A man said he paid a local company $1,100 to fix his broken furnace, but the fix only lasted a day.

Walter Holtzclaw had been turning on his kitchen range for weeks just to stay warm.

"I had no choice if I was to stay warm," he said after he paid a contractor, All State Heating, $1,100 to repair his broken furnace, but he said the furnace repair made Dec. 20 lasted only one day.

He said All State's owner, Bill Caldwell, returned to look at the furnace and told him he needed another part, then never came back.

"He wouldn't answer the call; he would not return the calls. I called him three or four times," said Holtzclaw.

He said his mistake was choosing Caldwell's company from the phone book without first checking him out, but later he called the state contractor licensing office and found Caldwell had not renewed his license and had two complaints.

Action 9 got in touch with Caldwell. He said he chose not to renew his license and that he did not need one to do repair work. Actin 9 checked, and that is true.

Action 9 got Caldwell back to install a new gas valve and repair Holtzclaw's furnace.

Holtzclaw said he now tells others to check before hiring any contractor.

"I made that mistake; I won't make it again," he said.