State Increases Oversight Of Handymen | Contractors see benefits in state registration system
Recently, the state office that regulates home improvement contractors did a simple study of the industry. Staffers leafed through phone books and clicked through CraigsList and found that 1 in 5 home improvement contractors placing ads was not registered with the state.
The Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation, which took over the state’s home improvement contractor program less than a year ago, surveyed the ads as part of a renewed campaign of enforcement of and education about home improvement contractor (HIC) registration.
To some business people, that kind of thing might smell like unwarranted government intrusion. But many home improvement contractors say the HIC program is actually a positive thing for the industry. They say the guarantee that registration represents to their clients is well worth the hundreds of dollars they pay to the state.
If legitimate contractors aren’t registered, some say, it may be because they don’t understand the rules. And if contractors are succeeding by operating illegitimately, it may be because customers don’t know any better.
Guaranteed
Alex Emerson, who operates Alltite Roof Doctor in Worcester, said the company makes a point of linking its website to its state home improvement contractor registration. Emerson said his customers want to see the HIC information, and for good reason.
Part of the money that contractors pay to the state goes into the so-called “guarantee fund.”
If a registered contractor disappears halfway through a project, or does shoddy work, the customers can get the fund to pay for part of their loss.
It’s not clear that unregistered companies are more prone to scams or bad work than their registered counterparts.
Since the start of 2007, the state has received 1,421 complaints about contractors, and just 250 have been about unregistered ones, according to Jason Lefferts, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs.
But the system does have some benefits when it comes to preventing fraud. Customers can use a state website to look at the complaint record of registered companies. And if a company does behave badly, the state can easily track it down and take action against it.
Emerson said he’s certainly seen unregistered contractors in his market, particularly fly-by-night operations that appear in the wake of events like the 2008 ice storm. But he said most customers seem savvy about the dangers of hiring workers without credentials and are often eager to see his paperwork.
“The ones who are not registered, they could be doing anything, and who knows?” he said.
Take It Or Leave It
But Randy Namath, owner of Residential Roof & Gutter Systems in Boylston, said not having a HIC number hasn’t been a big deal for his business. He said he doesn’t know whether he’s required to register since his business is basically just gutter installation. (According to Lefferts, he is.)
“There’s so many crazy laws going on now,” Namath said.
Namath works together with a registered home improvement contractor on some jobs, and he said he used to have his own HIC registration. He said the state credential is good to have because of the security it offers customers, and the price isn’t outrageous.
But he said he hasn’t really thought about registering again, largely because he finds he can offer clients all the reassurance they need through references.
“It’s a question of building up your name and being pretty much honest about what you’re going to do,” he said.
Contractors say clients who are looking for a bargain may be drawn to illegitimate operations, especially with money tight all around.
“Everybody’s trying to get everything done as cheap as you can,” said Bob Zack of Zack Enterprises in Worcester.
Zack, who is running his home improvement business as a small side operation around a regular job, said contractors that work illegally are usually skipping out on more responsibilities than just HIC registration. They are often uninsured and may work under the table without paying taxes.
Compared with the costs of insurance and taxes, the expense of registering with the state is relatively minor. Contractors pay a $150 fee every two years and make a one-time contribution to the guarantee fund that ranges from $100 to $500, depending on the business’s size.
Lee Fadavi, one of the proprietors of A.F. Carpenter in North Grafton, said many customers are concerned about the company’s registration status.
Along with accreditation from the Better Business Bureau, it’s one of the major questions she gets asked.
Fadavi said she’s heard plenty of the horror stories that can come from not asking those questions. Recently, she said, she got a call from a woman who had been trying to get her bathroom updated.
“This man came and he seemed very nice, and he gave her a price,” Fadavi said. “She gave him a considerable amount of money, and she can’t find him, and he hasn’t been back since.”
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