Surprisingly enough this doesn't seem to have been asked. Or at least it
was inundated with all the other garbage that Google returns (Google is fast
becoming worthless as a search engine).

If I hire a repairman, would it be rude for me to ask to see his license and
bonding documents if I am in doubt. Especially for something involving a
roof or electrical? My neighbor is the king of hiring fly by night repair
guys who wheel and deal with him, I seriously doubt any of them are bonded,
but if I hired the same guy, I wouldn't know if he was dishonest or not. I
don't hang out with plumbers and electricians or roofer so I have to take
them at face value. So if I hire some guy would he get all ****y and
irritated if I asked him for his info?

In article ,
"Eigenvector" wrote:

Surprisingly enough this doesn't seem to have been asked. Or at least it
was inundated with all the other garbage that Google returns (Google is fast
becoming worthless as a search engine).

If I hire a repairman, would it be rude for me to ask to see his license and
bonding documents if I am in doubt. Especially for something involving a
roof or electrical? My neighbor is the king of hiring fly by night repair
guys who wheel and deal with him, I seriously doubt any of them are bonded,
but if I hired the same guy, I wouldn't know if he was dishonest or not. I
don't hang out with plumbers and electricians or roofer so I have to take
them at face value. So if I hire some guy would he get all ****y and
irritated if I asked him for his info?

The license is public record in all of hte places I am familiar with
and most places require the number be readily and publicly available. If
you ask and some contractor gets all ****y, that would be reason enough
to go running as fast as possible in the OPPOSITE direction.

On Sun, 12 Aug 2007 18:07:05 -0700, Eigenvector wrote:


Surprisingly enough this doesn't seem to have been asked. Or at least it
was inundated with all the other garbage that Google returns (Google is fast
becoming worthless as a search engine).

If I hire a repairman, would it be rude for me to ask to see his license and
bonding documents if I am in doubt. Especially for something involving a

Is it rude not to be a gullible idiot? I don't think so. If a contractor
might get offended then you know he is somebody you want to steer clear
of.

These things are public record. Often the issuer of licenses also requires
insurances, bonds etc. and demands these things be kept up to date to
maintain a valid license. Where I work, all this info is posted at a county
website. Check with your local municipality


"Eigenvector" wrote in message
. ..
Surprisingly enough this doesn't seem to have been asked. Or at least it
was inundated with all the other garbage that Google returns (Google is
fast becoming worthless as a search engine).

If I hire a repairman, would it be rude for me to ask to see his license
and bonding documents if I am in doubt. Especially for something
involving a roof or electrical? My neighbor is the king of hiring fly by
night repair guys who wheel and deal with him, I seriously doubt any of
them are bonded, but if I hired the same guy, I wouldn't know if he was
dishonest or not. I don't hang out with plumbers and electricians or
roofer so I have to take them at face value. So if I hire some guy would
he get all ****y and irritated if I asked him for his info?

"RBM" rbm2(remove wrote in message
...
These things are public record. Often the issuer of licenses also requires
insurances, bonds etc. and demands these things be kept up to date to
maintain a valid license. Where I work, all this info is posted at a
county website. Check with your local municipality


I'll do that, probably best before I call them.



"Eigenvector" wrote in message
. ..
Surprisingly enough this doesn't seem to have been asked. Or at least it
was inundated with all the other garbage that Google returns (Google is
fast becoming worthless as a search engine).

If I hire a repairman, would it be rude for me to ask to see his license
and bonding documents if I am in doubt. Especially for something
involving a roof or electrical? My neighbor is the king of hiring fly by
night repair guys who wheel and deal with him, I seriously doubt any of
them are bonded, but if I hired the same guy, I wouldn't know if he was
dishonest or not. I don't hang out with plumbers and electricians or
roofer so I have to take them at face value. So if I hire some guy would
he get all ****y and irritated if I asked him for his info?

On Sun, 12 Aug 2007 18:07:05 -0700, "Eigenvector"
wrote:

Surprisingly enough this doesn't seem to have been asked. Or at least it
was inundated with all the other garbage that Google returns (Google is fast
becoming worthless as a search engine).

