Pavilion Park Homeowners: Beware of Tom Gonzales (Landscaper)
- Thread starter gasman
- Start date
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The problem is these contractors are broke. So successful arbitration or litigation might not result in anything other than wasted time and money.
Fear of bad contractors (have you watched Holmes Makes it Right on HGTV???) is the main reason we chose to complete so many desired upgrades with the builder, including flooring. I know Irvine Pacific will get it right, even if not the first time, and they have deep pockets in addition to robust insurance.
Agreed. The problem with arbitration is that they can only award compensation up to the limits of the contractor's bond. This bond is usually only $10k-$15k, and when there are multiple claims against that bond, it's impossible to get any return on your payments, even if they are warranted. In our case, we opted not to go the arbitration route, because Tom had 5 concurrent claims against him on CSLB, and it wasn't worth the trouble. We had to jump through other hoops to recover SOME of our losses.
Funny you mention that...I'm close with a couple other landscape contractors, and they are now bidding on work to FIX some of Tom's jobs in PP. It's nice job security for the reputable landscape construction companies, but it's sad to see homeowners have to pay twice for something that should have been done right the first time.
A friend of mine was defrauded by a used car dealership and went to the DMV to make a claim against the car dealer's bond. He found out the bond was $50,000 and there were many other defrauded buyers going after the same bond. It's amazing you can open a business that takes huge amounts of money and only need to post a $10,000 (contractor) or $50,000 (car dealer) bond. My friend got taken for $60,000 and his share of the bond money was less than $1,500.
Is his company Coastal Landscape & Maintenance? If none of the complaints are true, maybe he should defend Himself.
City inspector will only look at items that fall under permit. All the other stuff doesn't fall under their jurisdiction, and is the responsibility of the homeowner to manage risk. The CSLB is the oversight organization for keeping contractors "honest", but they also don't have a lot of direct power except for handling complaints, revoking licenses, and awarding bond money. Even then, it is a lengthy process, and if it's a contractor that has a history of wrongdoing, you are likely competing for bond money with other victims.
Unfortunately, there isn't anyone except the homeowner that can "force them to do work properly". While the city inspectors will ensure things like plumbing, electrical, and structural elements (footings, framing, etc) are up to code, they generally won't look at things beyond what's under permit.
irvine buyer
Active member
I applaud Gasman for bringing to people's attention his bad experience. I understand how Gasman feels. Being in the apartment renovation business, we've had to work with many contractors over the years and have had our share of bad experiences. In the instances where the contractors have refused to deliver on their contractual obligations (and our contract addendums are detailed), we report them to the respective states contractors license board. In California, a customer can request arbitration through the contractors license board and the contractor, if licensed, cannot refuse. If the contractor is not licensed or does not have the correct license for the work being done, then my understanding is that they have no legal standing to collect if you don't pay them. As a disclaimer, I am not providing legal advice and you should contact your legal advisor for any such advice. 
Perspective
Well-known member
irvine buyer said:I applaud Gasman for bringing to people's attention his bad experience. I understand how Gasman feels. Being in the apartment renovation business, we've had to work with many contractors over the years and have had our share of bad experiences. In the instances where the contractors have refused to deliver on their contractual obligations (and our contract addendums are detailed), we report them to the respective states contractors license board. In California, a customer can request arbitration through the contractors license board and the contractor, if licensed, cannot refuse. If the contractor is not licensed or does not have the correct license for the work being done, then my understanding is that they have no legal standing to collect if you don't pay them. As a disclaimer, I am not providing legal advice and you should contact your legal advisor for any such advice.
The problem is these contractors are broke. So successful arbitration or litigation might not result in anything other than wasted time and money.
Perspective
Well-known member
Perspective said:irvine buyer said:I applaud Gasman for bringing to people's attention his bad experience. I understand how Gasman feels. Being in the apartment renovation business, we've had to work with many contractors over the years and have had our share of bad experiences. In the instances where the contractors have refused to deliver on their contractual obligations (and our contract addendums are detailed), we report them to the respective states contractors license board. In California, a customer can request arbitration through the contractors license board and the contractor, if licensed, cannot refuse. If the contractor is not licensed or does not have the correct license for the work being done, then my understanding is that they have no legal standing to collect if you don't pay them. As a disclaimer, I am not providing legal advice and you should contact your legal advisor for any such advice.
