Customers want refund from home builder

ð IN NEW MEXICO -- AND THAT'S NOT ALL. TODAY WE ALSO FOUND OUT IT'S LEAVING ...  More »

ð IN NEW MEXICO -- AND THAT'S NOT ALL. TODAY WE ALSO FOUND OUT IT'S LEAVING BEHIND CUSTOMERS WHO SAY THEY'RE NOT GETTING THEIR MONEY BACK FOR HOMES THAT WERE NEVER BUILT. NEW AT 6:30---OUR VALERIE CASTRO LOOKS INTO THE WOES OF WALLEN HOMES. ONE CUSTOMER WE SPOKE TO SAYS SHE WAS TOLD WALLEN WOULD BE BREAKING GROUND ON HER NEW HOME BY NEXT WEEK -- SHE FOUND OUT TODAY THAT WALLEN WON'T EVEN BE IN NEW MEXICO BY THE END OF TOMORROW. 'Our address was gonna be, I think it was 417 6th street out in chamisa hills.'THIS PLOT OF RIO RANCHO LAND WAS GOING TO BE THE SITE OF CHRIS BLUNK'S NEW HOME THAT HE AND HIS WIFE HAD DREAMT ABOUT BUILDING. 'This is the house that we wanted, this is everything we could have ever imagined so the fact that we feel like we were emotionally and physically robbed.' BLUNK SAYS LAST WEEK HE PAID A 3 THOUSAND DOLLAR DEPOSIT TO WALLEN HOMES -- A POPULAR BUILDER IN RIO RANCHO. HE LEARNED THIS WEEK THAT HIS HOME WON'T BE BUILT AND THE MONEY HE PAID IS GONE ALONG WITH WALLEN HOMES AND BUILDERS. NOW HE'S FILING A COMPLAINT WITH THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE. 'We were notified two days ago that Wallen was going to close their doors and all contracts that were just signed they're going to be basically annulled.' WE CALLED ERIC WALLACE, THE CEO OF THE PITTSBURGH-BASED COMPANY WHO SAYS THERE IS NO ONE TO BLAME BUT THE ECONOMY. HE SAYS QUOTE -- 'BLAME THE BANKS AND BLAME DC. THE SYSTEM IS BROKEN. WE'VE TRIED EVERYTHING WE CAN.' ANOTHER WALLEN CUSTOMER WHO DIDN'T WANT TO BE SHOWN SAYS SHE WAS TOLD THE BUILDER WOULD BREAK GROUND ON HER HOUSE NEXT WEEK. THEN SHE HEARD THE BAD NEWS OVER THE PHONE THIS MORNING. 'Telling me that wallen builders was not going to be here any longer and that they would not be building my home.' WALLEN'S CEO SAYS THE COMPANY IS TRYING TO DECIDE HOW TO HANDLE THE CUSTOMERS THAT SAY THEY WERE CHEATED OUT OF THEIR MONEY. 'It's a huge disappointment for me, for my family and not to mention what I feel for others in this same boat.''3 thousand dollars isn't a lot of money but in this market and these times, this is a huge amount of money and this is money that my wife and myself we needed for a house.' WE'RE TOLD THE 8 LOCAL WALLEN EMPLOYEES FOUND OUT ON TUESDAY THAT THEY WOULD BE OUT OF JOBS BY THE END OF WEEK. THEY TELL US THEY TRIED TO CASH THEIR PAYCHECKS TODAY BUT THE BANK TOLD THEM THE ACCOUNT  « Less