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Be careful who you hire to do construction on your home or business. That was the advice issued by Charlotte County Sheriff Randy Grissom over the weekend, as he office mentioned a large number of construction fraud complaints have been made in recent weeks. He offered six suggestions about what to do before hiring someone to do construction, advising residents to take precautions in order to avoid falling victim. 

First, plan what you want done and what type of contractor you will need to finish the work. It’s hard to blame someone when their expertise is in one field and you brought them in to do something completely unrelated. It’s also worth mentioning here that for larger projects, you may end up with one or two contractors, splitting up the work based on skillsets. Second, don’t automatically go with your first bid. The sheriff’s office advises to get at least two to three estimates and compare them before making a final decision. Also, don’t rely solely on the bottom-line cost. There could be other factors that make one company a better fit for this work than the other. Maybe one has 10 years of experience and the other is just starting out. Check these things as well as the price tag. 

Third, verify the contractor’s license and make sure he has up to date insurance. You need to protect yourself, just in case something goes wrong. Fourth, ask the contractor to provide more than one reference. It’s always a good idea to check reviews or hear from several people who have used a person’s services before. Fifth, and the sheriff’s office points out this is a critical one, require a written contract and review all information within the contract. Unfortunately, not everyone honors handshake agreements and if you don’t have any documentation of the deal, you could get stuck. 

Finally, after all that, call the Better Business Bureau at (804)-320-0248, verify the business and check for complaints and accreditation status. You can also go online to bbb.org and search for the contractor’s business. Sheriff Grissom says if you are a victim of Construction Fraud, contact the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office at 434-542-5141 and ask to speak to an Investigator.