Windsor contractor to repay customers $55,000

The state's consumer regulator said today a Hartford area contractor has agreed to repay $55,000 to 13 customers for shoddy workmanship to their homes.

All American Dream House LLC of Hartford and Advanced Home Technology LLC of Manchester and Hartford were cited by the state Department of Consumer Protection. Both companies are owned by Kevin Shields of Windsor.

Shields and his two companies held the necessary home improvement registrations from December 1997 and at various times until late November 2008, but currently do not, the agency said.

Consumer Protection Commissioner Jerry Farrell Jr. said homeowners from nine towns, including East Hartford, Rocky Hill and Southington, complained to the agency about Shields' companies for shoddy workmanship, such as windows popping out, leaking and breaking.

Some consumers also complained, Farrell said, of incomplete installation, of finding their homes without protective siding, and of damage to their homes during construction, resulting in added expense and repairs.