If I hire a repairman, would it be rude for me to ask to see his license and
bonding documents if I am in doubt. Especially for something involving a
roof or electrical? My neighbor is the king of hiring fly by night repair
guys who wheel and deal with him, I seriously doubt any of them are bonded,
but if I hired the same guy, I wouldn't know if he was dishonest or not. I

They could be licensed and bonded but you still wouldn't KNOW they are
honest.

don't hang out with plumbers and electricians or roofer so I have to take
them at face value. So if I hire some guy would he get all ****y and
irritated if I asked him for his info?

Ask him and see.

I'd want to not only see the papers but to make a photocopy. Although
not if you can find it online. Then I'd just rpint it out.

If the records are not online where you are, I wouldn't go to the
trouble of going to find them. He should show them to you, including
a form that shows they were renewed less than a year earlier. (or
whatever time period it says on the form.)

on 8/12/2007 9:07 PM Eigenvector said the following:
Surprisingly enough this doesn't seem to have been asked. Or at least it
was inundated with all the other garbage that Google returns (Google is fast
becoming worthless as a search engine).

If I hire a repairman, would it be rude for me to ask to see his license and
bonding documents if I am in doubt. Especially for something involving a
roof or electrical? My neighbor is the king of hiring fly by night repair
guys who wheel and deal with him, I seriously doubt any of them are bonded,
but if I hired the same guy, I wouldn't know if he was dishonest or not. I
don't hang out with plumbers and electricians or roofer so I have to take
them at face value. So if I hire some guy would he get all ****y and
irritated if I asked him for his info?

If he has one, he'll be glad to show it.
If a jurisdiction requires a license, they often require that the
license number be displayed prominently on their vehicles.

--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
To email, remove the double zeroes after @

Eigen,

Rude? No. Either he's licensed and bonded or he isn't. But do your own
homework. Call the licensing bureau. Call his insurance agent.

Dave M

If I hire a repairman, would it be rude for me to ask to see his
license and bonding documents...


Not at all rude. Those who do things by the book despise those who do the
same work without the licenses and permits, then undercut them in price.
(And do shoddy work giving everyone in the trade a bad image.)

However documents can be faked. I would ask for their contractor number and
the bonding company name/phone number. Then check with the state and the
bonding company.

In my area the contractor number is on their vehicles, advertisements, and
business cards. Some fly-by-night types have been known to use another
contractor's number...

Eigenvector wrote:
Surprisingly enough this doesn't seem to have been asked. Or at least it
was inundated with all the other garbage that Google returns (Google is fast
becoming worthless as a search engine).

If I hire a repairman, would it be rude for me to ask to see his license and
bonding documents if I am in doubt. Especially for something involving a
roof or electrical? My neighbor is the king of hiring fly by night repair
guys who wheel and deal with him, I seriously doubt any of them are bonded,
but if I hired the same guy, I wouldn't know if he was dishonest or not. I
don't hang out with plumbers and electricians or roofer so I have to take
them at face value. So if I hire some guy would he get all ****y and
irritated if I asked him for his info?


One of my lawyer sons advised that I get a paper proof of insurance.
This happened after a chimney sweep almost fell off my roof while
inspecting chimney while there was snow on the roof.

Any decent contractor should have all that in a nice three ring binder , IN
HIS TRUCK, to show you without being asked.


steve


"Eigenvector" wrote in message
. ..
Surprisingly enough this doesn't seem to have been asked. Or at least it
was inundated with all the other garbage that Google returns (Google is
fast becoming worthless as a search engine).

If I hire a repairman, would it be rude for me to ask to see his license
and bonding documents if I am in doubt. Especially for something
involving a roof or electrical? My neighbor is the king of hiring fly by
night repair guys who wheel and deal with him, I seriously doubt any of
them are bonded, but if I hired the same guy, I wouldn't know if he was
dishonest or not. I don't hang out with plumbers and electricians or
roofer so I have to take them at face value. So if I hire some guy would
he get all ****y and irritated if I asked him for his info?

On Aug 12, 8:07 pm, "Eigenvector" wrote:
Surprisingly enough this doesn't seem to have been asked. Or at least it
was inundated with all the other garbage that Google returns (Google is fast
becoming worthless as a search engine).

