American Home Shield - Page 2

MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE -- I wouldn't even give this horrible company 1 star. I had an AC Company come out, who I have paid my $125 service call fee to them the last 2 times they came out. Finally came out to install a new unit for us. A few days after the service I receive an email stating that I was not supposed to pay the service company and that they will be charging my card. I was never told not to pay the company like I had been and they charged my card the $125 service call fee. I got in touch with an agent who told me she would process a credit request for my account and that I should see the credit in 7 days. That was the best she could do for me apparently.

A week goes by and I never received a credit. I got in touch with an agent who told me she did not see a credit on my account and that it only takes 3 business days for a credit to show up and that I should have received it by now. She puts me on hold to get in touch with the agent to see how she process my credit and to make sure she did not. After waiting 30 minutes on hold I was told she got in touch with the agent that helped me previously and that the request was processed and that I should be receiving it either later that day or tomorrow morning. She also told me she would follow up with me in the morning to make sure I received my credit back on my card.

The next day comes and I never receive my credit or a phone call. I call that evening to speak to a lady that I demanded to speak to a supervisor. She transfers me to what sounds like the exact same lady and tells me she is the account manager. I tell her my story and she then informs me credits take 15-20 business days (THIS IS THE 3RD NEW LIE I HAVE BEEN TOLD NOW), but that she didn't even see a credit even in processing status on my account because no one has reached out to the AC company to verify that I paid them in cash!

She put me on hold to call the AC company (even though it was 8pm at night and no one was going to be in their office). She told me she left them a voicemail to contact her back to get this issue resolved and that she would also email them. She told me she would also follow up with me in the morning to verify everything. I also got her name and number in case I did not hear from her.

The next day comes and I still never hear from anyone and no credit has been issued on my account. I call the number that was supposedly was this agents direct line only to be directed to a completely different agents voicemail. I call the AC company who tell me they have been having issues with American Home Shield and their owner had already been on the line with them very upset. She told me she would call me back shortly after she looked up my invoice to verify that I paid them cash so we could go from there. She also told me she never received a voicemail from American Home Shield regarding my situation. (LIE NUMBER 5).

30 minutes go by and the AC company calls me back to tell me they will be issuing me a check to take care of my issue because they did not want to deal with American Home Shield anymore. I told them I was very upset with them as well, and I am currently waiting for the AC company to send me a check for $125 service fee they were apparently not supposed to collect from me at the time of service.

NOTTINGHAM, NEW HAMPSHIRE -- Submitting a claim with American Home Shield always runs very smoothly and they react very quickly. In fact, my last claim was in the repair stages within 24 hours. It was for the pressure gauge and holding tank on my well pump. However, they did not have a representative in this area who could do that kind of work and I have somebody, because I've lived here for a lot of years.

So I got my own contractor to do the work and paid $1,250 for their service. I called AHS to get reimbursed and the AHS representative spoke to the contractor while he was here and got the story on what happened. Unfortunately, and this is nobody's fault, the rep had to write it down because all of the computer systems were down and that was on a Friday. She told me that when the techs finished doing what they had to do, she was going to call their office and speak to them again.

I told her that I had an issue with that because the contractor already got the money. And if the AHS rep will call them later on and get voicemails, the contractor's not going to call her back. If it was AHS' people that they have a contract with, that's a different story because they have an agreement but they had none with the people that did the work for me. However, I knew it's policy and it had to be done. I was also trying to give her some feedback on this but I knew it was not going any further. She was not rude but she just doesn't care.

The thing that really stinks about it all is that the work wasn't covered which I have a problem with. Especially, since I paid extra to have my well pump covered, because we have our own well. It is kind of ridiculous because without the pressure gauge and holding tank, I have no water. Those are the brains of the well pump and that's exactly how the plumber described it to me. Moreover, the pressure regulator is not something that breaks a lot because it's covered undercoating and lasts for a really long time.

Also, this is a brand new house for us but when we bought our own policy, it's not looked at like a new house even though we bought the policy the month we bought the house. However, if the previous owner had bought the policy, they take into consideration that the new owner inherited some broken things without realizing it. We've only been here since fall and the well pump had to be broken when we got here. It just took that long for it to finally wear out and die. That's been going on for years for it to get to the point that it did.

