The tragedy in the Southern portion of the United States is a series of natural acts and unavoidable. Hundreds were killed, and there will be hundreds of millions, billions, really, in reported damages to homes, businesses and public structures. The cleaning up from the devastation will be long and arduous. And then comes the rebuilding. And with the rebuilding there comes the scam artists who are willing to benefit from someone else’s misfortune by offering shoddy products and services.
This is the time when unscrupulous contractors climb out from under a rock and prey upon the needy. This is the time when homeowners should be sentient and willing to conduct background checks on contractors and, sometimes, their staff. The very least a homeowner should do is a criminal records check and sex offender check. Then there are are such concerns as bankruptcies, liens, and judgments background checks to determine if other dissatisfied customers have placed judgments against them. I suggest here that running background checks on contractors should not be just in times of disaster, although more of the unscrupulous sort do come out of the woodwork. But any homeowner should be willing to conduct a background check on any contractor working inside his house.
An article in the Bowling Green Daily News sheds some light on contractors and what to look out for. Robyn L. Minor has written an article there entitled, Tips on Hiring Contractors Include Background Checks. It is a good article and filled with information. One such tip, a time honored chestnut, is ” don’t do business with a crew that knocks on your door, unless you can verify they are a legitimate company with a good reputation.
Here is the link to Tips on Hiring Contractors Include Background Checks. As I noted, this is not only important for poor stricken homeowners recovering from disaster. This article applies to anyone who needs work done inside their house.
