TRUMAN HOMES leaves home owner on their own...

[taco.vidal]

Originally Posted by dubc80

I'm always interested in hearing about companies and how they handle customer service, good and bad.

I'm not in the market for a new build, but would definitely be asking more questions before considering Truman.

I also had no idea how undermount sinks were attached to countertops, so good learning there as well. Will ensure its epoxy'ed correctly and strapped when I re-do my kitchen eventually.

Will be following for updates, and hopefully a positive resolution.

Companies that sell big ticket items especially have the problem of setting precedent that could cost them more dollars in the future. Lets say they fix Polak's damages even if any warranty expired. Then another purchaser has some sort of issue with their condo. That purchaser finds out that Truman paid for Polak's damages. That purchaser can take Truman to court and use as evidence that it is Truman's practice to honor the warranty or pay for damages outside of the first year.
It also potentially exposes Truman to liabilty issues going forward if they fix the problem because it can imply negligence on their part.

Truman handled the initial interaction with Polak poorly but from a legal perspective their actions make sense. This isnt a situation like when a restaurant comps part of your meal because your entre was over or undercooked. It could have big dollar ramifications.

[polak]

There's a story now posted too:

http://calgary.ctvnews.ca/first-time...rage-1.3166865

[Hockeyguy15]

Originally Posted by taco.vidal

Companies that sell big ticket items especially have the problem of setting precedent that could cost them more dollars in the future. Lets say they fix Polak's damages even if any warranty expired. Then another purchaser has some sort of issue with their condo. That purchaser finds out that Truman paid for Polak's damages. That purchaser can take Truman to court and use as evidence that it is Truman's practice to honor the warranty or pay for damages outside of the first year.
It also potentially exposes Truman to liabilty issues going forward if they fix the problem because it can imply negligence on their part.

Truman handled the initial interaction with Polak poorly but from a legal perspective their actions make sense. This isnt a situation like when a restaurant comps part of your meal because your entre was over or undercooked. It could have big dollar ramifications.

I think where I disagree with you in this case is that they provided him (and presumably the whole complex) with incorrect warranty info in the start. Had they given him the correct paper work that said you have a 1 year warranty and this happened after 15 months, yeah it sucks but the warranty is up.

Then add in the fact that it looks like they are trying to keep a lid on this by removing the review section and comments on their Facebook page and it seems extra scummy.

[polak]

Originally Posted by taco.vidal

Companies that sell big ticket items especially have the problem of setting precedent that could cost them more dollars in the future. Lets say they fix Polak's damages even if any warranty expired. Then another purchaser has some sort of issue with their condo. That purchaser finds out that Truman paid for Polak's damages. That purchaser can take Truman to court and use as evidence that it is Truman's practice to honor the warranty or pay for damages outside of the first year.
It also potentially exposes Truman to liabilty issues going forward if they fix the problem because it can imply negligence on their part.

Truman handled the initial interaction with Polak poorly but from a legal perspective their actions make sense. This isnt a situation like when a restaurant comps part of your meal because your entre was over or undercooked. It could have big dollar ramifications.

And that's part of why I'm going to try and get this out to more people and I'm not stopping at the news segment. To force Truman to change the status quo.

The news segment brings this legitimacy but the real pressure is still to come.

[MillerTime GFG]

CTV has it on their FB page too. I'd get people sharing that.

https://www.facebook.com/CTVCalgary/?fref=ts

[WhiteTiger]

I wonder if the comment from the Truman Homes guy was because he was secretly hoping that Polak was Jessica Biel...

[sa226]

Originally Posted by taco.vidal

Companies that sell big ticket items especially have the problem of setting precedent that could cost them more dollars in the future. Lets say they fix Polak's damages even if any warranty expired. Then another purchaser has some sort of issue with their condo. That purchaser finds out that Truman paid for Polak's damages. That purchaser can take Truman to court and use as evidence that it is Truman's practice to honor the warranty or pay for damages outside of the first year.
It also potentially exposes Truman to liabilty issues going forward if they fix the problem because it can imply negligence on their part.

Truman handled the initial interaction with Polak poorly but from a legal perspective their actions make sense. This isnt a situation like when a restaurant comps part of your meal because your entre was over or undercooked. It could have big dollar ramifications.

I don't know, I think what sets a company apart is the after sale service. People (customers) understand that things happen, but within reason what can be done to make them happy. Obviously this isn't black and white. But I think its pretty simple. Should your sink fall out of its freakin hole? Probably not, like ever. Let alone the first 15 months. Then lets get it fixed.

There a number of things that can go wrong with a living space that could result in the company saying, "Sorry, but your coverage has expired." Which while annoying, would be reasonable. I don't think a sink falling out is one of them.

It seems there are 2 separate fights here. One is Truman owning up to a flaw in the build. Two is how hilarious a 1 year new home warranty is. You can get a set of ear buds from Bestbuy with more warranty than that.

Perhaps the counter argument is that the warranty is meant to protect you against shoddy workmanship. So now that it has expired, too bad! Which brings us back full circle to the realization that you shouldn't buy from Truman Homes.

[jeffporfirio]

Are they still deleting comments from their FB page?

[polak]

Originally Posted by jeffporfirio

Are they still deleting comments from their FB page?

I don't think you can post on their page anymore now that they removed the Review section.