I've had two other claims for my washing machine and dishwasher. Those experiences went fine but their policy was to repair something until they can repair it which resulted in them spending more money. I could have bought a new washing machine and dishwasher for what they had to pay to repair those items, which is silly. Especially with my washing machine, I really went back and forth with them on it because it is 30 years old. It's been fixed now but I know it's going to break again because of its age. But in talking to the contractors, they said that's pretty typical.

OREGON -- When we bought our new home we were delighted to learn that it came with a home warranty on all major appliances. Wow, were we naive.

Shortly after moving in our refrigerator died. We quickly called American Home Shield (AHS) to see what could be done. They informed us that they would send a tech out to see if it could be repaired.

The tech came out and told us the fridge needed a new compressor and dryer. He stated that he would forward his findings to AHS. Within 24-48 hours someone from AHS called us and told us that the tech stated that due to 3rd party tampering the fridge could not be covered under the warranty, no repairs would be done, goodbye.

I called the contracted tech's company asap after this call. I spoke to the staff there who stated that is not what the tech reported and that I should call AHS back. So I did. I spoke to a man at AHS and told him the run down and asked what they were trying to pull by fabricating that report. He apologized and stated AHS made a mistake and that the tech would be approved to order parts and make repairs.

A week or so goes by, the tech returns, replaces the parts in the fridge and bam, the fridge works....for one week, then it dies again. Ice in the freezer melts all over my 100 year old hard wood floors and warps them.

We call AHS again. They send out the same tech to inspect. He does some further testing and tells us that there is an internal leak somewhere inside the fridge that was not there during his first inspection. He states that the fridge is no longer repairable as no one will replace internal coils. okay, cool. we get a new fridge, right? WRONG!

We wait to hear from AHS about what to do next, but no phone call arrives. Instead, we get an email reminding us that a tech is coming to inspect our fridge. Mind you, we did not get notified of this by a person, just an email We have no idea what is going on. I call the company listed on the email and ask them why are they schedule to come repair our unrepairable fridge. The gal tells me that AHS told them it was a second opinion they needed. I told the gal everything that had happened to date and she was appalled. We had been out of a fridge for a month already and they wanted us to wait another week for a second opinion and who knows how long after that for a repair they may not even work. The gal told me that they will not repair internal leaks either and the work order was a waste of time and wrong for AHS to put us through all this. She told me to call AHS back and demand that if they want a second opinion that they find someone who can come out next day to do it,

I call AHS back and relay the message. I am placed on hold for who knows how long, then told that Sears can come out in 5 days to inspect. I reluctantly agree. The Sears tech comes and states the fridge needs a new compressor and dryer. He thinks the leak is external, though to be sure they have to replace what they already replaced the first time AGAIN! Mind you, I could have already bought a new fridge for the amount of money AHS paid in parts and labor at this point!

The Sears tech schedules us for a repair date and orders the new parts. He prints off a receipt that shows our scheduled repair date and approximate time for the following week. I take off the day from work, schedule my activities around this repair and no one shows up. I get a voicemail recording "reminding" me of my appointment on the next business day. WHAT! I call Sears and say, hey wait a minute, you can't change a scheduled appointment on the day and time you are supposed to be here! They don't care "Sorry ma'am, you are scheduled for ..." Bull crap. I ask for a supervisor, wait for 30 minutes for one to pick up the phone, I tell him I took the day off from work for the repair and someone needs to get out here today, he then almost immediately transfers me to a third party repair company (instead of fixing the problem himself, he passed the buck...great leadership skills there Sears!). The third party picks up. It is a male with a heavy middle eastern accent. He proceeds to YELL at me that my appointment was not that day. I tell him I have the paperwork to show it IS today! I can fax it, text it, or email it to him to show that it is typed on a receipt with today's date. I tell them that Sears rescheduled it without authorization from us. He again YELLS at me basically calling me a liar. At that point I hung up. No refrigerator is worth this abuse.

