Homeowners learned expensive lesson after paying unlicensed contractor

The two women in this story prove that an informed consumer is the best defense against any type of fraud.  Both paid the price for what they did not find out.

The heat is making her sick. I visited Christine Oxendine on a humid September day.  The thermostat read 90 degrees in her home.

She had been with out A/C for weeks.  The 77 year old blames Roderick Godwin for the nights she slept on the porch to escape the bedroom that felt more like a furnace.  “He took my unit and my unit outside, there was nothing wrong with either one,” said Oxendine.

We checked and found Roderick Godwin does not possess a contractor’s license in Pinellas County or with the state. But Christine and another St. Pete resident, Lynette Eva, claim he installed used A/C units in their homes.  Units that died after just a few months.

Then I notified Pinellas County Consumer Protection’s Chief Investigator Doug Templeton. “Regardless of whether it is new or used, you have to have a license to install an A/C unit in Pinellas County,” said Templeton.

The agency, an arm of the state attorney’s office, is now investigating.  

The case serves as an example what can happen when homeowners don't do their homework.

In the end Eva had to pay someone to come in and fix her unit.  Oxendine, who says she lost $2,200, qualified for a county grant that provided a new air conditioner.

It only takes minutes to determine if the contractor you are about to hire is licensed. Just check with your county's contractor licensing office or Florida's Department of Business and professional regulation at myfloridalicense.com.