HOUSTON – Hundreds of faulty toilet tanks all over our area are at risk of cracking and flooding your home. Consumer expert Amy Davis first exposed the problem in 2016. Now toilet manufacturer Vortens is agreeing to pay for repairs or replacement of some models.
Plano attorney Scott Carpenter filed a class action lawsuit against Vortens and parent company Porcelana Corona de Mexico in 2017. The tanks are manufactured in Mexico.
Our report was one of the first documents he presented to the federal court. Just this month through mediation, Carpenter was able to get Vortens to agree to compensate some of its customers and replace faulty toilets.
Channel 2 Investigates found the Vortens toilet tanks cracking in homes from The Woodlands to Pearland and Copperfield to Garden Oaks. When homeowners like Ann Aults tried to get the company to pay for her repairs and replace the other Vortens toilets in her home, the company would not return her calls.
In 2016, a Vortens spokesperson told Davis "Some tanks manufactured in 2011, mainly references #3464 and #3412, may have been affected by certain technical issues that allegedly caused fractures."
They told homeowners who had experienced problems to contact them by email; but when they did, Vortens didn't always respond. When someone did contact the customer, they wouldn't agree to replace tanks that had not yet failed.
Now we've learned Vortens has agreed to create a replacement program managed by a third party for tank models #3412 and 3464 made only in 2011.
They will also pay certain claims for property damage caused when those specific models cracked in customer's homes.
A federal judge in North Texas must still approve the settlement. When that happens, consumers with the two models will be notified.
Carpenter says the settlement is not enough. He has presented evidence in court that he believes shows Vortens tanks made as far back as 2004 and as late as 2012 are also faulty. He is pressing to get the company to replace those as well.