Unlicensed contractor botches job in Naples, homeowner paying the price

COLLIER COUNTY, Fla. – If you want to get some construction work done around the house, watch out! The professional you hire might not be the business person you thought. One Naples woman hired a man on a referral only to discover he didn’t even have a license.

Maxine Newman is 74 years old and has trouble getting around.

“So my balance isn’t great. I use a cane,” she told WINK News.

When she needed some new shower doors, she contacted Renier Nuno with RN Custom Closets & Glass. He came recommended. The project was simple: replace the old with the new.

“Because I have the two grab bars I needed to enter and leave the shower to hold on to,” Newman explained.

She paid $750 for the shower doors and installation. When Nuno finished the project, however, Newman quickly found out the door to the shower was on the wrong side. It not only made getting out of the shower difficult, but dangerous. The new installation also flooded her bathroom.

“(He) didn’t answer the phone, but I kept leaving messages,” she recalled, “‘There’s a flood and I can’t my mop that water working with the cane and bending over.'”

Her calls went unanswered, so we did some digging. Despite what it says on his business card, Renier Nuno is not licensed in Collier County as a contractor. We went to his home for answers; he wasn’t there, but agreed to answer our questions over the phone.

“So you are operating a business,” we inquired.
“No,” Nino said. “No I’m not operating no business, you know, I just do employee things, you know.”

Nuno said he let his license expire and no longer runs his business.

When we asked why he continues to do jobs for people without a license, he said, “Anybody can do, you know, I can work for anybody. I don’t have to have a license if somebody hires me.”

Connie Deane, Collier County Liaison, says that’s not how things work.

“There’s a difference between doing handyman work as opposed to doing contractor work,” she told WINK News.

Collier County Growth Management fined Nuno’s wife, who was also listed as an owner for RN Custom Closets & Glass.

Nuno’s business has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.

Before hiring someone for contractor work in Collier County, check their license on this website or call the Growth Management Division at (239) 252-2431