On the list of contractor horror stories, raw sewage bubbling up in your backyard and a mysteriously disappeared septic company has got to be pretty near the top. The Times Union's consumer watchdog columnist, Cathy Woodruff (a.k.a., The Advocate) has a tale of woe about Schoharie County couple Dan and Felicia Mahar, who hired Matthew Ward and his Rooter Guys a few weeks ago, and now wish they hadn't.
Woodruff says it's high time for upstate New York to require contractor licensing:
Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to confirm that anyone you hired to do work on your septic system was licensed to do that kind of work? And wouldn’t it be great to know that an unlicensed contractor who did shoddy work could be subject to both criminal and civil penalties, as they are in Westchester County?
Lawmakers, are you listening?
