(WSVN) - When a neighbor’s pipe burst, his South Florida condo flooded. He hired a public adjuster to make sure his insurance company paid up. But when it was time to write the check, the adjuster vanished. That’s when he called Help Me Howard with Brandon Beyer.
Thomas Teague lives a pretty quiet life inside his Oakland Park condominium where he’s surrounded by his art and his four cheerful parakeets.
He spends a lot of time on his plant filled balcony, enjoying the view of the lake. In fact that’s what drew him here, many years ago.
Thomas Teague: “That sold me I wanted it and that was 23 years ago.”
Back then, he never could have imagined the trouble he’d go through when a pipe burst in the unit above him. The water gushed for hours.
Thomas Teague: “She was not home, I was not home, so this water just kept flowing and flowing.”
When it finally did stop, the damage was in the tens of thousands of dollars.
Thomas Teague: “It came from the ceiling down inside the walls. When I got home this was like a lake.”
Fortunately he had insurance, and was covered in case of an event like this. So right away he hired a company to clean up the mess.
Thomas Teague: “They had the fans the dehumidifiers for seven days, $7,660 later everything is dried out.”
The insurance company offered Thomas more than $16,000.
Enough money to pay for the clean up and the repairs, and then Thomas heard from an adjuster.
Thomas Teague: “And they said, ‘No, we represent you to your insurance and then and we get you more. And we would like to get you more’– I remember they said possibly [$26,000] and of course I said, ‘Oh well, that’s great.'”
But the adjuster wasn’t able to get him a single extra dollar.
Thomas says his contract called for the insurance company to send the adjuster his settlement check.
But when the check arrived, they didn’t give him his money, leaving him with nothing to pay the clean-up company.
Thomas Teague: “They’re calling me every week. ‘Where’s our money? The bill is due, pay our bill.'”
He had no choice but to pay the bill, with his own money.
Thomas Teague: “I used my credit card and there was an extra fee for using your credit card.”
All while he was calling the adjuster trying to get his money.
Thomas Teague: “‘Yeah, one more week, one more week, one more week,’ and when you’re told that six weeks in a row you start to think, ‘Wait a minute.'”
The company would eventually Zelle Thomas about half of the money, but that still left more than $8,000 unaccounted for.
Howard, what can Thomas do?
Howard Finkelstein: “The public adjuster is legally obligated to pay both the mitigation company and the homeowner minus their fee. If they do not, because they are licensed by the state, you can file a complaint. In all likelihood, they will respond immediately and return your money because if they don’t, they could lose their license.”
We called the adjuster and we’re told we’d get a call back. We never did, but Thomas got a phone call.
Thomas Teague: “The very next day I received an email first and then a phone call. They wanted to send the money right away.”
Recovering from flood damage is stressful and expensive. Having to fight for your money only makes it worse.
Thomas Teague: “If it wasn’t for you guys, I’m telling you, I would never have recovered this money, so I have to say thank you.”
Now Thomas can go back to doing the things he enjoys, taking care of his birds and relaxing on his balcony.
Public adjusters are regulated by the Department of Financial Services. If you are having issues, you can file a complaint online.
Got a problem? Need a hand? Below how to find us. It’s Help Me Howard. I’m Brandon Beyer 7News.
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