TRUMBULL -- A new Web site aims to help Connecticut property owners find legitimate contractors for home improvement projects and lead contractors to new jobs.
The Web site is
www.ReferMe-CT.com and it was created by two contractors who have experienced the good and the bad of their profession.
Tom Watson and Stephen Lein Jr., the company founders, met nearly 10 years ago when Watson, a remodeling contractor from Trumbull, was looking for a plumber for one of his projects. Enter Lein, a plumber from Stratford who was referred to the job.
Over time, they found they had similar goals in wanting to provide quality workmanship and excellent customer service. They also found they, and contractors like them, were losing jobs to unlicensed and uninsured builders who were offering their services for less money, but also lower quality.
"I would price them out and then I wouldn't hear from them for a year," Lein said about prospective customers who he provided an estimate to for a particular project. "Then they'd call me and they'd say, 'I should've gone with you. Everything is screwed up. We have to completely start over.'"
ReferMe became operational in early February and thus far its network consists of some 130 Connecticut contractors and service professionals with residential and commercial experience. The Web site matches specific home project needs with the appropriate professionals in the company's network.
The service is free to homeowners. Watson and Lein said it should take three minutes or less for a user to identify what they need for their project. Refer Me then sends an e-mail to the user with a list of up to three contractors who perform the kind of work they need. Those contractors, in turn, receive a text message and an e-mail identifying the homeowner and type of project. They then call the homeowner about making an appointment.
Watson and Lein guarantee that all contractors and service professionals in the network are licensed and insured. If there is no appropriate contractor for a particular job in the network, Watson and Lein said they will personally try to find one outside the network.
Tiffany Beecher of Shelton has used the service in trying to find a contractor to remodel her bathroom and install a walk-in closet. She said all three referred contractors called her the day she registered and all came to her home to do an estimate within a week.
"They were extremely professional and satisfactory," she said. "They all had different ideas, different personalities, but they were all great."
Watson and Lein said they hope they can weed out illegal contractors. According to Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, there were 138 criminal cases related to home improvement projects in fiscal year 2007 and $500,000 in restitution was awarded to victim property owners.
"It's a real problem in Connecticut," Blumenthal said. "This service will help people from becoming victims."
Department of Consumer Protection Commissioner Jerry Farrell Jr. said there are 27,000 home improvement contractors in the state, up 6,000 from three years ago. The agency receives 1,800 to 2,000 complaints per year about crooked contractors, he said.
Department of Consumer Protection Commissioner Jerry Farrell Jr. said there are 27,000 home improvement contractors in the state, up 6,000 from three years ago. The agency receives 1,800 to 2,000 complaints per year about crooked contractors, he said.
To help capture them, the department sets up sting operations each year, where an agent poses as a homeowner looking for contractors. Two years ago, the department caught 115 illicit contractors at a sting house in Waterbury.
"We're getting the message out there that if you're unlicensed or unregistered and you're charging money for a service, we're going to find you and there are consequences," Farrell said.
ReferMe has links to Web sites for This Old House and the consumer protection department to help homeowners plan their projects and answer questions they may have. It also has a list of local supply stores for each county in the state.
