WYOMING, Mich. -- Marianne Bida was relieved to receive a reimbursement check for more than $1,200.
"And I appreciate reaching out to you guys, because nothing would have gotten done,” Bida said.
Early this month, she told the FOX 17 Problem Solvers how, in January, her bedroom ceiling at Oldebrook Apartments in Wyoming collapsed despite her warning to management that it was caving in.
When the ceiling fell, debris and insulation covered her belongings.
“And they only gave me $30,” she said.
She reached out to the FOX 17 Problem Solvers after seeing Daniel Garvin’s identical story. The Problem Solvers helped Garvin get a $3,000 reimbursement. A manager for Beztak Properties told FOX 17 the new roof on Garvin's building may not have been properly vented, leading to the ceiling problems.
Bida, who works third shift, stayed in a hotel during repairs. That pricey tab, along with her dry cleaning bill, mounted to more than $1,200.
She said her communication with the company was “worthless.”
“They wouldn't respond until I got a hold of you guys,” she said.
Problem Solvers approached regional manager Jennifer Rhodes when she was in town earlier this month. Rhodes said Beztak wasn't the management company during the ceiling collapse.
FOX 17 consulted with an attorney who said it doesn’t matter who the management company was at the time, it's the complex owner who's responsible for Bida's loss.
A couple of weeks after FOX 17's story aired, Rhodes sent an email to Bida notifying her she'd get $1,247.
"I was like, ‘Okay, finally. [It’s] been a long time,’” Bida said.
After Daniel Garvin's story, Beztak Properties told FOX 17 that they're working with contractors and insurance companies to fix the ventilation issues.
