Legal Question in Construction Law in California

When Painter plugs into garage electricity to spray house and overloads very old

Contractor shorted out wiring in garage when using paint sprayer. Garage needs to be rewired & contractor is taking no responsibility for it because of old wiring in garage. Contractor sent electrician to fix it, but in process electrician shorted out one wire in house. Contractor offered to rewire garage & fix wire in house, which also has old wiring, & charge us $1400 for it. We refused & are hired another electrician to rewire it for $1000. We asked contractor to pay half ($500) thinking this was fair compromise & said we would go to Better Business Bureau. Contractor called back & still refused to take responsibility. Said they could do it for $580. After much screaming & browbeating on contractor's part, in which he still insisted old wiring was not their fault & demanded that we use their electrician, we still refused to allow them to do the work. Contractor then offered $150 as a settlement. It was obvious that they would not accept responsibility for old wiring. Thinking this was the only way to get anything at all out of them, we agreed to accept $150 and signed letter stating we ''will have no more complaints against them regarding electrical in the future.'' Can we still file a complaint with Better Business Bureau?


Asked on 11/12/03, 4:34 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Pamela Scholefield Scholefield Construction Law

Re: When Painter plugs into garage electricity to spray house and overloads very

To answer your question: You can contact the BBB anytime you want. If you are expecting the BBB to do more than take a report, you will probably be disappointed.

An excerpt from our website :

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Homeowners need to understand that the BBB is NOT a government agency, and has no power to enforce any laws. They are a private, not-for-profit organization that requires businesses to pay a membership fee in order to join. The same thing applies to local Chamber of Commerce groups. These groups are useless when it comes to verification of contractors as being licensed or not.

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For future reference go to the Avoid Rip-offs page on our website to get pointers on how to select a contractor. The CSLB (Contractor State License Board) is far more powerful than any BBB.

The URL:

http://www.construction-laws.com/contractor%20protection%20information.htm?

It won't help you now, but it will hopefully provide some sage advice for any future encounters with contractors. Getting info from the CSLB site, and doing some reference checking is something that all homeowners should do before hiring a contractor. It's relatively easy to do and its free.

www.construction-laws.com

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Answered on 11/13/03, 1:04 am
Michael Olden Law Offices of Michael A. Olden

Re: When Painter plugs into garage electricity to spray house and overloads very

You really need an attorney to personally counsel you and protect you, protect your rights, protect your property somewhat against yourself. It appears from your letter that you may not have been born here in United States but that does not mean you don't have every right given to you in this country. People are taking advantage of you and in the long run it's going to cost you more than the cost of an attorney to protect you. Please, please hire an attorney who is an expert in real estate/construction work. Do not let these people get away with intimidating you in making you agree to something which is not your best interest. Even though you sign something in the past, and that signature may have a substantial effect on what you can do in the future, you must see if you can help yourself further with an attorney's aid. The Better Business Bureau basically does nothing, bubkiss, as it is not a judicial authority. It has no authority to enforce any businesses. It is a giant complaint gatherer without any of fact that I have ever seen. Find an attorney who is willing to help you. I have practiced law in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 30 years in this specialty if you wish to contact me please feel free to call me at 925 -- 945 -- 6000.

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Answered on 11/12/03, 5:07 pm


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