THE Victorian Government is reminding homeowners to be vigilant after a recent series of incidents where unregistered builders have failed to complete work.
According to the Victorian Department of Justice and Regulation, one of these cases was against unregistered builder James Reid, 32, of Kallista.
In the Ringwood Magistrates’ Court in June, Mr Reid, who the department says is an officer of landscaping company Surface and Leaf Pty Ltd, was found guilty of entering into a major domestic building contract while unregistered.
The court also found Mr Reid had accepted excessive deposits, and had failed to supply all agreed work at two properties in Wantirna South and another in Northcote.
Mr Reid was fined $2400.
Meanwhile, orders for compensation have previously been made by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT).
In the past three months, four unregistered builders in Victoria were ordered to pay a sum close to $35,000 in fines, refunds and costs, following court cases.
The builders were made to pay fines for being unregistered, failing to complete jobs, charging excessive deposits and even harassing clients.
Due to the recent increase in unregistered builders undertaking work, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Marlene Kairouz, is urging Victorians to do thorough reference checks before hiring builders.
“I urge all Victorians to save themselves time, money and stress,” the minister said.
“Check if a builder is registered with the Victorian Building Authority before contracting for work more than $5000.“Consumer Affairs Victoria has been contacted more than 24,000 times regarding building matters in 2015-’16, making building one of Victoria’s most complained about issues.
New laws introduced by the Victorian Government, which will commence in September, aim to ensure that customers receive building information guides from builders before signing any major domestic building contract.