I call AHS back and ask to speak to a supervisor. I get a man's voicemail. I leave a detailed message about the treatment I received from Sears and their NO Show. He NEVER calls back. Instead a female, not a supervisor calls back and acts like a complete a-hole. I repeat everything to her and tell her that we are no longer working with Sears due to their treatment and no show. I had already, at this point, called Sears and told them not to come for the repair and to pick up the parts they had order and return them. UPS was schedule to pick up next day. AHS jerk lady tells me Sears has to do the repair. I counter that Uh, no they don't. They have many companies they contract with. Parts are being returned, contract with Sears over. Fix it. She says it is Sears or nothing. I explain to her that a tech they contracted already told them that the system in non repairable....why are we being punished because of their lack of trust in their own techs? We had been out of a fridge for almost 2 months now with 4 children in the home. Two of which drink a gallon of milk within two days. Can you say NIGHTMARE! She has no sympathy.

I told her that at this point it is illogical to keep trying to repair the fridge. I could have bought a new one for all they money they had spent on repairs. Still jerk lady is unmoved. She was very clear in her next words to me. She stated that AHS will continue to do repairs on the fridge as long as possible before ever considering a replacement.

Copy that, jerk lady. So basically, AHS is a farce. A joke. What they offer is a lie. I really should have told her to shove the warranty up her ass. You shouldn't work in customer service if you have no sympathy or empathy for your customers. Imagine the fear you would have having to place perishable goods in a fridge that you know could die at any moment. Trust me, I know and the expense of that, having to throw out an entire freezer worth of food, plus the damage to my hardwood floors from the ice melting in the freezer is huge. People can't live like that.

I would never, ever consider a home warranty with this company in the future. My fear is that all home warranty companies operate like this. Makes no sense. I bought a new fridge out of our own money after all this. Spent $650 for a beautiful stainless steel, side by side, Frigidaire floor model from Best Buy. That is about half the amount they would have spent on all repairs if we let Sears come in. Does that make sense to you? I call this whole fiasco a whole lot of LACK of COMMON SENSE.

BEAUMONT, TEXAS -- NEVER USE AHS!! Once again, I have to pull up my contract & read to them the clause that shows I am covered! Every time I use AHS it is a fight to get them to cover what the contract says they should cover. I have multiple contracts and I have many properties. I have two other home warranty companies Choice Home Warranty and America's 1st Choice Home Warranty and I never have this problem with either of these companies. Also, when the tech that AHS finally shows up (which is never when it is originally scheduled) they always claim that the repair isn't covered and will require me to pay an exorbitant amount of money. Yet when I refuse and request they send a second tech from a different company, it is approved by this tech and I am told the 1st tech was lying! But don't take my word for it, on BBB they have 956 BAD REVIEWS OUT OF 958 TOTAL REVIEWS AND 9223 BBB COMPLAINTS!!!!

FRISCO, TEXAS -- I recently filed a claim with American Home Shield for my pool. They had to replace the electronics that burned out. It was the most difficult claim I had as it took 90 days for it to get repaired due to the incompetence of the vendor. They kept getting a part and telling me the part was bad. It took three weeks each time to get the new part, and they went through three different sets of parts before they realized that it was something else. They finally brought all the connectors and detectors out, which they should have done early on.

They found out that it wasn't the transformer, but the circuit board that had gone bad. They kept telling me that they'd be out in a couple of days. It was 30 days later when they finally came out and fixed it, and then the repair they did was shoddy at best. I ended up having to remove things and remount stuff because it was so poorly done. Now, the equipment is fine. They wanted me to sign off on it, and I told them I'm not signing off until it runs for 48 hours after waiting 90 days. I also asked them to show me every single component and how each works before they leave. They weren't happy about that and said it wasn't their job.

Everything is in working order. I was a little miffed that it is not a like-for-like replacement. The system I had before was much more complex and involved, and this one is about as bare bones minimum as I can get. In fact, I contacted Home Shield a couple of times and they asked if I wanted them to get me another vendor but I didn't want toi start all over again.

Normally, the vendors would come out, find the problem, and fix it. We had a couple of air-conditioning work calls this year. The guys came out in a day or two and everything was fine. It was exactly what we would expect. The claim for the pool was ridiculous.

