I decided last year to skip the yellow page add. It was not a bad year, I did better actually without it.


My company name is Palmetto Home Inspections. I chose this name becuase at first I didn't know how far my area would extend. Since S.C. is known as the Palmetto state, I thought this would be a good state wide name.


I searched the web, yellow page listings, brochures in Realtor offices and last but not least the list of licensed HI s for the entire state at the time.
I found one guy in the up state with a similar business name who had not renewed his license in a couple of years. This was back in 2000.


Just got new phone books yesterday. Some guy has a listing in the yellow pages with the business name "Aiken Palmetto Home Inspections". I searched the S.C. Residential Builders Commission licensee look-up page and could not find a license number. He does not list a lic. num. in his add, which we are required to do. He doesn't list a name, address or a land line number. He does list what looks to be a cell phone.


What I'm affraid of is that my word-of-mouth clients are going to recommend thier friends call Palmetto Home Inspections and their friends are going to find this guy in the phone book and assume it is me.
What can I do?
BTW. the S.C. RBC says that such an inspector needs to be caught in the act, working with out a license. Should I borrow a vacant house and set him up or what?


Part of the reason I stayed out of the yellow pages last year is becuase Bell South did not seem to care that they had 3 un-licensed inspectors advertising with them. This guy makes 4 and he's stolen my freakin name.
This really pisses me off. Why can't people pay their dues and have some degree of ethics like the rest of us?

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Consistency is a direct path to perfection.

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