FEMA Asking For Money Back...

[iceangel]

FEMA Asking For Money Back
gneumann@sbgnet.com


If you received any disaster relief money from FEMA...a warning...you may be asked to pay it back.
As Channel Three's Greg Neumann shows us...some area residents are in disbelief over what they recently got in the mail.
Like many waterfront homeowners...Cam Rhodes has received little insurance money for her Ivan-related destruction.
That's why she was thrilled when FEMA came through with over twelve thousand dollars.

Cam Rhodes/Upset With FEMA: "We finally received some funds from them, which was a godsend, it would help us with our rent, and our situation until we could get on our feet."

But that godsend appears to be shortlived.

Rhodes: "Last week I received a letter in the mail from FEMA that said this money was sent to us by mistake and that we were going to need to pay it back."

Debbie Miller: "They never, I don't remember having them say, you might have to pay it back."

Debbie Miller got the same letter from FEMA...telling her she'd have to pay back over five thousand dollars.
But FEMA claims these letters are just part of their routine as they try to make sure tax dollars aren't wasted.

Barb Sturner/FEMA Public Affairs: "They are the result of an additional review of disaster assistance that's already been provided and that's a standard practice for us. Some of the reasons you could get a letter like that, one example, maybe there's a duplication between your insurance and what FEMA has paid you...by law we cannot duplicate any other forms of assistance."

Debbie Miller says if she'd have known she was going to have to pay this money back to FEMA, she never would have taken it in the first place.

Miller: "Don't give people a check and don't tell people we're gonna help you get back on your feet and then take it back."

Rhodes: "We need the money to help pay our rent, also, because we still have our mortgage, so yes...we did need this help."

Sturner: "If you're one of those people that gets a letter like that, take it to the recovery center, speak with someone individually. If you disagree with our decision, by all means take advantage of our appeals process."

But that appeals process could take up to six months.
And in the meantime, both Cam and Debbie will be required to start a monthly payment plan...with interest.

[The Big Dog]

In other news, residents of Miami-Dade County, who filched FEMA for God-knows-how-much, will get off scot-free.

[CaneCurious]

I have never heard of such a thing. I thought FEMA was there to help not further hurt people in need.

[T'Bonz]

Keep telling y'all, FEMA stinks.

Anyone who went through Andrew in 1992 is well-aware of this.

[Downdraft]

In 3 hurricanes I saw people that couldn't afford a generator in the first place go without power for days and days. Yet, people that could afford to buy a generator got reimbursed by FEMA. It seems like the money should have gone to those that couldn't afford them in the first place. As for the scandal with Miami-Dade it makes me ashamed to be a Floridian. To me and from what I've seen FEMA's grades for last year are pretty poor.

[Rainband]

sad and rude to boot.

[bosag]

And did you happen to notice how many generators were for sale in the Pennysaver a few weeks after the storm. Some of those people may have it "double Whammys". Just this week I saw an ad for a generator that said "only used 12 hours". I guess these people dont think we will get hit again or that FEMA will reimburse again the next time.

Barb

[CajunMama]

FEMA helped me out in 1993 when my home flooded...and i had no flood insurance. I was told upfront that they could request their money back within 3 years.

I fared much better than my neighbors did with FEMA assistance. Neighbor #1 filed on the first day (less damage than me) and received $300. Another neighbor (more damage than me) filed later on and received $600. I filed on the last day and was lucky enough to get a gentleman who was in the construction field. I had every single receipt I for everything I purchased/rented from the dehumidifier to the carpet padding & wood floor replacement to the laundromat. I still needed to replace sheetrock and repaint. I guess FEMA saw that I did everything possible to save what I could. I received $3300!!!!! Our total personal monetary output before FEMA was about $12,000 for 6" of water.

[The Big Dog]

Keep telling y'all, FEMA stinks.

Anyone who went through Andrew in 1992 is well-aware of this.

Well, Andrew was a big wake-up call for the government, in general, and they finally got serious about FEMA. The Cold War was over, and they were done printing their duck-and-cover guides and how to build nuclear war shelters and whatnot. My understanding is that, in 1992, it was largely a dumping ground for political favors and paybacks. For as many mistakes as they made last year, they are still immeasurably better than they were in '92. But they do need to reevaluate what they do and how they do it.

[T'Bonz]

^
They are?

Wait. They give money to scammers in Miami-Dade, when anyone with any intelligence can tell you NOTHING HAPPENED down there.

In spite of overwhelming evidence of that fraud, they deny any wrongdoing/mistakes on their side.

Then they ask people for money back in areas that were affected.

Sounds like the same FEMA to me.

I think that if they're going to give money, if they have ANY intent on taking it back (not counting the debacle in Miami-Dade), they should have folks sign loan papers. Giving money that appears to be a grant and then asking for it back is worse than not giving it at all.

Don't "tell" folks verbally that you might take money back. If there is a chance of this being necessary, have the people fully informed and have them sign LOAN paperwork.

[The Big Dog]

What I'm saying is that in '92 FEMA didn't know what they were doing, if they were doing anything. They were charged with a task that they were totally unprepared for.

In '04, FEMA tried to do something, but they did it badly. There was no reason for the Dade County scams. People got lazy and didn't do their jobs. They need to go back and reexamine what went wrong, make corrections and do everything they can to assure that it doesn't happen again. If it means some heads need to roll, well....

They became a pretty good agency after Andrew. Now it's time for them to refocus.

[T'Bonz]

It has been all over our news down here. They refuse to see that there might have even BEEN a problem with how they disbursed money down in Miami-Dade.