The Orange County Consumer Fraud Unit will crack down on unlicensed contractors preying on unsuspecting citizens by issuing a minimum $75 civil citation to those operating illegally in Orange County. Previously, investigators could only pursue legal action against unlicensed contractors after they had already fleeced their victims out of thousands of dollars of uncompleted or shoddy work.
“In the past five years our office has worked over 391 cases related to home repair contracting issues,” said Carlos Morales, the Orange County Consumer Fraud Unit Supervisor. “This new initiative will allow us to target those who are falsely advertising services they never plan to start or properly complete and will hopefully save citizens from the heartache of losing their hard-earned money.”
Nationally, home repair complaints are the second most prevalent complaint category reported to consumer protection offices. To view a full report by the Consumer Federation of American click here.
Orange County residents are encouraged to report unlicensed contracting activity by using the following resources:
In Person: Orange County Consumer Fraud Unit, 415 N. Orange Avenue,
Orlando, FL 32801 – 1st Floor State Attorney’s Building at the Courthouse complex
By Phone: 407-836-2490 or 311
Via email: [email protected]
On the web: www.ocfl.net – Select “Residents” tab then “Consumer Protection”
