A South Grafton contractor has been ordered to pay $111,000 in restitution to consumers after abandoning several home improvement projects without completing them and operating without a license, Attorney General Martha Coakley’s office announced today.
In addition to the restitution, Kyle Buckminster of South Grafton was ordered to pay $35,000 in civil penalties and $12,600 in fees, and is permanently prohibited from engaging in home improvement or general contracting services without proper registration or license following a default judgment handed down this week by Suffolk Superior Court Judge Bonnie MacLeod.
“Unlicensed home contracting work takes away business from honest contractors and puts homeowners at risk,” Coakley said in a statement. ”While we were able to secure restitution in this matter as well as civil penalties, consumers should always do their homework before hiring a contractor by asking the right questions.”
According to a complaint filed last November, Buckminster had his home improvement contractor’s license revoked in 2000 and has never held a construction supervisor license. He has solicited work both as a home improvement and general contractor in Massachusetts.
The lawsuit followed findings in August by the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation (OCABR) that Buckminster had been operating as a home improvement contractor without a license in four matters filed by South Grafton residents in 2011, all claiming that Buckminster failed to fulfill his obligations under their home improvement contracts.
The AG’s Office alleged that even after OCABR ordered Buckminster to pay thousands of dollars of penalties and cease engaging in any residential contracting services without appropriate licensure, he continued to solicit work in Massachusetts by holding himself out as being licensed. It was also alleged that Buckminster misappropriated more than $40,000 from a fifth individual for a construction project in West Yarmouth. The complaint further alleges that Buckminster failed to pay any of the $9,550 in penalties assessed by OCABR.
Consumers who discover that a home improvement contractor is not registered should contact the AG’s office to report this illegal act, the agency said in a statement.
Assistant Attorneys General Jackie Rompre and Gillian Feiner of the AG’s consumer protection division handled this matter, with assistance from investigators Monique Cascarano and Jody Quartarone.
