Pulte has clarified procedures for receiving payment and another matter. In the March Spirit, Pulte tells us that payment may take up to 90 days rather than 45 days as they originally had said and written after receipt of the release or the inspection to confirm Kitec, whichever is later.

Pulte also clarified procedures for those who went ahead and had the work done by a contractor other than American Leak Detection. Those homeowners had relied in good faith on what they understood was Pulte's promise to pay following the occurrence of two events: 1) delivery of an unaltered signed General Release form; and 2) an inspection by Pulte to determine the presence of Kitec. Pulte had led homeowners to believe that these were the only two requirements necessary to receive their check for $7,800. Now, however, Pulte is telling those homeowners, "NOT TRUE." [See Pulte's old "Answer . . . ." to Question 25 at the end of this article.]

Based on Pulte's amended procedures, it seems that Pulte has reneged on their prior commitment to pay homeowners in the manner described above and as announced at the January Kitec meeting. Now, however, homeowners who have had the work done by anyone other than American Leak Detection will have to provide proof to Pulte before a check will be cut, even if they successfully completed the two-step procedure noted above.

Here is Pulte's new, amended procedure for getting a check if American Leak Detection was not used.

4. If I use my own inspector or plumber,
what do I need to do in order to receive my
compensation?
You are asked to mail or deliver the repair
invoice with a written statement from the
plumber, affirming that your home had Kitec
plumbing, along with two defective fittings
from your home, to the Pulte/Del Webb main
office at 8345 W. Sunset Rd, Las Vegas, NV
89113. You will also need to sign the statement
to affirm that you had Kitec in your home and
return an unaltered Release form to us.

And finally, Pulte now advises that the water supply pipe from the water meter to the house is not "polybutylene" as they originally had written in their revised Answer to Question 40, but, instead, is "polyethylene."

Regarding Del Webb/Pulte warranty provisions on your home, Pulte makes it clear that all applicable developer warranties are not affected by the homeowner's execution of the General Release form.

Regarding future warranties on plumbing products, Pulte cautions, "Whichever product you choose, a written warranty [from the manufacturer] of at least 20 years should be included." [Since the Vanguard warranty is only 10 years, is that Pulte's round-about way of telling homeowners not to use Vanguard piping?]

Yes, homeowners can still request an inspection and be considered for compensation if they have not already done so.

You can read Pulte's complete article, from the March Spirit, page 26, "YOU'VE ACCEPTED THE KITEC OFFER, NOW WHAT?" by clicking here.

Ron Johnson, 6 March 2007

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Old Guidelines

Question 25. Can we have a step-by-step list of directions for the residents to follow if they wish to accept the re-plumbing offer? This means both the process that the resident follows as well as the process that ALD/K&R follows in completion of the work.

If you wish to accept the $7,800 offer, you need to return your signed release by the 35-day deadline stated in the offer letter. If your home has already been inspected by Pulte/Del Webb’s inspector and is confirmed to have Kitec, we will process your check for $7,800 within 45 days after we receive the properly executed release assignment.

If you wish you to accept the $7,800 offer but your home has not been inspected by Pulte/Del Webb, we will schedule an inspection of your home in order to confirm the presence of Kitec after we receive the properly executed release. If Kitec is confirmed, your compensation check will then be processed within 45 days and mailed to you.