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Posted by RicodJour on October 28, 2009, 10:19 am
> Thanks for the reply. I am actually on a retainer deal with a lot of
> insurance companies to do their workman's comp work. And when it comes to
> insurance companies, believe me, I am carefully watched. I don't even do
> work for homeowners anymore, only insurance companies. But you had better=
do
> it right, or my understanding is that they have a portable gallows and th=
ey
> bring it to the job site and hang your ass. This is not even doing work F=
OR
> lawyers. One side has a team of lawyers and they want everything they can
> get. The other side has a team of lawyers and they want to give the injur=
ed
> worker the absolute minimum. One day, on a job, I had more lawyers
> inspecting the work, than I had people doing the work. As far as permits,=
I
> have permits when they are needed. I called and was told that, no I did n=
ot
> need a permit. If I screw the bars into the wall, I do not need a permit.=
If
> I open the wall up to install blocking, I do need a permit. In this state=
,
> it takes no effort to convince the state that by contract, the contractor
> was supposed to have a brass band playing between the hours of 10 AM and =
1
> PM every day. You tell the state that and the state believes you if you a=
re
> the homeowner. In this case, the homeowner told the state I needed a perm=
it
> and the state believed her. I am guilty until proven innocent. But if you
> really want a shocker, dig this: I knew that this homeowner was telling
> lies. So when the state wanted my sworn statement to the facts, I was tol=
d
> that my statement was under penalty of perjury, and everything I said was
> under penalty of perjury. BUT not the homeowner. The homeowner can lie,
> cheat, slander, and whatever else and the state won't come down on them. =
But
> if I tell a lie, it is a crime. Great system, huh? A very close friend of
> mine had a complaint on his license and it cost him nearly 25K out of his
> pocket to fix it, lawyer fees, etc. plus insurance premium raises, lost
> business, etc. Then he saw that the fine for being an unlicensed contract=
or
> was $250. Nice...
I can't help you with your frustration level, so you will just have to
deal with it or find another line of work, or work on jobs where you
have more control over who you work for/with. By working for
insurance companies you are asking to be put in the middle of
difficult situations. The hostility a homeowner feels towards an
insurance company that they believe is not doing right by them will,
of course, spill over onto you. A state licensing board only has
control over contractors and of course can't compel a homeowner to do
anything. It is what it is.
R
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Posted by jloomis on October 28, 2009, 10:26 am
Yeah, what a system.
A few years back I worked for many Bed and Breakfasts and larger quaint
older lodgings in the Mendocino County Coast area.
The owners had to upgrade some of their antiquated facilities to pass newer
rulings concerning bathrooms, and access to lodgings.
Apparently there was a team of handicap folks/lawyers driving from town to
town staying in these establishments only to find faults with the buildings
access and bathrooms and then suing those for non appropriate conditions and
bringing the Building Dept. into the picture.
Many of these older "Farms" and or Victorian/Queene Anne structures were
originally built with none of the rulings in mind and thus they had that
ambiance of an older structure/turn of the centruy antiquated feeling.
In many we had to tear apart the older rooms, and completely remodel with
ADA compliance in mind.
Bathrooms ended up looking like a mens High School gym locker room.
I do understand the reasoning behind this so that access is equally provided
for those who do not have the mobility.
I also believe that those with less mobility may have to choose an easier
path.
I do not want to get into the debate about ADA compliance etc.
We may have to provide facilities for dogs and cats also. Many pet owners
bring their animals to these lodgings now also. Pet beds, potty rooms,doggy
drink stations, outdoor fire hydrants......hummm
john
> Thanks for the reply. I am actually on a retainer deal with a lot of
> insurance companies to do their workman's comp work. And when it comes to
> insurance companies, believe me, I am carefully watched. I don't even do
> work for homeowners anymore, only insurance companies. But you had better
> do
> it right, or my understanding is that they have a portable gallows and
> they
> bring it to the job site and hang your ass. This is not even doing work
> FOR
> lawyers. One side has a team of lawyers and they want everything they can
> get. The other side has a team of lawyers and they want to give the
> injured
> worker the absolute minimum. One day, on a job, I had more lawyers
> inspecting the work, than I had people doing the work. As far as permits,
> I
> have permits when they are needed. I called and was told that, no I did
> not
> need a permit. If I screw the bars into the wall, I do not need a permit.
