{"id":10822,"date":"2016-01-05T12:49:41","date_gmt":"2016-01-05T18:49:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/?p=10822"},"modified":"2016-01-05T12:49:41","modified_gmt":"2016-01-05T18:49:41","slug":"tennessee-consumer-affairs-offers-tips-on-selecting-contractors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/2016\/01\/05\/tennessee-consumer-affairs-offers-tips-on-selecting-contractors\/","title":{"rendered":"Tennessee Consumer Affairs Offers Tips on Selecting Contractors"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"TennesseeNashville, TN<\/strong> – The Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance\u2019s (TDCI) Division of Consumer Affairs is warning consumers about contractors making door-to-door or telephone solicitations offering to renovate or repair your home.<\/p>\n

Often these contractors are high-pressure salespersons seeking to convince homeowners to sign a contract, and then they hire inexperienced, unlicensed individuals as \u201csubcontractors.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Tennessee<\/a>

Tennessee Consumer Affairs says be careful when selecting a contractor for home repair or improvement.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cIn the wake of the December storms and the cold winter months still ahead, home repair is a priority for many Tennesseans,\u201d TDCI Deputy Commissioner Bill Giannini said. \u201cBefore signing a contract to authorize any construction or repairs, consumers should first educate themselves and verify the credentials of their contractors.\u201d<\/p>\n

To protect yourself, only hire licensed contractors. Visit verify.tn.gov<\/a> to ensure that a contractor is properly licensed to work in the State of Tennessee. Ask the contractor who will be performing the work: contractor, his\/her employee(s) or a subcontractor.<\/p>\n

Other tips and information:<\/h3>\n

Who is required to be licensed?<\/p>\n

Contractors (Includes Construction Managers) – Projects $25,000 or more.<\/p>\n

Home Improvement<\/strong> – Projects greater than $3,000 in Bradley County, Davidson County, Haywood County, Hamilton County, Knox County, Marion County, Robertson County, Rutherford County, and Shelby County.<\/p>\n

LLE- Limited Licensed Electrician<\/strong> – Jobs less than $25,000. (Required in any municipality or county that does not issue licenses to persons who perform electrical work in the municipality or county. If a municipality or county does require such licensure then the municipal or county license must be obtained.)<\/p>\n

LLP- Limited Licensee Plumber<\/strong> – Jobs less than $25,000. (Required in any municipality or county that does not issue licenses to persons who perform plumbing work in the municipality or county. If a municipality or county does require such licensure then the municipal or county license must be obtained.)<\/p>\n

Pre-Licensed Exam Course Providers<\/strong> – Schools Offering Contractor Exam Prep Classes<\/p>\n

Electrical and Plumbing Subcontractors<\/strong> \u2013 Jobs involving electrical and plumbing work. License required depends on value of the project. (See LLE and LLP listings above.)<\/p>\n

Mechanical Subcontractors (e.g. HVAC)<\/strong> \u2013 Where the total cost of the mechanical portion of the construction project is twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) or more.<\/p>\n

Roofing Subcontractors<\/strong> \u2013 Where the total cost of the roofing portion of the construction project is twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) or more.<\/p>\n

Masonry Subcontractors<\/strong> – Where the total cost of the masonry portion of the construction project exceeds one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000).<\/p>\n

Check with your local government<\/a> for codes, permits, inspections and business licenses.<\/p>\n

Make sure the contractor obtains a permit for code inspections<\/a>. For more information about codes enforcement, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

View the Regulatory Board\u2019s Disciplinary Actions Reports<\/a> to check the contractor\u2019s complaint and discipline history.
\nAlways obtain more than one estimate.<\/p>\n

Get a written contract. Click here <\/a>for \u201cA Consumer\u2019s Guide to Home Improvement Contracts.\u201d<\/p>\n

[320right]Ask who will be performing the work. Often, the contractor is a “salesman” and may subcontract the work to inexperienced, unlicensed individuals misclassified as a subcontractor paid in cash, for the contractor to avoid taxes.<\/p>\n

Ask for proof of insurance.<\/p>\n

Never pay cash. Do not pay the total amount before the work is complete. Do not turn over your insurance check. Consider paying with a credit card for special protection.<\/p>\n

If a contractor accepts payment without performing the work, this may be considered felony theft. Review Tennessee law<\/a> to view steps to prosecute through your local district attorney’s office.<\/p>\n

It is unlawful for an “unlicensed” contractor to file a lien<\/a> if they are required to be licensed.<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> to file a complaint against a problem contractor, or call 1.800.544.7693.<\/p>\n

Click here <\/a>more tips to consider before hiring a contractor, or visit www.tn.gov\/regboards<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For more consumer tips, visit www.tn.gov\/consumer<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nashville, TN – The Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance\u2019s (TDCI) Division of Consumer Affairs is warning consumers about contractors making door-to-door or telephone solicitations offering to renovate or repair your home. Often these contractors are high-pressure salespersons seeking to convince homeowners to sign a contract, and then they hire inexperienced, unlicensed individuals as \u201csubcontractors.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[8486,928,1401,1907,8740,1908,3537,1636,6661,10635,284,10634,3248,2836,925,6616,261,5128,2288],"class_list":["post-10822","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-community","tag-bill-giannini","tag-bradley-county","tag-contractors","tag-davidson-county","tag-electricians","tag-hamilton-county","tag-haywood-county","tag-knox-county","tag-marion-county","tag-masonry","tag-nashville-tn","tag-plumbers","tag-robertson-county","tag-rutherford-county","tag-shelby-county","tag-tdci","tag-tennessee","tag-tennessee-consumer-affairs","tag-tennessee-department-of-commerce-and-insurance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10822","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10822"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10822\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10823,"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10822\/revisions\/10823"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10822"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10822"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}