By Howard Fischer | Capitol Media Services/Arizona Daily Star
Customers of Arizona contractors are not getting the protection to which they are entitled by state law, a new report says.
State Auditor General Debbie Davenport said the Arizona Registrar of Contractors is closing out consumer complaints without first determining whether the issues have been resolved. The result, she said, is homeowners left with problems and the state agency not following up.
Davenport also concluded it can take more than a year to get some complaints resolved. She said that means not only that the homeowner is stuck without relief, but the contractor continues to do possibly shoddy work elsewhere.
And she took a shot of sorts at the Legislature, which raided the Recovery Fund, money set aside to help homeowners perform repairs if the contractor refuses. She said $8.5 million was taken from the account.
The result, she said, is homeowners are not getting money to which they are entitled for at least a year.