> If
> I open the wall up to install blocking, I do need a permit. In this state,
> it takes no effort to convince the state that by contract, the contractor
> was supposed to have a brass band playing between the hours of 10 AM and 1
> PM every day. You tell the state that and the state believes you if you
> are
> the homeowner. In this case, the homeowner told the state I needed a
> permit
> and the state believed her. I am guiilty until proven innocent. But if you
> really want a shocker, dig this: I knew that this homeowner was telling
> lies. So when the state wanted my sworn statement to the facts, I was told
> that my statement was under penalty of perjury, and everything I said was
> under penalty of perjury. BUT not the homeowner. The homeowner can lie,
> cheat, slander, and whatever else and the state won't come down on them.
> But
> if I tell a lie, it is a crime. Great system, huh? A very close friend of
> mine had a complaint on his license and it cost him nearly 25K out of his
> pocket to fix it, lawyer fees, etc. plus insurance premium raises, lost
> business, etc. Then he saw that the fine for being an unlicensed
> contractor
> was $250. Nice...
>>> Hi everyone:
>>> I have a complaint against me through the contractors state license
>>> board
>>> because I did not pull a building permit to install a few grab bars in
>>> a
>>> residence. There was no other work done. The only work done was to take
>>> 4-5
>>> grab bars out of their boxes and screw them into the wall studs, pick
>>> up
>>> the trash and leave. End of story. There were two complaints, one was
>>> that I
>>> installed bars vertically and not horizontally (no room and no studs
>>> behind), then the state added that I had not pulled a permit. Grab bars
>>> can
>>> be installed any which way you want, verytically, horizontally, angled,
>>> etc.
>>> so that went nowhere but this "no permit" thing really startled me. I
>>> have
>>> NEVER pulled a permit for grab bars and don't know why I would have to
>>> since
>>> I am not altering the structure in any way.
>>> Anyone have any info?
>> In my area the town has a web site that lists the common items of work
>> that trigger the need for pulling a permit.
>> http://www.northhempsteadny.gov/content/7350/7121/7237/4377/4379/default.aspx
>> Ask your licensing board contact to point out the written section
>> where grab bars trigger the requirement. You will find many items of
>> similarly small scope that don't, and you will most likely be able to
>> get them to throw the complaint out. If they do not want to throw it
>> out, tell them that you did not pull a permit as this requirement is
>> obviously so new it is not even on their own books, but as a law-
>> abiding contractor you would be willing to pay a fine if it does not
>> get entered on your record. If you have never or rarely pulled
>> permits that will be a tough sell.
>> R
>
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|
Posted by Tim Conde on October 28, 2009, 12:15 pm
You are probably right. I always looked at this work as "helping people", a
bigger calling than just installing nice cabinets. I love(d) the aspect of
changing lives and still feel that making a difference in people's lives is
more important than installing a great looking sink base. Most people I have
done work for love what I do, becasue I genuinely care(d) about helping
them. But there are those that have SO much anger, it just doesn't make
sense anymore. This person, according to the adjustor with the carrier, is a
"professional injured person", that's their term. They get hired on
somewhere and within a week or two, "OOOOOWWWWWWWWWWW", back injury. Past
four employers like that. Just be happy one of them is not you.
Tim
> Thanks for the reply. I am actually on a retainer deal with a lot of
> insurance companies to do their workman's comp work. And when it comes to
> insurance companies, believe me, I am carefully watched. I don't even do
> work for homeowners anymore, only insurance companies. But you had better
> do
> it right, or my understanding is that they have a portable gallows and
> they
> bring it to the job site and hang your ass. This is not even doing work
> FOR
> lawyers. One side has a team of lawyers and they want everything they can
> get. The other side has a team of lawyers and they want to give the
> injured
> worker the absolute minimum. One day, on a job, I had more lawyers
> inspecting the work, than I had people doing the work. As far as permits,
> I
> have permits when they are needed. I called and was told that, no I did
> not
> need a permit. If I screw the bars into the wall, I do not need a permit.
