Old Republic Home Warranty Consumer Reviews

TAMPA, FL -- Don't waste your money or your time. They send out overpriced technicians to review your claim and they do as little as possible to assist you in your troubles. I had three experiences with my plan while I had it in place (which I will not do again). The FIRST experience was when my pool pump stopped working (which we added the pool protection to the policy, mistake). They sent someone out and reported that they needed to replace the timer switch which apparently was faulty but once that was completed, the blower stopped functioning. After coming out again, they informed me that I had an airline that needed to be replaced now and that the insurance company would be in contact with me about coverage. Of course the airline was not covered because it ran underground even though it was in conduit and would have been easy to replace. so they told me that they would have the vendor call me back with a "retail quote" to replace the air line. The vendor never called back. I called Old Republic again letting them know this and they apologized and said that the vendor would get back in touch with me, again, no call so I had to call another vendor to request a quote and of course pay for the service outside of my warranty. The SECOND experience I had involved my refrigerator which stopped cooling. Again they sent a vendor out to replace a part, well after three days of no fridge, they replaced the part and the fridge started cooling too well. Half of the food in my fridge froze solid even on the lowest settings. I called back to report the problem, the vendor came back out and said that they didn't see any problems and just to keep the fridge as low as I could. I called back again and Old Republic decided to send out a different vendor. This vendor opened the fridge back up and found that when the original part was replaced, they forgot to hook up a connection which allowed the setting switches to actually work correctly. At least the second vendor figured it out. The fridge was finally back to functioning after two weeks of dealing with problems. The THIRD and very last time I will even call Old Republic for a service call has been for my air conditioning unit. The unit is older but again if it is failing then I would expect that the insurance kick in for at least a portion of the repair. The vendor arrived and explained that the unit was low on freon and there was likely a leak somewhere. Also the outside condenser was using way too much amperage for the unit and getting very hot. They recommended replacing the outside condenser and because of the age of the unit the inside coil as well. He provided a quote and added freon to the system in order to allow it to cool temporarily. Of course he told me that their quote would include a $1,000 discount for being a certified provider for Old Republic. Their quote was for $6,000 which I thought seemed high. I told him that we would think about it and get back with them. After looking around I found that their "discounted price" was still over $1,000 higher than the average price from other vendors. I decided to call old republic to explain the situation and request that they cover a portion of the replacement. Of course they said that since the system had not failed, they would not cover anything except for added freon. Also, the vendor had explained that I would likely need to have the system replaced since the outside condenser was failing hence them providing me with a quote for full replacement. My policy was in its last 45 days and they clearly knew that. It was cheaper for them to just keep adding freon until the unhappy policy owner was no longer a problem for them to deal with. All they would have needed to do is offer a small discount to be applied to a vendor of my choosing and I would have been ok with the service. I asked to speak with a manager on more than one occasion and the representative refused to escalate the situation. They refuse to offer any assistance to their clients if they can avoid it. Old Republic is a company whom I will never use again and I feel bad for the people who have been suckered into their policies and I feel even worse for the people who work for this company as all they hear on a daily basis is unhappy people who know that they have been scammed by another bad insurance program.

ATLANTA, GEORGIA -- We got a home warranty because our broker insisted on it and got the seller to pay for it. I did my homework online and ORHP had bad reviews, American Shield and some other companies had better reviews but it look a little too 4-5 star compared to other companies. Back to my topic ORHP.

I've been with ORHP for almost 4 years now and I must say I'm satisfied. First of all guys you need to do your homework and read the fine print, what's covered and what's not, it helps a lot when talking to a representative to make a warranty claims and working through.

First let me say what all I've had claims since I bought the house. Within a few months our gas cooker knob got stuck. Called ORHP, they sent someone, tried to fix it, couldn't fix it. They gave me a cashout offer that I took and got it replaced with a brand of my own choice and I decided to upgrade.

About a year into the house the garbage disposal broke, called ORHP they sent someone to replace it. At first he got a really cheap replacement. This is where doing your homework helps. The fine print in my contract (the whole contract is just 3 pages. So yes please read it) said they will replace it with an equivalent model or superior model.

