The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Sunday, September 07, 2008

A new state audit says Georgia’s Public Service Commission does a poor job licensing in-state moving companies and doesn’t enforce safeguards designed to protect customers from getting ripped off.

As a result, fly-by-night movers can lure customers with low prices and later demand more money once they have the customer’s furniture on their trucks, according to the Georgia Movers’ Association and the Better Business Bureau. Unlicensed companies also have damaged property, then couldn’t be found later by frustrated customers, according to complaints filed with the state.

Auditors, legitimate movers, the Better Business Bureau and burned customers say the situation is a mess.

“The activities of the Public Service Commission do not adequately protect consumers,” according to the report, adding the commission does little to ensure movers are “financially viable, technically competent” and “providing safe and reliable service.”

The PSC, headed by five commissioners elected to six-year terms, is the state’s consumer watchdog agency for various industries, including utilities and transportation. Regulating in-state movers is a small part of its duties. The federal government licenses movers who cross state lines.

During a routine audit, the state Audits and Accounts Department found:

• 47 percent of the in-state moving companies advertising in metro Atlanta did not have the required state license;

• The commission has only one full-time position devoted to licensing and monitoring an industry that the Georgia Movers’ Association said handled 77,000 moves last year;

• The commission does not do enough to punish unlicensed companies or to investigate complaints. It has imposed some fines, but not enough, auditors say.

• Enforcement is so weak that getting a license — in which companies complete state safety training, pay a fee and provide proof of insurance and bonding — is “essentially voluntary.”

• Applications that are submitted, including proof of insurance, are not verified.

“They don’t really have the resources at this point to track down the unlicensed movers,” said Leslie McGuire, who oversaw the audit. She described the moving business as “one of the more problematic industries.”

Eloise Drane, 33, of Grayson said she and her husband hired movers last fall. She said the company was listed in the telephone directory and she just assumed they were licensed. The company offered a quote over the telephone and assured her there would be no extra fees. But when the movers showed up, they tacked on extra fees. They also damaged a railing in the house. The movers were so slow and so bad that her frustrated husband finally told them to leave, Drane said. They had to pay the movers and later had to pay for the damaged railing.

“We thought hiring movers would save us headaches,” she said. “It ended up costing us more money.”

The company could not be found in current telephone directories or on the commission’s Web site listing licensed movers.

“When I tried to get anybody to speak to me about the situation, no one called me back, nothing,” Drane said.

She filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau of Atlanta, which sent the complaint to the state. The commission has listed the company on its illegal movers list.

“We’re doing the best we can with the resources we have,” PSC Commissioner Robert Baker Jr. said. “If we had more full-time, budgeted positions or more money, sure we could do a much better job. … But we don’t have those resources.”

Baker said part of the reason there are so many unlicensed movers is that until 2007, Georgia law allowed movers operating in only a single county or municipality to be exempt from PSC regulation.

The audit report called for changes in how the commission handles licenses and how it investigates complaints. The report called for a crackdown on unlicensed movers, using existing penalties in state law. Auditors reported that the commission posts companies and complaints against them on its Web site, but does not check if complaints are valid.

Lee Lemke, who heads an association that represents about 125 moving companies across the state, said his group wants the state to go after unlicensed moving companies because they hurt the industry’s reputation and undercut licensed businesses. The commission has about 290 companies licensed statewide.

“They are giving us all a bad name,” he said. “If they do not have a license, if they do not have insurance, they should not be operating.”

Gary Puntasecca, president of Premium Moving & Storage in Marietta, said his licensed business has to compete with “price cutting of the rogue movers.”

He said the commission could go a long way toward reducing the problem by meting out some fines.

“If you nail a few of them, it would scare a lot of them off.”

For the Journal-Constitution

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Save the planet and save money with these 10 steps and more:

1. HIT THE LIGHTS
Replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) which use up to 75 percent less energy and can last up to 10 times longer life. Cost:$2-$15 each.

2. IN HOT WATER
Lower the temperature on the water heater front dial from 135+ to 120 degrees. Cost: $zero.

3. UNPLUGGED
Unplug appliances and gadgets, some with “on/off” lights that are not used all day like coffee maker and iPod speakers and others with out on lights like cell phone charger’s. Phantom or idle current can account for up to 2% of energy bills. Cost: $zero.

4. WINDOW SHOPPING
Install storm windows or double pane windows over older single pane windows. Cost: $zero if you kept the older panes, $300-$400 per window for new energy-savings double or triple-pane windows.

5. DRAFT DODGERS
Weather strip around windows and outside doors. Add door sweeps to limit air losses and pests. Seal open penetrations and gaps around plumbing under sinks and at basement inside exits with expanding foam or caulk. Cost: $3 for 17 foot roll of cut, peel and stick weather seal tape, $15 for sweeps, $2 tube of silicone caulk, $5 caulk gun, $5 for can of Great Stuff foam sealant.

