Licensing strenghtens this industry and provides for consumer protections and determines a set of methods and practices which will benefit both consumers and contractors alike.

RTS provides both inspections and remediation services.  We provide honest, objective inspections with simple meaningful reports with lots of customer service and support during and after the services we provide.  We are povicient in perfotming air quality and mold inspections and remediation which benefits our clients greatly given we can instruct them and give them insight to the scope of a mold or air quality issue.  We have performed thousands of inspections and remediation services in the N. VA area and in Maryland and DC.  Our mode of operation is one of objectivity and honesty.  If you do not have a mold issue we tell you that.  We issue a report and we do not issue any scope of work or proposal as part of the inspection process unless it is specifically rerquested of us to do so.

These practices are important to understand given a conflict of interest is only created when the people performing the inspection are dishonest, lie, cheat, and scare their clients into believing they have a problem when in fact they do not.  Hence the industry is looking to regulate this issue because there are players (even ones purporting to be professional) who are creating conflicts by virtue of their lack of virtue.  For example, they may provide an inspection which creates a confusing and lengthy report which generalizes the actual scenario and confuses the client into thinking they have a significant mold issue when in fact they do not.  Then they issue a 35+ page report part of which is a quotation for remediation services issued without request from the client.  This is a conflict of interest.

Howerver, an objective inspection without scare tactics which provides for fact and a straight forward report without any estimate for remediation repairs is not a conflict.  If actual problems exist which are worthy of remediation, and the client requests a scope of work / estimate / quotation for work, then this represents an ethical path to a mold firm switching to the role of remediator (No conflict of interest given the clients have requested these services demonstrating their understanding).  These practices occur everyday in industries and services throughout our lives such as with physicians, auto repair shops, termite inspections, etc.  We as consumers need to be aware of who is honest and who is not.  The means to determine who is honest and who is not is so much more accessible now then ever before with consumer advocacy services such as Angies List, or the Consumer Check Book, or by simply searching the web for complaints repoprted on businesses which are fraudulant in their practices.  The mold industry is generally a good group of contractors, but their are a few players which obviously work in unethical fashion close at hand.

Whats my point..........Regulate the industry to provide for contractors to be proficient in both areas of expertise if they wish.  Afterall, remediation expertise is a great benef to my clients in order to inform them.  Let the consumer make the informed decision as to who to hire to inspect and / or remediate. Give the consumer the tools to make informed decisions by directing them to internet services, reports and consumer advocates which provide real feedback in the voice of other consumers.  Above all, this will regulate the legitamcy of the industry, and consumers can make an informed choice.

As a contractor, we will end of charging for "estimates" regardliess of what the regulations end up being.  We take a lot of time and expertise to provide for the standard of care in remediation services.  Separating a mold inspection firm from the remediation firm is not going to o anything but cause those who do not have real expertise in both areas of practice  to cause confusion and misinformation.

• Regulate the industry, but do not constrain the industry. 
• Provide information to the consumer so they understand what the definitiion of a Conflict of Interest is.
• Pay attention to what the consumers are saying or are reporting about those who are providing mold services in your state.
• Investigate those who are less than ethical in how they conduct their services.
• Notifiy the public of those firms who have a track record of unethical business practices.

Paul R. Ramsey

CMC and CMRS

RTS Environmental Services, Inc.