I called ORHP and told the representative (very calmly, they are very polite if you're polite) that the contracts says, same, similar or better. Since my garage disposal was over 10 years old, but a premium brand they upgraded me to a premium model and had it replaced in a few days. Yes, everything takes a few days, so please don't complain. Just build it into your plan and you'll be happier about it.

A few month later my garage door opener light stopped working. I happen to an engineer so I did a little checking and found one of the relays on the circuit board fried. Back to the contract, it said it will not cover Light bulbs but it does cover circuit boards. Again I spoke to ORHP explained that the circuit board is faulty and not the bulb or the socket. A few minutes of conversation and they agreed to replace it. Same things as earlier, they got me a contractor model, I pointed out that I had a premium grade model installed, so the upgraded me to a the next level (this took some convincing but they agreed in the end).

A year later the second garage door opener had a similar problem with the circuit board and they ended replacing it, this time with some conversation with a model better since the older model was no longer manufactured. A few month later in winter my water boiler started leaking, called them up, they sent someone. Similar conversation, same model or better models, did my homework asked about the model numbers compared them and was happy they had picked a good model.

Now I was hit with a charge of $600 for doing the work from my end. This really pissed me off at first and likely everyone I was in denial. Then my level head kicked in and I got into the economic of it and the contract. The contract very cleared stated that they will not cover any modification required and code violations. With my house being 20+ years old and most of the equipment with it, yes it didn't adhere to modern code. My issue was with the fact that the contractor was charging me 3x-5x of what someone else would charge me for the same work. But if I decided not to go with him/her, then I had to cashout.

The problem with cashout is that it barely covers the cost of the equipment that's because ORHP has lots of buying power and huge discounts which we cannot get. So say they said the cashout value of my boiler was $600. If I went to Lowe's it would cost me about $550-$600 to get a new one similar model. Then an installer would charge me another $800 to install it and the parts etc. With ORHP I had to pay $600 over what they were paying the contractors and I now understand why. They pay the contractors so little money for the labor that the contractors only make money by charging you back for it.

So they literally paid the contractor $200 for $800 worth of work. So contractor had to charge me the difference $600 to make up for it and they billed it under code violation (e.g. a air tank for $125 where it costs someone else $25). Now that's the trade off. You need to read your print. They were in the right, I have to pay for code violations and modifications but at the end you'll end up paying less than going outside.

Now my AC starting giving trouble and wasn't cooling. Now I was worried, from everything I've read on these forums. I called them up. They sent someone, he came and said I had a leak my ancient evaporator coil. Same rigmarole, they would charge me $500 for the code violations and modifications. I did the math. To replace the R-22 in my system and a new coil (they gave me a Lennox, I had a carrier originally, again pleased, good quality), and get it all fixed would cost me about $1500-$1800 on the market. I read the fine print, they covered everything they said they will cover.

So the guy got paid $200 from them + $500 from me and they probably paid about $1000-$1100 for the R22 and equipment. I was impressed! They paid for the repair and I almost half didn't expect them to do it. Again I went through multiple rounds here, called in an expert for an alternative opinion etc. It took 2 weeks to get it all done, but it's peak summer and everyone busy. But I must say they were responsive, even more than the contractors sometimes, answered all my 1000 questions and we all kept our cool.

Guys things take time, read the print, you WILL pay something out of pocket. READ YOU AGREEMENT, I can't stress this enough. You will get more headway by referring to an agreement than by shouting at them. I know people have bad experiences but after 4 years I can positively say it's a mismatch of expectations. There are some very bad home warranty companies out there what I've heard of from the technicians over the years but ORHP is among the best and I can vouch for it.

Three rules:

1. Thing take times, days to weeks depending up on the load, plan for it. The are helpful, if it's your only AC in the house they will prioritize it. If you have 3 they will tell you it'll take a few days. FYI they got my parts ordered in 2 days flat!!

2. Expect to pay something, READ YOUR CONTRACT, negotiate with facts and be ready to pay something. The contracts will ding you, but you'll pay less in the end than going out on your own. Again read your contracts and your limits. I have seen very few limits in ORHP's contracts, whereas others that I've read are far more harsh. So do your homework

3. Do your homework and read you contract do you have a reasonable conversation with ORHP. They are really nice and knowledgeable people, but if you shout they will cut you off. Have a decent conversation, they even helped me figure out how to negotiate with the contractors for non covered charges!!

