CA: Sting nets contractors working without licenses

Mercury News ^ | 3/18/05 | Connie Skipitares

[NormsRevenge]

The contractors came by the dozens to the two San Jose houses, offering up estimates for painting, kitchen remodeling and landscaping. But the homeowners who welcomed their bids weren't who they appeared to be.

They really were investigators for the state's contractors licensing board, carrying out an undercover sting this week -- a sting that nabbed 59 unlicensed builders.

Those nabbed by the ruse were given criminal citations that could land them in jail for a maximum of six months, or they could be ordered to pay a $1,000 fine. A first offense for being unlicensed usually draws two years of court probation and a $500 fine, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office.

--snip--

Those who don't get licensed typically say they want to avoid paying income taxes, workers' compensation insurance and bonding fees, says Patrick Halvorsen, an investigator with the Contractors State License Board, which joined the DA's office and three other agencies in the sting operation. Others say they don't want the hassle of taking California's required contractor's test, or language barriers get in the way.

Many of those nabbed in the sting this week are immigrants who may have language problems, Halvorsen said. But, he added, that's not an excuse to avoid taking the contractor's test. The state provides interpreters for those who struggle with English.

Unlicensed contractors get hit with fines and possible jail time, but it's consumers who get hit harder by substandard and illegal work that can cost thousands more to repair, or by having a builder abandon a half-finished home remodel, Halvorsen says. And, because unlicensed builders don't have bonds to insure them against worker injuries or other problems on the job, homeowners usually end up footing the bill.

[Mark was here]

People should be able to use unlicensed contractors if they so choose. If they want government approved contractors it's their choice also.

[the invisib1e hand]

People should be able to use unlicensed contractors if they so choose. If they want government approved contractors it's their choice also.

Of course. Some the biggest slimeballs I knew had the government seal of approval.

[Bon mots]

I pulled my own sting about 14 years ago with a roofer who screwed up a job on one of my rental houses. I had my boss call him and arrange a meeting, when I waited for him to show up in one of my other properties. Boy, was he surprised to see me after not answering any of my phone calls or correspondence for three months.

I was able to force him to comply with my demands.

Beware of roofers who speak fluent Engrish.

[agooga]

I have done "illegal" work on my home as an owner/contractor without permits, sometimes using day laborer help (not illegal immigrants, though), and ALL the work I did was beyond code.

The work I did would have cost double had I gone through proper channels. I'm not saying I am wrong or right in what I've done-- but it just comes down to what I can afford, and the knowledge that I can do it as good or better than a licensed contractor.

[TexasTransplant]

I have a better idea,

The License should be optional and the customer has a choice between a Contractor that is Licensed or not Licensed.

Lawyers do it now with their "Certified" or "Not Certified"

[TexasTransplant]

Dang it, ya beat me to it.

[dk/coro]

Hear! Hear! I was one of the "village carpenters" in Coronado for years...doing serious renovation for my Naval compatriots...and fellow townies. I could write a book about the horror stories re totally unsatisfactory work done on my neighbors' properties by "licensed" contractors.

And, one really has little recourse. These scumbags will either skip town or declare Chapter 11/13.

And, for a fact, the rather pristine look to Coronado could not be maintained for long without the steady (and largely reliable) support rendered by the Mexican community.

A reality of life -- like it or not -- in SOCAL.

[Hank Rearden]

People should be able to use unlicensed contractors if they so choose. If they want government approved contractors it's their choice also.

I thought you knew: Big Stupid Government owns us. Even the Republican Party completely agrees with that now.

[Hank Rearden]

The work I did would have cost double had I gone through proper channels. I'm not saying I am wrong or right in what I've done-- but it just comes down to what I can afford, and the knowledge that I can do it as good or better than a licensed contractor.

Then I'll say it - you are right. It's your property. Screw the government parasites.

[Drango]

The Contractors State License Board is the most worthless entity in the state...well over than the board that regulates barbers/hairstylist.

