LAGUNA BEACH : Residents Warned of Illegal Contractors

With burned-out residents desperate to rebuild from last month’s fire, state officials Tuesday warned them to be careful of unlicensed, unscrupulous contractors.

“They’re flooding the area, not to help people, not to repair people’s homes, but to rip people off,” said Jim Conran, director of the California Department of Consumer Affairs.

Standing in the driveway of a lot reduced to ashes and twisted metal, Conran and officials from the Contractors State License Board told reporters that unlicensed contractors are routinely a problem after major disasters.

To underscore that fact, Dennis Bishop, supervising deputy of the license board’s unlicensed activity unit, announced that a sting operation last week resulted in arrests of two unlicensed contractors and citations being issued against six others.

The eight contractors, who weren’t identified, had posted flyers in Laguna Beach offering a wide range of services. Bishop said they were caught when they made bids on cleaning up a burned-out home site near Skyline Drive and patching holes in the roof of an Emerald Bay house.

Although unlicensed contractors came from around the nation to take advantage of victims after disasters such as Florida’s Hurricane Andrew, Bishop said all of those caught in the sting are from Orange County.

Bishop said his office is seeking felony charges against the two men arrested of contracting without a license in a disaster area, which carries a maximum penalty of 16 months in jail and a $10,000 fine.

License board investigators will continue watching damaged neighborhoods for contractors trying to prey on victims, Bishop said.

Conran of the Consumer Affairs Department suggested what property owners should look for when considering a contractor:

* Ask to see the contractor’s license; take down the license number and check it by calling the Contractors State License Board.

* Check references. The best contractor is often one recommended by friends.

* Make sure the contractor has worker compensation and liability insurance.

* Get bids from several contractors.

* Don’t give a deposit of more than 10% of the job’s cost or $1,000, whichever is lowest.

Paula Watkins, southern regional deputy of the license board, advised against using a contractor from out of the area.

And, she said, “Don’t ever pay in advance.”