If you haven't heard it enough, here's one more time, read your contract and set your expectations. Then relax and enjoy! Thanks for reading all this and I hope it's been helpful. PS - One last thing, my biggest complaint with ORHP is that they only give a 30 day warranty on their products and work. They should give the standard 1 year. 30 days is just pathetic, often it takes more for trouble to crop up due to a bad install but then it's past 30 days and you need to pay another trade fee.

SAN RAMON, CALIFORNIA -- Before we begin, I just want to let you know, I don't usually waste my time on the internet writing reviews. However, I would like to warn others about this huge scam before anyone else get deceive into flushing their hard earned money.

Background: When I purchase my home a few years ago, my real estate agent assigned the protection of my home to Old Republic Home Warranty. Being a new and clueless home owner, I had no idea that I was being played in this mess. Living in the hottest city in United States where temperature easily raises over 110 degrees, I have spent countless days in the heat, all thanks to Old Republic. Much like many other companies, the number one priority of Old Republic is to gain money from you any way possible, rather than to help and guide you in your needs. Allow me to explain.

Customer Service: Your wait time easily ranges from 45 minutes to 3 hours. Unless, of course, if you are calling to renew a plan. Then, the wait time magically cuts down to a phenomenal speed faster than light itself. The other option you have for faster service is to wake up at 5 in the morning and give them a call. Did I also mention, that 9 out of 10 times, your calls will be redirected back and forth?

Also, the call system is a big flaw. Just recently, I called Old Republic from my primary cell phone, and the approximate wait time kept increasing. However, when I called the same number from a different phone, a woman answers the call in less than a minute. To sum it up, the customer service is basically a bunch of specialists trained to avoid customers in need.

Service Timeliness: About a few weeks ago, my AC broke and I had to deal with 95 degrees temperate every night. How about now you ask? Still dealing with the heat. You see, Old Republic is the master of delaying your request until you get frustrated to the point where you pay for yourself and they smile at you with your yearly payments. Speaking from my experience, when my AC broke, I was connected to a "service provider" that consist of a person with a van who uses his cell phone for his job and doesn't have an office where I can go report my needs.

My point is, Old Republic dug up these cheap and so called "technicians" that has no experience. Matter of fact, on my day of the appointment, I was told that his van broke and he wouldn't be able to come and that him and his buddy are the only ones working for the "company". And when they did send me a professional service provider, I was told that I needed to pay an extra $400 dollars for my AC. Thought that you have your AC covered with Old Republic? Think again! Additional hidden fees will be thrown at you! The sad thing is, not only does Old Republic abandon you in your times of needs, but they use that moment to gain more out of you.

Repair Service: The first time we called for AC and Old Republic handled it for us, being the new homeowner that we were, my family was very pleased and full of joy. We praised the company for saving us from the heat. Little did we know, our AC was hardly fixed. It was basically, "patched up" to be broken again. And sure enough, a few months later, another $75 flew out of our pockets. This continued until finally, the AC completely gave up.

As I am writing this review, I am suffering in the heat of Phoenix, where I am faced with either giving my scammers an additional "fee" or paying thousands to completely replace my AC. To further home owners, please avoid Old Republic Home Warranty, or you will be in the same shoes as I am. It has been weeks now, and Old Republic have done nothing in my favor. However, I will keep it posted on their course of action. For now, Old Republic is a zero star for me, and I won't be renewing anytime soon.

PHOENIX, ARIZONA -- Basically ORHP feels it's ok to charge service fees when no service was provided. I've been a customer of three different home warranty companies, and while they are all difficult to do business with, ORHP is hands down the worst and by a far margin. So the long story… I woke on a Saturday morning and was greeted by a broken water heater. I called ORHP who said they would submit a priority request and should hear from someone within a few hours. Sunday rolls around with no contact from anyone.

