Farmington Hills Firm Warns About Unlicensed Contractors

Are you considering a home improvement project?

Dave Knight, owner of Farmington Hills heating and cooling company Thornton & Grooms, encourages homeowners to do their homework and ensure that any contractors they hire are licensed, bonded, and insured. The advice comes during National Consumer Protection Week, which encourages consumers to make informed decisions in the marketplace. 

Michigan state law requires that residential builders, home improvement contractors, electrical contractors, mechanical contractors and plumbing contractors to be licensed.

“Any home improvement project that requires a contractor is a major investment," Knight said. "It’s absolutely worth a few hours of your time to be sure that a contractor is reputable. Anyone who doesn’t check into the people they let into their home is opening the door to a number of potentially costly problems."

According to a report done by CBS News, homeowners lose millions of dollars each year to unlicensed contractors. Losses can occur when a contractor doesn’t have worker’s compensation insurance and is injured on the job, doesn’t finish the work or does a poor job or doesn't pay suppliers (even if the contractor has already been paid for them). Homeowners may also pay out-of-pocket for building code infractions and penalties, property damage or theft.

Knight offered the following suggestions for hiring a contractor:

• Check with the local Better Business Bureau for the contractor’s history of complaints and resolutions.
• Ask your local building department and inspectors for the contractor’s permit history
• Ask for multiple references and check them. 
• Ask for licenses, bonding, and insurance coverage.  Call the licensing and bonding agencies and the insurance company to verify.  Remember, just because a contractor says they are licensed, doesn’t mean they are.
• Get a detailed written estimate. If a contractor won’t provide one, it’s a red flag.
• Get written guarantees on pricing, satisfaction, and warranty.
• Review the company online (i.e. Google, Yahoo, Kudzu, Yelp, Angie’s List, etc.)
• Get more than one estimate. If one contractor is quite a bit lower than another for the same work, they may be unlicensed.

There are things every homeowner should beware of, according to Knight. Watch out if your contractor:

• asks you to get the permit for him
• asks to be paid in full before beginning work
• asks to be paid in cash
• wants to perform the work on the weekend or evenings
• has no license number displayed prominently
• only has an “Occupational License”
• tells you your work doesn’t need a permit
• won’t give you a written estimate or contract
• cannot provide proof of general liability or workman’s compensation insurance

For more information about Michigan’s contractor laws, visit dleg.state.mi.us/bcsc/forms/conlien/llf-600.pdf. For more information about Thornton & Grooms, visit thorntonandgrooms.com