If I hire a repairman, would it be rude for me to ask to see his license and
bonding documents if I am in doubt. Especially for something involving a
roof or electrical? My neighbor is the king of hiring fly by night repair
guys who wheel and deal with him, I seriously doubt any of them are bonded,
but if I hired the same guy, I wouldn't know if he was dishonest or not. I
don't hang out with plumbers and electricians or roofer so I have to take
them at face value. So if I hire some guy would he get all ****y and
irritated if I asked him for his info?


Why is that rude? Business is business, leave the emotion out of all
your dealings with any contractor, be up front and open, give them a
lot of info about what you want done and the results you expect, they
cant read minds and will appreciate the clarity. Worrying about
feelings will just cause mis-communication somewhere along the line,
avoid that by frankness and bluntness. If they get ****y, then hire a
true professional, the time to know about insurance liability is
before they get on your roof.

When I deal with repairmen and contractors for things around our house, I
always ask to see their current insurance and licenses. I also take notes
when I'm talking to them, then write up what they say in a contract and make
them sign it before doing the work.
99% of the time they don't want to sign it. When I remind them that there
isn't anything in the contract that they didn't say themselves when we were
talking they usually want to either add time or money to what they initially
promised verbally. Usually adding the time or money isn't a big deal to me.
I just want the TRUTH about how much time and money will REALLY be involved.
Plus having the written contract keeps me at a higher priority on their list
than people who don't have anything in writing, and also calls out EXACTLY
when they will get their money. That eliminates them from constantly
hounding us for more money.
My wife doesn't do this with the people that she hires to do stuff, and her
projects usually have big problems. She hired a landscaper last year. The
guy got 30% of the money down, then kept asking her for more money every
week (which she usually gave him). The guy is driving a Hummer and lives in
a better house than we do, but told her that he couldn't pay his bills
unless she gave him more money. As you can expect, the work has never been
completed, but with nothing in writing to worry about and all of his money
in hand, he's never going to come and finish the job. My wife is too ashamed
and embarrassed to do anything about it, but if and when I run into the
guy...
Bottom line is that business is business. There's no room for emotions or
fear of "insulting" someone by asking them for things that are required by
law!

"willshak" wrote in message
...
on 8/12/2007 9:07 PM Eigenvector said the following:
Surprisingly enough this doesn't seem to have been asked. Or at least it
was inundated with all the other garbage that Google returns (Google is
fast becoming worthless as a search engine).

If I hire a repairman, would it be rude for me to ask to see his license
and bonding documents if I am in doubt. Especially for something
involving a roof or electrical? My neighbor is the king of hiring fly by
night repair guys who wheel and deal with him, I seriously doubt any of
them are bonded, but if I hired the same guy, I wouldn't know if he was
dishonest or not. I don't hang out with plumbers and electricians or
roofer so I have to take them at face value. So if I hire some guy would
he get all ****y and irritated if I asked him for his info?

If he has one, he'll be glad to show it.
If a jurisdiction requires a license, they often require that the license
number be displayed prominently on their vehicles.

--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
To email, remove the double zeroes after @

On Aug 12, 5:07 pm, "Eigenvector" wrote:
Surprisingly enough this doesn't seem to have been asked. Or at least it
was inundated with all the other garbage that Google returns (Google is fast
becoming worthless as a search engine).

If I hire a repairman, would it be rude for me to ask to see his license and
bonding documents if I am in doubt. Especially for something involving a
roof or electrical? My neighbor is the king of hiring fly by night repair
guys who wheel and deal with him, I seriously doubt any of them are bonded,
but if I hired the same guy, I wouldn't know if he was dishonest or not. I
don't hang out with plumbers and electricians or roofer so I have to take
them at face value. So if I hire some guy would he get all ****y and
irritated if I asked him for his info?

No, it's not rude. And if they take it that way, tell them to pack
lead. Most states let you look up their license number and see if it's
valid and if there are complaints, etc.

Would you rather them not have insurance, get hurt and sue you?

If I hire a repairman, would it be rude for me to ask to see his license
and
bonding documents if I am in doubt.

