Legal Question in Construction Law in Florida

Hurricane Damage - $5,000+ deposit scam

June 2005 I contracted with a reputable/construction co. for $15k for screen enclosure. Gave $5k deposit. Tried to contact for 6 mos. then newspapers articles came out that company was scammed for 1M+ of the deposits by crooks. The owner is 84 and claimed he was taken. Six months later the owner's son sent us a letter to meet with him at hotel with 10 other people that lost deposits. Only offer was to re-submit cost of scr. enclosure to insurance co. They made us sign contract with NO price in it. If they got more money we would get enclosure. If not, oh well. We had no choice at 10PM at night. We got $19k more from Insurance Co. Have had no contact with Construct. Co. for 8 mos. Are we obligated to them?? Have construction fence around 8 ft. deep pool for 2 yrs. We have decided we would rather put up a fence that will never blow down. A google search of ''screen enclosure scam in FL'' will give you a lot more information of what has happened to many people. Any info you may give would be appreciated. Thank you.


Asked on 2/02/07, 10:51 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Johm Smith tom's

Re: Hurricane Damage - $5,000+ deposit scam

I don't think you need to worry about a scam artist company trying to enforce claims against your in court. You should never pay before the work is done; if necessary, you could buy the materials they need yourself. If you want to litigate, you should definitely consult an attorney so they can help protect you and assist law enforcement because don't you really want to keep the scam artists from getting away with what they're doing.

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Answered on 2/02/07, 11:02 am


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