Action 9

Action 9 helps local families recover more than $15,000

ORLANDO, Fla. — Action 9 helped two local families recover more than $15,000.

One man claimed a manufacturer could not fix the generator he needs for hurricane season and Todd Ulrich also helped a couple get a big refund for a kitchen renovation nightmare.

“Please get out of my showroom,” the manager told Ulrich at Applied Contracting Services.

“I've checked your complaint history. What's going on here?” Ulrich asked.

Ulrich went to Applied Contracting Services in Winter Garden, to find out why several customers claimed the company took big deposits but didn't do the work.

Jene and Edward Connelly turned to Action 9 after paying a $5,000 deposit for a new kitchen. The contractor never showed up.

“I've done nothing but call, beg, and plead,” Jene Connelly said.

Two weeks after Ulrich asked the contractor what happened to their deposit, the Connelly's got a $5,000 refund.

“I went straight to the bank and cashed it,” Connelly said.

In Umatilla, Action 9 helped Jack Schladetsch get his generator fixed.

“Without this part the generator is worthless.” That’s what Schladetsch said he was told after his whole house generator broke down.

He counts on the generator every hurricane season.

But the manufacturer said his Generac Power System could not be fixed.

“It is a discontinued part. It's not available anymore, and basically your generator is scrap metal,” Schladetsch said.

A company representative tried to find that part, a flex plate, in storage but did not have any luck.

“That's when I decided to write a letter to Action 9 news and ask for some help,” Schladetsch said.

Action 9 sent a letter to Generac's corporate office in Wisconsin and 10 days later he got a response.

“Your letter was the only reason my problems were discovered by the executives at the company,” Schladetsch said.

Generac managers told Schladetsch its machine shop would make a flex plate just for his generator.

Now, he's ready to stay powered up through any storm.

“You are absolutely my heroes. You saved me much more than $10,000,” Schladetsch said.

Schladetsch tested the generator and it's good to go.