New York State Cracks Down On Unlicensed

Home Improvement Contractors

 August 2009 - While hiring an unlicensed contractor to perform work in your home may seem like the least expensive answer to your problems – it could just exasperate them.  Unlicensed contractors put homeowners at risk for shoddy workmanship, unfinished projects, lost money and expensive mistakes.

In a press release dated July 21, 2009, Department of Consumer Affairs officials in New York stated they nailed unlicensed Home Improvement Contractors in the third annual coordinated multi-county enforcement sweep. In a 10-week sweep, it was reported that Consumer Protection Agencies and District Attorney Offices across the region sited 1524 Inspections, 468 Violations, 17 Arrests, 175 Vehicle Seizures and collected $8.6 million in restitution to consumers.

According to Mindy A. Bockstein, the Chairperson and Executive Director of New York State’s Consumer Protection Board (CPB).  “Every year, when the weather gets nice, New Yorkers spend their hard-earned money to protect their investments in their homes, and unfortunately every year hundreds fall victim to scams and unscrupulous business practices.”

The Westchester County Department of Consumer Protection deployed three teams of field inspectors conducting more than 660 inspections of home improvement contractors and citing 65 companies for working without a license. The Department also utilized the county’s Seizer/Impound law to seize the vehicles and tools of six unlicensed contractors, including two recidivist contractors who continued to work even after being cited in a prior enforcement sweep. Impounded vehicles and tools are held by the county until the unlicensed contractor applies for a license and pays all outstanding fines. 

“Westchester County Executive Andy Spano’s administration is committed to maintaining an aggressive zero-tolerance approach to illegal home improvement contractors,” said Gary Brown, director of Westchester County Department of Consumer Protection.  “When it comes to unlicensed contractors the message is clear: we mean business.”

“When hiring a contractor to work on our homes, we should be confident in knowing that we’ve put our homes into the hands of qualified professionals, not vultures looking to make a quick buck,” Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice said. “I strongly encourage anyone looking to make home improvements to do their research and hire a licensed, experienced contractor. Our homes are too valuable, especially in today’s economy, to entrust them to anybody but the very best. Don’t let the American Dream become a nightmare.”