Family drowning in debt after 'routine' service from Costco goes horribly wrong
A Florida family has been left with $700,000 in damages after a Costco refrigerator delivery went horribly wrong.
Bradley Byrd purchased the $3,500 fridge online from the superstore in November, which included installation.
However, the free service ended up costing his family hundreds of thousands of dollars due to a faulty water line installation that caused massive flooding.
The appliance was delivered and installed by an uninsured third-party contractor hired by Costco on December 2.
About six hours after it was placed, Byrd said his daughter frantically called to tell him their house was flooded.
'She facetimes me and says, "Dad, the house is underwater,"' Byrd told local outlet News4JAX.
The father said the water supply line had been improperly installed and caused flooding throughout his home.
'So what happened is, during installation, most of the extra water line is wrapped into a coil and taped on the back of the refrigerator like it is now, but the installers didn't do that,' Byrd said.
The free service ended up costing his family hundreds of thousands of dollars due to a faulty water line installation that caused massive flooding
'They allowed it to go underneath the refrigerator, and they allowed the refrigerator's wheels to sit on a line, which caused a crack that grew larger and larger.'
Video showed Byrd wading through the water that spread throughout his home and damaged furniture, electronics and even structural elements of the house.
'We got the tree up, Christmas presents wrapped. Everything was great. And then all of a sudden, a couple of days later, we had to leave,' Byrd said.
'Right now, we're down to what appears to be a construction site. Still, it looks like an unfinished home, because it is an unfinished home.'
Byrd said his family was forced to leave their home, and air quality testing found high moisture levels and mold in a majority of the first floor.
He claimed he was given an estimated total repair costs at about $700,000 and neither Costco nor the delivery company have been helping.
'So far, I have spent about $300,000 on repairs, mitigation, third-party charges for reports and testing, and to get our belongings moved out and into storage,' Byrd said.
Byrd said he accepted a $38,000 no-strings-attached payment from Costco, but has not agreed to their $175,000 settlement offer.
'They drop the ball and are hoping that I foot the bill with my life savings for their bottom line,' he said.
The family returned to their home in March, which does not have a fully functional kitchen or bathroom.
Byrd launched a website to document the mounting damage and claims process he has faced.
'These are the expenses to pay for our alternative living, mitigate our house, and bring our house back to the same condition it was in before the damage,' the website states.
'Any enhancements, upgrades in materials, etc., are not reflected here. These are my cost to be made whole and not a penny more.'
The website stated the approximate damage to the house is $360k, personal property damaged is $76k, alternative housing and living expense $78k, litigation and moving and storage $117k, and professional services to recover monies from RXO so far is $72k.
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