Contractor Problems in Wisconsin: Complaints and Your Options

Short answerIf a contractor job goes wrong in Wisconsin, here is what we could confirm on official pages: where to file a complaint, contract and cancellation rules, liens on your home. Each item links to its source. Keep your contract, payments and photos.

Where to file a complaint

Call the Bureau of Consumer Protection at (800) 422-7128 or (608) 224-4976, or use the department's online File a Complaint form. Source

Contract and cancellation rules

Wisconsin law requires a written contract if any payment is due before the work is done. For a contract over $25 signed at home or away from the contractor's regular place of business, you have three business days to cancel, by a signed, dated notice before midnight of the third business day. If you paid but did not get materials, services or completed work, you may cancel after that, and the contractor must return unspent money within 15 days. Source

Liens on your home

Contractors must give you a Notice of Consumer's Right to Receive Lien Waivers before you sign. DATCP says to request lien waivers from contractors, subcontractors and suppliers with each payment, especially the final one, to help prevent a lien on your home. Source

This is general information, not legal advice. A topic we don't list means we couldn't confirm it on an official page, not that the protection doesn't exist.

Wisconsin licensing and costs · All states

General information, not professional advice. Conditions, codes and prices vary. Turn off power, gas or water before any work, and hire a licensed professional when in doubt. Cost figures are our estimates, not quotes.