CHULA VISTA, Calif. (KGTV) - Robin Kerr wanted her house to be different than the others in her Chula Vista neighborhood. She decided to buy french doors to replace the sliding glass door to her back patio. Little did she know the doors would become a big problem for her family.
Because of California's years-long drought, the problem was delayed... and then the rains came.
"Our walls started crying," said Kerr, who noticed water coming from several areas surrounding the doors.
"I called them after it leaked and nobody came, and that has been a habit, a pattern with this company," said Kerr. " Every time I have called them they will set up an appointment and never show up."
Kerr, a retired NCIS investigator, says the first leak happened in October 2015, a year after the doors were installed. She claims she called Pacific Homeworks to report the problem but says the repairman didn't show up at the time they'd agreed on. A second appointment was set, and again, no show.
Kerr dropped it because the rain had stopped, but the heavy storms this winter were another matter.
On January 20, the skies opened up. As the rain poured down outside, Kerr says water began puddling on the hardwood floor inside her french doors. She called Pacific Homeworks. An appointment was set up for the 24th.
Kerr kept a timeline of each interaction with the company listing the date, person she spoke to and what was discussed. The timeline shows nobody showed up on the 24th or on the next date set.
On February 28th a worker did show up. Kerr says he explained that there was no flashing on the doors. To correct the problem he "back-puttied" around the doors to keep rain from getting inside.
By late March Kerr discovered a new problem. A strip of black mold was growing along the top of the baseboard and into the drywall adjacent to the French doors. The mold was hidden by her 3-year-old grandson's play table.
Now she was angry. Kerr left a voicemail message but says she got no response. The next day, she called again. An appointment was set for April first.
The same Pacific Homeworks employee showed up and removed the moldy section of drywall and a section of baseboard. The baseboard was two inches short. The section of wall still needed paint, and Kerr's hardwood floor had a big scratch.
Kerr reached out to Team10. Within hours of our contacting the company, the worker called to apologize and said he would return to finish the job properly.
The next morning she got a message from the owner of Pacific Homeworks. "I was just briefed on our multiple failures to complete your project," Mac Marcus texted. "I'm very disappointed in our efforts. I believe I have a solution and I would like to speak to you as soon as possible as I do not want you to be inconvenienced any longer."
Marcus asked Kerr to call him. When she did, he apologized and offered to not only replace the french doors but to refund the entire $5,000 she paid.
Kerr accepted the offer. "I wasn't looking for money. I just wanted my door fixed," she said with a smile.
Team 10 checked with the Contractors State License Board to see what kind of a track record Pacific Homeworks has. The company's contractor's license doesn't have any disciplinary actions against it. We did find complaints on YELP, but most were about sales tactics, not products or installations.
Pacific Homeworks has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. Which lists 63 closed complaints in the past 3 years.
Kerr did everything right: She hired a licensed contractor. She kept all her receipts and kept track of every contact she had with the company, including names and dates, all of which would have been helpful if she decided to file a complaint with the Contractors State License Board.
Because the company has now decided to replace the doors, Kerr has no plans to file a complaint.
