How would YOU handle this. Electrician that ain't one.....

mtnelect

HVAC & Electrical Contractor
Location
Southern California
Occupation
Contractor, C10 & C20 - Semi Retired
What has been happening around here is that wannabes and scammers are looking on ads in phone books and on-line for LICENSED electricians that put their license number on the ad. They copy that license number and put it on their own ads / documents, then incentivize the customer to NOT get a permit (because the license would be checked). Yes, totally fraudulent, but after a job is done they "disappear" by just tossing the burner cell phone and making up a new name, sometimes with the SAME fraudulent license number! A guy I know has had one scammer use his license at least a half dozen times that he knows of, based on the angry calls he gets from people he has not done anything for.

Here in Calif., the Contractors State Licensing Board has been putting out PSAs trying to get contractors to take their license numbers off of ads and say "available on request", then also for users to check license numbers with the CSLB data base, verifying it with the name of the license holder (via a driver's license). But there are so many different ways for scammers to advertise on-line that they get away with it.

Also, the consumer can go to CSLB under "Check License" heading, enter your zip code and check your specialty. The proper licensed contractor will be listed.
 

NoahsArc

Senior Member
Location
Illinois
Occupation
Residential EC
If you or one of your workers leaves a

and the house burns your insurance would not cover that?
That's actual damage to property. I would hope it is covered.
Getting sued for a defective install in itself, I do not believe I am covered.
 

jaggedben

Senior Member
Location
Northern California
Occupation
Solar and Energy Storage Installer
...

Here in Calif., the Contractors State Licensing Board has been putting out PSAs trying to get contractors to take their license numbers off of ads and say "available on request", . ...

Wow, so the CSLB is actually asking contractors to break the law that a few years ago they were issuing disciplinary actions for breaking. 😳
 

CoolWill

Member
Location
Alabama
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
Care to explain?
I, uh, wouldn't know where to start... Back in the 60s there was a science fiction TV show called Star Trek. It took place several hundred years in the future. It depicted a starship powered by a matter/antimatter reactor capable of generating huge amounts of energy. The show was canceled but it became a cultural staple. Later, in the 80s, a new series was created that took place about 75 years later in the fictional timeline. The picture I posted in response to your thread was a picture of the new starship's matter/antimatter reactor. The joke being that I was able to rip that old crap service off and replace it with the fictional reactor of a starship. I did not actually do that, for several reasons. Primarily, the customer wasn't willing to pay what it would cost for such a thing, and also because such technology doesn't yet exist. The theory is sound, using powerful electromagnets to manipulate streams of ionized gas. But there is no source for the antimatter they would need if I had installed such a system. I called you an amateur, implying that starship reactors are way cooler than the box of contactors you posted. But you are not really an amateur and the contactors are amazing. Sorry for the confusion.
 

tortuga

Code Historian
Location
Oregon
Occupation
Electrical Design
Wow, so the CSLB is actually asking contractors to break the law that a few years ago they were issuing disciplinary actions for breaking. 😳
Whats wrong with people falling for fake contractors? How is this even a thing?
 

ramsy

Roger Ruhle dba NoFixNoPay
Location
LA basin, CA
Occupation
Service Electrician 2020 NEC
That's actual damage to property. I would hope it is covered.
Getting sued for a defective install in itself, I do not believe I am covered.
The insurance industry wont screw the mortgage provider or bank the way property owners get screwed.

If the mortgage was not paid off, before an un-insurable event destroyed property, or casualty verdict takes the property, all industry players are made whole, except the property-owner victim who takes one for the team.

Banks are experts at monetizing collateral if a victim of lost property stops loan payments. Regardless of living in their car, or under a bridge, wages & investments are garnished, and collateral assets are confiscated.

Not sure what property insurance covers earthquake, flood, lightning, hurricane, terrorism, tornado, or acts of War, much less covers fire marshal reports of missing / expired smokes, or other defects that increased hazards, after policies are signed.

However, other public policy remedies may exist. If not de-funded, FEMA relief for declared disaster areas only took 10+ years to pay off claims after hurricane Katrina. If a state-license board exists it may attach a contractor bond, or GL policy, for some damages from construction defects. Small claims may recover limited amounts for other unlicensed contractors willing to appear.

Whatever happens the economy will survive, thanks to property owners who pay their taxes, and sacrifice themselves to keep everybody else profitable.
 

mtnelect

HVAC & Electrical Contractor
Location
Southern California
Occupation
Contractor, C10 & C20 - Semi Retired
Wow, so the CSLB is actually asking contractors to break the law that a few years ago they were issuing disciplinary actions for breaking. 😳

This is all I could find on the CSLB website, about advertising. Nothing about NOT displaying your license on your vehicles. :unsure:
 

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