James;

If the license is valid, you may want to pursue a claim with the California Contractors State Licensing Board. While you may not obtain financial restitution, you would mark his license for others who may do research against the license number. That might be the most effective way of getting your message out.

And -- who knows, the CSLB might just be able to help you get some of your money back!

Another Gatetree Resident- thanks so much for the info. I am in the process of filing a claim with the State Licensing Board. I am aware that there is little chance of recovering any loss- my main purpose now is prevention. good to know i can at least flag the guys license for the future.

James;

Most welcome! Another thought occurred to me. You indicated this "person" goes under several business names.

Be sure your claim with the CSLB includes all know business alias names you may be aware of!

(Comments partially removed by Pleasanton Weekly Online staff as innuendo, hearsay or specific accusatory information unsupported by facts.)

i agree that James should report to the licensing board and 7 On Your Side. You might want to consider taking the license holder to small claims court. Also, if 7 On Your Side is interested, they can show an image of the license on the 6 pm news!

(Comments partially removed by Pleasanton Weekly Online staff as innuendo, hearsay or specific accusatory information unsupported by facts.)

Correction: licensee

ps for all the whiners, I try to limit my post to 1 or 2 per week.

You have the name of the contractor under whose license you were 'ripped off'??

Hell.. I can drive by a truck and copy down a license number.

If I was as stupid as you appear to be.. I'd let this drop rather than keep stirring the pot!

unclehomerr..

unclehomerr.. yes, we all wish that we were as brilliant as you. the next time i need a 25 watt bulb i'll call you.

James, thanks again for trying to help others learn from your mistakes. Don't let the idiots at this forum drag you down. I'd rather be stupid than an ass any day. Happily I am neither - same as James.

So much for 1 to 2 posts/week. It was too much to hope for.

Tongans.

Do you remember that band from the 80's?
I forget their name but they had that one hit that they still play on easy listening
stations. It goes lie this

I loved you
you didn't feel the same
though were apart
your in my heart
give me one more chance to
make it reeeeeeeeaaaal.

They seemed really nice. I hope they won't be denied any
lumber or tools if they go to the local hardware stores.

He was referred in our new development, he came, he was there everyday at first. They did a great job...all 10 of them. Except for the chicken and fish bones on my lawn after lunch...everything was great.

So we referred him to two other neighbors...he slowed down on our job...finished theirs before ours. Our project lasted A LOT longer than it needed to. He FINALLY finished!!!

We needed new lawn, he needed a work truck. We were selling our old truck. We traded services for for the truck. Never saw him again. We reported the car stolen and the officer told us it was common practice especially in new developments. The car was finally recovered when they were pulled over and nearly beat up the cop. (First cop called and gave us an update).

We had a contract, I checked his license number, checked with the BBB and everything was great. Why should I be suspicious?

After he "stole" our truck, I investigated and found that he had been working under someone elses license on the Peninsula and his address was wrong. It's easy to change a cell phone number.

I heard the sob story about the 20 kids, daugther at BYU, gotta pay for college.

I don't consider myself a sucker or dumb or any of those other things. You have faith in Man ESPECIALLY after your background checks come back clear.

Unfortunately, this is more common than you know.

I have had neighbors in the Pleasanton Meadows area that have used poeple that sound alot like what I have read in the above info. They seam to come and go from our area, as they need the money, doing everything from landscape, tree cutting to cement work. I seen some work that looks good and some that's BAD. Jobs seam to last alot longer than they should. Trucks sit in the area or your front yard for weeks with nothing happening. Note; I am a contractor by trade and think that it's always best to talk with poeple that they have worked for to get a feel for how they work. If they have a contractors lic. the city building inspectors will know them, just ask your city inspetion office for the info. Our building dept. is a great resource for info, they will always steer you in the right direction. KEEP your money working in your community, hire local contractors with a history of working in your area for atleast a few yrs before you get tied into somthing you will have to live with for 5 to 10 yrs plus, reminding you of your mistake.

I just did a quick look at the lic. # you gave above and it stated that they have no workers comp insurranc due to that they have no employees.??? If this is the same poeple I've seen in our neighbor hood, then YOU SHOULD HAVE GOT THE CLUE!!

