Undercover Sting Finds Many Unlicensed Contractors
People have work done on their homes to fix problems, not create new ones.
“We have over 300,000 licensed contractors in California. The vast majority of them are very qualified,” Rick Lopes of the Contractors State License Board said.
A bad hire may leave you with the minority, though.
“There are a certain number we do focus on who are trying to skirt the laws,” Lopes said.
The contractors state license board —CSLB– conducted a two-day undercover sting operation to find unlicensed contractors. In seven counties, including Riverside County, the CSLB posed as homeowners and brought in suspected unlicensed contractors offering services that require state certification.
“Here in Riverside County, the sting location was in the city of Murietta,” Lopes said.
The sting resulted in one hundred and eleven notices to appear in court statewide. Eleven were handed out in Murietta. Of the one hundred and eleven, two were convicted sex offenders, four had active arrest warrants, and several were repeat offenders.
One of the sex offenders was found here in Riverside County. Lopes says many homeowners don’t realize the risk they take when hiring someone without a license.
“Chances are pretty darn close to 100% that they’re not going to cover any insurance on their workers. So, if you have someone who is on your property and they get injured, they’re going to come after you as the homeowners to pay for their medical bills,” Lopes added.
Many of their targets lie right here in the desert.
“The Coachella Valley, what we’re seeing a lot of times, a lot of the senior areas, Sun City out in Coachella Valley, being victimized because they’re vulnerable,” Riverside County District Attorney Paul Zellerbach said.
So what can you do to avoid getting taken? Don’t dial a contractor’s number without seeing a few other numbers as well.
“California law requires contractors to put their six digit license number in all advertising,” Lopes said.
“If they can quality for a contractors license, we’ll do everything we can to help them,” he added.
Lopes said the goal of the operations wasn’t to put people out of business, but rather to get them to follow the law.
