ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A St. Petersburg family claims their contractor has all the insurance money to repair their Hurricane Milton-damaged home, but months later, they don’t have a fix.
It’s been almost a year since the storm damaged the McNealy family’s roof, fence, and destroyed their backyard lanai. The family has gotten everything fixed, except the lanai.
“It’s stressful to look over there,” Marlon McNealy said as he looked in his backyard. “It’s an eyesore.”
McNealy said his Integon Insurance policy paid close to $9,000 for the lanai repairs. In January, he hired Tampa-based contractor 7 Diamond Builders and signed a contract agreeing to pay $15,043 for the project. The contract spelled out McNealy had to pay 70 percent before construction started.
“In all we paid $10,000,” McNealy added.
City building records show 7 Diamond Builders applied for permits at the end of March; about a month later, the permits were flagged by the city for missing a site plan.
“The permit department asked them to also submit a site plan and they haven’t even did that yet,” McNealy said.
In addition, the estimate from 7 Diamond Builders was higher than what McNealy’s Integon insurance covered. Integon sent the McNealy’s a note saying the adjuster contacted the contractor asking for a detailed estimate, but 7 Diamond Builders did not provide information, so Integon did not increase its payout.
“I feel as if they took the $10,000 and now they’re blowing us off.”
Tampa Bay 28 Consumer Investigator Susan El Khoury reached out to the owner and Chief Executive Officer of 7 Diamond Builders, Mike Arodak. During a phone call, Arodak said he’s still working on the McNealy job and would follow up with an email.
In the email Arodak wrote, “There has been no unreasonable delay on our end; we are simply waiting on [McNealy’s] building department, which is outside our control.” The email also stated the McNealy’s are asking for work “outside the agreed scope.” Arodak said that included providing a cost breakdown to the McNealy’s insurance which he claimed is the job of a public adjuster. “As a licensed contractor, we are not legally permitted nor qualified to perform such services and clearly communicated this,” Arodak’s email stated.
After the I-Team reached out, 7 Diamond Builders submitted a site plan for the McNealy project and is currently waiting for city approval.
In his email Arodak said once the permits are approved 7 Diamond Builders will schedule and complete installation within five business day and added, “We are committed to delivering the project as agreed and have operated in good faith throughout.”
“I’m disappointed in the way they handle their business, it’s all about communication,” McNealy said. “The things that 7 Diamond can do I’m just expecting them to do.”
Attorney David Murray specializes in insurance cases, he isn’t involved with the McNealy’s case. He said before hiring a contractor homeowners need to make it clear they have an insurance claim and want help, since nothing requires contractors to help.
“There needs to be a situation that says if there is a dispute with my insurance company are you willing to have a conversation with my insurance company to explain your scope of work,” Murray explained.
Murray said he often sees a disconnect between estimates from insurance adjusters and construction costs.
“Most of the time an insurance company has an insurance adjuster that hasn’t built anything. We ask them through deposition have you ever built anything bigger than a doghouse and they say no."
He explained contractor disputes could lead to consequences for homeowners if their insurance paid for a claim, but the work was never completed.
“That insurance company can say you’re not abiding by your contract with us your insurance policy and you haven’t done the work at the home so we’re going to drop you,” Murray added.
Murray also recommends homeowners carefully read through the contract before signing it. The NcNealy's contract with 7 Diamond Builders includes a clause that doesn't allow them to write negative online reviews and limits the actions they can take if there is a dispute.
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