Contact 6 helps viewers save $135,000 in May 2024

MILWAUKEE - Displaced by a fire and running into delays with insurance, a Milwaukee woman decided to try a new tactic.

She should be back in her house within weeks.

Nothing could be salvaged from Sade Pickens’ bedroom after a fleck of burning incense landed on some bedding in her closet.

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"The fire, it came so fast," said Pickens. "I hope I never have to experience anything like this again."

By the time firefighters left, smoke and water had damaged the rest of the floor. Six months later, Sade and her four kids are still in temporary housing. 

"I’m ready to be back home," Pickens told Contact 6. "There’s no place like home."

Pickens’ homeowners insurance approved more than $100,000 in property repairs. When it came time to cut the checks, Pickens said it was "horrible from the get-go."

Pickens says she eventually got money for housing and some lost belongings. Contactors were on standby to begin remodeling her home as soon as their check arrived. Months later, the money still hadn’t cleared.

"My mom was like, I think you should try FOX6 News," said Pickens. "I just felt like I didn’t seem like a priority."

One week after filling out an online complaint form with Contact 6, Pickens says the company told her it would send a $36,000 check to her contractors.

 "I was ecstatic. I’m like, Thank God," said Pickens. "That’s more than enough for them to start the remodeling."

 There were more checks to come. Pickens estimates that Contact 6 helped her get at least $60,000.

 Pickens’ resolution is among the $135,672.88 that FOX6 viewers say the consumer segment helped them save in May.

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 Working behind the scenes, the Contact 6 associate producer helped a Plymouth woman get $5,000 in wheelchair repairs after months of problems. She helped an Oconomowoc woman get a new and upgraded washing machine after she said it broke down three times while under warranty. And, thanks to Contact 6, a Milwaukee family got $52,000 from their bank after a check they deposited hadn't been cleared months later.

Pickens says now that her contractors are paid, her family should be able to return home sometime this summer.

 "Had [Contact 6] not done that, I’m pretty sure we would still be going back and forth with (the insurance company) about payment," said Pickens.

Consumers credit Contact 6 with helping them resolve 22 cases in May. They had issues with wireless providers, home repairs, fraud, local businesses and more.

To find out if Contact 6 may be able to help you, file a complaint form here.