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Thread: Soliciting work for which you are not licenced to perform

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    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    Soliciting work for which you are not licenced to perform

    An interesting thought that arises from a legislative change passed recently in Texas.
    Texas Legislature Approves Legislation Expanding Definition of "Business of Structural Pest Control"

    The Texas Senate recently passed and sent to Governor Rick Perry for his consideration legislation expanding the definition of "business of structural pest control" to include the offering to perform, advertising for or soliciting the person's performance of pest control services.

    Presently, the Texas Department of Agriculture must catch an unlicensed company in the act of performing pest control services in order to take an enforcement action. The enactment of House Bill 2742 will permit the Department to cite unlicensed business that advertise or solicit pest control work.
    Obviously this situation doesn't just arise in pest control. For example, how many handymen are advertising the provision of electrical contracting services without being duly licenced to carry out the work?

    As far as I know, local enforcement agencies are in much the same boat - they have to catch unlicenced operators "in the act."

    Is there scope for an amendment that extends to advertising and soliciting for such services here in SA?
    Is there good reason not to make such an extension?

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    Diamond Member AndyD's Avatar
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    Surely if a company isn't licensed to perform the work but has an arrangement with a sub-contractor who is licensed then why shouldn't they be able to advertise it as a service they can provide?
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    As I understand it, if you are not qualified and you do a qualified person’s job let’s say wiring a house, you can land in jail and or get a heavy fine and people can sue you stuff like that. However, if you have a qualified technician “sub-contractor” and his/her name are on the list then there is no problem at all. It is “and I stand to be corrected” legal to have a qualified sub-contractor.
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    Diamond Member AndyD's Avatar
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    If it's legal to use that sub contractor's services under your business name then surely a blanket law on not being allowed to advertise a service that you personally aren't qualified to perform would be stifling your business. IMO you'd need to make a solid link between the unqualified person advertising and the intention of him to do the work himself......... so your back to square one with having to catch him red-handed.
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    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by AndyD View Post
    Surely if a company isn't licensed to perform the work but has an arrangement with a sub-contractor who is licensed then why shouldn't they be able to advertise it as a service they can provide?
    Generally the "unlicenced" company would be marketing a service or product where the "licenced" work formed only a portion of the whole though, surely?

    Sticking with the electrician example - a builder solicits construction work. A portion of that is the work of an electrician, which has(?) to be subcontracted out if the builder is not licenced to do that portion of the work.

    Would a construction company actively solicit electrical contracting work as a stand-alone service with the genuine intention of subcontracting 100% of that service to a licenced contractor?

    I suggest that in the handyman market in particular, the reference to electrical work is most often made with the intention of doing it themselves. I get to see this all to frequently as it's not uncommon for our company to get called in to test the installation after and issue a COC

    In pest control a similar situation arises with garden services vs weed control. Weed control (for gain)* when done via application of herbicides is a regulated activity for which the applicator needs to be licenced. The broader garden services is not a regulated activity.

    ps. - thanks to both of you for the push-back on this so far. An idea like this really needs to be thoroughly felt over for catches.

    *Just for the record, you are allowed to carry out herbicide treatments on your own garden without a licence - in case anyone was wondering.

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    Hi there,

    Just an example: The Attorney's Act prohibits a set of acts and the solicitation without being licensed. I am sure the same applies to other fields as well.

    According to the Criminal Procedure Act, if the state is unable to prove that the act was committed, the court can convict for attempt, conspiracy, ect.

    Regards,
    Mr Smit

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    i found out that a company i was involved with many years ago still used my license for many years after i left...when tendering for projects...renewing memberships etc...there is so much confusion in the industry as it is...just imagine.

    Please tell me how they would monitor and police this...it is all well and good...making new rules and laws...but without suitably qualified people who arent corrupt to monitor it...its just another pipe dream...i know so negative...but help me...show me how you are gona inforce it....so that i can become more positive...do you think they would allow white people to take up positions to assisit...there are lots of us out there with the suitable qualifications...all they have to do is remove the restricitons.

    an example of how backward this country really is...when you go to the dam for a day and you have an msinsi green card...they have a machine which they swipe the card thru...but you still have to fill in a book...mmm...anyway i suggested to the powers that be that they should have a card with all my details like fishing licenses...boat registration..paid up yearly memebership...etc etc...the response...if they cant even control the sytem they have in place at the moment how could they even go so advanced...i thanked him for his honesty.

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    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    Perhaps the best way to point out how policing would be improved is to use an example where this sort of system is already in place - the marketing of pesticides.

    Any pesticide has to be registered with The Registrar:Act 236 of 1947 and any marketing material, information sheet, label etc. for a pesticide has to display its registration number. This makes the use of the registration number incredibly transparent.

    In the electrical contracting scenario, every electrical contractor has to be registered with DoL (in theory at least) and has a registration number. If this registration number has to be displayed on all marketing material, letterheads, invoices and other documents, it becomes easy for the consumer (or anyone else for that matter) to validate the registration and file a report if there's something amiss.

    You'd still need the department to follow through on such reports, but much of the problem is identifying who/where the problem folk are in the first place.

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