The problem is these contractors are broke. So successful arbitration or litigation might not result in anything other than wasted time and money.
Fear of bad contractors (have you watched Holmes Makes it Right on HGTV???) is the main reason we chose to complete so many desired upgrades with the builder, including flooring. I know Irvine Pacific will get it right, even if not the first time, and they have deep pockets in addition to robust insurance.
Perspective said:
Agreed. The problem with arbitration is that they can only award compensation up to the limits of the contractor's bond. This bond is usually only $10k-$15k, and when there are multiple claims against that bond, it's impossible to get any return on your payments, even if they are warranted. In our case, we opted not to go the arbitration route, because Tom had 5 concurrent claims against him on CSLB, and it wasn't worth the trouble. We had to jump through other hoops to recover SOME of our losses.
zubs said:
Funny you mention that...I'm close with a couple other landscape contractors, and they are now bidding on work to FIX some of Tom's jobs in PP. It's nice job security for the reputable landscape construction companies, but it's sad to see homeowners have to pay twice for something that should have been done right the first time.
gasman said:
A friend of mine was defrauded by a used car dealership and went to the DMV to make a claim against the car dealer's bond. He found out the bond was $50,000 and there were many other defrauded buyers going after the same bond. It's amazing you can open a business that takes huge amounts of money and only need to post a $10,000 (contractor) or $50,000 (car dealer) bond. My friend got taken for $60,000 and his share of the bond money was less than $1,500.
Ready2Downsize
Well-known member
HappyWife said:
Is his company Coastal Landscape & Maintenance? If none of the complaints are true, maybe he should defend Himself.
His current license is indeed issued to Coastal Landscape & Maintenance. This license was previously revoked, but Tom was able to get it re-issued somehow. Here are some of the violations he's accrued under this license:
LINK 1 - LINK 2 - LINK 3 - LINK 4
His previous license was actually issued to his daughter (Vanessa Gonzales), under "New Season Landscape Construction". If you don't believe anything I've stated up to this point, just check out their list of violations prior to getting their license revoked: LINK 5. My favorite? "7114: Aided and abetted non-licensee"
There is no defense against this amount of evidence.
#ProsecutionRestsYourHonor
LINK 1 - LINK 2 - LINK 3 - LINK 4
His previous license was actually issued to his daughter (Vanessa Gonzales), under "New Season Landscape Construction". If you don't believe anything I've stated up to this point, just check out their list of violations prior to getting their license revoked: LINK 5. My favorite? "7114: Aided and abetted non-licensee"
There is no defense against this amount of evidence.
#ProsecutionRestsYourHonor
I am new to TI and homeownership. I have a question about these landscapers/ contractors in general, when they do faulty jobs like mixing dirt, not grading properly, not using rebars etc, can't a homeowner report to some city inspector right away to come to the property and force them to do work properly?
ASAK said:
City inspector will only look at items that fall under permit. All the other stuff doesn't fall under their jurisdiction, and is the responsibility of the homeowner to manage risk. The CSLB is the oversight organization for keeping contractors "honest", but they also don't have a lot of direct power except for handling complaints, revoking licenses, and awarding bond money. Even then, it is a lengthy process, and if it's a contractor that has a history of wrongdoing, you are likely competing for bond money with other victims.
Unfortunately, there isn't anyone except the homeowner that can "force them to do work properly". While the city inspectors will ensure things like plumbing, electrical, and structural elements (footings, framing, etc) are up to code, they generally won't look at things beyond what's under permit.
irvinebullhousing
Well-known member
I think you are doing a good deed to all of the new home owner. Please post names and business name that he might operate under so those can beware of his heinous crime.
He is targeting homeowners in Baker Ranch now. I've received word from another of Tom's victims. 
His current license is under Coastal Lanscape & Maintenance:https://www2.cslb.ca.gov/onlineservices/CheckLicenseII/LicenseDetail.aspx?LicNum=606446
His previous license was under New Season Landscape Construction:https://www2.cslb.ca.gov/onlineservices/CheckLicenseII/LicenseDetail.aspx?LicNum=841122
His current license is under Coastal Lanscape & Maintenance:https://www2.cslb.ca.gov/onlineservices/CheckLicenseII/LicenseDetail.aspx?LicNum=606446
His previous license was under New Season Landscape Construction:https://www2.cslb.ca.gov/onlineservices/CheckLicenseII/LicenseDetail.aspx?LicNum=841122