QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
to bring clarity to the mission of having Disclosure
THE 1 (one), 2 (two), 3 (three) Integrity Test become an FTC (Federal Trade Commission) rule for Shop-In-Home Companies
Question 1 - What is www.Americans Who Care.com’s purpose?
Answer 1 - A website that will provide individuals, or organizations and businesses supporting the concept of Disclosure as a requirement for licensing of contractors. Subscribing that Disclosure will benefit homeowners…municipalities…honest contractors. Subscribers…homeowners…manufacturers…politicians…organizations…
contractors…www.Americans Who Care.com is going to be proactive in getting positions, either they are for it, against it, or have no opinion.
Question 2 - Are you planning to promote those manufacturers, municipalities, organizations and politicians that support disclosure on your website?
Answer 2 - We most certainly are. We will make available to all subscribers links to their websites. We’re going to post their support for disclosure on www.Americans Who Care.com and to show that there is a broad base of support for this new regulation. I am also hoping that public officials and celebrities will take a stand for disclosure for the public.
Question 3 - Honest contractors, how can they help?
Answer 3 - After we register their name in support of disclosure for the public, they can help themselves by joining the Open Disclosure Organization
A group of like-minded business people who are focused on promoting the concept that consumers are entitled to honest information and that “Sales Talk” must be backed up with verifiable documentation that is provided to consumers for their evaluation in the form of disclosure. While this organization was originally created for contractors the concept of disclosure works for all businesses that believe in productivity, ingenuity, and honesty.
By joining the Open Disclosure Organization, the organization will promote the contractors as members that subscribe to the disclosure as a licensing requirement that will help to eliminate fraudulent contractors.
Through…….…December 31, 2009
The $75 Membership Fee In The Open Disclosure Organization WILL BE DONATED TO…..The National Law Center, 77 Summer St., Boston, MA 02110
www.consumerlaw.org......America’s Consumer Law Experts
Protecting Vulnerable Consumers and Promoting Marketplace Justice In The Court Of Public Opinion. For more information link on to www.Openmarketing.us. Email info@Americanswhocare.com
Question 4 - What is the purpose of these websites, Mandate To The Mayor, Mandate To The Governor, and Mandate To The President?
Answer 4 - The www.Mandate websites were established to collect all pertinent stories for the news media, print, television, and radio on dealings with unscrupulous contractors. Consumers will have the ability to post their stories and dealings with dishonest contractors, with the ultimate goal of substantiating the necessity for disclosure.
Elected officials should be accountable to the community for leadership on important issues, such as consumer fraud by some residential contractors. I truly believe that this is an issue that every voter could relate to as a benefit, and will motivate them to show up at the polls and vote, because this is a pocketbook issue that’s about saving money for the homeowner and reducing the aggravation of dealing with contractors when improving their home.
Question 5 - Is this website for consumers to send in their own personal stories about contractor fraud?
Answer 5 - Actually it’s for the consumer’s own personal stories to be vented and we will accept stories that are in the media. The www.Mandate websites……Send in your story about contractor fraud….Everyone has a story to tell.
Question 6 - - Once the consumer sends in their story to the www.mandate websites and are able to vent, and put that on the web so other people can read their stories, what’s the next step, what should consumers do to make this happen, what can they do to help?
Answer 6 - - Well, they will automatically be registered with www.Americans Who Care.com. They will find a detailed list of steps to be proactive and join the revolution for disclosure.
Question 7 - Are you going to allow the names and addresses of these contractors that supposedly mistreat people?
Answer 7 - No we are not. We are going to only show the story and the situation, we’re not here to cause undue harm to a contractor who might not be guilty just because a single disgruntled person might write a letter in.
Question 8 - So why should a homeowner send a letter in and not be able to expose the contractor that mistreated them?
Answer 8 - Due to the simple fact that we do not have the staff or resources to validate the stories. Hopefully these victims will see the value of disclosure as a licensing requirement and get behind it and recognizing that the overall cure to the problem is more important than exposing the individual contractor that mistreated them.
Question 9 - Since this is on the World Wide Web are you going to accept stories from other communities other than Philadelphia?
