News 13 investigated a Grand Strand contractor. We received several complaints from people who say they hired Peter Spano to do various jobs around their homes. Each person's complaint is basically the same: Spano charged them for work he didn't finish or didn't do the job right. Here’s what we uncovered.
Beth Bock is one of several customers who say Peter Spano cost them time and money.
Bock called Spano in December 2006 to repair a leaky shower in her rental condo.
“He said he could put a new shower stall in, the double one, put in two pieces,” said Bock. “He left for just a little bit more. He said he could tile it and I said let's just tile it. When can it be done? He said by that Tuesday and I gave him money up front."
But, after weeks of promises, Bock said Spano started, but never finished the job. She had to hire someone else.
Jack and Ginny VanHousen said Spano charged them more than seven thousand dollars to replace their heating and air unit back in 2005. Along with the repair, Spano offered a 10 year warranty on his work.
“He assured us the heat pump that he put in would be more efficient, our electric bills would go down and the house would be comfortable,” said VanHousen. “Well, it wasn't”
In fact, the VanHousen’s said Spano replaced their unit with another one that did not work properly.
“It got to the point that Jack was calling and calling and calling,” said VanHousen.” “They would just hang up on us or they would make an appointment and he wouldn't show up and then he called one time and told me, I'm not coming there."
The final price tag after another company finally fixed the problem: 14,000 dollars.
“The temperature outside was 100 degrees and it was 88 degrees in my house so I knew the unit wasn't working" That’s what David Combs claims happened after Spano came to his house and replaced his A/C unit with one that didn’t work.
So, he along with the VanHousens and Bock took Spano to small claims court. All won their cases due to Spano not showing up in court.
Our investigation uncovered more than two dozen civil court cases filed against Spano in
In almost every case, the judge ruled against Spano, primarily for failing to appear when the cases were heard.
Our investigation also uncovered that Mr. Spano's state license was suspended on January 13th, 2008.
News 13 spoke with Spano on the phone twice this week. While he would not agree to an interview he did deny doing anything wrong and claims his license is not suspended.
Spano said he's scheduled to appear before the commission on February 13th. However, a spokesman from The Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation confirmed Spano's license is suspended and he can not do contract work in
The spokesman said Spano requested reinstatement of his license and that's why he'll appear before the Commission. in the meantime, the LLR is investigating complaints against Spano.
We also checked with the Better Business Bureau which shows more than 30 complaints on Peter Spano. Kathy Graham of the BBB said they investigated Spano’s businesses. “They're operating under so many different names, A&H, American Home Services, Heating and Air, Refrigeration and Air, Refrigeration and Appliances, they have all different tag lines,” said Graham. “They use a different phone number and it's very sporadic trying to really nail them down to what exactly they are."
The SCLLR doesn't show a license for Peter Spano under any of those names. Graham said the most important message here is to check with the Better Business Bureau and get references before hiring any contractor.
We’re happy to say that we learned.all three people in our story say that after Spano spoke with me on Monday, his attorney contacted them and settled their claims, after waiting for more than a year or longer.
We asked the LLR why people are allowed to operate without a license. They told us they simply do not have enough people to follow-up on everyone. They said they need the public's help.
If you know of someone operating unscrupulously or without a license, contact the LLR.
SC Department of Consumer Affairs
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/index.html
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