They say money can't buy happiness, but when it's your money you are getting back, maybe it can.
"I never in my life would have thought I would ever see this money again," said Marianne King, who Contact Denver7 profiled after she said a contractor left her with a hole in her backyard and without $20,000. This week, she received the final check in a $15,000 refund.
"I know you were a major part of this story," King said. "After you called the police and the (district attorney), they called me. So I am so very thankful for Channel 7. I can't even tell you how happy I am and how thankful I am," King said.
From unwarranted parking tickets to bad cars, people told their stories to us hoping we could help get answers.
Kathy Kramer needed to pay for funeral expenses for her brother and could not access his accounts because of red tape. The day after she contacted us, she received a response.
"Yesterday, I got a call and they said they would expedite my check," Kramer said at the time. "I think it's just marvelous you help people like you do."
We feel no wrong is too big or too small.
On the big side, this year, we tackled multiple consumer complaints about the online dealership Carvana. Sydney Allen's Carvana car had a 40,000-mile odometer discrepancy, but she said she could not get any response from Carvana until Contact Denver7 intervened.
"After you guys reached out to Carvana, they did have somebody from their leadership team reach out to me," said Allen. "They gave me a full refund and a settlement agreement."
Our reporting also uncovered more significant issues with Carvana's car titles, and the state took action, meeting with the company to address concerns.
On the smaller side, it was more about the principle than the money when Aaron Kerzner couldn't get his hotel deposit back.
"It felt like you're helping out the little guy, and it worked!" said Kerzner.
Some money saved is difficult to quantify. A Contact Denver7 expose revealed the state had denied critical dental care for children on Medicaid, but the policy was changed after our reporting. In many cases, Contact Denver7 facilitated responses for people seeking unemployment benefits, who could not cut through the red tape.
Editor's note: Contact7 seeks out audience tips and feedback to help people in need, resolve problems and hold the powerful accountable. If you know of a community need our call center could address, or have a story idea for our investigative team to pursue, please email us at contact7@thedenverchannel.com or call (303) 832-7777. Find more Contact7 stories here.
