PEORIA, Ill. — March is Severe Weather Preparedness Month in the State of Illinois.
Severe weather in our area typically brings natural disasters like storms, tornadoes and flooding, and often brings out the best in people, but also the worst in what is called “Storm Chasers.”
These are contractors who take advantage of those who have already been victimized by severe weather.
Jessica Tharp, President and CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Central Illinois says homeowners need to research any company.
“There are companies that come from all over the place. It doesn’t necessarily mean they are bad companies, but it might mean that you need to do a little extra homework,” said Tharp.
The Illinois Emergency Management Agency reports in 2019, the biggest disaster to impact our state was the devastating river flooding that occurred in more than 33 counties, impacting 2.1 million residents.
BBB is also warning contractors to beware of storm chasers who offer to pay local construction companies substantial amounts of money to use the business’s established name, reputation, and phone.
Tharp adds the BBB website(BBB.org) is a good place to research contractors.