[the invisib1e hand]

And, for a fact, the rather pristine look to Coronado could not be maintained for long without the steady (and largely reliable) support rendered by the Mexican community.

You're preaching to the choir on this --- but you better put on your flame suit.

[freepatriot32]

offering up estimates for painting, kitchen remodeling and landscaping.

Those nabbed by the ruse were given criminal citations that could land them in jail for a maximum of six months

So what are you in here for charles: Man I raped a bus full of nuns then set the bus on fire afterwords.

what are you in here for jonny jihad : I cut off a infedels head live on the internet

What are you in here for larry :I painted a kitchen cabinet and then planted a tree outside afterwords without the goverments permission slip

Libertarian ping.To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here.

[dAnconia]

"What are you in here for larry :I painted a kitchen cabinet and then planted a tree outside afterwords without the goverments permission slip"

And throw away the key!

[traviskicks]

but it's consumers who get hit harder
---

Complete BS! The consumers get hit hardest when they are forced to pay higher fees cuz of the hurtful and useless government regulations.

[freepatriot32]

And I, I walked over to the, to the bench there, and there is, Group W's where they put you if you may not be moral enough to join the army after committing your special crime, and there was all kinds of mean nasty ugly looking people on the bench there. Mother rapers. Father stabbers. Father rapers! Father rapers sitting right there on the bench next to me! And they was mean and nasty and ugly and horrible crime-type guys sitting on the bench next to me. And the meanest, ugliest, nastiest one, the meanest father raper of them all, was coming over to me and he was mean 'n' ugly 'n' nasty 'n' horrible and all kind of things and he sat down next to me and said, "Kid, whad'ya get?" I said, "I didn't get nothing, I had to pay $50 and pick up the garbage." He said, "What were you arrested for, kid?" And I said, "Littering."(and contracting without a license) And they all moved away from me on the bench there, and the hairy eyeball and all kinds of mean nasty things, till I said, "And creating a nuisance." And they all came back, shook my hand, and we had a great time on the bench, talkin about crime, mother stabbing, father raping, all kinds of groovy things that we was talking about on the bench. And everything was fine, we was smoking cigarettes and all kinds of things, until the Sargeant came over, had some paper in his hand, held it up and said.

"Kids, this-piece-of-paper's-got-47-words-37-sentences-58-words-we-wanna- know-details-of-the-crime-time-of-the-crime-and-any-other-kind-of-thing- you-gotta-say-pertaining-to-and-about-the-crime-I-want-to-know-arresting- officer's-name-and-any-other-kind-of-thing-you-gotta-say", and talked for forty-five minutes and nobody understood a word that he said, but we had fun filling out the forms and playing with the pencils on the bench there, and I filled out the massacre with the four part harmony, and wrote it down there, just like it was, and everything was fine and I put down the pencil, and I turned over the piece of paper, and there, there on the other side, in the middle of the other side, away from everything else on the other side, in parentheses, capital letters, quotated, read the following words:

("KID, HAVE YOU REHABILITATED YOURSELF?")

I went over to the sargent, said, "Sargeant, you got a lot a damn gall to ask me if I've rehabilitated myself, I mean, I mean, I mean that just, I'm sittin' here on the bench, I mean I'm sittin here on the Group W bench 'cause you want to know if I'm moral enough join the army, burn women, kids, houses and villages after bein' a litterbug."(and contracting without a license) He looked at me and said, "Kid, we don't like your kind, and we're gonna send you fingerprints off to Washington."

[nightdriver]

Just because a person has a license does not mean that he knows how to do his business.

I've seen many licensed wiremen who would have burned down the plant if I hadn't caught their mistakes before power was turned on.

All the state wants is the money, they don't give a rusty rat if the licensee knows his stuff or not.

[BJClinton]

Gotta disagree with you here, this is one of many steps necessary to curtail illegal immigration. We can't stop them all at the border if the lure of jobs here is too strong.