Do you know if the contractor you hired is a licensed contractor?
Eureka! CSLB Cites Unlicensed Contractors on North Coast
10 required to answer
charges in superior court after being caught in state sting operation
SACRAMENTO – Reports of unlicensed
contracting activity on the North Coast brought the Contractors
State License Board (CSLB) to Eureka last week, staging a one-day sting
operation on June 21 that cited 10 persons on illegal contracting charges.Quotes were sought to install a new electrical panel and receptacle, do exterior painting, or replace sections of fencing. The highest bid received was $6,700 to paint the exterior of the 1,200 square foot house. In California, a contractor license must be obtained to perform construction work of $500 or more in materials and/or labor.
Ten persons who turned in bids that exceeded that state cap were cited for contracting without a state license (Business and Professions Code (BPC) section (§) 7028). Of those 10, seven face an additional misdemeanor charge of illegal advertising (BPC §7027.1) for failing to state in their advertising that they were not licensed.
CSLB Registrar Cindi Christenson noted that CSLB stages sting operations year-round in all parts of the state, including areas such as Eureka located away from major population centers.
“People who compete for construction work that requires a license shouldn’t think CSLB won’t go the extra mile to stop unlicensed contracting,” Christenson said. “California’s a big state, but we cover a lot of ground. We surprise a lot of unlicensed contractors in out-of-the-way locations.”
Those cited are scheduled to appear 8 a.m. August 22, 2016, in Humboldt County Superior Court, 825 5th Street, Eureka, CA 95501 (MAP).
NOTE: All suspects are presumed innocent until their case is resolved.
EUREKA
SUSPECT NAME
CITY OF RESIDENCE |
LICENSE
CLASSIFICATION |
ALLEGED
VIOLATIONS |
Antonio Chavez
Villareal
Eureka |
Contracting without a
license,
Illegal advertising |
|
Peter Heffernan
Arcata |
Contracting without a
license,
Illegal advertising |
|
Brian Edward Comstock
Eureka |
Contracting without a
license,
Illegal advertising |
|
Rodney Lee Robison
McKinleyville |
Contracting without a
license
|
|
Robert Wayne Borders
Eureka |
Contracting without a
license
|
|
Paul Robert Vollman
Eureka |
Contracting without a
license,
Illegal advertising |
|
Jaycob Caleb Corn
Eureka |
Contracting without a
license
|
|
William Arthur Moore
Eureka |
Contracting without a
license,
Illegal advertising |
|
Pamela Kaye Ward
Eureka |
Contracting without a
license,
Illegal advertising |
|
Raymond William King
Arcata |
Contracting without a
license,
Illegal advertising |
The Contractors State License Board operates under the umbrella of the California Department of Consumer Affairs. CSLB licenses and regulates almost 290,000 contractors in California, and is regarded as one of the leading consumer protection agencies in the United States. In fiscal year 2014-15, CSLB helped recover nearly $68 million in ordered restitution for consumers.
Often an unlicensed craftsman is better than a licensed one. With the state it more about fees and taxes than protecting the consumer.
ReplyDeleteTrue, and if ya know how the game is played and agree to play it, you'll pay much money for a return favor of "you can do this or that, but we are gonna check it anyway before, duribg and after" and, "you can be failed at inspection regardless of being a licensed contractor or not, developer or not, flipper or not, owner builder or not......Good people who enjoy doing only quality work try to find ways to coexist without being a contractor and/or doing anything illegal...lawncare is a great business, as each job is way less than $500.
DeleteHandcuffs? Really? I hate these kind of tactics...I can see the reason for handcuffs during questioning for violent crimes or when the "defendant" is under the influence BUT give me a break.
ReplyDeleteGuess that picture is a reverse....... or, the caption of "right" is mistaken.
DeleteYes, cuffs are a bit gestapo style, a counter tactic to scare into submission during interrogation.
What would be funny is answering that CSLB bid as a collective of 12 people who do 499.99 dollars of work, and decide which labor and costs to allocate as part of a collective bid.....
Henchman of Justice, I love your idea of 12 people working for 499.99 each but collectively coming together on one project. That's what innovation looks like!
DeleteFrom the competence I've seen from the averaged licensed contractor, I'd have no problems with hiring an unlicensed one if he seemed to know what he's doing. The licensing requirements seem far more to prevent competition than to ensure quality work.
ReplyDeleteExactly, and if inspectors have to inspect it to pass it, then it is not a bad thing that inspector Gadget fails Bo Diddley time and again until "Bo does know how to do it right." That is the free market at work, where dumb asses pay and can't use the customer to pay for the mistakes Bo built.
DeleteIn the landscape industry, green was simply what we called our industry. Twenty years later, green is the one of the hottest growing trends in the world.
ReplyDeletesee more details : excavation contractor Massachusetts