I don’t really know what the rules and guidelines are for getting money from FEMA, but some things are pissing me off. I have a friend at work who lost all her electronics and furniture due to flooding from the hurricanes, and she just got FEMA out last week to look at her stuff. On the other hand, two other co-workers have already received cks from FEMA. One got reimbursed for an $800 generator- this girl lost power for a grand total of 12 hours during Frances - and didn’t lose power at all during Charley and Jeanne. The other got reimbursed for 6 days at a hotel which was about 10 minutes from her home. She wasn’t in an evacuation zone, and never lost power during any of the three. What’s the deal? I lost power for 4 days after Charlie, 5 days after Frances, and 2 days after Jeanne, and it never even occured to me that FEMA would reimburse me if I went out and bought a generator or went to a hotel during that time. . To me, FEMA is for emergency aid, and thought it wasn’t pleasant being without power, I lived thru it just fine. Seems to me these werent emergencies at all, and that money could be going to people without roofs, without money for food, for people that lost power and have children to take care of , etc.
Did they fib on their applications? These girls sent in applications and receipts and got checks back. The girl with the flooding ( it happened after Frances) had to send in an app. and then wait for them to come out and assess the damage. She still hasn’t gotten a check.
It really chaps my ass when people take advantage of shit like this. Fuck.
If you know of someone who is filing false damage claims with FEMA, you should report this or other instances of fraud, waste or abuse to the Fraud Hotline, 800-323-8603. The line is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Caller identification will remain confidential.
I don’t really know if anything they filed was false ( and they didn’t report any damage. According to everyone I know with damage, someone had to actually come out and look at it) . Like I said, I don’t know what the guidelines are for getting $$ from FEMA, but it seems to me buying a generator “in case” you lose power, and staying at a hotel, when you arent being evacuated, and you have power, and there are shelters open, is kind of outrageous.
We lost power for four days post Charley and 24 hours post Jeanne. Our home suffered about $18000 in damage according to Allstate, and about $1500 according to my BiL, who is a general contractor.
As I type, my wife is at the Orange County Convention Center picking up what should be about $500 in food stamps from FEMA. They are giving it to us based on our loss according to the insurance adjuster, the amount of our hurricane deductible, the number of people in our household, and how many days we were without power. She’s not going to lie or cheat or misrepresent anything. Only a fool would not take advantage of such an opportunity.
You have to consider the huge bureaucracy involved in all of this. I’ve talked to friends who have received huge grants from FEMA for little or no damage, while others are homeless and can’t get them to give them the time of day. The system is broken.
I’ll be damned if I will allow my government to rebuild Iraq and not take advantage of any aid they say we are entitled to. This is a hotly contested battleground state, and geeduhbya has given us a blank check. Go bitch to him.
Damn. People are being reimbursed for generators when they have power outages, and all the people here in Pennsylvania are elligible for is some 5,000 dollar LOANS from FEMA. These people have lost their homes AND their businesses, and they aren’t getting squat.
I’ll grant you that the system may be broken, but by misusing it, you’re doing nothing to mend it. Insurance and FEMA are there to make you whole, help you recover part or all of your loss. It’s not a big Federal Santa letting you snag what you can from his sack. :rolleyes:
Some of us can come upon a lost wallet or night drop bag and return it, intact. If that makes me a fool, fine. At least I’ll have my self-respect.
What in the fuck are you talking about? FEMA is on the radio and in the newspaper telling us to apply for aid. We did. We followed their instructions to the letter. How do you equate that with stealing someone’s wallet? I’m sure that when you retire and begin living off of your IRAs, 401Ks, 403Bs, Grandma’s inheritance, etc., you’ll be returning all of that Social Security and Medicare you don’t need. :rolleyes:
If you want to talk about stealing and misusing government resources, go talk to the lady in the OP that didn’t find it necessary to buy flood insurance, and now wants the government to bail her out anyway.
I consider myself an honest person. I didn’t ask Allstate for a new roof and pool enclosure. I told the adjuster they could be fixed. He disagreed and wrote a check. FEMA actively solicited everyone in our city to apply for aid. We did.
We’ve been through a lifetime of hurricanes in the past six weeks. The last thing we need is self-righteous condemnation from people who really don’t have a clue about what in the fuck they’re talking about.
By your own admission, Allstate gave you 12 times your actual damage. Then you got another $500 in the form of food stamps. This isn’t about following instructions, it’s about the fine line separating entitlement and need. My analogy to a lost wallet was an exhortation to do the right thing. As far as retirement goes, those monies were mine to start with-I earned them. I’ve also paid into Social Security via payroll taxes, thank you.
Before you have a secondary hissy-fit, yes, I know that your taxes fund the pool of money which FEMA distributes to those who have suffered a loss. So do mine.
You chose to join the persons beefed in the OP, so your point here is?
Two separate transactions. You’ll pay for the first via rate hikes, as will every other ratepayer. Just because FEMA solicited you to apply, the question was and is, did you need it?
No argument that Florida has been hard-hit, but oddly enough that further supports my point. Resources are stretched, and there is over a month left in the prime hurricane season. Doesn’t that make it morally incumbent on you to not accept aid that you really didn’t need, in favor of those worse off than yourself? As a volunteer firefighter, I’ve spent quite a bit of time over the years helping to preserve the property of my fellow man, so it’s hardly as you describe.
They say we are entitled to aid. I’m not taking anything away from anybody by accepting what is rightfully mine. As I stated earlier, geeduhbya has seen to it that Florida will get whatever is necessary to keep the natives from being restless. And you blame me for that? There’s about two million of my fellow Floridians you can scold for “abusing” the system. You watch your tax dollars pour into Iraq for rebuilding, and you have a beef with rebuilding Florida, at a fraction of the cost? Sweet Jebus.
As for Allstate, the guy insisted I needed to replace my roof. He’s an “expert”. My BiL can fix it for us, but the “expert”, the guy I pay, said no, after I went above and beyond the call of duty by offering my opinion on the damage. Same with the pool screen. Instead of fixing, I’ll replace, and Allstate is OK with that. They should be since I’ve paid well over $25,000 in premiums over the years. I’ll be sleeping well tonight and I still look good in the mirror.
For your education, floods are not covered by homeowner’s insurance. If my house had flooded, FEMA would offer a low interest loan, but that’s it. Allstate would have told me what I’ll tell you: Cram it.