CLEARWATER, Fla. (WFLA) — A Clearwater couple has been living around a leaky mess for nearly a year.
Rebecca Anaya says it all started with one section of her roof.
“All of a sudden one day we heard a big crash,” Anaya said. “We came out, and our ceiling had caved in onto our couches and the floors.”
That was last summer, when Anaya was pregnant. Her baby is now 10 months old. She says her insurance company, People’s Trust, hired a third-party contractor to fix the roof. On day one of the repair, she claims workers left the roof open, without a tarp to keep rain out.
“They left,” Anaya said. “They didn’t tell us they were leaving. They didn’t tarp anything. They just left.”
They came back and did repairs but that work never passed a final inspection by the city of Clearwater. In fact, city employees say it failed. Permits expired before city inspectors reviewed the work. Meanwhile, problems got worse. Another part of the roof is now leaking and appears ready to cave in, too.
“Literally, it’s raining in the middle of the kitchen, while my husband and I are on either side, trying not to get rained on while making dinner.”
A bucket stays in the kitchen to catch water. A tarp stays on the roof, to try to prevent water from getting inside. Anaya and her husband are fed up, and tell 8 On Your Side they can’t get answers from the contractors.
A spokeswoman for People’s Trust tells 8 On Your Side she gets a different story from the contractors. According to the insurance company, contractors even blame the homeowners for some of the troubles, saying they’re told the homeowners have problems with the other part of the roof and the homeowners declined to pay for that repair. Also, contractors question whether the homeowners removed paperwork needed for city inspections (the homeowners say that’s not true.)
Meanwhile, after questions from 8 On Your Side, the insurance company has decided that a year is too long and something needs to be done. So, a new contractor will be hired to finish this job, and People’s Trust agreed to pay for those repairs.STORIES OTHERS ARE CLICKING ON:
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