CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Charlotte area family is finally getting help after more than a year of battling their insurance company for a new roof.
The family said the insurance company only came through after WCNC’s Michelle Boudin stepped in. And there’s still one very big question that every homeowner can learn from.
It was a simple house repair, an updated paint job. Tony Yenichek, the homeowner, explained what their painter told them he'd discovered.
"He immediately told us there was water damage behind the wall," Yenichek said.
That led to a much, much bigger one.
"We had exterior damage, interior damage, we just wanted an explanation," Julie Yenichek said.
Turns out their painter discovered Julie and Tony Yenichek had a leaky roof and every time there’s a hard rain, it rains in their living room.
"We have homeowners insurance, it's raining in our house and we couldn’t get a callback," Julie Yenichek said.
They say Nationwide initially denied their claim and then stopped communicating with them.
"I followed up, no response, followed up, no response," she said.
WCNC Charlotte is always asking "where's the money?" If you need help, reach out to WCNC Charlotte by emailing money@wcnc.com.
So they finally called WCNC looking for help.
"I just want to thank you and WCNC, we were really stuck before you got involved," she exclaimed. "I called and talked to you because as a consumer, I wasn’t sure what to do."
WCNC called local and national reps for Nationwide to find out what was going on. A spokesman for Nationwide told us they couldn't comment on an individual claim but assured us they would reach back out to the family.
"Before you got involved we were really stuck we didn’t know what to do," Julie Yenichek said. "Here we are over a year later and it's still raining in our house and what Nationwide has said is they’re gonna fix the roof and so we’re grateful they’re gonna fix the roof and we still need to figure out what happens with the inside."
Tony Yenichek showed us how the floors are now impacted.
"We've noticed recently the water is coming down through the wall and now it is not smooth here, it's rough, wavy," he said.
That’s right, the Yenichek’s say Nationwide has said they’ll pay for a new roof, but not the damage that appears to have been caused by the leak.
"We need to get this fixed and what are the underlying areas we can’t see," they said. "So we're getting the roof fixed, again thanks to you getting involved, hopefully we'll have everything resolved in the next few weeks."
WCNC checked with local experts and they tell us insurance companies are cutting back on claims when they can, charging more for policies and it’s on all of us as consumers to fight back if you feel it’s unfair. Our experts say talk to your local agent whenever possible and don’t be afraid to appeal a claim. We’re still working with the Yenichek’s and we’ll let you know what happens.
Contact Michelle Boudin at mboudin@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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