(CBS13) ROSEVILLE, Calif. Scott Wall and his family have been living in chaos since September when they returned from a trip and tried to pull into their garage.
“And when I couldn't get the door open I went around to the side of the house and that's where I saw the water coming down,†explained Wall.
Scott says the water was pouring down from the second story. When he got inside it was dumping out of the light fixtures and down the stairs. The carpet soaked with an inch of standing water. The culprit to all this, he claims defective plumbing the builder knew about.
In fact, a letter from the builder DR Horton dated three weeks before the burst reads: “We recently learned of a potential issue with the toilet supply lines. They may fail in the future which could cause water damage to your home.â€
But it was too late for Scott who called the builder DR Horton. He says they told him not to turn it over to his insurance because it would be quicker and cheaper if they just fixed this mess on their own.
“They made grand promises, they said they had a crew of people to come in to do it and could get it done,†said Wall.
Instead of charging DR Horton for lodging, Scott and his family moved in with his in laws while they worked on the problem. But the so called quick fix dragged on for months.
“Where we ran into problems was with the floor coverings and stuff,†said Wall.
Scott claims the tile DR Horton wanted to put in wouldn't match what he already had throughout the house. And he says they didn't want to replace the water soaked cabinets. Scott asked if they would put in wood flooring he already bought instead of carpet and claims they said no.
“I'm the homeowner and you're not gonna tell me how my house is gonna be put back together, and you're not gonna go cheap at my expense?†questioned Wall.
Very unhappy with DR Horton, Scott told them.
“You’re putting a lot of stress on the family… there's the holidays coming up. Then on November 11th my wife had a stroke,†said Wall.
So Scott’s priorities shifted to care for his very sick wife. Upset with how DR Horton was handling this mess he decided to put in a claim with his homeowners insurance.
But he says they said they wouldn't cover this damaged furniture and some of his expenses. He got me involved to see if we could get DR Horton to cut a check for the difference.
We placed five calls to the builder over three weeks leaving messages with two different people. Not one of my calls was returned. Scott's stuck dealing with a builder he feels is more interested in profits than customer service.
“There was nothing about customer service that they did for us,†commented Wall.
The insurance company has paid to have the house fixed up where the family can move back in.
http://cbs13.com/consumer/local_story_025230534.html
Home 
