Florida BP Claims Fund Assistance - This was the title that got my attention, so I signed up and attended the class at Pinellas Realtor Organization this week.
The class was organized by two local brokers who have set up Florida BP Claims Incorporated to assist local small business owners and Realtors with their BP claims.
Those who are interested in using the services need to contact Robert Gawel at 727-432-7653 or check out the website FLBPClaims.com.
What I learned is that there are many in our Gulf Coast area that are placing claims and receiving money from BP. Basically here is what you need:
* 3 years of tax returns from 2008, 2009 and 2010
* a hardship letter (which Robert and his staff can assist you with)
* a location map showing where your business is located and how the spill cased a loss of business
* monthly profit and loss statements if you make over 200k annually
* documentation showing your occupational license, Realtor license or any other professional license
* photo ID (driver's license)
* any letters from clients stating that they backed out of purchases due to fears of the spill coming to our area
The group will guide you through the process of collecting the correct paperwork and filing the forms. In return there are NO up front costs but they want 15% of anything you make from the claim plus a processing fee which is just shy of $500 once your first check comes in. When you think about it, that is really not a bad deal.
As Robert said, most Realtors will say to themselves 'I have no chance of collecting anything' and will never file papers. That is what he thought as well and he received two substantial checks from the fund!
So what do you have to lose other than time? And it seems that two checks come. The first check is only a partial payment and it comes with a letter that, if you sign and agree not to sue BP, means you will get a second check in the mail.
The main thing is to file as a business and if you receive a 1099 you can do just that. I don't have all of the information but I am going to give it a try and wanted to be sure to share this with everyone else that might have lost business and wages due to the BP Oil Spill of 2010.
By the way, the fund and the claim process associated with it comes to an end on August 22, 2013 so you still have plenty of time to take advantage of this!
I think that all of us here on the Gulf Coast lost business due to the spill. I cannot even begin to count the number of times I heard people say that they no longer wanted to purchase here because the oil spill was coming this way. They would not listen to reason when shown current charts and told that our beaches would remain pristine.
Tourists stayed away as well and many small businesses lost money - they can also contact Florida BP Claims Fund Assistance. You have nothing to lose and perhaps a good chunk of change to gain! BP has to pay $20 billion and what doesn't get paid out to businesses and individuals will go to the government - so what are you waiting for?
Oh, by the way, I am getting nothing out of telling you this. I simply want to get the word out to everyone since this kind of information needs to be shared!
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