Question for Kevin or any other lawyers on hometalk
+5
Can I promote services on my website that require a license to perform? Since we are a general contractor- we pull the general permit and the mechanical trades pull their permits off of ours. Since we are a home performance contractor- we promote home performance solutions, one of which is HVAC. We don't claim to be an HVAC contractor, however it is a good solution for dealing with performance issues in the home. I just got a call complaining that I cannot promote HVAC or plumbing solutions on my site even though I am a licensed general contractor. Does anybody know the law so I can respond accordingly?
8 answers
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Matt, got your separate email on this one. Give me a call tomorrow and we can talk. Two different boards -- Construction Board not Contractor Board. I would rather not post public answers on this until the Board has been addressed. Let me also say that the state investigator is NOT your friend (although nothing personal, they are nice guys and I have worked with several-there are not that many). They are effectively a peace officer authorized to carry a weapon. My general suggestion is the same as if you are under investigation for an alleged criminal matter, retain legal counsel. For them to be even investigating means that someone has determine, rightly or wrongly, that there is a "prima facie" case. There is no problem in saying that I will be glad to talk to you after I have discussed the matter with an attorney. If others have experienced similar issues with the Construction Board here in GA, would love to hear about your experience. (If there are sensitivity issues that you don't want to share on a public website, give me a call -- we can keep it confidential).
Kevin M. Veler, Law Office of
on Jan 16, 2012
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SawHorse. I would also contact your insurance company. They also have issues sometimes with this kind of advertizing. Even though you may consult and use outside contractors. I could see where people would try to put you in a corner by offering a product that in effect is done by someone else. But I am sure Kevin can help you out with this. When I advertize plumbing work that we offer, although not licensed in our state, I put a disclaimer that in some instances we use outside licensed contractors for work that we perform. Then offer those license numbers by request if someone asks us who we use. Same goes with electrical work as well.
Woodbridge Environmental Tiptophouse.com
on Jan 16, 2012
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Thanks Woodbrigde- I will offer this general disclaimer as well. That is a great idea. I know who is complaining. It is the same person offering bogus reviews of my company on different sites.
SawHorse Design Build
on Jan 17, 2012
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Good news- the complaint was dropped by the Secretary of State. They said that the complaint was baseless and that everything was above board at SawHorse. They applauded our ethics and honesty.
SawHorse Design Build
on Jan 17, 2012
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Great result. I was reviewing some law on this in preparation this morning in anticipation. They go to the right decision but sometimes they do have to go through the process and they don't always get there.
Kevin M. Veler, Law Office of
on Jan 17, 2012
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Hey Matt you you tell us if the complaint call you received was from a competitor or from a homeowner ? Just curious.
360 Sod (Donna Dixson)
on Jan 17, 2012
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Matt, same issue, different face. Just recieved an email from Kudzu. A competitor contacted them to have our thirty five 5 star reviews removed. I got their "response". Like I told ya. When you are on top and working, there are some who have nothing better to do than whip up this nonsense...
Amazing Improvements and Garages
on Jan 17, 2012
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@Four Seasons- The complaint was from another contractor. They are not competition. My clientele would not consider working with them. If we ever get complaints from homeowners, we look to resolve them and see what we would have done better to make them happy. We never blame unhappy clients, we only seek to understand how we can do better next time.
SawHorse Design Build
on Jan 17, 2012
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