{"id":23172,"date":"2013-02-07T12:31:26","date_gmt":"2013-02-07T02:31:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=23172"},"modified":"2020-09-30T13:06:58","modified_gmt":"2020-09-30T03:06:58","slug":"watch-out-for-flood-conmen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2013\/02\/07\/watch-out-for-flood-conmen\/","title":{"rendered":"Watch Out For Flood Conmen"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><figure id=\"attachment_23190\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-23190\" style=\"width: 200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/jarrod-200.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/jarrod-200.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"Jarrod Bleijie\" width=\"200\" height=\"350\" class=\"size-full wp-image-23190\" srcset=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/jarrod-200.jpg 200w, https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/jarrod-200-171x300.jpg 171w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-23190\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Queensland Attorney General Jarrod Bleijie<\/figcaption><\/figure><strong>February 7, 2013<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Flood-affected Queenslanders are being warned to lookout for travelling conmen hoping to cash-in on their misfortune as they attempt to rebuild after the recent natural disaster.<\/p>\n<p>Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie said the need for urgent repair work following a natural disaster removed some consumer protection rules, including 10-day cooling-off periods.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn usual circumstances a cooling-off period means a person can cancel a contract at any stage and traders can\u2019t accept payments or deposits until the period expires,\u201d Mr Bleijie said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn extraordinary circumstances such as those we have seen over the past week, these cooling off periods can be a hindrance to suffering Queenslanders, rather than a help.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese changes mean repair and recovery can start immediately which is particularly important for families who do not have a roof over their heads.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStructural repairs and tree removals need to be done urgently so relaxed rules apply for this type of work.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTravelling conmen follow closely in the wake of disasters, hoping to profit from tragedy and exploit tragic situations when communities are at their most vulnerable.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese shonky traders generally perform sub-standard work or leave without completing the job and it is often impossible to contact them if something goes wrong with the repair.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>The amended consumer rules only apply when the following three criteria are met:<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The area has been included in the Commonwealth\/ State Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA)<\/li>\n<li>The repairs are in response to rectifying or preventing substantial damage to the property<\/li>\n<li>The trader holds a relevant building or contractor licence.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Mr Bleijie said it was important people asked to see a Queensland Building Services Authority licence and proof of a business address before repair work commences.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf a trader\u00a0doesn&#8217;t\u00a0have a fixed business address, or says their offer is one day only, alarm bells should start ringing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBefore agreeing to have emergency repairs completed, you should contact your insurer for information and advice and also ask references from other locals who have used them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNever pay for anything upfront, not even materials.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mr Bleijie added residents in areas not covered by the NDDRA relief arrangements should be aware of the protections available to them under ordinary door-to-door provisions.<\/p>\n<p>To check if your area is included in the Commonwealth\/ State Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements visit the Queensland Reconstruction <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.qldreconstruction.org.au\/maps\/ndrra-map\" target=\"_blank\">website<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Suspicious business activity should be reported to the\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.fairtrading.qld.gov.au\" target=\"_blank\">Office of Fair Trading<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0or call 13-74-68.<\/p>\n<p>To check if a tradesman is licensed to perform the type of work needed, visit the <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bsa.qld.gov.au\" target=\"_blank\">BSA website<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Flood-affected Queenslanders are being warned to lookout for travelling conmen hoping to cash-in on their misfortune as they attempt to rebuild after the recent natural disaster.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":23191,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5,3,24,36],"tags":[1134],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.11 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Watch Out For Flood Conmen - southburnett.com.au<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2013\/02\/07\/watch-out-for-flood-conmen\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Watch Out For Flood Conmen - southburnett.com.au\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Flood-affected Queenslanders are being warned to lookout for travelling conmen hoping to cash-in on their 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