After endless viewings of open homes, you’ve finally found the home that’s almost perfect. With 90 per cent of your check list met, the tedious house-hunting process is finally worth it. The icing on the cake is the upgraded bathroom and newly installed kitchen, complete with a gas hob and water filtration system. But there’s a red flag – who installed them? Who plumbed in the water filter, new shower and toilet?
The Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board (PGDB) have developed the Report a Cowboy app (R.A.C) which allows for a quick, easy and confidential way of finding out who’s licensed to carry out restricted work, and the renovations on your home.
If a non-licensed person has done work illegally to your property, chances are they are still doing it and putting other people’s health and safety, and insurance at risk.
A key feature of the app allows you to submit photos of illegal work and submit it for review (confidentially, if you wish). The R.A.C automatically logs the GPS co-ordinates of the work and links directly to the investigations unit.
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Dealing with illegal work promptly will save other consumers from hiring a ‘cowboy’ and facing the same challenges. Over 13,000 people have ready downloaded R.A.C, and are using the app to check legalities, get quick link access to restricted work information and report concerns on-the-spot.
Don’t endanger the health and safety of your family or risk invalidating your insurance. Failing to check the licensing of who did the work and discovering later that it was carried out illegally, leaves you viable. As the new homeowner, you will be responsible for all problems on your property when it comes to eventually selling it.
When it comes time to add your own personal touches to your dream home, look at the R.A.C app for what work is restricted and must be performed by a licensed tradesman (who holds a NZ Practicing Licence issued by the PGDB). The R.A.C app will list all legitimate tradespeople in your area.
The few minutes it takes to download the free R.A.C (Report a Cowboy) app onto your mobile device and then to put it to work, will move that home choice from 90 per cent to completely fitting the bill.
Check out more details of R.A.C app and download the app for free here: http://www.pgdb.co.nz/app or go straight to the Apple App store or Google Play and search ‘Report a Cowboy’.
