FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
State Rep. Keith McCall D-Carbon www.pahouse.com/McCall

McCall: Contractor registration will protect consumers

and reputable home improvement professionals

HARRISBURG, Oct. 8 – State Rep. Keith McCall, D-Carbon, said the House and Senate have approved a measure that would require home improvement contractors to register with the Attorney General's office and create a database of reputable contractors to help give consumers peace of mind.  

"Your home is your most valuable asset, but for far too many Pennsylvanians hiring a contractor to make home improvements has led to financial disaster," McCall said.  "It's long overdue that we give people the tools they need to protect themselves and give the vast majority of contractors who are reputable a way to prove that trust to new customers. Considering that Americans spend more than $118 billion every year on home improvements, and one in five homeowners report bad experiences with improvements and repairs, this new law is an outstanding first step toward better consumer education and protection."

McCall said that the legislation, S.B. 100, requires all home improvement contractors and salespeople to register with the Bureau of Consumer Protection and provide information such as license number, and partnership/corporation and liability information.  All applicants must pay a $50 registration/renewal fee biannually to the Attorney General’s office and provide a statement disclosing any fraudulent activity or Commonwealth court action including any revocation/suspension of right to work.

"All the information in the world won't help if we can't get it to the consumers, so this measure requires the Bureau to operate a toll-free phone number consumers can call to check on registration, and contractors must include their registration number on contracts, advertisements and business cards.

"The goal here is to make sure dishonest contractors know that they are not welcome in this state. We've heard too many horror stories about dishonest contractors taking down payments and never showing up, or, even worse, tearing a house apart and disappearing – forcing consumers to hire another contractor while seeking legal recourse and attempting to reclaim damages from someone who simply put a new sign on his truck and moved on."

Studies have shown that older homeowners – those who have older homes and are less likely to personally undertake repairs -- are more likely to fall victim to home improvement scams.  Out of 4,567 senior citizen complaints filed with the Bureau of Consumer Protection statewide, 462 concerned home improvement contracts.

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Reports of home improvement fraud were the number one complaint filed by senior citizens, and home improvement fraud has recently replaced automobile fraud as the number one complaint filed with Pennsylvania’s Consumer Protection agencies.

With this new law, Pennsylvania becomes the 45^th state nationwide to regulate home improvement contractors, and in those states the rate of home improvement fraud has declined.  Many of those fraudulent contractors have migrated to states with lax home improvement regulations and laws, including Pennsylvania.

"Not surprisingly, contractors themselves have been very much in favor of registration," McCall said.  "The good contractors will benefit, because they know that homeowners armed with knowledge will immediately know a registered contractor can be hired with confidence."

McCall said he is already planning on improvements to the law, including a guaranty fund that would reimburse a consumer if they obtain a judgment against either a registered or unregistered contractor and are unable to collect on that judgment or the contractor files bankruptcy. 

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