When a South Florida homeowner’s appliance stopped working, he expected a simple repair. Instead, the fix made matters much worse, causing thousands in damage. So he called Help Me Howard with Brandon Beyer.
The Acuna family has created many memories inside their South Florida home.
Cristian Acuna: “Weston is a great place to have kids, have a family. We love it here.”
But inside the house, things were about to get messy. The dishwasher broke. Thankfully, it was still under warranty.
Cristian Acuna: “It stopped working, mid-cycle. It had an error message; there were no leaks at that time.”
Cristian scheduled a repair. But after the part was installed, the problem got much worse.
Cristian Acuna: “We pretty much woke up with a flood underneath our wooden floor.”
Water leaked from the dishwasher and spread throughout the home, damaging floors, walls, and furniture. The family had no choice but to hire professional help.
Cristian Acuna: “We started mitigation services which is north of $10,000.”
Crews had to tear out the flooring. Drill into the wall. And bring in heavy equipment to dry things out.
Cristian Acuna: “Since then, we’ve had boxes with all of our belongings piled up in the hallways. We’ve had all of our dining room and home office with all the furniture and belongings stacked up, so they’re rendered useless.”
The mess took over nearly every aspect of daily life.
Cristian Acuna: “It’s horrible. It’s absolutely disruptive to the family.”
Cristian couldn’t work from his home office.
Cristian Acuna: “I am working in the garage. Obviously, a garage in Florida is pretty hot.”
The kids couldn’t invite friends over. Even meals were a struggle.
Cristian Acuna: “We can’t have family dinners. At the end of the day, I just want my house back.”
Howard, what a mess. Who’s responsible?
Howard Finkelstein: “If the repair was done negligently and that caused the leak, which caused the damage, whoever did the repair is liable. And if they were hired by the store, they too may be responsible.”
We reached out to the company, and they told us they were aware of the issue. A few days later, Cristian received a check for $36,000 to cover the damages. And since the other dishwasher couldn’t be repaired, they sent a new dishwasher.
Cristian Acuna: “Two days later, they were contacting me to settle, so it broke the radio silence pretty much.”
Cristian Acuna: “I am really happy to have called Help Me Howard.”
It’s called the law of negligence. If you hire someone to fix something and they break it, they have to fix it. Howard says sometimes proving it, though, can be tough.
Got a problem? Need a hand? Here’s how to find us below. It’s Help Me Howard. I’m Brandon Beyer, 7News.
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