I call the service provider they gave the job to who tells me they can't do anything on the weekend as they don't have access to any parts (are they working out of their garage?). He continues to tell me that someone will call on Monday morning between 7am and 9am. 10:00am Monday morning arrives with no call from anyone. I call the service provider again who tells me no one is available until 4:00pm that day. Apparently the definition of priority is lost on these folks.

I call ORHP, to see about getting another service provider after looking up some reviews on the current one they selected (they were not good - kind of like the reviews on ORHP). They give me some song and dance about how they can't guarantee that another provider will be available (hmmm – seems they dropped the “Priority” posturing). I remind them that I've been waiting since Saturday Morning for service, and hang up the phone.

About 10 minutes later I get a call from the service provider stating they will be at my home between 11:00am - 1:00pm. They showed up some time after 3:00. I tell the two guys that show up what's going on. One guy bends down and fiddles with the ignition switches. It starts up after a few attempts. Without any addition investigating, testing, or even a suggestion that the 10+ year old water heater may be on its last legs, he concludes it's fixed (Voila! Magic touch). So they were at the house maybe 5 minutes. The guy gives me his number in case there is an issue after he leaves.

Well, that didn't take long. 10 minutes after he leaves the water heater shuts off. I call him and he then tells me he's heading to another job and will have to reschedule for Tuesday. Now I have been pretty calm and understanding through this point, but this is starting to get quite irritating. I call ORHP again to tell them what's going on. They again basically say there is nothing they can do. (Well, that's not exactly true…)

I tell them they can either get a competent service provider to fix my water heater, or they can cancel the contract. They then give me an option to accept cash (which I knew basically means you'll be getting a fraction of the cost to fix the issue). I tell them I call them back. I hang up the phone, make three phone calls and find two other service providers that can get to my house that day. I call ORHP back and tell them I'll take the cash.

Now at this point I already knew this was going to cost me more money. However considering the ineptness of ORHP and the people they contract with, I was willing cut my losses. Oh, but the story doesn't end there! A couple of weeks later I get a bill for the service call from the ORHP. I called ORHP to discuss, and they were adamant that the fee be paid since someone showed up at my house.

So basically as I see it, according to ORHP, a service provider can just knock on your door and say “Hi”, and then be paid, because that is what fundamentally happened. The service provider they sent out took no time or effort to diagnose the problem, and left with the existing issue in place as it was when he arrived. So no need to just take my word for it, read the hundreds of other bad reviews – I certainly wish I had. It was worth cancelling my contract (paying an additional $50 administrative fee) to be rid of this company. It's just not worth my time or effort.

NEVADA -- It is almost 120 degrees out here in Nevada, and my AC has been out since 11am (I have been getting the run around, have been told to call back, and have been hung up on numerous times). We ended up calling someone on our own, and that's when they determined there was a fire in our breaker unit- a breaker unit that an electrician through Old Republic should have inspected and replaced less than 2 months ago!

And to top it off, we asked to speak to a supervisor and the supervisor, Veronica, blatantly and rudely informed us that she was NOT going to speak to us regarding absolutely any matter and told us to call back in the morning. And another supervisor, Mary Anne, who told us to just keep calling back. Unbelievable!

SAN RAMON -- For the past two years, I had been perfectly happy with ORHP, no issues, great price point, and had all repair requests approved and handled promptly. However, I can no longer leave a good review. During renewal, I learned how outdated and inflexible they are as a company. Two years ago, my Realtor signed me up for the first year free as a perk of buying a new home. I had no control over the plan I was given.

Upon renewal a year later, I removed the refrigerator coverage which cost $75 as I knew I would be getting a new one that would come with 1-year warranty. When it came time for my 3rd renewal this past February, I tried to add the refrigerator back on and was told once something is removed it can NEVER be added back on. Furthermore, I discovered that my washer/dryer were never added on the policy by my Realtor and I could also NEVER add these appliances on, not even at renewal. So basically, the plan is unchangeable from day one so the plan you get is the plan you keep until you die. How outdated this is!