> If
> I open the wall up to install blocking, I do need a permit. In this state,
> it takes no effort to convince the state that by contract, the contractor
> was supposed to have a brass band playing between the hours of 10 AM and 1
> PM every day. You tell the state that and the state believes you if you
> are
> the homeowner. In this case, the homeowner told the state I needed a
> permit
> and the state believed her. I am guiilty until proven innocent. But if you
> really want a shocker, dig this: I knew that this homeowner was telling
> lies. So when the state wanted my sworn statement to the facts, I was told
> that my statement was under penalty of perjury, and everything I said was
> under penalty of perjury. BUT not the homeowner. The homeowner can lie,
> cheat, slander, and whatever else and the state won't come down on them.
> But
> if I tell a lie, it is a crime. Great system, huh? A very close friend of
> mine had a complaint on his license and it cost him nearly 25K out of his
> pocket to fix it, lawyer fees, etc. plus insurance premium raises, lost
> business, etc. Then he saw that the fine for being an unlicensed
> contractor
> was $250. Nice...
>>> Hi everyone:
>>> I have a complaint against me through the contractors state license
>>> board
>>> because I did not pull a building permit to install a few grab bars in
>>> a
>>> residence. There was no other work done. The only work done was to take
>>> 4-5
>>> grab bars out of their boxes and screw them into the wall studs, pick
>>> up
>>> the trash and leave. End of story. There were two complaints, one was
>>> that I
>>> installed bars vertically and not horizontally (no room and no studs
>>> behind), then the state added that I had not pulled a permit. Grab bars
>>> can
>>> be installed any which way you want, verytically, horizontally, angled,
>>> etc.
>>> so that went nowhere but this "no permit" thing really startled me. I
>>> have
>>> NEVER pulled a permit for grab bars and don't know why I would have to
>>> since
>>> I am not altering the structure in any way.
>>> Anyone have any info?
>> In my area the town has a web site that lists the common items of work
>> that trigger the need for pulling a permit.
>> http://www.northhempsteadny.gov/content/7350/7121/7237/4377/4379/default.aspx
>> Ask your licensing board contact to point out the written section
>> where grab bars trigger the requirement. You will find many items of
>> similarly small scope that don't, and you will most likely be able to
>> get them to throw the complaint out. If they do not want to throw it
>> out, tell them that you did not pull a permit as this requirement is
>> obviously so new it is not even on their own books, but as a law-
>> abiding contractor you would be willing to pay a fine if it does not
>> get entered on your record. If you have never or rarely pulled
>> permits that will be a tough sell.
>> R
>
|
|
Posted by RicodJour on October 28, 2009, 12:35 pm
> You are probably right.
I am always right - just ask me! ;)
> I always looked at this work as "helping people", a
> bigger calling than just installing nice cabinets. I love(d) the aspect o=
f
> changing lives and still feel that making a difference in people's lives =
is
> more important than installing a great looking sink base. Most people I h=
ave
> done work for love what I do, becasue I genuinely care(d) about helping
> them. But there are those that have SO much anger, it just doesn't make
> sense anymore. This person, according to the adjustor with the carrier, i=
s a
> "professional injured person", that's their term. They get hired on
> somewhere and within a week or two, "OOOOOWWWWWWWWWWW", back injury. Past
> four employers like that. Just be happy one of them is not you.
There's an old saw in contracting that 1 out of 5 customers will do
everything possible to prevent a contractor from making a profit. The
trick is to eliminate these people....that does not mean kill them!
It means that you have to be willing to let some jobs go, even if it
looks tempting, because the owner will have you working for free.
You'll still have the risk, but no reward. That's a bad situation.
I wouldn't get bummed out on life/work because of a scam artist.
Karma is effective and (s)he'll get the ungreased point of it
eventually.
R
|
|
Posted by PeterD on October 28, 2009, 3:50 pm
On Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:56:37 -0700, "Tim Conde"
>Hi everyone:
>I have a complaint against me through the contractors state license board
>because I did not pull a building permit to install a few grab bars in a
>residence.
What was the reason for the original complaint? The state didn't just
do a random inspection, so I'm assuming the customer was dissatisfied.
Did they contact you first before complaining?
As to code compliance, it is whatever the state and/or locality
require. No need for opinions, the rules are going to be clear and
written. I'd just check them.
I really wonder what the rest of the story is...
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> insurance companies to do their workman's comp work. And when it comes to
> insurance companies, believe me, I am carefully watched. I don't even do
> work for homeowners anymore, only insurance companies. But you had better=