Before paying someone to redo the roof or finish the basement this summer, state Attorney General Tom Corbett urged people to check a new hotline and online registry that tracks contractor credentials.
Corbett said today his office fielded more than 2,100 complaints in 2008 from Pennsylvanians worried they were being ripped off by contractors hired to do home improvement projects.
The registry aims to lower that figure by holding contractors accountable. So far, 32,000 contractors have signed up since registration started March 23. Corbett isn't sure how many contractors there are statewide.
"We encourage consumers to use only contractors who are registered with our office," Corbett said.
Visitors to attorneygeneral.gov or those who call 1-888-520-6680 can learn if a contractor has the required minimum of $50,000 in personal injury insurance and $50,000 in property damage insurance; whether a contractor has a criminal record or negative civil judgment; a map showing the physical address of the contracting business — not a Post Office box; names of the business owners; contractor licenses; and bankruptcy filings.
Contractors who perform more than $5,000 worth of home improvement work in a year are required to register with the attorney general's office under the Home Improvement Consumer Protection act, which went into effect Wednesday.
Corbett said being on the registry doesn't mean he endorses the contractor's "quality of work or honesty."
