Here is a night mare for you with Ryland

Mr. Benline,

I received your letter dated August 29, 2006 and I am sincerely dismayed at what I have read. Let me first state that Ryland homes has at the onset of the initial walk through of the home for closing, has tried to evade any responsibility for their product. The quality and workmanship that we were told of is nothing but a myth. Every occasion of trying to work with the Ryland warranty person, Joe Dwyer, was a consistent battle of dealing with his lies and stalling tactics to try and push the issue beyond the warranty time limitations.

Numerous issues have occurred with the building and purchasing of this home. Some of these issues I have since consoled myself to never being rectified due to the inability or desire by Ryland to stand behind their product. I will discuss the main issues in rest of this correspondence.

It took an entire year almost to resolve the drainage issue around my home and the only reason was that the manager at the time, Mitch Schwartz, asked to have a third party engineering company do an inspection. The company did the inspection and concluded that the drainage was inadequate and recommended sump pumps or at the very least French drains to alleviate the drainage problems. Of course Ryland took the least expensive means and went with French drains to correct their defect in the design of the drainage for the home. This is yet another example of Ryland’s poor commitment to quality.

The electrical problems that we have encountered with the home continue still to this day even after numerous attempts to have Ryland fix them. After complaining enough, you had a certified electrician come and look at the home. Even though he stated he could find nothing wrong the problems still exist. I do not believe a simple hour inspection was indicative of the truly finding the issues. What was truly revealing was his statement about the other workers Ryland sent onsite to diagnosis and repair these issues. His statement to me and I quote, “They should have never been sent onsite because they do not know what they are doing.” My question to you is this, IF they were not qualified to be onsite why were they sent to my home? Further, they came from other Ryland construction jobs and this then calls into being the quality of work that Ryland does. This is another of the many examples of poor quality and workmanship by Ryland.

The issue with the carpet pad was another example of Ryland’s inability to execute on quality and trust. The fact the basic carpet pad was installed and we had purchased the upgrade pad brings in to question Ryland’s honesty. If we had not had an issue where the carpet had to be pulled up we would have never known and there by been cheated out of the money paid.

The AC/Heating system is beyond any normal warranty issues that any home owner should have to endure. My electrical bills have been beyond the normal range since I moved into the home due to the inefficiency of the AC unit and design. Numerous home owners on my street are having the same issues and all of the systems were installed by River City mechanical. The AC system was installed by River City Mechanical and has had issues from the beginning. I am going to bullet the issues below:

•   AC ducts and vents not properly cleaned up after installation – still exists and has been noted to Ryland on many occasions
•   RCM stated there should have been a red tag on thermostat to have owner call for initial service upon move in – Ryland knows nothing about this
•   Incorrect jet installed during initial installation
•   Improper installation of ducting and Covering around cooling coil
•   RCM came out numerous times to readjust dampers due to mis-adjustment during initial implementation
•   Heating owner’s manual found inside unit during third part Inspection Company –could have started a fire.
•   Fresh air vent improperly working
•   Told by independent company worst installation ever seen
•   Electrical company – Stafford Electrical – that did the installation came out and did a review and stated the only thing that could cause the high electrical bills is the AC running inefficiently – supervisor at the company.

Ryland has dragged their feet and made every effort to keep from having to replace the entire ac system. The AC Company that I had come and do an inspection – Strand Brother’s – stated that the whole system was sloppily put in and needs numerous things fixed and actually the system needed to be ripped out and redone. Ryland had Stan’s AC come out and the initial gentleman that was doing the inspection – Roland – Stated that the entire system needed to be redone as well as fixing the insulation in the attic. Apparently, Ryland did not like this and went the cheap route of patching the problems. Ryland also went straight to the owner of the company and had Roland removed from the project. The AC supervisor that came out was forthcoming in the first in stating that he knew the patching would not fix the issue and that it was going to end up in court. He also advised that I take pictures. Since then, Ryland has dangled a carrot to owner and stated that they may start using them again for installations. From what I was told by the supervisor Ryland had used Stan’s for AC installation in their new homes and River City Mechanical under bid them and Stan’s was no longer the prime subcontractor. Now the owner is singing Ryland’s tune and stating anything Ryland wants to hear. I state this now because Roland ordered a test of the AC system which was why the supervisor was onsite and know the owner is stating that the test is not a good test. If this is the truth why was it ordered and why was it conducted. The test in itself shows numerous issues and recommended levels that my home does not meet. Ryland conducted a test with data loggers in my home which I recently received an Ryland states that the test shows conclusively that the AC unit is functioning properly. I have to object to the whole test due to the inability of the personnel to follow your EFL specialist, Jeff Schneider, instructions. Jeff ahs presented himself as an EFL specialist and I would like to call into question his credentials. Is he in-fact a registered EFL specialist? The reports I was sent also do not have all of the pages for each logger attached.

This is just another example of Ryland’s deceitful business practices as well as their inability to uphold their commitments. Ryland’s comfort and energy guarantee is managed by EFL or Environments for Living. I have filed a claim over three years ago and yet to receive a response from them. I have been in contact with them and have numerous times asked to speak to a manager and the manager refuses to contact me. Ryland has just recently stated that I have been denied by EFL. Where is the paperwork to back up this statement? Ryland consistently pushes their responsibility of their subcontractors off on the customer. I did not buy my home from subcontractors but from Ryland.

Since Ryland has seen fit to ignore their obligations, I will be submitting this letter to the Better Business Bureau, The Texas Attorney General, as well as the TRCC.