Contractors State License Board

These guys scam me out of $ 507. Victor lied to me over the phone in order to get my credit card information. Once I arrived at the school they had me read the documents to be signed and I realized that I had been lied to. Based on what was required I did not qualify for the school and I told them this once I read the material however they would not return my money and said that it is part of their terms of service. I am going to contact the BBB consumer affairs and share my experience with all news outlets to stop these scam artist from taking advantage of others in the future.

They took way more than 90 days to get back to us. The investigator who finally came out was curt and a bit repetitive, and he believed he had told us what he was filing violations on, but he had not been clear. I had to call him later to verify. That said, though the charges were way fewer than the issues we tried to describe and prove, they did issue a citation against this very dishonest General Contractor who is currently appealing some of the counts. Our problem was trusting a GC who was perceived as a friend, but who turned out to be dishonest and no craftsman, to name just 2 issues. We hope our witnesses are effective against his appeal. The GC had filed a lawsuit against us even though he was overpaid, so he is incredibly cocky and used to winning by intimidation. He has been caught in several lies. If he wins his appeal, I’ll be back on Unilocal,giving my best understanding of why. Ladies, if your husband wants to trust and hire a friend, discourage that! No matter who you choose, get every detail in writing, ask who his subs will be, make sure they are licensed (2 or more of his were not and we didn’t find out till he was hired, he kept that from us), never trust someone who says about missing details: «it’s all in there.» Make sure they give a start and end time for the project in writing and explain what work will be done for each progress payment in detail and that it will be INSPECTED and PASS first BEFORE you make any progress payment. Make sure they fill out any change orders with COST that you both sign before you agree to changes. Also, if someone you’re considering hiring feels the need to tell you they are a Christian church official, chances are they are a wolf in sheep’s clothing. A good contractor does not need to tell you that. Find someone who will give you references other than God and other than those in his church. You also need to see past relevant projects and speak to past customers. We didn’t, my husband believed in him and we have paid dearly for that mistake for going on 4 years. Finally, good contractors are usually busy and worth waiting for. We should have waited for our first choice.

CSLB affecting the construction industry & Californians
I hope to shine a light on the lack of training and other inadequacies on the part of the Contractors State License Board, which in turn is negatively affecting the California construction industry. I am a business owner who has had the opportunity of dealing with the CSLB for several years. I have been witness to the deplorable work and services they provide the state of California. This is an organization created to protect our state’s consumers but from my experience, it seems they may have lost sight of this and grown to place more effort into shutting down California companies at a time when our state is fortunate enough in beginning to see a turnaround in its construction industry. Their actions are affecting the livelihoods of thousands of working California tax payers, whose money is being used to pay them to do so.
I’ve had the misfortune of experiencing firsthand how the CSLB chooses emotion over common sense and rationale in dealing with any complaints filed by consumers. Anytime a complaint or claim is filed between two parties it only makes sense to offer the opportunity to have these parties work on a mutual agreement before using other resources to come to a resolution. In past instances I’ve dealt with CSLB representatives Pam Tomashek, Ubaldo Sanchez, Dania Vaquera, Deidre Greene and Cathy D McCaster. When my companies have diligently worked on reaching out the consumer to resolve the matter ourselves, the CSLB has ignored any and all arrangements in place and even gone as far as persuading the consumer to ignore our attempts and push forward with the complaint originally filed. Even if this means having their employees drive all the way to the consumer’s home to do so. On these occasions we had reached an agreement to make repairs and part ways amicably with the customer. These arrangements were ruined by the CSLB’s actions and resulted in them causing more damage and conflict then an amicable resolution. Their intention to focus the brunt of their work force around investigations and cancelling licenses is also apparent in the fact that they have hundreds of employees to respond, execute unnecessary investigations and coax customers to continue with their complaints but only have one representative working and following up with home improvement salesman registrations, thus causing unacceptably long delays in getting an approved registration. In no other businesses are they required to have their potential employees on standby for 3 – 6 months before they are able to fully hire them and have them work due to a pending registration approval
Different employment fields such as attorneys, doctors and accountants are governed or monitored to ensure their performance meets expectations and I would hope the CSLB isn’t any different. The work they perform for our state is paid for by our tax dollars and their lack of knowledge on how to resolve issues quickly and use of tax dollars to cover the unnecessary investigations in hopes of cancelling a license and putting Californians out of work can only hurt us in the long run. In speaking out on this matter I hope these issues can be reviewed and regulations on how CSLB representatives handle their work can be put into place. In doing so, we can ensure resources are being used for legitimate investigations, as well as more effort placed into helping business owners and salesmen obtain the licenses and registrations that are required from them by the CSLB in a prompt manner, instead of the 3 – 6 months it currently takes, so they may be able to conduct their business In accordance to their requirements. Hope someone can extend a helping hand to investigate this matter and help the Californians who are at the mercy of the CSLB’s actions!
— Frustrated California Contractor