It's too much trouble to get a service. We have been in the sense of dropping the service because of these types of issues. Sometimes, when I call, a contractor comes out after four or five days. We don't like it but understand that as long as they're confident and can identify the problem right away, that's all we care about. That's what all we expect out of any contractor that comes out.

CLAYMONT, DELAWARE -- I had a faucet leak in my bathtub and submitted a claim with American Home Shield. AHS assigns the claim to a particular provider, and I don't wait for the providers to call me, I always call them. So, I called the one that is assigned immediately as soon as I got AHS's email, and they came right away. The response was quick. My husband was at the house when the guy came out. The tech knew exactly what was wrong with it. He went to Home Depot, which is around the corner from our house, picked up the part, came back, and put the part in. The faucet has been perfect since then.

Everything was great. The only thing about American Home Shield is that they put a claim in the computer and get whichever provider comes up. What I would like is that once I like the work of the provider that comes out, I would like to request for that provider whenever I put in a claim versus the system picking somebody else the next time. I had that happen before for a claim that I had on an AC unit. They wanted to send me someone that I knew had a bad reputation, and I wanted the guy that I had before. As long as the person that I'm requesting is on their network, I don't see why that should be a problem.

In that particular case, the system automatically assigned someone and I called AHS back and told them I didn't want this person since I've heard of their reputation and don't want them coming to touch my unit. The AHS rep said they can't do it. I then told the rep to cancel the request. Later on, a supervisor called me back. I appreciate that a supervisor called me back within an hour, and said they were going to change the service provider. So it was a good experience.

YARDLEY, PENNSYLVANIA -- I requested repairs through my warranty company, American Home Shield. They put me in contact with the repair shop. The repair shop called to set the appointment and said they would be at my house tomorrow between 10 and 1. Perfect. That was easy. Or so I thought. They didn't show. I called to see where they were and the ignorant ** on the phone said she meant to say Saturday not Thursday. They came out Saturday and did some work to my central air. It cost me $305. The air stopped working again Saturday night.

I called the repair shop, no answer. I called the warranty company Sunday and after a 45 min wait I was told that the repair shop has 48 hours to get to my house for a re-call. Nobody called me Monday to confirm so I called the service shop. They told me Wed or Thurs for an appointment. I called the warranty company back, waited another 45 minutes to talk to someone. They told me again, the policy is 48 hours for re-calls. I said I need another repair shop because the last one can't get out until Wednesday or Thursday.

The warranty company tried to explain to me that when they say 48 hours, they mean 48 business hours. Meaning there are 8 business hours in a day and they had 48 hours of business to come back out. I almost fell off of my chair. 2 business days now means 6 real days because there are only 8 hours of business hours in a day. WTF? This woman was the supervisor and she was seriously trying to convince me that a business day isn't Monday-Friday, it's 8 hours of Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. 24 hours = 1 business day.

They said they would send another service company but I would have to pay my deductible again. Obviously that's not happening. They said based on their crazy made up "business day hours model" the repair shop was following guidelines. As I'm speaking to the supervisor, I searched reviews for the company they sent out. I asked if they took feedback from their customers before considering calling the services they provide preferred. She said "We don't listen to reviews." There were nothing but bad reviews and a 1-star rating for this company.

One review describe a man that was squared up and ready to punch a woman while holding a baby. Ironically it was the same guy who came to my house. If this company uses these types of people/criminals to do service, I think I'll pass. I have canceled my warranty. I recommend you do the same and or avoid them and do your research first.

PHOENIX, ARIZONA -- We live in Phoenix, AZ and our AC went out in May. It is almost mid-July and our unit is still not working. When I called to place the work order with their customer service back in May, the girl that took my call was completely incompetent and failed to answer my questions. During a 30 minute call, I spent about 25 of those minutes on hold for her to come back with a one or two word response to my questions. She finally dispatched All Star Refrigerant to my home.

The contractor with this company called me to set up an appointment for the following day but then did not show up. When he finally arrived he indicated that my unit needed refrigerant and charged me $350 with the impression that everything would be fine. And because we were in the middle of construction on our home, he told us that we needed to get up on the roof to clean the coils once we were done.

