AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine Attorney General William J. Schneider has filed lawsuits against two home repair contractors who allegedly swindled homeowners — some of them elderly — out of their money.
Daniel B. Tucci of Portland, who advertised his business as “Dan the Handyman” in local newspapers, is the subject of a lawsuit filed on Friday in Cumberland County Superior Court.
Joel Poirier, who ran a home construction and repair business in Buxton, is being sued in York County Superior Court. The lawsuit against him was filed last month, after the U.S. Bankruptcy Court’s dismissal of his petition for Chapter 13 protection.
The two are accused of taking money from consumers and failing to perform as promised, Schneider said in a news release issued on Monday. The lawsuits seek to prohibit both of them from acting as general contractors in Maine, providing goods or services, and taking any money in advance from consumers.
The complaint seeks restitution for the affected consumers, as well as penalties and costs.
“We allege that these contractors intentionally misrepresented their ability and willingness to complete the home improvement projects they were paid in advance to do,” Schneider said. “This kind of intimidation of our seniors, who especially need help maintaining their homes, is intolerable.”
According to Schneider, Tucci collected advance payments from customers but failed to perform the promised home repair services.
When the homeowners complained about the lack of progress, Tucci demanded more money, the attorney general said. He also said that any work Tucci and his crew did do was of “extremely low quality.”
The Attorney General’s Office launched its investigation into Tucci’s business dealings after receiving a complaint from Legal Services for the Elderly alleging that he targeted elderly victims.
Many of his customers said that when Tucci was confronted about the lack of progress on or poor quality of the repairs, he responded with threats and bullying.
Meanwhile, Poirier allegedly took large down payments for home improvement projects that he did not begin on time and never finished, Schneider said.
According to a document filed last summer in federal bankruptcy court, Poirier filed Chapter 13 bankruptcy after the state sent him a notice of intent to sue and a draft complaint alleging violations of the Unfair Trade Practices Act and Home Construction Contracts Act and seeking restitution and civil penalties.
The complaint alleged that Poirier entered a contracts with seven customers worth well over half a million dollars. The alleged victims include a customer with limited English proficiency whom Poirier convinced to provide him direct Internet access to construction loan accounts.
The attorney general said there are many reputable home improvement contractors in Maine and homeowners can protect themselves and find the right contractor for the job by taking a few easy steps, including:
• Shop around and compare several estimates.
• Check references from past customers and ask to see samples of the contractor’s work, particularly those similar to the work you want done.
• Get a contract in writing. Maine law requires a written contract for jobs costing more than $3,000.
• Take your time. If the offer is good today, it will be good tomorrow. Be skeptical of high-pressure tactics.
• Establish a payment schedule. Maine law states that down payments cannot exceed one-third of a job’s total cost.
• Before making your final payment, get a second opinion. Have an independent inspector or insurance adjuster inspect the project.
• Demand to see lien waivers from subcontractors and material suppliers.
For information about home construction repair or to file a complaint, contact the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division at 800-436-2131 or at consumer.mediation@maine.gov.
For information and consumer tips on choosing home improvement contractors, visit www.maine.gov/ag/consumer/housing/home_construction.shtml.
Legal Services for the Elderly can be reached at 800-750-5353 or www.mainelse.org/library/kyr/home_repair.htm.
Very interesting. The link to “consumer tips on choosing home improvement contractors” goes to a page that doesn’t exist. So how do you find a reputable contractor in a state that does not have any licensing requirements for this profession? It’s pretty much hit or miss, find out the hard way and make sure you save enough money for a lawyer if things don’t work out.
Here is the proper link, there should be an underscore between home and construction.
http://www.maine.gov/ag/consumer/housing/home_construction.shtml
• “Check references from past customers…”
What a joke! Scammers always provide fake references. It’s better to find a friend who’s had good work done and ask them who did the job.
I’ve done this, received good recommendations, and still had contractor steal my deposit. Took him to small claims court & won, as he didn’t show up & had left the state, so no way to collect damages awarded. I was left with loan to pay the deposit that was stolen. Lesson learned – never give a contractor a deposit.
Solution is to license contractors for the protection of the public.
A better solution would be to seize all their assets, auction them off, pay the victims what they lost, and use the rest to cover court costs. A license is just a piece of paper. Look at how many people drive without a license.
That can be accomplished with licensing a lot easier than without.
wrong that does nothing
because you say so?
Been proven people were ripped off left and right during katrina rebuild and they have licensing
—– Reply message —–
Business conduct that is regulated is far easier for the public to mitigate when there is a problem verses business conduct that is not regulated.
It does not mean that problems will never happen.
It does mean the people who think they are harmed will have a public resource to go to rather than spend money they don’t have on attorneys fees.
People who rip off the elderly in particular are absolute scum.
Louisiana was inundated with out-of-state outfits going there to do post katrina work or otherwise.
I think that the advantage of a license is that it weed out most-not all-of the shady operators if ti’s more than a simple rubber stamp license. Unfortunately, in all professions there will always be a few bad apples that spoil things for the reputable folks.
I don’t think so.. Union are you?
Shoddy contractor are you?
You also could check Better Business Bureau listings to see past history.
Used to be the butler did it ,now its the handyman ,thats why i always told people dont call me a handyman :)
Usually length of time someone has been in business is a good indicator. People like these two don’t last long because of their greed and sense of entitlement.
Almost happened to me, I only paid the contractor for work that was completed. Then I started getting liens from all the suppliers $9600.00 worth. He would no longer take my calls and the job was only 2/3 done. I went and found him working on another house 100 miles away and when he saw me comming he gave me a check for the full amount and it was good. Then I told that homeowner to be wary of this crook and never heard from him again.
Great Job!!! Keep up the good Work!!!!
The most important part in this article is that people need to educate themselves when conducting any kind of business. The Attorneys General page consumer law guide is a very good tool. Just read chapter four and then let me know if you would still buy an extended warranty.
My best advice – get a recommendation from someone you know. If a neighbor has some work done, check in with them after the project is done. Ask coworkers, ask folks at church, ask your neighbors. And don’t ever fall for the lowest price, which are often incomplete and you’ll be charged more in the end. In construction, you really do get what you pay for.
Go get em Bill!