KNIGHTWATCH COMMUNICATIONS LOW VOLTAGE DATA CABLING

 

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LOW VOLTAGE DATA CABLING

10 COSTLY BUSINESS LIABILITIES

AND HOW USING AN UNLICENSED CONTRACTOR CAN COST YOU THOUSANDS  

 

Any company that installs, services, or maintains communications systems (i.e. CCTV, CATV, SECURITY SYSTEMS, FIRE SYSTEMS, NETWORK CABLING, HOME THEATER etc.) in St. Louis City, St. Louis County, or Jefferson County Missouri is required by law to possess 3 different Communications Contractors Licenses over and above 3 business revenue licenses.

 

 

 

 TAX LIABILITY – Missouri law states when using a contractor that does not posess the Electrical Communications Contractor license,  all workers are considered your employees even if you submit 1099’s and claim them as contractors. You can be held liable for all of the workers Federal Taxes, Unemployment Contributions, Workers Compensation Insurance, Overtime Wages and Social Security Contributions.

 

 INJURY LIABILITY –Unlicensed contractors are actually your employee and therefore in the event of an injury you or your company is responsible for not only medical bills but  also any disability compensation payments. An injured contractor can file suit for lost wages for the rest of the workers life.

 

  LEGAL PAYMENT DEFAULTS - When work is performed by an unlicensed contractor the purchaser cannot be held liable to you for payment. In other words you cannot enforce collection from your client in a court of law. You in turn, have no legal recourse against your unlicensed contractor.

 

  JOB SITE SHUTDOWN - Should a Public Works Inspector find an unlicensed contractor  performing installation, they typically order the removal of all equipment and wiring, issue fines to the contractor and/or business owner, and prevent the business from operating until equipment and wiring is removed.

 

 CANNOT SELL OR TRANSFER PROPERTY – Illegal work can prevent  a property from being sold or transferred until all unlicensed work is removed and reinstalled by a licensed technician or company. The cost of this can legally fall on you even years later.

 

 FINES AND IMPRISONMENT – The ordinance varies slightly from city to county but you can be fined up to $1000 per day and 90 days imprisonment for each installation performed by an unlicensed contractor.

 

 LAWSUIT – By using unlicensed contractors you can be contributing to Unfair Competition and Tortuous Interference toward legally licensed companies and can be held liable for a licensed company’s losses.

 

         NO INSURANCE OR BACKGROUND CHECKS - Licensed Contractors are required by law to provide proof of insurance, proof of bond and police background record checks.                 Hiring unlicensed contractors can expose you to negligence should something happen to your client or their property. If a contractor fails to obey the minimum                 required law, what kind of service is he giving you and your clients.

        NO PROOF OF COMPETENCY -A licensed contractor must prove 12,000 hours (5.8 years)  of installation and wiring experience and pass a 4 hour competency test.  You may

                not know if an unlicensed contractor has more than a few weeks experience until after a claim for damage is made.

 LOSS OF CORPORATE PROTECTION – If you use an unlicensed company or contractor the corporate officers can lose any protection due to the illegal act. This exposes the officer’s personal assets to lawsuit  as well as possible imprisonment.  In Missouri your wages can be garnished if found to be personally liable.

With Knightwatch Communications you are not exposed to these dangerous liabilities and acts of negligence because Knightwatch is fully licensed in St. Louis City, St. Louis County and Jefferson County Missouri as required. We also carry a 2 million dollar liability insurance coverage policy to protect you and your clients.

 

 

Referenced Links:

 

http://ww5.stlouisco.com/pubworks/Elec-2009-UF.pdf

http://www.slpl.lib.mo.us/cco/code/data/t2502.htm

http://www.stlcitypermits.com/content.aspx?id=contact

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-utl/x-26-07.pdf

http://labor.mo.gov/DES/report_fraud.asp

 

 

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