question on home building defect electrical and lawsuits

[Galaril]

I spent the better part of the weekend with a lot of my power off since apparently our 4 year old home we just moved into 2 1/2 months ago had a defect in the insulation in the underground service lateral from the service panel. So it turns out this causes the circuits to flood after every rain storm and requires an electrician to come and replace them .the total cost after each rainstorm appears to be 100-150 dollars a pop. I have found out that 4-5 other neighbors with homes by the same builder that are having the same problem. I guess the electrician who is handling most of these cases has contacted Siemans who is the service panel designer, builder and the installer of this.
Now what we all want is for Siemans to acknowledge this defect and come out and fix the problem. Siemans did come out to one home in the past and do a half ass weather strip job on one of the boxes but it didn't solve the problem. So, that being the case they have more or less admitted that a problem exists and they are responsible. I am thinking we should get all the neighbors together and get an attorney to draft a letter to Siemans to bring this to their attention .After that if need be we could go ahead with a class action lawsuit. From what I am hearing this is something that is happening fairly often at least with Engle homes in the Colorado area.

Does anyone know what type of lawyer I should contact? Also, I am wondering if there is anyone on the board here who works for Siemans that might help me cut throught he red tape and just get this brought to the attention of the right person at Siemans and as I said we are just looking to get this fixed not looking to sue anyone unless we have to.

[wade moore]

I suggest contacting someone that has Spellcheck.

Sorry - couldn't resist.

In all seriousness - my guess would be a real estate attorney since they deal with property issues?

[JPhillips]

If you can't get Siemans to fix it, you might try a Consumer Affairs reporter. This sounds like the perfect kind of story for those reports and the publicity will likely result in getting the problem fixed.

[Galaril]

Thanks and yes that wa a horrendous mess spelling I went back and cleaned it up. Good idea on the consumer affair reporter thing.

[CraigSca]

Is there a homeowner's group in the neighborhood? Could you check with them if there's a large contingent of owners with this problem? Maybe they could help with something, or at least better organize a neighborhood-wide campaign.

Btw, I think it's spelled "Siemens" if it's the same German company I'm thinking of.

[Tasan]

The Consumerist: Shoppers Bite Back is somewhat effective at getting the word out and getting things done as well. It wouldn't hurt to send them a message.

[Galaril]

Originally Posted by CraigSca

Is there a homeowner's group in the neighborhood? Could you check with them if there's a large contingent of owners with this problem? Maybe they could help with something, or at least better organize a neighborhood-wide campaign.

Btw, I think it's spelled "Siemens" if it's the same German company I'm thinking of.

Yes there is an HOA but so far they have been of little help just gave me rep to call at Siemens USA. I did send an email to the consumerist explaining the situation. One thing that is pissing me off is the rest of neighbors have put up with this situation for a while some over a year or two and now when I ask them to get togther they all see to be quiet.

[Flasch186]

Bear in mind that it may be much harder to get them to admit that theyre responsible for a recurring problem than it is to get them to actually fix it. What I mean is you may want to aim at getting it fixed OR having them admit fault (via a court case) to get one of them done. Good luck and I wish you the best in getting the situation resolved.