Thanks to everyone who has shared the article, already at 20 and it's only been up for two hours. I'm going to post the /r/calgary thread here again just for some more upvotes now that I added the piece about the review section. Sorry, not trying to spam this too much to you guys but every bit helps!

https://www.reddit.com/r/Calgary/com...o_see_me_talk/

[bossy22]

I think a part of the problem is there is no accountability. One year is a joke. A lot of crappy workmanship can last longer than one year. We had a Hearthstone home in Cochrane. First year was a dry spring, summer. Following year we had a lot of rain. We had mold coming up from the upstairs bedroom baseboards. Call in a siding guy, and he discovers they didn't even paper that side of the house. Hearthstone wouldn't do anything about it. That's just negligent. As a home owner, you should be protected against poor craftmanship. If it's something that breaks from normal wear and tear fine, but a sink falling, is total BS. Truman Homes should be on the hook for that.
Like cars. One year for somethings, 5 years for others. Homes should be the same.

My first home I purchased was in Hidden Valley. Small starter home. 2nd owners. It was a 2 year old home and the hardwood started lifting. I called the builder, only to see if they could recommend someone. We were new to Calgary and I didn't know anyone. The builder sent someone out, and he fixed the floor. When I asked how much he said, "Nothing. That shouldn't have happened after only 2 years" That's what a builder should do.

[Raekwon]

Originally Posted by polak

I don't think you can post on their page anymore now that they removed the Review section.

Thanks to everyone who has shared the article, already at 20 and it's only been up for two hours. I'm going to post the /r/calgary thread here again just for some more upvotes now that I added the piece about the review section. Sorry, not trying to spam this too much to you guys but every bit helps!

https://www.reddit.com/r/Calgary/com...o_see_me_talk/

I think I would rather pay for the damages myself than give up my Reddit username.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by Raekwon

I think I would rather pay for the damages myself than give up my Reddit username.

We should find out if he was looking at preggo porn like Ken Bone.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by Clarkey

I don't want to be a Debbie Downer but I feel this social media blitz is unwarranted for the relatively minimal non-warranty damage that occurred. It sucks but you are SOL by the letter of the law. To maintain PR, most other bottom line focused companies would have caved after the social media campaign, but I don't think you are entitled to it by any means. As a homeowner stuff breaks down and that's on you to fix it (or pay someone else to). It sucks but such is life, I had to throw a flat screen in the dumpster a few years back because it pooched itself a couple months past the warranty. I could have probably squawked and got a replacement but the warranty was up so fair's fair.

Yeah like those idiots in Glen Eagles who had their houses start to slide down the hill.

They probably walked with heavy steps. Stuff breaks, build your own new foundation. Shouldn't take more than a book from the library, a trip to the hardware store, and a weekend of hard work.

You can feel the pride and satisfaction as you lift your home onto it's new foundation that you made yourself.

Next weekend you can get on the hill shoring measures for the slope below your house so your house stays put this time. A job well done.

[bossy22]

Originally Posted by Bill Bumface

Yeah like those idiots in Glen Eagles who had their houses start to slide down the hill.

They probably walked with heavy steps. Stuff breaks, build your own new foundation. Shouldn't take more than a book from the library, a trip to the hardware store, and a weekend of hard work.

You can feel the pride and satisfaction as you lift your home onto it's new foundation that you made yourself.

Next weekend you can get on the hill shoring measures for the slope below your house so your house stays put this time. A job well done.

Same thing is happening in Bow Ridge in Cochrane. Over 40 homes in a lawsuit with the developers and the town who approved all of the engineering. A friend of mine hasn't had a deck for 4 years because it fell. He's in a walkout. His foundation is cracking. It's a nightmare. His wife left because she couldn't deal with the stress. The two gabion walls in the area have been moving the past bunch of years.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by bossy22

Same thing is happening in Bow Ridge in Cochrane. Over 40 homes in a lawsuit with the developers and the town who approved all of the engineering. A friend of mine hasn't had a deck for 4 years because it fell. He's in a walkout. His foundation is cracking. It's a nightmare. His wife left because she couldn't deal with the stress. The two gabion walls in the area have been moving the past bunch of years.

That is both awful and scary. I had a friend in school who lived in the area, and they could no longer open any doors in the basement the house had shifted so much.

[speede5]

I do side work and this is the kind of thing I dread. All it would have took was a couple straps to prevent all the damage, the sink could still have failed, but no water damage.

There does have to be a reasonable warranty period but a contractor can't be on the hook for everything. I won't support material failure past whatever I deem a reasonable period. I also won't install certain products, i.e. house brand faucets from the big building stores.

I actually hate installing anything I haven't purchased, not because I want to make money on product, but because if I am going to get called back when it fails, I want to control what I install. Nothing worse than being halfway through a bathroom and the customer showing up with a bunch of faucets they got on sale at Costco!

If this situation happened to something I installed though, I think I'd be calling my insurance and eating the deductible. I'm not sure why Polak's insurance wouldn't be going after the contractors insurance. Seems no one wants to do their job here.

[polak]

OH BOY TRUMAN.

Whoever is reading this at Truman Homes, I'd be concerned.

[Hockeyguy15]

speede is there any sort of code for under-mount sinks for securing them?

[Hockeyguy15]

Originally Posted by polak

OH BOY TRUMAN.

Whoever is reading this at Truman Homes, I'd be concerned.

You'll see I guess. Things might just have got a lot worse for you.

And the plot thickens?

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by polak

OH BOY TRUMAN.

Whoever is reading this at Truman Homes, I'd be concerned.