WBTV 3 News, Weather, Sports, and Traffic for Charlotte, NCProblem Solver Investigations

  • Tuesday, February 21 2012 11:37 AM EST2012-02-21 16:37:52 GMT
    Jamie Schwenk is on a journey.  Late one night this past December she was on her way home from a funeral.  She was met in her driveway by the flashing lights of emergency vehicles. Schwenk just wants to know what happened.

  • Monday, February 6 2012 11:30 PM EST2012-02-07 04:30:12 GMT
    Jeannie Hollar came home one day last summer and couldn't believe what she saw when she walked into the kitchen and approached her stove. 

    "The burners were on," said Hollar. "They were glowing red."

  • Wednesday, February 1 2012 3:07 PM EST2012-02-01 20:07:02 GMT
    Violent thunderstorms left Shawn Goorey of Fort Mill, SC with a problem. "I needed a lot of work done to my house," said Goorey. As we've seen before when storms clear, roofing companies turn up faster than drying pavement.

  • Wednesday, February 1 2012 12:51 PM EST2012-02-01 17:51:31 GMT
    Jeannie Holler hadn't spent much time of late thinking about her remodeled kitchen. Why would she? The work, complete with new cabinets, counters and appliances had been done three years ago. Her mindset changed last summer when her electric stove appeared to develop of a mind of its own.

  • Tuesday, January 24 2012 1:43 PM EST2012-01-24 18:43:43 GMT

    WBTV goes in search of the seemingly vanished roofing company. Watch an all new "Problem Solver Investigation" Monday night at 11:00.

  • Wednesday, November 23 2011 9:17 AM EST2011-11-23 14:17:49 GMT
    It looked for all the world that Ron Watts had thrown away his money. He had a leaky dishwasher he needed fixed.

  • Saturday, November 12 2011 5:00 AM EST2011-11-12 10:00:51 GMT
     Kim and Brad Colesworthy were looking for a car.  They really liked a Nissan Maxima they found in an on-line ad for a Charlotte used-car lot.

  • Thursday, November 3 2011 3:00 PM EDT2011-11-03 19:00:00 GMT
    Claudia Tate was on her way home from work when she fell victim to a chain reaction crash triggered by a CMPD cruiser.  The accident happened around dinner time, by breakfast the next morning her phone was ringing.

  • Tuesday, November 1 2011 11:31 AM EDT2011-11-01 15:31:43 GMT
    Darren Adams needed a job.  It's why he jumped when he saw an ad in the paper promoting jobs with good pay and great benefits.

  • Tuesday, October 18 2011 10:06 AM EDT2011-10-18 14:06:12 GMT
    WBTV's Problem Solvers asked an apartment complex manager how a person can be charged and not allowed to move in because they didn't meet the financial requirements?

  • Friday, July 1 2011 9:33 AM EDT2011-07-01 13:33:12 GMT
    It was about a month ago.  Julia Knox watched from the porch of her northwest Charlotte home as another spring storm thundered into the neighborhood.   The wind left a power pole near her backyard leaning.

  • Friday, April 29 2011 6:03 PM EDT2011-04-29 22:03:03 GMT
    Val Dantzler thought she had met her match when she found Chalmers Bankhead on a popular dating website.   It turns out Dantzler wasn't the first woman to hear those lines.

  • Tuesday, August 24 2010 9:42 AM EDT2010-08-24 13:42:24 GMT
    Joann Puleo's sofa was 18 years old. It didn't need to be replaced. The Ethan Allen couch just needed to be reupholstered.  She saw an ad in the paper for a company called Art Craft Upholstery and called the company for an estimate.

  • Monday, August 16 2010 11:58 PM EDT2010-08-17 03:58:39 GMT
    Late afternoons, just as August temperatures would reach their sizzling pinnacle, Randy Cernohorsky's air conditioner would just shut off.

  • Tuesday, July 20 2010 11:15 AM EDT2010-07-20 15:15:56 GMT
    Tina Lackey's wheelchair gives her what disease took away. The ability to get around.   She grew frustrated when a repair shop held her chair for six months. 

  • Tuesday, May 25 2010 3:55 PM EDT2010-05-25 19:55:38 GMT
    Fish lovers don't always get what they ordered. DNA testing has found grouper being substituted with cheaper alternatives at several Carolina restaurants.

  • Tuesday, May 18 2010 9:17 AM EDT2010-05-18 13:17:39 GMT
    Marisol Rodriguez and her husband, Luis Arguedas, wanted something very simple -- the money deposited in their savings account.

  • Friday, May 7 2010 12:05 AM EDT2010-05-07 04:05:28 GMT
    Fresher Than Fresh, a Gastonia-based seafood distributor, has been substituting Atlantic Salmon with Steelhead Trout in shipments to area grocery stores.