This conversation has devolved into a complex thing. Lots of work can and
is done safely by people hiring unlicensed uninsured people all the time.
It's just when something goes haywire that we hear about it. It's all up to
you. You're the one at risk.

You might be scaring off good tradesmen by insisting on documentation. Yet
not asking is courting disaster. It's a Catch-22 situation.

Steve

Most legit contractors have a level of pride in their work that makes them
happy to show their professionalism by providing license and insurance
documents. Around here they do it all the time.


"Eigenvector" wrote in message
. ..
Surprisingly enough this doesn't seem to have been asked. Or at least it
was inundated with all the other garbage that Google returns (Google is
fast becoming worthless as a search engine).

If I hire a repairman, would it be rude for me to ask to see his license
and bonding documents if I am in doubt. Especially for something
involving a roof or electrical? My neighbor is the king of hiring fly by
night repair guys who wheel and deal with him, I seriously doubt any of
them are bonded, but if I hired the same guy, I wouldn't know if he was
dishonest or not. I don't hang out with plumbers and electricians or
roofer so I have to take them at face value. So if I hire some guy would
he get all ****y and irritated if I asked him for his info?

Guess who pays the bill and punitive damages when an uninsured contractor or
employee gets hurt on your jobsite.


"SteveB" wrote in message
...

If I hire a repairman, would it be rude for me to ask to see his license
and
bonding documents if I am in doubt.

This conversation has devolved into a complex thing. Lots of work can and
is done safely by people hiring unlicensed uninsured people all the time.
It's just when something goes haywire that we hear about it. It's all up
to you. You're the one at risk.

You might be scaring off good tradesmen by insisting on documentation.
Yet not asking is courting disaster. It's a Catch-22 situation.

Steve

In article ,
says...

If I hire a repairman, would it be rude for me to ask to see his license
and
bonding documents if I am in doubt.

This conversation has devolved into a complex thing. Lots of work can and
is done safely by people hiring unlicensed uninsured people all the time.
It's just when something goes haywire that we hear about it. It's all up to
you. You're the one at risk.

You might be scaring off good tradesmen by insisting on documentation. Yet
not asking is courting disaster. It's a Catch-22 situation.

In Washington State, there's often no need to ask. The state has a web
site that verifies current license, bond, liability insurance, and
worker's comp status, as well as the status of any past bond claims.

You can even sign up for worker's comp monitoring, the state will email
you the day their worker's comp goes out of force and you can keep them
off the site until things are current again.

--
is Joshua Putnam
http://www.phred.org/~josh/
Updated Infrared Photography Gallery:
http://www.phred.org/~josh/photo/ir.html

wrote in message
.net...
In article ,
says...

If I hire a repairman, would it be rude for me to ask to see his
license
and
bonding documents if I am in doubt.

This conversation has devolved into a complex thing. Lots of work can
and
is done safely by people hiring unlicensed uninsured people all the time.
It's just when something goes haywire that we hear about it. It's all up
to
you. You're the one at risk.

You might be scaring off good tradesmen by insisting on documentation.
Yet
not asking is courting disaster. It's a Catch-22 situation.

In Washington State, there's often no need to ask. The state has a web
site that verifies current license, bond, liability insurance, and
worker's comp status, as well as the status of any past bond claims.

You can even sign up for worker's comp monitoring, the state will email
you the day their worker's comp goes out of force and you can keep them
off the site until things are current again.

--
is Joshua Putnam


Cool, I'll check it out then.

"TH" wrote in message
...
Guess who pays the bill and punitive damages when an uninsured contractor
or employee gets hurt on your jobsite.

No ****, Sherlock. Did you read anything I wrote? Please hit your "reading
comprehension ON" button, and do it again.

Steve



"SteveB" wrote in message
...

If I hire a repairman, would it be rude for me to ask to see his license
and
bonding documents if I am in doubt.

This conversation has devolved into a complex thing. Lots of work can
and is done safely by people hiring unlicensed uninsured people all the
time. It's just when something goes haywire that we hear about it. It's
all up to you. You're the one at risk.

You might be scaring off good tradesmen by insisting on documentation.
Yet not asking is courting disaster. It's a Catch-22 situation.

Steve

wrote in message
.net...
In article ,
says...

