CSLB Drives Campaign against HVAC Rip-Offs

CSLB has stepped up its efforts to crack down on C-20 Warm-Air Heating, Ventilating, and Air-Conditioning (HVAC) licensees or unlicensed operators that engage in unethical business practices, especially against older consumers. These practices include hard-sell tactics to obtain grossly inflated contracts; misrepresenting work as critical and needing immediate correction; failing to provide the three-day right to rescind a home improvement contract; failing to obtain building permits; and the lack of workers' compensation insurance or under-reporting employees.

Why focus on the HVAC industry? CSLB receives a significant amount of consumer complaints about unethical business practices used by HVAC companies, casting a shadow on the thousands of law-abiding C-20s. Efforts to curb this activity are being addressed through contractor education initiatives to remind companies and their employees about legal and ethical business practices.

This past summer, CSLB officials began addressing these problems in a variety of forums:

• Hosted a Town Hall meeting in San Leandro

• Held a news conference at its Sacramento headquarters office

• Issued a consumer alert to statewide news media

• Conducted stings in Northern and Southern California

• Hosted a live webinar (see story on a following page) in which staff responded to questions from around the state that were submitted via email

Educational and enforcement activities will continue as CSLB and its regulatory and law enforcement partners continue to aggressively and publicly enforce consumer protection laws that pertain to all license classifications that work in the service and repair industry.

CSLB encourages legitimate contractors to report anyone who bends or breaks state contracting laws by submitting a complaint form to investigators.