PLEASE READ: This is sadly becoming very common in the wake of the storm. Ripped this from the Asbury Park Press... UNREGISTERED SANDY CONTRACTORS FACE CRIMINAL CHARGES... Contractors arrived at the house on Second Street in Highlands last winter to a familiar scene at the Shore: a family needed to hire a contractor who could repair a home that had been ripped from its foundation by superstorm Sandy. The contractors provided estimates — some for as low as $9,000 — and then went on their way, only to learn later that the homeowners were undercover investigators trying to weed out builders who weren’t properly registered with the state. The result: eight home-improvement contractors face either criminal charges or civil citations for operating without registering with the state, officials from the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General said Monday. The investigation — the first by the state targeted specifically at contractors working on Sandy-ravaged homes — is designed to keep an eye on the home construction industry. State officials fear that the sheer magnitude of rebuilding will only fuel what has become one of the biggest sources of consumer complaints. “We anticipate, unfortunately in the coming months and years, we will see a proliferation of complaints,” Eric Kanefsky, director of the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, said in an interview. State law since 2006 has required home improvement contractors to register with the Division of Consumer Affairs. Among the requirements is proof that the applicant has a minimum of $500,000 in commercial general liability insurance coverage. To cut down on fly-by-night contractors, investigators in February and March surfed Craigslist and other sites, searching for home-improvement contractors who advertised their services, but provided hints that they weren’t registered. They didn’t provide their registration number in the ad, for example, Kanefsky said.
Posted on: Tue, 23 Jul 2013 19:42:32 +0000
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