The Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection arrested 21 "contractors" last year for violating the state's Home Improvement Act with the help of a multi-agency operation known as "Sting House 2001." Targeting individuals based on their complaint history and by cross-checking advertisements for home improvement work with the state's database of registered contractors, department agents posing as prospective clients would invite the violators to bid on various jobs and then catch them red handed. All arrests led to convictions, and in several cases, the plea agreements secured restitution for consumers with outstanding complaints against the perpetrators.
Connecticut's Home Improvement Act reads like a remodeling customer's bill of rights, and department commissioner James Flemming says the department "will continue to monitor the industry to be sure consumers benefit from those rights."