6. GET WITH THE PROGRAM
Set the thermostat at 78 degrees during the summer and 68 degrees during the winter, and leave it there. Cost: New programmable thermostats cost $20-$80 and allow adjustments when you are away or sleeping and can save up to 10% on energy bills.

7. UNDER COVER
Add foam covers behind electrical outlets and light switches that face outside walls. Cost: $2-$3 for package of 14.

8. IT’S NOT THE HEAT, IT’S THE …
Replace the 12+ year old, energy-sucking portable dehumidifier in the basement with an Energy Star model. Cost: $129-$200 Old dehumidifier’s can consume more than $30 a month in energy.

9. NOT SO FAN-TASTIC
Seal and winterize the ceiling whole house fan to prevent air loss and pests from the attic, or remove and patch ceiling if not used. While a whole house fan saves A/C power in the gentle spring and fall weather, it should be disconnected from power and winterized each year to prevent heat loss. A foam cover/lid can be made for the fan and attic access ladder stopping air loss. Cost: $8 for foam board, $4 for glue.

10. THE BRUSH CUT
Prune overgrown shrubs crowding outside air-conditioning units. Cost: $zero-and sweat. Air needs to circulate around the fans for it to operate efficiently.

WHERE THE MONEY GOES: (from Georgia Power and U.S. Department of Energy)
Heating and cooling: 45-52%
Water heater: 19%
Lighting: 9%
Other: 20%

For Georgia Power customers - check your energy efficiency with an in-home energy audit 1-800-524-2421 and press 2 or www.georgiapower.com/residential/energy.asp. Or do an online audits and calculate energy costs www.georgiapower.com

Other resources:
Home energy saver by zip code http://lbl.gov
www.energystar.gov
www.eere.energy.gov

Alpharetta, 7/30/08: W. Scott Berlyoung of Alpha Home Services, a local firm based in Alpharetta which conducts inspections of new and existing homes, was honored recently by the American Society of Home Inspectors for 5 years of membership. Scott has been an ASHI Certified Inspector since 2003.
The American Society of Home Inspectors, founded in 1976, is the oldest, largest and most respected international professional organization of independent home inspectors in North America. Its Standards of Practice and strict Code of Ethics are benchmarks of professional performance in the field.
To become an ASHI Certified Inspector, an inspector must meet rigorous professional and technical requirements, including the successful completion of two comprehensive exams. In addition, he or she must perform at least 250 fee-paid home inspections that meet or exceed the ASHI Standards of Practice.
W. Scott Berlyoung has been an inspector for 9 years, and is the current treasurer of the local Georgia ASHI chapter. He conducts pre-purchase inspections and consultations in the Greater Atlanta area as well as property management and radon testing. Further information about ASHI or consulting/inspection service’s are available by calling 404.374.0747 or by visiting the inspector’s web site at www.alphahomeservices.com.

ROSWELL — Roswell has partnered with the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District in the Toilet Rebate Program to allow residential water customers the opportunity to apply for either a $50 or a $100 rebate if they have installed a new, low flow toilet in their residence. Toilet rebates are limited.

Roswell customers should meet these criteria:

• Have an individual residential account with Roswell and be up to date on payments.

• Own or rent a single-family home built in 1993 or earlier

• Purchase an approved toilet after Sept. 28, 2007 to replace an older toilet using greater than 1.6 gallons per flush.

• Agree to a verification visit.

• Agree to complete a survey.

Criteria making customers ineligible for the rebate include:

• Customers who have already received a rebate.

• Customers of utilities not participating in the program.

• Customers who own or rent a single-family home built after 1993.

• Customers who purchased a toilet before Sept. 28, 2007.

• Customers who have a 1.6 gallons per flush or less toilet.

• Customers living in a multi-family residence or non-residential customers.

For information on how to apply for the rebate, visit www.northgeorgiawater.org/toiletrebate and download the application form. Customers may also call 404-463-8645.

DECATUR - Beginning Sunday in DeKalb County, any house built before 1993 and sold will have to have low-flow toilets that consume 1.6 gallons of water or less per flush.

Low-flow toilets became mandatory in new construction around 1993, which is why officials picked that year. The county still has as many as 165,000 houses built before 1993, but no one knows how many have been upgraded with toilets that use less water.

The low-flow requirement is one thing the county is using to cope with the drought.

House Bill 1217 provides a regime to license Georgia’s home inspectors. I am cognizant and respectful of the fact that the advocates for the legislation chose to use and were approved by the Georgia Occupational Regulation Review Council (GORRC). I have come to believe that GORRC review should be the initial threshold for the creation of a new licensing board. I am also aware that the private sector provides several, voluntary professional organizations to achieve the goals of the legislation. It is my preference that the market – not the State – regulate as many of our industries as possible. Thus, in order to not supplant the good work of the free market with taxpayer funds, I VETO House Bill 1217.

From U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Press Release - Nov 2007