Storm Damage Repair: Tips for Choosing Companies

To Brookdale Plats 1-6 Owners:

It has been 3 weeks since the hail storm that pounded our homes and cars. Unfortunately most of our homes probably suffered enough damage to warrant a new roof. Here are some precautions to consider as you plan repairs:

1) Get bids from local roofing contractors

a) out of town contractors will not be here in the years ahead to guarantee their work in the same way the local guys will be.

b) the out of town folks will be more likely to subcontract the work to local laborers.

2) Be wary of contractors who want to directly deal with your insurance company

a) they don't want to give you a bid, but instead "negotiate" on your behalf with your insurance company

b) if they minimize the repairs delivered to you, and maximize their claims to your insurance, their profits increase.  You will never know the difference.

3) Be wary of "general contractors" who will subcontract all the work

a) their costs have to be covered somehow, so they will hire the cheapest bidders to work for them.

b) hire a roofer to do your roofing, hire a gutter guy to do your gutters, hire a siding guy to do your siding.  You may save money.

4) Don't be in a rush to get repairs completed.

a) Rush the repairs only if you have water coming in

b) you may get better service and better quality work later in the summer or in the fall, after the rush to repairs is past.

c) check references, check with the BBB, before you hire.

Hope this helps some of you. Our apologies for not being able to formulate precautions earlier. Good luck in your search for a good repair team.

Regards,

Dave Mizell

Brookdale Trustees, Plats 1-6

Internet / Cell Phone Phishing

From the Central County Precinct First Quarter Newsletter:

Most well known and established websites have secure methods for their customers to purchase products using a credit card, but there are thousands of other sites that may not be as reliable.

Make sure you only provide personal information on websites that you trust completely. Similarly, never give out credit card numbers, account numbers or other important details on the phone. A person who claims they are calling from an online store or bank to ask you for information to complete a transaction or verify any activity may actually be a hacker who has obtained your private data.

Phishing is one of the most common methods of identity theft. The concept is simple: a thief will send you a message telling you to log on to a well known website or respond for an important reason. It may be to confirm or deny a transaction, to review a private message, or some other call to action. A convenient link is provided for you to click on to be taken directly to the log in page. Once you arrive, you type in your name and password like always. The problem is that the site you just logged on to is a fake. It is a page designed to look exactly like the real thing, but it is under the control of the criminals who created it. Now they have your log in information and can use it to get your credit card numbers and other private details from the genuine website. You have just been phished.

Stay alert to the new and devious tactics thieves may use to steal not only your belongings, but also your identity. Destroy personal documents before recycling, make sure you only log in to the home page of any website and don't let criminals steal your good name.

The best way to avoid becoming a phishing scam victim is to use your best judgment. No financial institution with any sense will email you and ask you to input all of your sensitive information. In fact, most institutions are informing customers, “We will never ask you for your personal information via phone or email."

Let’s all work together to prevent phishing scams. If you receive a suspicious email, report it. You can send it to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission at spam@uce.gov or you can just click the “Report as Junk” (or similar) button on your email program.

Preventing Identity Theft

From the Creve Coeur Police Dept. Crime Prevention Newsletter:

Preventing Identity Theft

If you are concerned about Identity Theft and would like to protect yourself, we recommend that you take three very simple steps to help reduce the likelihood that you will become a victim.

First, you should check your credit reports. There are 3 different credit agencies: Equifax, Experian, and Transunion. All 3 credit bureaus are required to give you a free annual report once a year. You can request this free report from annualcreditreport.com. This is the only website that provides free credit reports with no strings attached. Similar websites provide a free copy of your report, but require you to purchase a subscription to some type of financial service.

Since you only receive one free report from each agency per year, we recommend getting one of the reports every four months. For instance, order your Equifax report in January, your Experian report in April, and your Transunion report in August. This will allow you to constantly keep an eye on your credit usage.

The second step in protecting your identity and credit is to opt out of pre-approved credit offers received by mail. By opting out of these mailers, you will dramatically reduce the amount of unsolicited mail you receive, and ensure that someone doesn’t intercept your credit offers and activate an account without your knowledge. To opt out of these pre-approved offers for free, visit www.optoutprescreen.com.

The third step is shredding your old documents. Identity thieves will look in trash and dumpsters for your personal information. By shredding junk mail and unsolicited offers you will greatly reduce your chances of becoming a victim of identity theft. It is suggested to use a cross-cut shredder.

By taking these three steps and carefully using your accounts on-line, you can be relatively sure that your identity and credit will be protected.

For more information on identity theft, visit the following websites:
Federal Trade Commission
Missouri Attorney Generals Office
U.S. Postal Inspectors Office