Many Gulf Coast consumers are finding themselves not only traumatized by the ravages of Storm Isaac last week, but are also facing severe financial strain in the aftermath of storm problems. Unfortunately, this can be a situation that a particularity low kind of scammer seeks out. These so-called „storm chasers“ unscrupulously pick the pockets of individuals when they are at their most susceptible. And the storm season is far from over.

Better with devastation

The Association of American Retired Persons was able to talk to a spokesman from the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, James Quiggle. He said:

„They’re called storm chasers, going town to town where disaster strikes to descend on traumatized homeowners and causing more problems than they fix. And they often prey on senior citizens.“

There are increasingly more of them being seen, according to the National Insurance Crime Agency.

Issues taking place

The majority of the scamming contractors will leave without doing work, though some of them actually do the work. The only issue is that they do a terrible job and leave permanent damage that will not be covered by homeowner’s insurance. It is always a bad sign when the contractor asks for money upfront before they complete the task.

Try to find ways around scams

— You can get a list of approved contractors in your area from the Better Business Bureau or your insurance agency.

— Look for a license from the contractor.

— Contractors with no business card are probably shady.

— Never paid more than 25 percent of the total cost in deposits, and you also should not pay that until you start seeing materials delivered to your home.

David Guillory, interim director of the East Baton Rouge Parish Department of Public Works, said:

„You really shouldn’t be paying for work that’s not done. If somebody says, ‚Pay me half and I’m going to go get some other equipment,‘ or go get another crew or something, that should send a red flag up.“

Looking at automobiles too

With really bad materials and bad craftsmanship, automobile con artists will put together broken vehicles and sell them to people. They make an enormous buck. They get the automobiles after flooding at insurance auctions for a song.

Though these automobiles may run fine for a month or two, generally they will start breaking down regularly, turning them into money pits that double and triple cost in no time.

Get from the scam

Whether you are purchasing at auction or individually, you need to take your car to a reputable mechanic and get it looked at before making the final purchase. It never hurts to get the CARFAX on a vehicle just to look at its reported history.

Source of article: bad credit loans not payday