If I hire a repairman, would it be rude for me to ask to see his
license
and
bonding documents if I am in doubt.

This conversation has devolved into a complex thing. Lots of work can
and
is done safely by people hiring unlicensed uninsured people all the time.
It's just when something goes haywire that we hear about it. It's all up
to
you. You're the one at risk.

You might be scaring off good tradesmen by insisting on documentation.
Yet
not asking is courting disaster. It's a Catch-22 situation.

In Washington State, there's often no need to ask. The state has a web
site that verifies current license, bond, liability insurance, and
worker's comp status, as well as the status of any past bond claims.

You can even sign up for worker's comp monitoring, the state will email
you the day their worker's comp goes out of force and you can keep them
off the site until things are current again.

--
josh

In my state, contracting without a license is a felony. Evening offering to
do the work, where no money changes hands, or work is done, is considered to
be contracting. They actively seek out these guys, having a list of them on
the six o'clock news just like the murderers. And yet, there's never a
shortage of them.

Steve

On Aug 12, 8:07 pm, "Eigenvector" wrote:

If I hire a repairman, would it be rude for me to ask to see his license and
bonding documents if I am in doubt.

If their first impression left me in doubt that they're LB&I I
wouldn't use them, even if they are...

And as has been suggested, they should have that documentation at
hand.

But it would be an error to interpret that alone as any measure of
honesty or competence.

Any legitimate business is registered with the state, which is -very-
easy to check in MT via the Secretary of State's website. YMMV. I
usually find additional interesting information there too, such as the
same person/s control two directly competitive businesses.
-----

- gpsman

"gpsman" wrote in message
oups.com...
On Aug 12, 8:07 pm, "Eigenvector" wrote:

If I hire a repairman, would it be rude for me to ask to see his license
and
bonding documents if I am in doubt.

If their first impression left me in doubt that they're LB&I I
wouldn't use them, even if they are...

And as has been suggested, they should have that documentation at
hand.

But it would be an error to interpret that alone as any measure of
honesty or competence.

Any legitimate business is registered with the state, which is -very-
easy to check in MT via the Secretary of State's website. YMMV. I
usually find additional interesting information there too, such as the
same person/s control two directly competitive businesses.
-----

- gpsman


Yes, there are a lot of poor businessmen and scamsters out there who are
licensed, bonded, and insured.

In Las Vegas, recently, Purrfect Auto Repair has been under investigation by
the State AG office for ripping off customers. And I mean for big money,
and for a long time. I know this company has been in business for nearly
ten years at their location near my home.

Point is, they are still going, and it took a long long long time to do
anything about it. Right now, they are "under investigation" and doing
business as busy as ever. And lots of time, if you call, and ask some
governmental agency about a company, or even the BBB, their reply is, "I'm
sorry, we cannot divulge that information."

Being licensed, bonded, and insured don't mean ****. Any smart scamster
knows how to successfully tap dance within the lines. And there's always
plenty of suckers, new business, and clueless homeowners to keep them plenty
busy.

"Oh, look, Honey! There's a handyman van. Did you get the phone number?"

Friends and family and neighbors of mine know I'm a handyman DIYer type, and
they bug the **** out of me all the time to do things. Many times, I
relent, but it's stuff I know I can do, and nothing that requires a
contractor. I WON'T tell people I weld. Point is, anyone who is halfassed
good at all can go get work.

For our state, it goes something like this: If you work by the hour, you're
a handyman. If you say you'll do the job for $200, you're a contractor.
This is loosely enforced in my state for repairmen until they get to the
point of doing major work. The State Contractor's Board has changed the
reading so that "anything that permanently attaches to the house, or is part
of the systems within the house" requires a contractor. But, still, they
won't bother the licensed handymen who install fans, or unstick disposals,
or install new ones, although it clearly falls within the lines of their
laws. And then, no one cares until you start taking the big jobs, run
into inspectors, or step on the toes of contractors by taking work they
want.

Steve

On Aug 13, 3:46 pm, "Keith Stelter" wrote:
My wife is too ashamed
and embarrassed to do anything about it, but if and when I run into the
guy...


If and when? Is the location of his business secret?