This Week is Hurricane Preparedness Week
FLORIDA (PRWEB) May 09, 2017 -- BBB and Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation joined forces to provide a one-stop resource page to help Florida prepare for hurricane season. The Florida Hurricane Guide has tips on disaster preparedness, recovery and repair, as well as information about government resources, storm chaser/home improvement scams, and charity relief efforts.
We are encouraging Floridians to create a plan that outlines what to do before, during and after a hurricane.
In the event of a natural disaster, we would like to remind Floridians that any repair work performed on a home or business should be completed by a licensed professional. Unlicensed contractors often will travel from out of state to a disaster area attempting to take advantage of uninformed consumers. The best way to prepare is to be proactive in selecting a properly licensed contractor and to use good judgment with sales calls, door-to-door pitches or low prices that appear too good to be true.
BBB’s 2016 Scam Risk Report is a sophisticated analysis that goes beyond volume to look at the risk each type of scam poses. BBB determined that face-to-face home improvement scams are the riskiest scam for consumers. Home improvement scams, ranked #1 on the BBB Risk Index, was the only category in the top ten to rely on in-person contact. Because of the highly personal nature of this scam – someone literally at your doorstep – the exposure rate was low but the susceptibility rate and the median loss were both very high, making it the riskiest scam of all.
[Download the full report at bbb.org/RiskReport
[Access the Florida Hurricane Guide at:
http://www.bbb.org/florida-hurricane-guide
[Access DBPR’s Natural Disaster Guide at:
http://www.myfloridalicense.com/dbpr/os/communications_office/HurricaneGuide.html
Disaster victims should never feel pressured to make a decision by an unknown contractor. Start with trust and look for the BBB Accredited Business Seal. For reliable information, lists of BBB Accredited Businesses by industry and BBB Business Reviews you can trust on local businesses, visit http://www.bbb.org. Always verify a contractor’s license by visiting http://www.myfloridalicense.com, calling (850) 487-1395 or by downloading the free DBPR Mobile app.
About BBB:
For more than 100 years, Better Business Bureau has been helping people find businesses, brands and charities they can trust. In 2016, people turned to BBB more than 167 million times for BBB Business Profiles on more than 5.2 million businesses and Charity Reports on 11,000 charities, all available for free at bbb.org. Five BBB offices service the State of Florida, with primary locations in Clearwater, Jacksonville, Longwood, Pensacola and West Palm Beach.
About DBPR:
The Department of Business and Professional Regulation’s mission is to license efficiently and regulate fairly. DBPR licenses and regulates more than one million businesses and professionals ranging from hotels and restaurants, real estate agents and accountants to veterinarians, contractors and cosmetologists. More information about DBPR is available online at http://www.myfloridalicense.com. Also, follow @FloridaDBPR on Twitter or Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation on Facebook for updates about license cycles, events and other important news.
Bryan Oglesby, BBB Serving West Florida, http://www.bbb.org/west-florida, +1 (727) 530-4651, [email protected]
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