BINGHAM FARMS, Mich. (WXYZ) — As Hurricane Ian hit Sanibel Island, Bingham Farms attorney Corey Silverstein watched from Michigan. A few years ago his family bought a vacation home there, where they made memories and friends.
“It destroyed everything. We had eight and a half feet of surge water all throughout the house. Imagine you are looking out at the ocean seeing white caps. We had white caps in our kitchen,” said Corey Silverstein.
Pictures shows how those waves put his fridge on his kitchen island, dropped his boat in trees and destroyed the support structure of his house. He says it will have to be torn down.
This week he called to cancel utilities and home services. With Xfinity, there was no problem. Then he called the security company ADT.
“She basically said no. You can’t cancel,” he said.
Silverstein says, as a lawyer, he pointed out the contract does provide outs for “Acts of God”, but got no where.
“ I said, I want to keep my services then. My services aren’t working now. So, I would like you to send some ADT techs out to fix my service,” he said.
Silverstein says the representative knew this was a ridiculous request, with the bridge to Sanibel Island destroyed and power out. She said techs could not restore service, but he still had to pay. He again said he didn’t need service, as he has no home to secure.
ADT then sent him a bill for the entire value of his contract, due upon receipt since he canceled the service.
Silverstein said he wanted to spread the word, to let anyone else dealing with this know, in his legal opinion they don’t owe and they should speak up together.
WXYZ reached out to ADT. As Silverstein was being interviewed by WXYZ, ADT called to apologize. The security company sent WXYZ an e-mail statement.
“We waived the customer charges of $245. As we always do during natural disasters, ADT works with its customers on a case-by-case basis to resolve their issues. Thanks for your inquiry and good luck with your story,” said the e-mail from ADT to WXYZ.
“For other people dealing with this, I would point them to this story and to you Kim Russell,” said Silverstein.
ADT did not explain why Silverstein was put through such trouble. Silverstein hopes speaking out makes a difference not just for him, but for others.
If you have a story tip or consumer problem that you want covered, 7 Action News Reporter Kim Russell can be reached at krussell@wxyz.com.