  • Tuesday, March 23 2010 6:35 PM EDT2010-03-23 22:35:31 GMT
    Federal regulators are not satisfied with Duke Energy's response to their questions about winter flooding on Lookout Shoals Lake in Catawba County.

  • Monday, February 22 2010 11:54 PM EST2010-02-23 04:54:11 GMT
    Nolan Sanderson has a towing horror story.  "It was after midnight, came beating on my truck," recalled Sanderson.  "(He) says my truck has been booted for parking on private property."

  • Monday, February 8 2010 5:55 PM EST2010-02-08 22:55:43 GMT
    They are back from war and often flush with cash. Combat bonuses can leave our veterans with thousands of dollars sitting in their savings accounts.

  • Tuesday, November 24 2009 9:05 AM EST2009-11-24 14:05:11 GMT
    Caffeine and conversation draws a steady crowd to the Starbucks on East Boulevard in Charlotte's Dilworth neighborhood.  The coffee shop also draws a lot of tow trucks.

  • Monday, November 9 2009 11:41 PM EST2009-11-10 04:41:28 GMT
    Brian Causby and Adam Beach were looking forward to new opportunities.  Job prospects brought them from Morganton to the Charlotte area.  Their move hasn't exactly gone smoothly.

  • Friday, November 6 2009 9:18 PM EST2009-11-07 02:18:12 GMT
    Brian Causby and Adam Beach were looking forward to new job opportunities when they moved from Morganton to the Charlotte area last winter but their move hasn't gone smoothly.

  • Tuesday, November 3 2009 11:00 AM EST2009-11-03 16:00:15 GMT
    Russell Klug could be any of us.  He's another casuality of a rotten economy.  "I never thought in a million years I would be in this situation," said Klug standing in the driveway of his Fort Mill, SC home.

  • Tuesday, October 27 2009 2:17 PM EDT2009-10-27 18:17:01 GMT
    WBTV aired a special program Monday night entitled "PSI Charlotte."  During the program, we shared important information to protect you and your family on a range of topics including identity theft, credit repair, fighting foreclosure and auto repair.

  • Thursday, August 27 2009 12:20 AM EDT2009-08-27 05:20:41 GMT
    Judy Galley needed a roofer.   It just so happened one lived in her Concord neighborhood.   Don Montgomery was the owner of Monty's Construction.  Many of Galley's neighbors were hiring Montgomery after a spring hailstorm rolled through damaging roof after roof.

  • Wednesday, August 19 2009 6:43 PM EDT2009-08-19 23:43:53 GMT
    It's not the way a vacation should end.  "A washer or some sort of seal busted," said Baxter Burleson.  Whatever it was, left his home a flooded mess.  Water was running through his Mooresville home for several days. 

  • Wednesday, July 22 2009 11:29 PM EDT2009-07-23 04:29:37 GMT
    Cathy Thomson figured the math added up.  Spending $24,000 once to paint her home and horse barn made more sense than spending $6,000 every three years.  "The warranty is there you don't have the replacement costs," said Thomson. " You got so many other things to worry about on a horse farm it was supposed to be one less thing."

  • Wednesday, July 15 2009 11:31 PM EDT2009-07-16 04:31:37 GMT
    Marion Peeples doesn't mince words when it comes to Senate Bill 1007.  "Gosh, improper use of the legislative process," said Peeples. "The consumer is who I'm looking out for.  I'm not looking out for special interests.  Everybody who is writing this bill is special interest."

  • Thursday, July 9 2009 9:29 AM EDT2009-07-09 14:29:01 GMT
    Laura Streeter knew she had a problem with her Southwest Charlotte home.  Where it was coming from and how big were the two questions she couldn't get answered.  It's when she saw a Problem Solver Investigation we aired back in March. 

  • Thursday, June 11 2009 11:02 AM EDT2009-06-11 16:02:52 GMT
    Dianne Deese knew exactly what she wanted in a new sofa.  She also knew exactly what she wanted when the furniture store couldn't deliver.   Her money back.  Getting a refund has proven to be a challenge

  • Thursday, June 4 2009 9:49 AM EDT2009-06-04 14:49:57 GMT
    In a time when we are told to closely guard our personal information it seemed unlikely.   A business storing customer records in a public place.  What made it even more unlikely is that the public place was a restroom.

  • Tuesday, June 2 2009 10:23 AM EDT2009-06-02 15:23:34 GMT
    A Mecklenburg County judge has put a stop to the booting of cars at the N.C. License Plate Agency on South Boulevard in Charlotte.

  • Thursday, May 21 2009 6:53 PM EDT2009-05-21 23:53:22 GMT
    Tim Funderburke couldn't believe it. "It didn't take me no more than two minutes," said Funderburke. "I walk back out the door and got the boot on my car."  He wasn't alone.  Car owner after car owner parking in front of the N.C. License Plate Agency on South Boulevard was getting the same treatment. 