The Jets

That was the band...

"You found out...I got a crush on you..."

VPCheney- you sound about as bright as unclehomerr. that info about workmen's comp wasn't listed when I checked that license back in July. after all of the calls the last few months to the general contractor with that license, Molonai Longi, i would imagine that he had it updated in an attempt to protect himself from lawsuits.

now why dont you get back to your job of ruining america and leave us alone? unless you want to invade tonga for no better reason than you invaded iraq for.

oh, and try using that spellcheck utility to correct all those mistakes. makes you look like the real cheney.

Sucka- thanks for your info. its interesting for a number of reasons. one, because they tried a similar swap of services for a truck with my neighbor, and two, because they drove me to a couple of houses in the Birdland area to show me their work before i agreed to hire them.

the services for truck swap didn't work this time either. the neighbor took it back while they were still showing up regularly.

we also got the story about how they were all mormons, some of them even bishops in their congregations. if thats actually true, then my perception of mormons as decent people has changed quite a bit.

we also heard that one of them had been arrested while driving a truck because of overdue tickets and was in the jail at santa rita. i wonder now if this wasn't the guy who stole your truck and the story of overdue tickets just another lie.

OK so I can't spell. What I said all made sence, didn't it? Or was it over your head? I'll go back to counting my money.

I used to live in Pleasanton Meadows, but I had to move downtown. My neighbors were stoopid and culdn't speel.

unclehomerr..

They cuddn't punchicate a sentense either.

unclehomerr..

It is absolutely disgusting what is going on in this forum. James is simply trying to help out all of you, so you may not be caught in the same dilemma as he is. Fraud like this happens all the time, especially in wealthier areas like Pleasanton, where scammers think it's easier to take advantage the residents. We should all be so lucky to have read what James is offereing us. If you're too deficient to understand this, you have other issues and I feel bad for you, anyway. And to those of you who obviously have nothing better to do than cause a nuisance, just know that you are absolutely ridiculous.

Hi Jessica-

Thanks for your comments. I felt that it was my civic and Christian duty to warn my neighbors, even if it was at my own expense. its worth it if it helps to stop this fraudulent activity. and prevent even one person from becoming a victim.

we can't stop the internet trolls from their childish remarks. they are most likely teens with too much time on their hands, and whose parents aren't monitoring their internet activity carefully enough.

Allright folks calm down.

If someone quotes you a price that's too low, it's probably a scam.

Meanwhile, some of you are acting like the the parents in "Edward Scissorhands"
Remember when they formed a mob and chased poor Edward up the mountain?
Only this time, The entire Tongan race is the victim.

One would hope we could focus on the individuals involved and not their race

Oh yeah, thanks sleuth for the jets reference

James, I'm sorry to hear you had a bad experience.

Getting something for the lowest possible price is almost always a bad idea. Yes, it's nice to save money, but all too often one does not. A major commercial builder I know told me he always rejects the lowest bid, and usually takes the second or third lowest. Experience has taught him that the low bidder is trying to steal the job, hoping to make up the difference later on.

You should certainly hire a licensed contractor, but as I type this there are two ads at the bottom of the web page offering easy contractor license schools. Dang near any fool can get a license. Getting a licensed contractor is the beginning, not the end, of checking the guy out.

The wife and I recently finished a major remodel. No hassles with the contractor. We did our homework on who he was and his references, and we shopped around carefully. He wasn't the cheapest (or the most expensive) but we are quite happy.

Better luck next time,
Oliver

Sound advice from your neighbors was all I was stating before. The lic. is not hard to get but any business that's worth anything will have years of experiance to go with that lic. Thanks Oliver, Sucha & Artemis for all the good input, Pleasanton is the Best! Sorry James that you had problems, It's great that you are trying to help others from making the same mistake.

Thanks for the heads up James - we should all be cautious with those we hire to do work for us. In every capacity.
I appreciate your warning.

Thanks Oliver, Leslie and everyone.

I thought I was being careful by checking on the license beforehand. This just proves that you can't be careful enough! Just when you think you are getting a good deal, check again!

Thanks so much for everyone's input really- I have learned a lot from this experience and found new ways to check and double-check. I learn from my mistakes.