bill to fix Winslow's shoddy job came to $28,000.
Goode was advised by the engineer to go to the Disputes Tribunal, but it came with a warning: "Whether you get anything out of it or not is a different story."
Fast-forward several years and a swathe of hearings and legal actions, Goode is out of pocket over $30,000 and still waiting for her payment ordered from Winslow.
Despite being awarded $15,000 in damages from the Disputes Tribunal, the only money Goode has seen from Winslow is $205.42 in March last year.
In the meantime, Winslow has refused to pay her a dime and declared himself bankrupt.
Goode contacted TVNZ's Fair Go about the story in 2020 and they got in contact with Winslow, who insisted he did nothing wrong.
"I don't give a s**t," he told the programme. "I didn't do anything wrong and I'm not going to pay her."
Newshub has reached out to Winslow for comment but he has not responded.
Goode told Newshub he's refused to pay at every point.
"In the hearing at the Disputes Tribunal, he was saying 'I don't care, I'm not paying'. At one point he said 'take it to the Prime Minister, I'm not paying'."
And she did - though the Office of the Prime Minister replied forwarded her letter to Minister for Courts Aupito William Sio's office.
The Minister did not respond to that letter, but Goode did hear from Justice Minister Kris Faafoi, who told her to seek further independent legal advice.
Goode isn't the only one who has experienced issues getting money ordered by the Dispute Tribunal. She said once her story came to light she received lots of messages on Facebook from people in similar situations.
"Ultimately there needs to be consequences," she said.
Nikki Chamberlain, a senior lecturer at the University of Auckland Law School, said trying to enforce an order from the Disputes Tribunal takes time and extra money and may not be successful.
"You're not going to get blood from a stone. If someone doesn't have the money to pay you then it doesn't matter if you have an order," she told Newshub.
Chamberlain said the creditor's hands are pretty much tied until the deadline of compliance with the Order runs out - then there are a couple of actions someone can take.
The individual can either hire a debt collector or a lawyer or go to the district court for a garnishee proceeding or attachment order.
An attachment order tells an employer or Work and Income NZ to take money from the debtor's wages or benefit to pay the creditor. Goode did do this - however, her order hasn't worked because Winslow is self-employed and the order requires a third-party member to transfer the money.
Goode could apply to the court for a garnishee order that allows third-party payments to the debtor to be paid to the creditor instead - but again, that is on the presumption that the debtor will be receiving some sort of payment
"Bottom line: there is additional time and money it is going to take for the creditor to get the Disputes Tribunal Order enforced," Chamberlain said.
While this may not help the person immediately affected get their money back, the debtor doesn't necessarily get off scot-free.
Having to file for bankruptcy comes with a whole list of consequences and creates a record for lenders to realise that particular debtors may not be the most responsible borrower, and, therefore, assists in stopping situations like Goode's from happening to others.
Goode said the whole process has been hugely challenging - and while she is still determined to get what she is owed, she feels helpless.
"It got to the point where I had to stop, I can't keep paying to take it further in the court when I don't have the money and I know it won't get me anywhere."