Less than a month goes by and my unit is again not working properly. I have made several attempts to contact American Home Shield, their automated system indicated it was a ten minute hold when in reality it was 30 to 40 minutes before I eventually hung up. I eventually called the contractor that came to my home hoping that he could help me. He agreed to come to my home the following day to assess the situation. Well, you can guess it, he didn't show up.

Four days went by (Monday night at 10 pm) before I got an email from him asking if he could come on Wednesday. I agreed. He showed up on Tuesday without notice or calling anyone to advise he was coming and then called me Wednesday night (at 9 pm) to say he got on my roof and that the unit is working just fine and that was what he would be reporting to the home warranty company. Part of his report indicated that the unit was cooling the house properly, which in my opinion is difficult to report when he didn't even enter my home.

We are out $350 and nothing has been fixed. In addition, my hot water heater stopped working and they sent a technician out (charged me 75 dollars) to say that he couldn't help me because lighting it was a safety hazard. They also indicated that nothing would be covered because parts were missing from the water heater.

The hot water heater was in that condition when we bought the house (in March). He quoted me $1,100 to replace the "400 gallon water heater" for my 962 sq foot house. We ended up eating the bill for a brand new hot water heater. Overall their contractors are unprofessional and flaky. It is so good to be a new home owner and know that I am protected by my Coldwell Banker recommended home warranty.

NEWARK, DELAWARE -- I had a claim with American Home Shield recently. The day that the initial repair was performed, after the tech had ordered, brought and installed the needed parts, the ice maker and water filter stopped working. I have called and I've been having trouble because I am being charged a second deductible. I work about 70 hours a week at a car dealer, and I'm on call. My fiancée wasn't an authorized user at the time to call AHS, so she couldn't call to let them know about the matter after they came the first time. And I didn't call right away because I figured maybe it's like a computer that's got to reset.

Days went by and it never worked. So, I called AHS about the refrigerator that had stopped working right after they replaced the parts and the young lady whom I talked to said, "It may not be covered but the way you're saying it, you shouldn't have another deductible." Then the technician also said there wouldn't be one. Even their recording says that no matter how many trips it takes, if it's for the same thing, then I don't get charged again.

I'm not asking for them to come out and fix something else. I'm asking for something that happened to the same item and it started the day that the first repairs were made. They might have caused the other thing to break or the guy might have unplugged it while he was here to get to charge me again.

What I'm upset about is I've already paid $75, but now I've got to pay another deductible for a problem that could have been handled during the original visit had I been at home to tell the guy or notice right away. They did come out and complete the repairs in a timely manner, but it feels like they are double-dipping and it just doesn't sit right with me.

So, I'm not happy with AHS right now. I want this matter resolved and taken care of by them. I even went ahead and already registered for a second year with them, but I feel like canceling if it's going to be like this. If this had happened before they offered me the second year, I wouldn't have bought it.

DALLAS, TEXAS -- Recently, I had my dryer, washer, and air-conditioning unit checked out by American Home Shield, and I'm not happy. The contractor said my dryer bin is backed up and that they didn't cover it because the dryer vent hadn't been cleaned out. He said I had mold in my air conditioning. I had sent it once before for mold. So I had it serviced and paid somebody $100 to clean out the dryer vent. The contractor said he put clips on there and that the dryer was working fine. But it's not working fine because it's still taking two cycles to dry my clothes and it should only be one cycle, and it's not even a heavy load.

The contractor was nice and he gave me his personal number and told me to contact him if something was wrong so he can come back and check. But then I've got to find the paperwork because this was before the holidays and we moved stuff around during the holidays. I'm now digging through stuff to try to find his number and call him back. I want him to come back to see if they can do anything. Otherwise, I've got to get the guy with the group coupon who supposedly cleaned my dryer vent because he might not have cleaned it well.

I've been with American Home Shield for 15 years and I usually take their preventative service. I do trust this company a lot. I've recommended them to so many people, especially single women who don't have nobody else to turn to. And I've stuck with them even when their charge went from $45 to $70 now per claim. But I'm a little disillusioned with them now that they try to pitch-patch. If something is broken, they don't want to fix it. They only sort of make the appliance work and keep it going, not like when I first started with them. They would actually resolve the problem then.