“Victimized.”
That’s how Mario Villalta, owner of a Joseph Mill Road home in Silver Spring, says he and his wife felt after they gave an unlicensed contractor thousands of dollars for home improvement work that was never completed and left their house “almost uninhabitable,” according to Montgomery County’s Office of Consumer Protection.
Office of Consumer Protection investigator John Creel said Villalta and his wife, Norma, gave the contractor thousands of dollars they received through a home equity loan to complete numerous home improvement projects. After the unlicensed contractor left the projects undone, and the house “in a shambles,” the Villaltas started borrowing money on a credit card just so they and their children could move back into the home. Their case goes to District Court on Monday.
“We feel exactly as you think people would feel who’d been victimized in this sort of situation,” Mario Villalta told The Examiner in Spanish. “Imagine how you would feel.”
According to Creel, the Villaltas are the latest victims in a growingconsumer fraud trend in the county. Creel said criminal charges have been brought against 25 unlicensed home improvement contractors in the jurisdiction since July. That’s only four fewer than in the 12 months before July.
Convictions have ranged from home contractor license violations to felony theft and several people are serving jail time for Montgomery County home improvement fraud.
“No, it’s not a situation where somebody’s home is being burglarized or burnt down,” Creel told The Examiner. “But guess what: I’ve got homeowners insurance if somebody breaks in or burns my place down. I don’t have insurance against scoundrels like this.”
Seniors are typically the biggest victims of home improvement fraud, he added.
The county Office of Consumer Protection recommends people ask for proof of contractor’s license and verify its authenticity by calling the Maryland Home Improvement Commission at 888-218-5925.
