Washington, D.C., Attorney General Karl Racine filed suit against a local contractor for allegedly deceiving consumers about home improvement services and damaging homes, according to a news release from Racine's office. Racine alleges a pattern of illegal behavior by Precision Contracting Solutions, including misrepresenting the quality of services offered, negotiating contracts under false pretenses, breaking contract terms, and damaging property.
“Precision Contracting Solutions has routinely failed consumers by breaking contracts, failing to provide promised home contracting services, and even, retaliating against dissatisfied homeowners,” said AG Racine. “Our office has received more than a dozen complaints about the company’s shoddy construction work, which left District homes in varying states of disrepair."
According to the Office of Attorney General’s (OAG) complaint, Precision Contracting Solutions (PCS) routinely misrepresented their ability to deliver contracting services to District residents—obscuring the qualifications and credentials of their staff, project timelines, cost allocation, construction materials, and then threatening and harassing dissatisfied consumers and their representatives. OAG’s complaint alleges that the defendants violated the District’s Consumer Protection Procedures Act and Construction Codes. Specifically, OAG’s complaint alleges PCS harmed consumers by:
- Reneging on contracts, delaying work, and demanding higher prices: PCS repeatedly broke agreed-upon contract terms despite payments from consumer—demanding greater deposits than contracts laid out; asking consumers for additional payments to subcontractors not included within the contracts; failing to begin work for weeks or even months after the agreed upon start date; and more.
- Damaging consumer properties and neighboring properties: PCS’s poor construction work harmed consumers’ properties, sometimes extending to neighboring properties.
- Harassing and threatening dissatisfied consumers: The defendants have also repeatedly threatened retaliation to silence dissatisfied consumers and end disputes. They have dangled expensive arbitration proceedings and legal actions to dissuade consumers from pursuing complaints, and warned they would file mechanics’ liens on consumers’ property or bar complaints against consumers’ attorneys, among other forms of harassment.
- Saddling consumers with unapproved and illegal construction: PCS often performed work outside of a permit’s scope when they obtained permits at all, employed unlicensed subcontractors, and performed work that was illegal, unapproved, or lacked required inspections.
