Scottsdale couple fighting State Farm for water leak repairs

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — A Scottsdale couple woke up to find a significant water leak in part of their living room.

Their insurance claim was rejected for reasons that didn’t make a lot of sense.

That’s when they called in On Your Side.

Living in Arizona, Charlie Cramer drinks a lot of water, and that means regular trips to his wet bar where there’s an ice machine.

So when a water leak sprung near the bar, Charlie spotted it right away. Charlie called a plumber.. and because of the water damage, he also called his insurance carrier, State Farm, to file a claim.

Two long weeks later, Charlie says an adjuster finally came out.

“He didn’t say much,” Charlie said. “He came around. He took a lot of pictures. He looked under the bar for dampness or wetness in the cabinets and really didn’t tell me much of anything.”

But when Charlie did hear something, it wasn’t what he expected.

He got a letter indicating State Farm was denying his claim.

Apparently, the adjuster had blamed the leak on a “gradual leak from a copper line under the slab” — and as a result, it wasn’t covered.

Charlie was shocked… because there was no way to tell where the water was coming from, but he doubted it was from under the slab.

He turned the water off to the wet bar and then he hired workers to tear out the drywall. And what do you know, the leak was very visible when the water was turned on.

“100% positive that that was the source of the leak,” he said. “We videoed it when they turned the water back on in that area. It came spraying out like a geyser.”

It was hardly a gradual leak, and it’s nearly a foot above the building slab, so it should be covered.

Charlie sent the video to State Farm along with an affidavit from their plumber… but State Farm refused to reopen the case.

“Incredibly frustrating,” he said. “You know, it’s pretty black and white. We have concrete evidence with photos, testimony, and they just ignore that.”

Charlie filed a complaint with the state, but State Farm again insisted the leak came from “a failed plumbing line located below the slab,” despite the evidence to the contrary.

So, Charlie reached out to On Your Side.

“We see that as just a terrific community service that you guys offer,” he said. “And we appreciate having you there on our side.”

On Your Side contacted State Farm and included that video of water spraying from the faulty pipe.

After our involvement and after reviewing that damning video, State Farm agreed to reopen the case.. and told Charlie that this time, they intend to pay the claim.

But this battle is far from over.

Charlie had to pay more than 30-thousand dollars for the repairs to his home.

So far, State Farm has not agreed to pay the full amount.

Once they have this fully settled and Charlie has a check in hand, we’ll let you know in a follow-up report.

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