True Homes True Homes LLC Warranty Not Honored, Client Service Team provides anything but..... Monroe North Carolina

On or around April 15th 2015, a representative of true homes was at our residence to review any items we would like repaired under our warranty.  During that review, several items were raised, mostly minor issues with 2 exceptions. All items were promised to be resolved WITHIN 2 to 3 WEEKS, even the 2 major items listed here:   First- we had a series of 'Perc' holes throughout our property. There are approximately 6 of them, ranging in size but most are about 2 feet by 6 feet in area, with depths ranging from 2-5 feet, most around 4 feet deep. I was told they were percolation test holes that were not filled in as expected during the closing process after the home was built.  Secondly, and most importantly, I had severe concerns about the erosion issues that were caused by the very poor grading done by True Homes or their contractors. On both sides if the driveway the dirt is washing away creating starting to erode the dirt under the driveway. I have pictures that show a tape measure going 12 inches under the driveway where the dirt has been eroding. Prior to us purchasing the home, the original home owners submitted a warranty claim because the flooding and erosion was so bad that it literally washed away the driveway.  The water build up and eroded the dirt below the driveway, completely wiping it out. 

True homes came and attempted to correct the issue but it was not done properly, and now I am left to deal with the issues. ( I am the second owner of the home, the first owner moved out after only 3 months, leaving me with the remainder of the warranty since it was less than a year old)   Finally, after several phone calls, a representative from the warranty department named Caleb Cole then came to our property IN LATE JULY to review my concerns.  At that point he apologized and admitted his team 'dropped the ball' to use his exact words, and they said they were going to 'make it right', again, using his words.  He confirmed they were fixing the perk holes and were talking to a landscaper to identify the proper solution.  So then he leaves and we don’t hear anything until I finally call the Warranty Department in late august, basically demanding someone be at my home to fix the issues.  I was extremely frustrated at this point as you can imagine, I felt they were not taking our  issue seriously. True homes kept kicking the can down the road and finally on August 31st 2013, 4 and 1/2 months after the issues were raised, True homes said they would have someone out to the property at 8:30 am to fix the issues with the Perc holes.  Also on that Date, Warranty Manager  Denise Surber was supposed to come and review the issues with the grading. I have attached that email indicating the time and date they were supposed to arrive.

Denise showed up around noon or so, but still there was no one there to fix the perk holes  despite indicating they would be there at 8:30.  Denise reviewed the landscaping and determined, in her estimation,  that all that was needed was 'a little dirt' and some overseed.  I was astonished to be honest.  I have an issue that previously required the entire driveway to be rebuilt ( and a larger culvert laid underneath) less than a year earlier, we are seeing signs  again, including cracking in the driveway just inches from where the holes are forming.  Why did it take so long to determine just dirt was needed?   I disagreed with her analysis and said that a retaining wall would be needed to level the land and prevent  soil from washing out, based on my conversations with other landscapers that had been to my property that were HIRED by true homes.  She had indicated that it was happening because the grass was not taken care of but the irony of that is that  I was deliberately avoiding that area because I wanted True homes to see what was happening. Only because they kept delaying and rescheduling appointments did it continue to get worse.  Had they came out and fixed it or just told me all they were going to do was seed it, I would have done more but they kept indicating they couldn’t find the original landscaper or another replacement to 'properly' fix the issue.  I find this hard to believe but its what I was told.

I was dissatisfied with this but realized that she was not going to help me and I was going to have to work thru the legal and complaint process to get what I felt I deserved. She said there would be someone out to my home with in, you guessed it, 2-3 weeks to lay some seed and fill in some low spots.  She leaves and then at 2:30 THAT DAY, a group of workers showed up to my home from Practical Property group ( subcontractor for True Homes) to fix the issue that they should have been there at 8:30 am for ( perk holes) AND the issue that Denise said would be 2-3 weeks (add dirt and overseed).  My wife asked the Practical Property group if they could come back so she could be there when they did the work, since it was now 2:30 and she needed to pick my son up from school at 2:45.  We had several holes we wanted to make sure got fixed and we had no confidence at this point that the job would not be done properly if we were not there to approve.  I felt this was reasonable since they were more than 6 hours late or 2 weeks early, depending on how you want to look at it.

 Then on 9/4/2015, I received the attached letter from Caleb Cole.  He indicated that because we asked the reschedule, they were revoking their offer to fix it because it was a one time courtesy and not something they were required to do.  I was absolutely astonished.  Here is a company, and an individual who admitted to my face they dropped the ball and would rectify it, they repeatedly delayed and rescheduled and took over 4 and 1/2 months to come out and put down some dirt and seed is now revoking their offer since we asked for one reschedule?  This email was obviously a retaliatory attempt since I argued with Denise about the validity of her grading solution.  I have since made no fewer than  3 phone calls to True Homes, including calls to Managing Partner Scott Lee, and received no response what so ever.  No call, no email, no letter, nothing.  They are flat out ignoring me. 

I have read online complaint after online complaint about True Homes and it looks like this is a standard practice for them.  Action 9 news even ran an article about a very similar issue and you can view that here.  If you look at BBB reviews, issues with Warranties and Customer Service is a common theme.

http://www.wsoctv.com/news/news/action-9-homeowner-struggles-with-builder-to-finis/nD5Dd/

In addition to the issues called out above, they also did a POOR job with the drainage from my Air Conditioner unit.  Rather than put some type of drainage system in to handle the 5-10 gallons of water a day.  When I raised this to Caleb he suggested I dig it up and put down some stones for drainage.  This may not have been an issue for the warranty, but its another example of the easy way out that it appears True likes to take. 

I ask that they PROPERLY fixed by installing retaining walls on each side of my driveway to level the land and prevent erosion.  Every time it rains, you can literally see dirt rolling down the hill as if a mini mud slide.  Anyone who wishes to come to my property to see this is more than welcome.  This would have cost a few I have a hard time believing this was completed by a licensed contractor but I will also be filing complaints with the NC licensing Board for General Contactors on that issue.