BALTIMORE, MD—Attorney General Anthony G. Brown announced this week that the Consumer Protection Division has entered a Final Order (PDF) against a Baltimore-based home improvement contractor, Bryan O. Jones, and his company, BOJ & Sons Construction, to pay restitution to consumers and civil penalties and costs of more than $1 million. BOJ & Sons took large deposits from at least 35 Maryland consumers for home improvement and renovation services, and then failed to perform the work it promised to perform.
BOJ & Sons Construction and its owners’ licenses to sell and perform home improvement services had been suspended in October 2021, but they continued to offer and sell home improvement services following the suspensions. A hearing on the Consumer Protection Division’s charges was held in October 2023, and today’s Final Order resolves those charges. In addition to finding the company and its owner violated the Consumer Protection Act, the Division also found that BOJ & Sons Construction repeatedly violated Maryland laws governing home improvement contractors when it took excessive deposits (home improvement contractors in Maryland are limited to collecting only one-third of the contract amount as a deposit), used contract forms that lacked required disclosures, and sold home improvement goods and services without required licenses.
“Marylanders deserve to work with honest companies that keep their promises and deliver what they advertised. BOJ & Sons Construction not only took customers’ money without delivering any goods or services, but they also broke the law by taking consumers’ money after losing their home improvement license,” said Attorney General Brown. “My Office will always protect Marylanders and ensure that companies that prioritize greed over honesty and integrity are held accountable.”
The Consumer Protection Division has ordered Jones and his company to return all the payments they collected from consumers while they were unlicensed, as well as for work that they sold but did not perform. The Division found that at least 35 of the company’s former customers are owed $514,800. The Division’s Final Order requires Jones and his company to pay penalties and costs that total more than $485,000.
In addition to requiring consumer restitution and imposing civil penalties and costs, the Division is prohibiting Jones and his company from taking deposits or other forms of advance payment from consumers before providing any consumer services or goods, unless Jones and his company each posts a $500,000 performance bond with the Division that can be used to protect consumers. The Final Order also requires Mr. Jones and his company to cease offering home improvement goods or services to consumers unless they comply with Maryland’s home improvement laws, including obtaining required licenses, collecting no more than one-third of a contract amount for a deposit, protecting consumers’ deposits, and only using contracts that contain all required disclosures.
Consumers who were harmed by BOJ & Sons Construction may call the Consumer Protection Division at 410-528-8662, file a complaint online, or write to the Consumer Protection Division at 200 St. Paul Place, 16th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202.
Photo by Sora Shimazaki from Pexels
