NORTH NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A Nashville couple renovating a childhood home says they're now in major debt after multiple contractors botched the job, leaving them with thousands of dollars in additional repair costs.
Debrah and Andre Payne are now working with their state senator on a consumer protection law to strengthen protections for homeowners who fall victim to unscrupulous contractors.
Senate Bill 1412, sponsored by State Sen. Charlane Oliver, targets contractor accountability. While Tennessee law does have some consumer protections currently in place, Sen. Oliver's bill seeks to strengthen these protections for homeowners who get ripped off by bad contractors.
The bill is currently a caption bill, meaning State Sen. Oliver is in the process of drafting an amendment that will include the actual language to amend the current law. The proposed changes could include business license revocations and suspensions, stiffer financial penalties, and potentially stronger criminal penalties.
"We ended up paying some $3500-$4000 to redo the electrical. Every ceiling fan was about to fall. That guy told us if we had not gotten that one down in our bedroom, at some point, it was going to fall down on us," Debrah said.
The home is where Andre spent most of his childhood. When it became his in 2019, the couple set out to renovate it. After Andre received a stage 4 cancer diagnosis, he couldn't do the work himself, so they hired a licensed contractor.
At first, things were going relatively smoothly. Then, the Paynes said the contractor tore down a load-bearing wall, and they discovered he hadn't pulled permits. Despite paying him thousands of dollars, they cut ties.
"This home is important to him... and this is what you do?" Debrah said.
The second person they hired was not licensed, but came highly recommended. The Paynes paid him roughly $33,000 for multiple projects.
"And because he's a young African American male, my husband kinda wanted to see him succeed, so we overlooked a lot of things, trying to make some things work," Debrah said.
Now back in her house full-time, Debrah is seeing just how much was done wrong.
"We bought specifically gray grout. Paid more for gray grout. We don't have gray grout. We have white grout," she said.
Additionally, bad plumbing work left them with mold in the crawl space and more bills.
The Paynes have filed complaints with the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance against both builders. One was closed, and one led to a $1,000 fine. But the Board for Licensing Contractors cannot order restitution or pursue criminal charges.
"Yeah, you can do a complaint and that's great, but if all you're going to do is charge a person $1,000 that I gave $33,000 to and you have nothing in place that holds them accountable for even paying that, there's no backlash... It's almost like this is our protocol, this is what we do, but we're missing some steps to hold the person accountable," Debrah said.
There is a GoFundMe set up for the Payne family to help them pay for their medical and construction debt.
Before hiring anyone to do work on your home, it just takes a few clicks to check their license and disciplinary record online. You can also call the Board for Licensing Contractors at (800) 544-7693, (615) 741-8307, or email concerns to contractors.home-improvement@tn.gov.
Last year alone, Tennessee's contractors board took disciplinary actions totaling nearly $1 million. And while not every job requires a license, anything over $25,000 does.
Have you experienced problems with a contractor? If you're dealing with a similar situation, email me at Hannah.McDonald@NewsChannel5.com.
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