Answer 9 - Certainly, we do expect disclosure for the public to spread across the state and eventually the country, because the same problems that exist with contractor fraud here in Philadelphia, are happening in every municipality.
www.Disclosure For The Public.com
In Philadelphia
We Have Started A Revolution For Disclosure
…DISCLOSURE…
A True Integrity Test For The Licensing Of
Shop-In-Home Companies
(In-Home Sales)
Question 10 - - Do you have some examples of what you mean by….
….SHOP-AT-HOME COMPANIES…AND…SHOP-IN-HOME SELLING?
Answer 10 - - Yes, that’s where the consumers need services such as landscaping, roofing, carpets, windows, and doors. They need an estimate and also advice and direction on making improvements to their homes. Unfortunately, consumers that are price conscious and are continually shopping for the most for the least are making decisions strictly on price and not on return on investment, meaning they don’t do their homework and they unfortunately support and give a check to a dishonest person and where the honest contractor who deserves the job goes out of business.
Question 11 - - Are you blaming consumers for this problem?
Answer 11 - - Of course not, it’s a combination of issues but I believe that the main culprit are the municipalities that license contractors and give consumers a false sense of security that the consumer feels that if the contractor has been licensed that he’s also qualified.
Question 12 - - Does this mean more government involvement in the licensing and the regulation of contractors?
Answer 12 - - No. I just wish our government will pass rules that require our licensing agencies to strictly regulate the licensing contractors through disclosure.
Question 13 - - Are you looking for our licensing agencies to give some type of a test to a contractor to see if he qualifies before he’s licensed?
Answer 13 - - Yes, but not in a form of hammering a nail or whether he has the right tools and equipment to proceed in the business. I see the test as nothing more than filling out a competency Questionnaire, having photo accountability and signing his name to it, and the municipality makes it mandatory that information be disclosed on the back of his estimate and contract for consumer evaluation.
Question 14 - - And what would some of these Questions be?
Answer 14 - - How long the contractor’s been in business, his insurance information, liability limits, his assets, whether he owns his own building, continuity of ownership, percentage of business that comes from recommendation and referrals vs advertising.
Question 14 - - And what other stipulations are there , besides filling out this competency Questionnaire?
Answer 14 - - If it’s a sole proprietorship, a partnership, or a corporation, would have to be backed up with photo accountability and signature on the part of both partners or 2 officers of the corporation.
And this information be attested to with photograph and signature and be updated yearly.
Question 15 - - Would it be the municipalities responsibility to verify this information?
Answer 15 - - No, it would not. It would be the municipalities responsibility to make sure this information be disclosed on the back of the contract for consumer evaluation, and that it be updated periodically. It would be the municipalities responsibility to keep on file information that was disclosed by the contractor and to look for deception and dishonesty.
Question 16 - - Mr. Weigold, who’s going to enforce the verification of the information? A contractor could lie.
Answer 16 - Yes, he could. If he wishes to he could make up anything he could, like say he is in business for any time he wants as long as he signs his name there. That’s his decision and his responsibility.
Question 17 - - I thought the purpose of disclosure was to give consumers accurate, honest information about the contractor, so they could make a decision to purchase.
Answer 17 - - That is correct. But enforcement need not be in our government’s hand. Our government has a poor track record of enforcement.
Question 18 - - That means you are looking for marketplace enforcement.
Answer 18 - Yes, I am. For if a contractor would misrepresent or lie, he risks non-payment, if he ever ends up in the legal system and possibly incarceration for intentional fraud.
Question 19 - Do you have any examples of what would happen to a contractor if he would misrepresent or lie on the back of his contract, what would happen?
Answer 19 - I’ll give you one good example. If a contractor was promoting and marketing non-factual information on the back of his contract and one of his competitors should find out about it, he could simply call up 5 or 6 of his customers, have them make a purchase, and then refuse payment, and then that information that was falsely marketed would be the evidence for prosecution for fraud and most important the contractor would not get paid.
Question 20 - On your example Mr. Weigold you have 18 categories of disclosure. Are there any which are more important than the others?
Answer 20 - I feel the 3 main categories are continuity of ownership, having ever been licensed before, and the percentage of business that comes from recommendation and referral.
Question 21 - For this concept to work, does the consumer have any responsibilities?
Answer 21 - Well, they have to decide whether or not to deal with a licensed contractor that discloses, or a handyman or jackleg, and if they are dealing with a licensed contractor, and that contractor has disclosure information on the back of their contract, they need to evaluate that information along with the price.
