Just because someone
has a license doesn't mean he/she can be trusted to follow the laws and perform ethically. You'll have to dig deeper to uncover any dirty deeds or potential problems licensing agencies leave unchecked.

Document all your conversations regarding possible solutions to correct known problems and follow up with a letter summarizing what was discussed and agreed upon. Send it certified mail, return receipt.

Depending on the severity of the situation you should consider hiring a professional inspector or a reconstruction contractor to assess the areas of concern.

If the contractor fails to follow through, send a second letter expressing concern and asking for an explanation and if necessary a face-to-face meeting.

If the contractor refuses to cooperate or ignores your requests for correction, file a complaint against him with the Contractors Board in your State.

Consider hiring an attorney if there are significant problems or possible construction defects that have been pointed out by a third party.

NEVER, EVER allow a contractor to threaten you verbally. Ask him to leave and file a police report immediately.

Be sure to read through WARNING SIGNS for more on what to avoid when interviewing contractors.

Immediately contact the contractor, relate the problem and have him meet with you as soon as possible to visually inspect the areas of concern. Ask for and discuss solutions thoroughly. Make sure you understand what he intends to do to correct the problems.

More importantly, have him put it in writing. Again, be specific, referencing materials or products to be used.

Depending on the severity of the situation or if you have any doubts at this point, consider bringing in a private professional inspector to determine conditions and make recommendations. Either way, you will want to follow-up with a letter describing the problem and what was agreed to in your meeting.

Be sure to include solutions discussed and the timeframe in which you both agreed would be reasonable to complete the corrections. Send it certified mail, return receipt to ensure he receives it.

Our contractor "couldn't remember" receiving our first letters - he vaguely recalled his salesman saying something about it as we had faxed copies to his office as well. We already knew how dishonest and unethical he was so this didn't surprise us.

On going documentation is critical, including taking pictures of the areas in question. Continue to work closely with the contractor, document every conversation and course of action taken and when you are satisfied he has remedied the situation-great!  And remember, don’t pay the guy money to correct what he screwed up – that’s his problem. He has to pay for it, not you.

Stay on this course to the end of the project and thank him for taking responsibility for the problems that arose.  Also thank your lucky stars, for this scenario is not the norm.

So what if the contractor doesn't follow through and you've given him sufficient time to correct and complete the job?

• Send the contractor a certified letter regarding his negligence and/or abandonment citing all efforts made to resolve the issues and his/her lack of attention to the project. File a complaint with the Contractors State License Board and/or other appropriate regulatory agency in your State.

• You should also bring in a forensic contractor/engineer to provide you with an independent assessment of the work performed and estimate to correct and complete the project. 

• Consulting with an attorney may be something you’ll need to consider as well.

Having said that, one of the things I’ve discovered is that when you do hire an attorney, often they will tell you to hold off on filing a complaint with the Contractors Board. Part of the reason is that they want to use that as a bargaining chip when negotiating with the contractor.  I believe it’s a bad idea. The guy gets to go on doing harm to other unsuspecting homeowners and the regulatory agencies such as the Contractors Board will never know about the egregious acts. 

In the end, most contractors have no fear of these agencies because they’ll still continue to work. Whether it be under a suspended license, a license that they get their wife/brother/brother-in-law to obtain, or they just go underground and work without a license. The latest trend is the owner-builder scenario where the contractor gets the homeowner to pull the permit and they continue to work - illegally.   It is a pervasive problem that hurts any States’ economy as these contractors don’t contribute to the tax base that the rest of us pay into.  They rip everybody off and get away with it.

Another point to be aware of when filing your complaint with the State is the time it takes the regulatory agency or Contractors Board to go through the investigative process. If it is warranted, your case may be assigned to a field investigator who comes to your home to assess damages, cost to correct / complete and reports issued. In the mean time your house sits. Unfortunately, State government does not move through as expeditiously as one would like. The contractor is still out there working while you’re tearing your hair out. Yes, it's unfair

But if you are faced with a multitude of problems that threaten the safety of your home as we were, then it is absolutely necessary to go through the process to protect yourself legally and to prove the contractor has caused you harm. If you're lucky, you'll have enough money left to correct and complete your project - but most people aren't so lucky.

It’s so unfortunate when you find yourself at this juncture.  If the contractor just did the right thing, behaved ethically, and took responsibility for his work and his workers, none of this drama would occur. But sadly, we have come to realize along with so many other victims of unethical contractors, the states' inability to enforce existing Contractors Laws and protect the legitimate interests of consumers. It’s impossible. Once they have their license, they’re on their own and the State has nothing in place (and no resources) to monitor the contractor. It would be costly and let's face it: Government is interested first in saving money, generating money, and if it benefits the consumer - yeah! That's icing on the cake. Sorry if that hurts to hear, but that's a reality. In the end, all this leads to more unethical and unqualified contractors to prey on an unsuspecting public.

And I’ll tell you something else that has come up lately as a result of these negligent contractors: many consumers are telling me that they will never hire another licensed contractor. They’d rather go with an unlicensed contractor because having a license doesn’t mean you can be trusted to follow the laws and perform quality work. Yikes! That’s when you know it’s bad, because hiring an unlicensed contractor has it’s own risks, yet the perception amongst consumers is that there is no difference. I don’t recommend it, but I do understand how some homeowners may come to that conclusion.

But also know you can do much to help yourself avoid the nightmare by doing your homework so you don't get burned, and take those extra steps to do a thorough background check on the contractor. And stay on top of your project.

So the moral of this story is: Get ready to don those boxing gloves and fight the good fight if you've gotten to this point - and you can stomach it. Many of us have and we all agree on one thing: it's a dirty fight down to the end but if you win, it is absolutely worth it.