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How to complain about plumber or contractor in Washington.

If you want to complain about your contractor, listed below are your major options. If you are not sure which option is best for you, read "Where is it best to complain".

1. Washington contractor licensing and registration:

Washington plumbers, electricians, etc are licensed and regulated by the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries. They also register Contractors.

To verify Washington license use this online service. You will be able to see the license status, complaint history, and more.
You can check if your Washington contractor, plumber, etc violated any laws, rules or regulations using this online search. You will find what regulations contractor violated and when.

To complain about Washington contractor, plumber, or other tradesman download this complaint form. You can also find more information and a contractor complaint form here.

2. Washington State Office of the Attorney General.

You can complain about plumber or contractor to the Washington State Office of the Attorney General online or download a consumer complaint form, fill it out and mail to:
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
CONSUMER PROTECTION DIVISION
800 5TH AVENUE, SUITE 2000
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98104-3188

Washington State Office of the Attorney General offers mediation service to consumers. What to expect and other information about complaint process is here.

3. Better Business Bureau:

Go to http://www.bbb.org/ and enter your zip code. When your local BBB page appear click on the "FILE A COMPLAINT" link and follow directions.

4. Washington Small Claims: (For your information only - not a legal advice)

You can file your Washington small claims suit in the county where your contractor lives.
To start small claims lawsuit in Washington, file a Notice of Small Claim form with a clerk of a district court. The clerk will provide you with the Notice of Small Claim form or you can find it for download here or directly download it online (in MS Word format)
At the time of filing you will have to pay a filing fee ($14 - $29, depending on the county) and a service fee.
You can find location of your district court here.

  1. Maximum monetary limit of claims: $5,000;
  2. Attorney: not allowed (might be allowed by judge)
  3. Right to appeal: no, for claims of less than $250 (less than $1000 for plaintiff), yes, for other cases (within 30 days).

You can learn more about Washington State Small Claims here or here.

5. On-line complaints.

We collect all sorts of customer reviews, complaints, and comments here.
To post your comment on Google find your contractor in Google maps, and click the “more info” link next to the name of your contractor. On the following page, scroll down to “Reviews by Google users” and click on “Rate and review” link on the left.
There are many other websites that let you post comments and complaints about your contractor. Below you may find just a few examples:
1) http://www.ripoffreport.com (registration required),
2) http://www.complaintsboard.com/
3) www.complaints.com

Return to "the State's plumbing and contractor licensing departments".


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