  • Thursday, May 14 2009 11:36 AM EDT2009-05-14 16:36:48 GMT
    Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department Detective Kim Simma had a one-word reaction. "Unbelievable," said Simma after watching undercover video shot by WBTV.

  • Tuesday, May 12 2009 10:53 AM EDT2009-05-12 15:53:47 GMT
     A tough economy and soaring gold prices. The combination has a lot of people looking to sell their gold and silver.  A lot of companies are offering top dollar, but are they really?

  • Thursday, May 7 2009 4:23 PM EDT2009-05-07 21:23:30 GMT
    When a locked door closes and you realize your keys were left on the other side, it's a moment of dread.  Getting back in your car or home usually requires a locksmith.

  • Thursday, May 7 2009 12:17 PM EDT2009-05-07 17:17:05 GMT
    Linda Ostrow was looking to quickly raise some cash to help replace her damaged car.  She immediately thought of some valuables around the house.   She took them to a local jeweler and nearly made a costly mistake. 

  • Thursday, April 30 2009 12:10 PM EDT2009-04-30 17:10:26 GMT
    Patrick and Mary Tomeo didn't know where else to turn.  Months after paying the bill, Mecklenburg County's tax office was threatening to seize their vehicle.

  • Friday, April 29 2011 8:23 AM EDT2011-04-29 12:23:29 GMT
    New safety and security questions are being raised at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.  A WBTV investigation found evidence of several abandoned cars at the airport.  Some have been left for months, even years.

  • Wednesday, April 1 2009 2:53 PM EDT2009-04-01 19:53:30 GMT
    Brian Jones would seem to be an unlikely victim of a water damaged home.  He's a homebuilder in the Charlotte area and after years of building other people's dreams he decided to build his own. 

  • Tuesday, March 1 2011 9:42 AM EST2011-03-01 14:42:11 GMT
    It was a frantic 911 call from a panicked wife about a dying husband.  The problem was the call went to the wrong county.

  • Wednesday, March 25 2009 2:24 PM EDT2009-03-25 18:24:36 GMT
    R. J. Coffren knows what it's like to be a victim.  Shortly after opening a tanning salon in Huntersville he was robbed by a man pointing a gun at his head.  

  • Tuesday, February 22 2011 9:39 AM EST2011-02-22 14:39:05 GMT
    In the quiet of Union County farm country Heather and Lee Henage built the house they always wanted.  "The outside looks great," said Lee Henage.  It turns out looks can be deceiving.

  • Wednesday, March 11 2009 3:09 PM EDT2009-03-11 19:09:46 GMT
    Whitney Thomas is young and busy.  The 23-year-old medical student was looking to start a relationship, but wasn't interested in the typical bar scene.  Its when she noticed a roadside sign promoting a website for singles.

  • Tuesday, February 15 2011 12:08 AM EST2011-02-15 05:08:41 GMT
    Sandra and Thomas Alexander have had their share of big hospital bills, but it was actually a relatively small one that gave them headaches.

  • Tuesday, February 8 2011 12:11 AM EST2011-02-08 05:11:53 GMT
    Joyce Houser and her husband bought an RV in 2006.   The Housers could have found one close to their home in Newton, but the deal clincher was a big $4,000 rebate offer. 

  • Monday, November 22 2010 11:27 PM EST2010-11-23 04:27:16 GMT
    Robert Peploski and his wife built their retirement home in 2006.  They wanted one big upgrade from their builder, hardwood floors throughout most of the house. He loved what he saw when they moved in.

  • Tuesday, November 16 2010 9:27 AM EST2010-11-16 14:27:58 GMT
    Matt Thomas and his wife Christine decided in the down housing market it was better to upgrade then sell. They remodeled the kitchen in their quaint country home.

  • Tuesday, November 9 2010 12:53 PM EST2010-11-09 17:53:53 GMT
    Lee Vickrey joined the Air Force and sent all his money home to provide his growing family with new furniture.  Now, it's all ruined.  

  • Monday, November 1 2010 11:25 PM EDT2010-11-02 03:25:44 GMT
    Richard Brooks had been paying down a credit card  balance for the past two-and-a-half years.   So, imagine the shock when a letter showed up in his mailbox from a collection agency saying he still owed $997.

  • Friday, October 29 2010 4:18 PM EDT2010-10-29 20:18:25 GMT
    Richard Brooks signed on with a debt consolidation company to build a plan to whittle the bills down.  Nearly three years in, he was on track to wipe his debt out.  It's a when a letter arrived in the mail.

  • Monday, October 25 2010 11:26 PM EDT2010-10-26 03:26:45 GMT
    Dealora Snyder couldn't believe it when she opened her electric bill last month. "I was like how," said Snyder. "How can it be that high?"

  • Friday, April 29 2011 6:01 PM EDT2011-04-29 22:01:22 GMT
    Dealora Snyder knew something didn't add up when she opened her power bill.