On Aug 26, 1:58*pm, "DGDevin" wrote:
"RicodJour" wrote in message

...

On Aug 26, 10:38 am, Ken wrote:
* * * * The prior message made want to ask the question. *I get the
program on
HGTV, but it might be on other channels as well. *I think it is a great
program with not only shocking examples of work being done, but some
interesting techniques and material for accomplishing tasks. *Check it
out.

The guy's heart is in the right place, but he's no Tommy Silva. *His
construction experience on display has some deficiencies. *Makes good
watching, though.

R

I'd like to see follow-up shows where they identify the contractor
responsible for the shoddy or fraudulent work and take him to court. *Too
many such sleazeballs count on people not wanting to spend the money to go
after them, and since many folks don't research before hiring there is
always another sucker to be ripped off. * Those clowns deserve some bad
publicity.

H on H did *one* show - the only one I ever saw them do it on - where
they went after the contractor.

They blurred out the name on the window of his office, but they had
the guy on camera, asking him when he was going to pay the cabinet
maker so that cabinets could be released to the home owners.

They also mentioned afterwards that the authorities had filed charges
because other people who had been ripped off by the same guy came
forward after the show was aired.

I think the hardest part is actually proving liability in a timely
manner. Some of these cases take years to prosecute and you have to
prove willful wrongdoing for it to be illegal. As far as I know,
shoddy workmanship is nothing more a civil matter. Many of the H on H
shows are just that: shoddy workmanship and jobs not finished - but
not necessarily paid for either.

The kitchen show I mentioned above involved taking the client's money
but not paying the subs or suppliers. At that point, I believe we
enter the realm of legal, not just civil, action.

I'm not a lawyer...not did I stay at a Holiday Inn last night.