Comment Number: 542930-00041
Received: 8/28/2009 3:30:56 PM
Organization:
Commenter: Jordan Fogal
State: AL
Agency: Federal Trade Commission
Rule: "Protecting Consumers in Debt Collection Litigation and Arbitration: A Roundtable Discussion" - August 5 and 6, 2009
Attachments:
Comments:

We were residents of TX when the housing industry and arbitration company destroyed us. We are senior citizens.. My husband still maintains an apartment there, because retirement now is not an option. The builders of our home and 37 others in our subdivision, covered up defects and committed fraud. It was so blantant we even got a ruling of fraud in arbitration... With a ruling of fraud and an uninhabitable home we got an "award" of 8% of the value of our uninhabitable home.. The arbitration company, AAA. considers this a win for the consumer? An award does not mean you will ever collect anything. My builders'.lawyers said there was no money in that company and laughed saying I would never collect a dime. They threatened my lawyers with a law suit if they continued to persue justice for us...We lost our home, our down payment and were forced into moving expenses and arbitration costs. Over $30,000 to go into forced arbitration. not including attorneys fees. Arbitration that was decided before we were taken behiind closed doors.. Thirty- seven homes out of 44 in our subdivision were built with seriously defective roofs. Our builder was well aware of this and other defects and sued his own sub contractors...and went right on selling his defective properties. When ask in arbitration, why he did not tell us about the problems with our house, he smirked and said ,"why should I"? Our dining room ceiling fell in the first night in our new $360,000 home. The only way you can even believe what I am saying is to go to my web site and see the pictures, of not only my house but my neighbors. And we were not the only victims, This builder is notrious in Houston. These builders were fired by a suburb of Houston, as they attemped to build a new police station. It was 7 months behind and full of mold. Over 30 of us begged the AG and the DA for help and filed compalint after comlaint. The AG says I never even filed mine. I have twice and have two file numbers .They told us face to face when we delievered them it was a civil matter.. This is not civil. This is crimiinal only the weapon is hidden. Hidden in an arbitration clause that protects these types of big businesses from any repercussions. They get way with this behavior all the time and have become arrogant about it.. I know they had three other cases in arbitration when we were there. We went in with 187 documents,, a power point presentation, pictures and witnesess. The builder walked in with the arbitrator laughing carrying a little binder with 37 pages in it... and he knew he did not even need that..Our fate was decided when my builder called and told me...:"his lawyers would take care of me in arbitraion.". Tremont Towers, 76 units is also another of their fasicos.one of the highest foreclosure rates in the city. Also implicated in a mortgage scheme with BriarHollow?. Our house has been in foreclosure 5 times since we had to abandon it in 2004 after the shower fell out and the mold was rampid,stinking and making us sick. Our physican told us to get out immediatly after seeing the toxicology reports... Mother Jones magazine did a seven page expose.. The BBB used them on the cover of their bullitin as the example of bad builders with shadow companies. The head of our warrenty division was in prision. Still,,no one would help us.....we are one of millions in this country that were not sub primes, but victims of sub standard construction and arbitration clauses. We have become a land of angry Americans and that seems to be the only right we have left.. Jordan Fogal