Question 22 - Why do you feel that disclosure will accomplish your mission of giving the companies that believe in productivity, ingenuity and honesty the advantage over the ones that are inefficient, complacent and dishonest?
Answer 22 - Because even consumers who are price conscious are more likely to write the checks to the companies who disclose the highest and most consistent percentage of repeat business and recommendations.
Question 23 - Do you feel this concept of disclosure will restrict trade and make it more difficult for the new man just coming into the business?
Answer 23 - No I do not. I think the new companies basically will have a lower operating cost and will have more emphasis on experience that they had before they decide to become a licensed contractor.
Question 24 - So you do believe there will be a market for unlicensed contractors?
Answer 24 - Absolutely. I think there are plenty of competent men who do work on the side such as firemen and policemen that have a following strictly through recommendations and referrals that don’t need to disclose. They basically want to stay small and just want to do business on the side, and if the point comes when they want to become licensed, they can use those references to succeed, even though newly disclosing.
Question 25 - If a company changes its name, isn’t disclosure going to be a disruptive, unfair burden to bear on the part of the contractor?
Answer 25 - No, for if a contractor changes its name for a positive reason, it doesn’t mean he can’t give additional information, and if a man fails, and wishes to try again, this is America, he can’t just run away from his past, and hide under a new identity.
Question 26 - Is it true you have a challenge on your website for any opposing point of view to this, that you believe there can be no opposing point of view for disclosure for the public?
Answer 26 - Yes, I believe there’s no opposing point of view unless you’re inefficient, complacent or dishonest, then I can understand your opposing disclosure.
Question 27 - How long have you been promoting disclosure yourself on the back of your contract with We Care?
Answer 27 - I started in 1983 and so far it’s been very effective and truly has kept me focused on the importance of customer service.
Question 28 - Isn’t it true that when disclosure becomes a licensing requirement you are going to create a whole new group of competitors that are going to take away business from you. Then everyone will be disclosing, you won’t be the only one. Isn’t that going to be a detriment to your own business?
Answer 28 - No, on the contrary, my competitors are the inefficient, complacent, dishonest people in this business, not other honest contractors.
Question 29 - So you feel eliminating the dishonest contractors and replacing them with honest contractors won’t take away from your market share?
Answer 29 - Absolutely not because the market will only expand. People are thirsty to improve their homes, and when people feel that they won’t be mistreated and will get a return on their investment they’ll spend more money and they’ll be a larger market.
Question 30 - Do you feel that municipalities and licensing agencies will welcome this and see this as a benefit?
Answer 30 - I absolutely do. I believe their job will be easier, they’ll have less problems with violations. It’s fraudulent, dishonest contractors that are causing the problems, not the honest ones, who will do the job the right way.
Question 31 - How else will this benefit the municipalities?
Answer 31 - I feel they’ll have less court cases, less lawsuits. I feel consumers will make the right decisions at the point of purchase by supporting a competent contractor, less consumer fraud.
Question 32 - So you believe that the DA and the Attorney General of individual states will support disclosure because it will help to reduce their work load.
Answer 32 - Well, it would not eliminate fraud with unlicensed contractors, but consumers would be truly more responsible for making that decision on giving their money to someone who is unlicensed and did not disclose, and those that did disclose, it would make the prosecuting in court easier.
Question 33 - So what do you believe disclosure brings to consumers in the marketplace?
Answer 33 - I believe that consumer confidence and the willingness to spend money and to motivate people to improve their homes and improve their neighborhoods will help in the development of neighborhoods that might not have been developed in the past.
Question 34 - So what you’re saying, is that if more people will spend money that neighborhoods and property values would go up. Is that true?
Answer 34 - Absolutely. And then when one homeowner spends, another person spends, it’s like a snowball, it grows in a positive way. So housing and neighborhoods become more valuable.
Question 35 - Who do you believe is the most important group needed to support disclosure?
Answer 35 - That’s simple. It’s the consumer. If the consumer decides to write checks out to companies who disclose, and not write checks to those who do not, that will send a message that every businessman will truly understand. One of the most powerful things we have is the way we spend our money.
Question 36 - So Mr. Weigold, what you’re saying is that the municipalities will benefit as far as their licensing agencies with reduced problems with L & I. They would have less legal problems, I mean less court cases. They would have a broader tax base because neighborhoods will improve. It sounds to me like this will be a real good thing for any municipality to get behind.
