B.R.I.C.K. News
  
Brick2Brick.com goes undercover to catch dishonest and unlicensed contractors Red Handed with hidden cameras. Watch as we expose contractors contracting without license, selling unnecessary service, over-charging and conducting illegal transactions.
Do you know of someone operating under the radar? Over charging? Have you been a victim of a contracting scam? drop us a line. You can remain anonymous if you choose.
Why B.R.I.C.K.?
The following are excerpts from the California Contractors State License Board’s (CSLB) Operational reports. A link to the entire report is provided and it is strongly recommended that you take the time to read these reports in their entirety as the information provided within further addresses the dire need for pre-screening of the contractors you do business with.
Please keep in mind that these are just a few of the startling facts found in the reports and I again urge you to read them all.
www.cslb.ca.gov
The Contractors State License Board
The Contractor‘s State License Board licenses and regulates contractors and provides
protection for California consumers. There are situations where the Board’s disciplinary
process cannot provide restitution for consumers harmed by the conduct of licensed
contractors. These are the situations where bonds and insurance could fill the gap.
- This would be a true statement, If homeowners had control over underwriting practices used by both the insurance and bonding industries.
Cause of Injury
The causes of financial injuries in home improvement include: front-loaded contracts,
where payments far exceed the work performed, mechanics’ liens, which are placed on
homes when prime contractors fail to pay subcontractors and material suppliers, poor
business practices, and poor workmanship. To the homeowner’s further detriment,
these injuries often occur in combination.
The causes of injury in service and repair are typically overcharging for necessary work
and performing unnecessary work.
2. Except in the cases where incompetent service and repair contractors are causing massive amounts of property damage due to poor workmanship and inadequate hiring practices. Point in case:
Dozens Homeless After Apartment Fire
Fire Rips through Apartment Complex
SAN DIEGO -- A small apartment fire in National City erupted Wednesday into a three-alarm fire, forcing residents to evacuate, 10News reported.
According to Kim Ellis, from the Heartland Fire Department, the fire started around 11:40 a.m. when plumbing contractors started a small fire in the walls of the complex, located at 18th Street and Palm Avenue, just off Interstate 805.
The National City Fire Department teamed up with fire crews from San Diego, Bonita and Chula Vista, to fight the raging blaze that burned through the shake-shingle roof of the Parkview Apartments.
Capt. Jeff Burris, from the National City Fire Department, said, "We just don't learn. In California, we should not have shake-shingle (roofs)."
San Diego police safely evacuated all of the residents. In all, 52 people were affected by the fire.
"I saw them evacuating the building at 12 o'clock and it was just sort of simmering and (there was) a little smoke. Twenty-five minutes later I saw flames coming out of the roof," said Danielle Harris, a resident affected by the fire.
American Red Cross volunteers responded to the scene and provided food and drink to emergency responders and opened a reception center at Sweetwater High School, 2900 Highland Avenue, for the families temporarily displaced by the fire.
Residents told 10News that there have been numerous plumbing problems in the last several weeks, some going without hot water. Of the 136 apartments, 30 were either destroyed or damaged by smoke.
No injuries have been reported, according to Ellis.
Contractor License Bond
All contractors are required to carry a contractor’s license bond. This bond is different from other surety bonds. Most bonds are comprehensively underwritten. The contractors’ license bond is not. Thus, California consumers should not assume that this bond signifies that the contractor is creditworthy or competent.The California construction industry spends more than $16.5 million on contractor’s license bond premiums each year. About $4.5 million (27 percent) of that amount is paid out in bond claims. Sureties explain, however, that the value of the bond rests not in the money paid to consumers but in the sureties’ efforts to mediate a settlement between the homeowner and the contractor.
Consumers complain that the process for securing a bond payout is not consumer friendly. The laws governing the legal standards for securing a bond payout are unclear and cumbersome. This report suggests ways the bond can be reformed to bemore responsive to consumers.
- This further compounds the need for thorough pre-screening of any an all persons or entities performing service, repair, remodeling or construction on your property. As for the contractors license bond, (which has been raised to $10,000.00) the reality is the bond is the last resort in trying to exact relief from the contractor, suggesting that the contractor is now insolvent. Odds are that you will be sharing that small $10,000.00 pie with other dissatisfied customers, unpaid material suppliers and employees. Leaving very little for the repair and or restoration of your property.
General Liability Insurance
Consumers are at risk when a contractor fails to carry commercial general liability insurance. The Board has been strongly in favor of mandating commercial general liability insurance. (Certain, however, that such a measure would fail, the Board accepted mandatory disclosure instead.) The Board has created the notice required by SB 2029 to provide information about insurance to homeowners. The Board willcontinue to gather information about insurance to strengthen consumer protection inthis area.
- This means it is up to you the consumer to demand the contractor carry general liability insurance, and that you have a thorough understanding of the policy in question.
Articles and News of Interest for Consumers
State Contractors Board Warns Consumers about
Unlicensed Contractors Following Undercover Sting
Operation In Fresno
SACRAMENTO -- The Contractors State License Board (CSLB) is warning consumers about the dangers of hiring unlicensed contractors following a successful sting operation in Fresno. CSLB's Statewide Investigative Fraud Team (SWIFT) in cooperation with the Fresno County District Attorney's Office and the Fresno Police Department conducted the undercover operation. The sting underscores the fact that illegal contractors are operating in the Fresno area.
SWIFT investigators stung a total of 7 unlicensed contractors in yesterday's undercover operation. Some of the phony contractors had asked for illegally large down payments. One even asked for the entire payment in advance, in cash. Another offered to perform work with a license that expired in 2002.
The SWIFT undercover operatives invited suspected unlicensed contractors to a secret sting location. When they bid on jobs -- ranging from concrete work to building an arbor, and were found to be unlicensed 5 were issued Notices to Appear (NTA) in Fresno County Superior Court. One non-licensee received an administrative citation. One was given a non-licensee warning. Those who received NTAs could face a maximum of six months in jail and/or a $1,000 fine for a first offense.
The objective of these stings, which are conducted around the State, is to level the playing field for licensed contractors competing in the local business area, and to protect consumers from fraud and scam artists. By law, all contractors who perform work that totals $500 or more (labor and materials) must be licensed by the CSLB. Because of their non-compliance with the workers compensation guidelines, unlicensed contractors often submit lower bids on jobs. If a worker is injured on the job, the homeowner could be deemed liable.
The CSLB urges consumers to verify a contractor's license status 24 hours a day using the CSLB's Web site at www.cslb.ca.gov or through our toll-free automated telephone system at (800) 321-CSLB (2752).
The CSLB urges consumers to follow these tips when dealing with a building contractor:
- Hire only licensed contractors and ask to see the license.
- Don't rush into decisions and don't hire the first contractor who comes along.
- Verify the contractor's license by checking on-line at www.cslb.ca.gov.
- Don't pay more than 10 percent down or $1,000, whichever is less.
- Don't pay cash, and don't let the payments get ahead of the work.
- Get three bids, check references, and get a written contract.
- Contact the CSLB if you have a complaint against a contractor.
The Contractors State License Board operates under the umbrella of the California Department of Consumer Affairs. The CSLB licenses and regulates California's 278,000 contractors, and investigates more than 20,000 complaints against contractors annually.
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