Contractor Red Flags

Red Flags to Watch for When Hiring a Painter

Most homeowners spend their time comparing quotes, and reading one line by line is worth the effort. The painter behind the quote deserves the same attention, and that starts earlier, often before anything gets written down.

The warning signs below all show up during that first contact.

What follows covers what goes wrong when a homeowner ignores each one, what to ask instead, and how Ontario’s consumer protection law helps someone who has already signed.

No Written Quote

Ontario requires a written contract for any consumer purchase over $50. Almost every painting job costs more, so a painter who won’t write anything down has already broken Ontario’s contract rules.

A contract that meets Ontario’s rules covers:

• The business name, address, and contact information
• An accurate description of the work, including materials and an itemized list of products and services
• A clear description of any warranty on the goods and on the labour
• Total cost and payment terms, with applicable taxes shown
• A work schedule with start and completion dates
• Any subtrades, who they are, and who pays them
• A payment schedule, including the deposit amount
• Who prepares the work area and who cleans up afterward

A contract missing any of that gives the homeowner a year to cancel it. The same applies to work that never starts on the date the contract promised.

That list is only the legal minimum. A thorough painter names the product line and sheen for each surface, gives the number of coats surface by surface, and itemizes the prep instead of writing “prep included.”

A written estimate also caps the price.

The Consumer Protection Act stops a painter from charging more than 10 percent above it. Only a signed change to the contract lifts that cap, and a verbal number never triggers it in the first place.

High Pressure Sales Tactics

A painter pushing for a same-day signature usually offers a reason. The crew is nearby, paint is left over from another job, or the price holds only until the visit ends. Signing on the spot skips the second quote, the insurance check, and the reference call, the three steps most likely to cost that painter the job.

Some deadlines are real. Weather closes the exterior season in Niagara, and a painter booking before the cold is working around a forecast rather than an expiring price.

Signing under pressure isn’t final, because Ontario gives a homeowner ten days to cancel any contract signed anywhere but the painter’s own place of business. An emailed contract doesn’t come with those ten days either, since nobody signed it in person.

The reason for cancelling doesn’t matter, and the painter returns everything paid within 15 days, minus reasonable payment for any work the homeowner asked them to start. Send the cancellation in writing. Ontario advises email or registered mail so the date is on record, and keeping a copy, since a phone call proves nothing about when notice arrived.

A painter who claimed work was needed when it wasn’t, or made any other false statement to close the sale, leaves the homeowner a full year to cancel.

Cash Only

Cash with no invoice, no HST, and no paperwork leaves the homeowner without a record if anything goes wrong.

A business has to charge HST once it earns more than $30,000 a year. A painter who doesn’t charge it either earns less than that, a sign of how small the operation is, or has registered and isn’t handing the tax over.

Paperwork also keeps three remedies open:

• A warranty claim rests on a written record of what the painter promised.
• A homeowner who cancels a contract or demands a refund under the Consumer Protection Act can ask the credit card issuer to reverse the charge once the painter misses the repayment deadline. Cash leaves nothing to reverse.
• Ontario’s Small Claims Court hears claims up to $50,000, and the paperwork each side brings usually decides who wins.

Paying by cheque made out to the business, or by credit card, keeps all three of those options open at no extra cost.

No Proof of Insurance

• Have the painter’s broker send the certificate of insurance directly, rather than taking a copy from the painter
• Check the start and expiry dates against the project dates
• Check the maximum the policy pays for a single incident, which is the number that matters if something expensive breaks
• Phone the broker on a number the homeowner looked up separately

WSIB Coverage

WSIB covers workers who get hurt on the job, and Ontario requires it across construction. Residential work is the exception. A painter who works alone on home renovations, hired and paid directly by the homeowner, does not have to carry it.

So a solo painter with no employees may hold no WSIB account, and that alone is not a warning sign. A painter who brings a crew is different, because employees need coverage whatever the exemption says.

Ask whether the workers are employees or subcontractors, then ask for the WSIB clearance number if they are employees.

What the Check Protects

Checking a painter’s credentials protects the homeowner, up to a point.

Under Ontario’s Occupiers’ Liability Act, a homeowner who hires carefully and confirms the painter is competent is generally not liable for what that painter does wrong. The homeowner still has to keep the property itself safe for anyone working on it.

A Deposit Out of Proportion

Ontario recommends deposits of no more than 10-25% of the total project cost. Many painters ask for somewhat more, which is normal practice. What a fair deposit and payment schedule look like covers the full range, including progress payments on larger jobs.

A painter who wants most of the money before any work happens is asking the homeowner to finance the business. A homeowner who has already paid has nothing left to hold back if the work stalls.

No References

Asking a painter for three references from similar recent jobs is standard practice in Ontario, and an established painter will have them ready. A painter who can’t name any either started the business recently or would rather the homeowner didn’t phone past customers.

References and reviews answer different questions. A review records how the homeowner felt the day the painter finished. A phone call six months or a year later shows how the paint held up and how the painter handled problems. Ask the reference:

• Did the crew arrive when scheduled, and on consecutive days?
• Did they clean the site at the end of each day, or only at the end of the job?
• Did the scope change mid-project, and how did the painter handle the price?
• Has any surface peeled, cracked, or discoloured since?
• Would you hire the same painter for exterior work?

Ontario keeps two free public lists a homeowner can search. Skilled Trades Ontario lists everyone holding a Certificate of Qualification, so a homeowner can check any painter claiming the voluntary Painter and Decorator certification.

Ontario also keeps a searchable Consumer Beware List of businesses charged or convicted under provincial consumer protection laws, or that ignored consumer complaints. Names stay on that list for about two years.

Weighing the Signs

Each sign has an innocent explanation. A new company may have only two references, and a small painting business may earn too little to charge HST. The explanations wear thin once the signs pile up, because a painter who writes nothing down, wants cash, and asks for most of it up front is collecting the money before anyone can check the work.

Two of these signs are worth more questions, and four are worth another quote.

A written quote arrives by email, a broker sends a certificate of insurance in a day, and two reference calls take twenty minutes. For work meant to last years, that’s just a short delay.

Established painters expect the questions. They get asked for proof of insurance and past customers on most jobs, so they keep the paperwork on hand. A painter who hesitates over a routine request is telling the homeowner something about the service to expect.

Tresham Painting writes itemized quotes for residential and commercial work in Hamilton, Oakville, Burlington, Fonthill, Niagara-on-the-Lake, St. Cath