The KVUE Defenders uncovered a contractor several homeowners paid, but claim he didn't finish renovations he was paid to do.
Veronica Escobar of Round Rock, Lisa Fuquay of Cedar Park and Julie Neaville of Austin all said they hired John Wasley this past summer after receiving a flyer in the mail. It identifies himself as the owner of JW Construction and claims he can do "any interior or exterior renovation."
"He is a home builder from hell," said Escobar.
Documents show Escobar paid Wasley thousands of dollars to renovate her bathroom. It still is not finished, and she also blames him for improperly installing carpet.
Fuquay paid Wasley to renovate her formal living room and kitchen. He didn't finish that either.
"I'm supposed to have a floor. This is supposed to be a floor," said Fuquay standing in front of her living room with pieces of hardwood floor scattered everywhere.
Neaville said he didn't finish her $7,000 bathroom renovation.
"There's supposed to be a glass door," said Neaville while giving KVUE a tour of her bathroom.
For months, the KVUE Defenders tried to give Wasley an opportunity to respond to customer complaints. Over the phone, he blamed delays in poor subcontractors he had to fire and an illness in the family. He also contends he does not owe the women any money. In person, Wasley refused to answer questions and left in his vehicle.
Other than hiring what they now consider a poor contractor, there's something else all three woman did not know about Wasley: He's not licensed and nor is he required to be in Texas.
"I did not know that. I think all contractors need to be licensed. Why would they not be licensed?" asked Escobar.
That doesn't make sense to Alex Winslow, executive director of Texas Watch, a consumer watchdog group.
"We believe there should be some basic requirements for home builders, certain financial ability requirements. So, that if something does go wrong, there are resources available for homeowners to make it right," said Winslow.
More specifically, Texas Watch believes state lawmakers should pass legislation to create licensing board for builders and contractors, which would requires them to meet minimum job training standards.
Winslow believes contractors should have to maintain liability insurance or a surety bond, which would help pay for unexpected mistakes.
"The small increase in cost that may happen by requiring home builders to set aside some money in insurance or a bond, is well worth it for consumers' peace of mind to make sure that when something bad does happen there are resources available to them," said Winslow.
According to the National Association of State Contractors Licensing Agencies, at least 23 states require builders to be licensed. The Texas Association of Builders believes licensing and requiring insurance would be an unfair burden for builders here.
"It's not like an insurance product. It's a hard product to get. It's not something that is readily available like people would think car insurance or homeowners insurance is," said Muñoz, an attorney for the association.
Muñoz says most contractors building homes are already licensed. "The plumbers, the electricians, the engineers, they are licensed," said Muñoz.
That doesn't include the contractors responsible for building the structure of the home. "At one point they were, the Texas law did require them to be registered, it had all sorts of regulations for home builders," said Muñoz.
Lawmakers removed those regulations six years ago.
Many Texas law enforcement agencies don't have the resources to investigate contractor fraud, but the association says there are statutes available to prosecute. It's Chapter 162 of the Texas Property Code.
"Additionally, we have in the state of Texas a trust fund to protect consumers. If a home builder misappropriates those funds, with an intent to defraud, that is felony in this state, so that's not a civil issue it's a criminal one," said Muñoz.
Go here for information on resolving disputes with your builder.
