FEMA offers a few suggestions to protect against fraud when hiring a contractor:
- Never allow an uninvited contractor into a home to “look around” or make an “inspection.”
- Use a licensed local contractor backed by reliable references. Before you hire a contractor, check the company’s business history with the Better Business Bureau.
- Get a written estimate from at least three contractors. The estimate should include the cost of labor and materials. Make sure the contract clearly states who will obtain the necessary permits. Read the fine print before signing.
- Demand the contractors carry general liability insurance and workers’ compensation. If a contractor is not insured, the homeowner may be liable for accidents.
- Have the work inspected by local code enforcement officials or a home inspector. Make sure all the work is completed as agreed in the contract before any completion papers are signed or final payment is issued.
- Get receipts from the contractor for all items related to the home repairs.
Call the FEMA Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 if fraud is suspected. Complaints can also be made to local law enforcement agencies or to the Colorado Attorney General’s Consumer Complaint Line at 800-222-4444 or filing an online report at coloradoattorneygeneral.gov
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FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.
Follow FEMA online at fema.gov/blog, twitter.com/fema, facebook.com/fema, and youtube.com/fema. Also, follow Administrator Craig Fugate's activities at twitter.com/craigatfema. The social media links are provided for reference only. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications.
Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management supports the needs of local government and partners with them before, during and after a disaster and to enhance preparedness statewide by devoting available resources toward prevention, protection, mitigation, response and recovery, which will ensure greater resiliency of our communities. For more information: coemergency.com and CORecovers.info.
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is the federal government’s primary source of money for the long-term rebuilding of disaster-damaged private property. SBA helps homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes, and private, nonprofit organizations fund repairs or rebuilding efforts, and cover the cost of replacing lost or disaster-damaged personal property. These disaster loans cover losses not fully compensated by insurance or other recoveries and do not duplicate benefits of other agencies or organizations. For information about SBA programs, applicants can go to sba.gov/disaster or call (800) 659-2955 (TTY 1-800-977-8339).
