Why You Dont Hire An Unlicensed Contractor
Unlicensed Electrician Admits 'Regret' In Boy's Electrocution Trial
Man Who Wired Bus Shelter Testifies
MIAMI -- The man who wired a bus stop shelter where a 12-year-old was electrocuted admitted in court Tuesday that he never had a license to work as an electrician.
Victor Garcia said he felt regret about what happened, but testified that he believed the shelter was safe to his knowledge
Garcia admitted that he never received an electrician license from the state of Florida or Miami-Dade County, even though he served as head electrician for Eller Media for Miami-Dade and Monroe counties in 1997 and 1998.
Jorge Cabrera Jr. died the night of Oct. 12, 1998, in the bus shelter. Investigators said that there were no eyewitnesses.
The attorneys for Jorge Cabrera Sr. said that Cabrera's son was killed because Garcia installed a substandard transformer and grounding rods that were cut too short and didn't ground the shelter.
So much for her new bathroom!!
All this women wanted was a new bathroom-- The contractor she hired told her that he was licensed and would take care of everything. Image the surprise when the building department stopped her job for working without a permit. When she tried to reach her contractor he was gone. The building department told me he was not a licensed contractor. The "contractor" was a con!
Unlicensed Contractors Will Rip You Off!!!!
Make Sure Your Contractor Is Licensed, or You'll Likely Get Scammed
Did you know you could be arrested for using an unlicensed contractor? It's true. In states that require licensing, hiring an unlicensed contractor is illegal. And if that's not bad enough, did you know an unlicensed contractor who gets hurt on your property could sue you -- and win? Unlicensed contractors are unlikely to carry proper insurance, so it has happened.
These are the extremes. But even the average experience with an unlicensed contractor can be devastating. Most consumers who call me for help complain that the unlicensed contractor did shoddy work. Others report the contractor made off with their money and did no work at all.
Elease W. saved for two years to build a ground floor bathroom in her home, because she has arthritis and stairs are hard for her. She paid a contractor $10,000 to do the work. Two years later it still wasn't done right. For months, Elease and her daughters felt like prisoners in their home, because the contractor left gaping holes in the walls, so they didn't dare leave. The water pipes were built outside the structure, and they froze in the winter. The foundation was unstable, and the siding immediately started peeling off. Of course the family didn't check out the contractor until after everything went wrong. It turned out he was unlicensed and had a complaint record a mile long.
Paul H. needed a new roof. He got a couple of different estimates but felt he couldn't afford them. Then he spotted an ad in one of those free neighborhood newspapers -- promising the lowest roofing rates in town. Paul hired the man to reroof his home for $5,000.
The man demanded full payment in advance. The man climbed around on Paul's roof for a few minutes, then said he was going to get supplies. He never returned. When I investigated, I learned the phone number in the ad actually belonged to an answering service. The address the man gave Paul didn't even exist. And there were no licensed contractors by that name listed with the state.
Licenses are generally required for any work that affects the structural or electrical integrity of the building. I've done a couple different undercover investigations where we invited unlicensed contractors to give us estimates for roofing work. First of all, it was easy to find unlicensed contractors. We spotted their ads in local newspapers and found their business cards at home-improvement stores. Unlicensed contractors tend to use the cheapest possible means to market themselves.
When we confronted them, we heard every excuse. One man said he couldn't afford a contractor's license, even though the state where he worked only charges $300. Another man said he was working "under" somebody else's license. That's illegal. Only bonafide employees are allowed to work under the umbrella of a licensed contractor.
A third showed us a contractor's license for another state. That doesn't count. The contractor must be licensed in the state where the work is to be done. Several guys presented us with occupancy licenses, which are just business permits that anybody can buy. They don't make a contractor legal.
If an unlicensed contractor nails you, you have next to no recourse. There's no license that the state can yank to threaten his livelihood. If you complain about him, he'll just change the name he does business under. You can't tap into his insurance policy because he doesn't have one. Even suing an unlicensed contractor -- and winning -- is often futile, because unlicensed contractors don't have deep pockets.
When we confronted them, we heard every excuse. One man said he couldn't afford a contractor's license, even though the state where he worked only charges $300. Another man said he was working "under" somebody else's license. That's illegal. Only bonafide employees are allowed to work under the umbrella of a licensed contractor.
A third showed us a contractor's license for another state. That doesn't count. The contractor must be licensed in the state where the work is to be done. Several guys presented us with occupancy licenses, which are just business permits that anybody can buy. They don't make a contractor legal.
If an unlicensed contractor nails you, you have next to no recourse. There's no license that the state can yank to threaten his livelihood. If you complain about him, he'll just change the name he does business under. You can't tap into his insurance policy because he doesn't have one. Even suing an unlicensed contractor -- and winning -- is often futile, because unlicensed contractors don't have deep pockets.
