BY GINA G. SCALA
COMMENTARY
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
It?s been 99 days, or 2,376 hours, since Hurricane Sandy made landfall in the Garden State; creating an unparalleled surge in the number of out-of-state home improvement contractors looking to ?help? out.
On Long Beach Island, in the early days after Sandy before the Island was fully reopened, out-of-state contractors traversed the 18-mile barrier island hoping to cash in; even as business- and homeowners sifted through their shattered lives.
"Before you use someone give us a call. Go on our website. See what complaints have been filed against somebody. See if this person has a track record of not performing the services that they are being paid to do," Erik Kanefsky, New Jersey's acting Director for Consumer Affairs told New Jersey Public Radio in an interview.
Registration means the builder is insured and a background check has been performed, he said.
"At least you know that you have insurance, that home improvement contractor insurance that you can seek some kind of redress through, that these people have a location in New Jersey and that they are registered to operate as a business in the state of New Jersey."
The state tracks the 45,000 licensed contractors using a database. State law mandates any work to be performed worth more than $250 be subject to a contract.
"In New Jersey you have to be provided a written description of the work, the individuals who are going to be supplying the work, the materials that are going to be used, and a time commencement and completion date," Kanefsy said.
It may be a fourth degree crime to perform home improvements without a license in the Garden State; but jail time and a fine doesn?t seem enough of a punishment for fleecing or attempting to fleece a grieving person.
Source: http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/state/home-improvement-contractors-after-hurricane-sandy
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