Hi, I’m Matthew Mobilio founder of Mobilio Law.  In this video I am going to talk a little bit about what you should do if you’ve been taken advantage of by an unscrupulous contractor.

Whether its overbilling, shoddy work or property damage chances are you or someone you know has had a bad experience with a contractor.  Fortunately, Pennsylvania does a fairly good job of providing options to resolve your contractor dispute.

Your first and least expensive option is to make a formal complaint to the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office.  If you go to the website attorneygeneral.gov there is an option to File a Complaint.  Once a complaint is filed a representative from the attorney general’s office will contact you and the contractor that you have a complaint about.  They will investigate your claim and, if it has merit, encourage the contractor to make good on whatever your issue might be.

If you are unsuccessful in resolving your complaint through the attorney general’s office you should consider filing a civil complaint through the local magistrates office or the court of common pleas as  Pennsylvania has a law specifically intended to protect consumers from unscrupulous contractors.  The Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act contains strict regulations on home improvement contractors.  The statute contains a requirement that contractors be registered through the state and maintain minimum levels of personal injury and property damage insurance.  It also includes a provision laying out exactly what must be included in home improvement contracts in order for them to be enforceable against the consumer.  It even provides for criminal penalties for contractors who commit home improvement fraud.  Perhaps most importantly, the law also provides for attorneys fees to be paid to the consumer by an at-fault contractor as well as the possibility of the consumer receiving a damages award over and above their actual damages.

If you have questions regarding a contractor dispute contact me today for a free no obligation case evaluation.