Hurricanes

The Miami Herald > Weather >

Working with contractors: avoiding scams

 

Be sure the business hired to install a generator is reputable and responsible.

Verify that a contractor holds a valid license for work in the specific trade. For work in Broward County or Miami-Dade County, a contractor should hold a license from the specific county or from the state of Florida.

• Broward County Contractor Licensing and Enforcement, 954-765-4400, www.broward.org/building.

• Miami-Dade County office of Building Code Compliance, 311, www.miamidade.gov/buildingcode or 311.

• Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation 954-917-1330.

Other tips for hiring a contractor:

• Avoid contractors who require large payments before doing the work. The payments should reflect approximately the work that's been done.

• Avoid paying in cash. A check, written to the business contracted to do the work, offers a record.

• Be wary if the contractor requests that the resident obtain a permit. A licensed contractor in good standing should obtain the permits.

• Request that a proposal, contract or agreement be submitted in writing.

• Do not sign a completion certificate, until all the work is completed according to the contract, your satisfaction and all required inspections and approvals from the appropriate building department.

Sources: Broward County Building Code Services Division Contractor and Licensing Enforcement

Read more Hurricanes stories from the Miami Herald

  • INSURANCE

    Sweet deal for state taxpayers or Scott donor giveaway?

    Critics see political donations and heavy lobbying by Heritage Property and Casualty as evidence that Citizens Property and Gov. Rick Scott are tapping the insurer’s $6.4 billion surplus for special giveaways to politically-connected companies.

  •  

Gov. Rick Scott speaks during the Governor's Hurricane Conference at the Broward County Convention Center on Wednesday in Fort Lauderdale.

    Hurricane season

    Surge, budgets focus of hurricane conference

    At an annual hurricane conference, Gov. Rick Scott and emergency managers discussed the risks of storm surge and worries about federal budget cuts.

  • Hurricane season

    Miami-Dade expands hurricane evacuation zones

    Miami-Dade has dramatically expanded hurricane evacuation zones to cover nearly three-quarters of the county’s population.

Miami Herald

Join the
Discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere on the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

The Miami Herald uses Facebook's commenting system. You need to log in with a Facebook account in order to comment. If you have questions about commenting with your Facebook account, click here.

Have a news tip? You can send it anonymously. Click here to send us your tip - or - consider joining the Public Insight Network and become a source for The Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald.

Hide Comments

This affects comments on all stories.

Cancel OK

  • Videos

  • Quick Job Search

Enter Keyword(s) Enter City Select a State Select a Category