Worst attitude and condescending people ever, as a licensed contractor I am treated like I’m bothering them, guess what? all my fees pay your salary you worthless burocrats, I can understand why some people don’t bother getting a license, nothing but people with inflated egos and power trips, unfortunately the two good people in the whole building get clumped in with the lazy ones. One more Reason California is losing good businesses the Contractors board is just one more entity tha is Hostile towards businesses.

This has got to be the worst government department I have ever dealt with. I filed a complaint online about a contractor. They asked for some documents to sent to them, which I did within 2 days. However, they cancelled the complaint because 10 days had elapsed since the complaint was filed. This included their time in the mail, the turn around at their office, and the multiple agencies who handled the complaint. They did call me and left a message, but it was unintelligible, and they left the wrong phone number. None of this was stated online, and how in gods name can everything be sent to them in 10 days. Don’t even bother with these faceless idiots. Go straight to small claims court.

If only there was a choice. I work at an insurance brokers office, we send in Workers’ Compensation Certificates of Insurance for clients w/​contractors licenses at each renewal. The only way to get any real information out of them is to call, and I swear their automated phone system is designed to drive you crazy.

If I could leave negative 5 stars I would. These people work like a Mafia. A lazy Mafia at that. Why is it that state agencies have such bad service??? CSLB-Can’t Stop Laziness Board.

Total waste of time getting an arbitration award from CSLB. The award was directed at the crook contractor’s business that he abandoned (this is the way they have it set up), so he did not have to pay a dime. Take it for me and don’t waste your time filing a claim with them. It is all window dressing, so they can justify their budget.

Why is this catch a contractor show have all these horrible contractors & the state board of contractors is not involved or taking any action?
Another crap gov agency.

I want to give a thank you to Holly Young in the Records Unit of the CSLB with helping out the business I work for with a rush delivery. She was very accommodating and helpful. Highly recommended.

I would like to compliment Anita Adams who handled my case. She always called back when we had questions and helped us along the way. She works out of the Norwalk branch. She was very helpful. My only issue is web site says 90 days, but my case took a lot longer. If this is standard just update web site.

I want to compliment Gloria Sagario of the California State Licensing Board.
It’s not often when a busy California State Agency employee actually goes out of their way to not only help with an application and follows up without being called when she noticed a filing error.
Ms. Sagario provided us with valuable information that saved us both time and money.
She should be recognized for her service.
Chuck Merken
Mobile Video Systems LLC

They help make California residents safer from crappy contractors. There’s some good hard workers here. Hire the licenced and get more bang for your buck… They are the insured, not the uninsured disappear in the night.

This is a great resource for home owners and business owners alike.
ALWAYS check here prior to hiring any contractor.
Their responsibility’s include, making sure all contractors have valid licenses, operate within the law and that they have the proper insurance
check their website for a vast array of educational materials, Learn how to do it right before signing any contract.
A few things i have learned over the years, (some of the following were very expensive lessons)
1. check for properly issued License.
2. get at least three bids
3.get three references, and check them, also check the Better Business website for complaints.
4.get EVERYTHING IN WRITING
5. check that insurance is in place.
6. never pay more than 10% down
7. keep a file of all paperwork, permits, insurance certificates, dump receipts, etc.
contract needs to always state that the contractor is responsible for operating within all applicable state, federal and local laws.
contract should always state that the contractor is responsible for any permits and fees.
contract needs to have a projected start and end date.

I was overcharged for a water heater installation. I got no support from this organization. Buyer beware. Consumer Reports and Unilocal are often much more helpful than organizations that supposedly protect the public.