These days it seems like everyone is getting a piece of the action on sinkhole fraud with allegations that:
- Homeowners file and collect huge claims and never make repairs
- Collusion occurs among engineers and contractors
- Contractors overbill property insurance companies for alleged work
- Cement trucks leave repair sites nearly full
- Inspecting engineers do not make on site inspections of work
- Kickbacks are paid to homeowners by sinkhole repair contractors
To make things even worse, insurance companies deny claims; then get sued by homeowners. Insurance companies are suing contractors; and even the Florida Office of Statewide Prosecution is investigating. Every year it seems our state legislators "make improvements" in Florida laws to help the situation and we have gone from bad to worse.
What a mess! Yet
legislators in other states seemed to have been successful in navigating similar sinkhole issues.
The Tampa Bay Times started a series of reporting on the sinkhole debacle this week. For the full articles in the Tampa Bay Times, see the following links:
link 1 link 2
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