Answer 36 - That’s exactly what I’m saying. And that’s why I say www.Americans Who Care.com is going to push for this, and make it happen in the upcoming election.
Question 37 - Do you think this is more of a Democratic or Republican issue?
Answer 37 - No I believe this is a pocketbook issue, this is a green issue, this is a money issue. Yes, I hope there will be more than one candidate recognizes that this issue can benefit him politically and get him elected, and he can start saying “I’m for disclosure for the public.”
Question 38 - Do you believe people will vote across political lines for this issue?
Answer 38 - I believe people will vote for this quality of life issue that will benefit them in their pocketbook, and yes I believe they will cross political lines.
Question 39 - So that means you don’t really care whether a Democrat promotes this or a Republican promotes this.
Answer 39 - I don’t care if an independent promotes this, a Democrat, or a Republican, it does not matter as long as they support disclosure for the public.
Question 40 - So Mr. Weigold, you see this as a grassroots movement?
Answer 40 - Absolutely. I see this as a movement from the average homeowner, the average person that would like to spend their money and get a return on their investment when they improve their property.
Question 41 - I have a Question about www.Americans Who Care.com. You mentioned that manufacturers would benefit from this. Why?
Answer 41 - Well, not all manufacturers. Only the manufacturers of quality products will benefit.
Question 42 - So do you believe that quality manufacturers would support financially and start putting pressure on legislators to have this become a local rule?
Answer 42 - Absolutely, the inefficient, complacent, dishonest contractors don’t buy their product. And it’s in their best interest to promote the long term quality conscious builders and contractors in the business.
Question 43 - What else could manufacturers do to promote disclosure?
Answer 43 - They could promote a mandatory FTC or Federal Trade Commission labeling rule that all manufacturers disclose the ingredients of their products in the form of disclosure labeling.
Question 44 - Do you have any examples of that?
Answer 44 - Yes, like the law labels of mattresses and pillows. The FTC passed that labeling law and these items cannot be delivered to the home without a label, and only the consumer has the right to remove that label.
Question 45 - Do you have any examples of how shop-at-home products can be labeled and how that will benefit the consumer?
Answer 45 - For example, kitchen cabinets would have a label, that when the consumer opened the door, would say walnut, pine, or oak. Or a steel door, would be identified with an ingredient label that says whether it’s 12 gauge or 16 gauge steel, and whether the hardware is solid brass or brass plated, and only the consumer would have the right to remove that label. And that means when a contractor would write a contract and deliver a product it would have a disclosure label. Again that would benefit the consumer, and again benefit the industry.
Question 46 - Are you looking for help from outside sources to promote this concept?
Answer 46 - Yes, anybody who is sincere, anyone who is interested in promoting this concept of disclosure I’m willing to sit and talk to.
Question 47 - What else can consumers do to have disclosure become a political issue?
Answer 47 - They can contact their local talk radio stations, let them know they like this topic to be discussed, and I’ll welcome any opportunity to either talk on the phone or discuss this in person with any local or national talk radio host, I feel the new media is a key to grassroots information. They can also e-mail all who should support disclosure for the public.
And when the mainstream media does catch on, they can have some pretty tough Questions for the upcoming elected officials, finding out who does not support disclosure for the public.
Question 48- Can you list who should support disclosure for the public?
Answer 48 - Absolutely. I think the first place they should go would be to the National Remodeler’s Association. They should go directly to them and ask them what is their position on disclosure for the public. They should be in favor of this, there are some states trying to pass rules to regulate contractor fraud, and they should be in support of this concept, and if they’re not, we should ask them why. How about the Better Business Bureau? The oldest independent consumer organization, or the AARP? They are there to protect senior citizens. More senior citizens are prone to deception more than any other group of people. The AARP should definitely be for disclosure. No comment can be the wrong Answer by the AARP or the BBB. The mainstream media can ask any public official who is running to be elected who is in a position to protect consumers. They have a lot of tough Questions to ask about disclosure for the public.
Question 49 - How else do you plan to promote your mission of disclosure?
Answer 49 - I’ll have to spend some money with conventional advertising. I intend to do talks at any neighborhood association, any civic or community association who will let me speak. So again they can put pressure on their local ward leaders and elected officials to promote this concept that L & I would accept as a licensing requirement.