I have never heard of an insurance company denying additional coverage. It would be like never being allowed to get insurance on your new car because it was not insured when you signed up for the policy 10 years ago. Or denying someone maternity coverage because they did not add it on their insurance policy when they were born. OHRP was firm on this, no flexibility whatsoever. They would rather lose a customer than be flexible and allow me to add on the refrigerator and washer/dryer. I was trying to throw extra money at them, and they refused it so I took my business elsewhere who values the customer.

SAN RAMON, CALIFORNIA -- Between the date I closed on my house, and the date I actually moved in, a week later, my controller board for the touch screen on my range top failed. I filed a claim with Old Republic. After the technician came out, they denied my claim, telling me that the technician filed a report saying this could not have failed during the time I had the warranty, it had to have been pre-existing.

I spoke to the technician. He told me he absolutely did not tell them that, not to mention the fact that it would be impossible for him to be able to tell exactly when a computer board failed. So Old Republic FLAT OUT LIED TO me in order to get out of paying on a claim. I'm sure the reason my claim was denied was that a new controller board will cost about $750 and they don't want to pay it.

The bottom line is this appliance worked on the day I purchased my house, which is the date the contract began. I moved in a week later. At that time, the appliance didn't work anymore. They need to honor their contract! When I called back to point this out, then they said, "Well you couldn't have used it very much between 12/19 and 12/26, and we only cover normal wear and tear, so you didn't use it enough to be considered wear and tear, therefore we are denying the claim."

First, they claim the technician said something that he couldn't have. Then they say they are denying my claim because I didn't use it enough to be considered wear and tear. They obviously will do and say anything to avoid paying out on a claim.

What a waste of time and money this home warranty company is. There are many other home warranty companies out there. Do NOT give these liars your hard earned money or think that they are going to protect you in any way!!! SCAM ARTISTS AND LIARS! I went with this company at the recommendation of my real estate agent. I don't know why any agent would recommend this company to anyone. Don't listen to your agent, find another home warranty company.

SAN RAMON, CALIFORNIA -- Bought a new house with a home warranty from Old Republic. The first time I used their service was to repair a leaking kitchen water valve. Old Republic contracted some very small plumber that sent out a guy in training. After several calls to his boss, he decided for some odd reason to cut a 1 foot square hole in my drywall, which had nothing to do with the leaking valve. When he left, the valve was not fixed and now I had this big hole in my wall. He was supposed to return to make the final repair, but failed to show up.

I finally contracted a reputable plumber to replace the small ¾” valve and another guy to repair, spackle and paint my dry wall, and $230 later, it was fixed. Then Old Republic sent me a notice regarding an unpaid “Trade Fee” of $75.00. I wrote back and explained how the plumber they hired, was totally incompetent and how I ended up calling out a professional plumber and dry wall guy to make the TWO repairs out of my own pocket.

Old Republic wrote back a second time to insist I pay the trade fee or they would cancel the policy. I unwillingly paid their blood money under protest to keep the policy in force. In my opinion, Old Republic Home Protection is a huge rip-off and I would recommend anyone looking at warranty companies, to steer clear of these guys and look for company that practices better business ethics.

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND -- We have had our home warranty since we bought our house in August 2015. We had been pleased with coverage of our oven, sump pump, and plumbing. HOWEVER, when our refrigerator door broke we were given the runaround. Two months later and the saga is still unresolved. We paid to have someone come out, they said they ordered a new door and water filter. Then the door "could not be found" to be ordered and we were told by ORHP that they would cash out the whole fridge.

After that the part was miraculously found! Only it wasn't the part we needed (the door). It was the water filter and it was ALL they were willing to cover since the refrigerator was now being said to be functional. Long story short, my husband has wasted countless hours on the phone with ORHP and the serviceman. At this point I want my money back for the service call and a refund for my warranty policy. Since that's not going to happen I will not renew my policy and will be sure to tell everyone I know to avoid ORHP like the plague.

SAN RAMON, CALIFORNIA -- If I could give a zero rating I would. I purchased their "platinum" "top of the line " plan and less than 3 months into my home I learn what a joke Old Republic is. Bought a home less than 3 months ago and for peace of mind I purchased a home warranty for a home that was 20 years old. Less than 3 months in the House my HVAC unit goes out in the middle of Phoenix Summer. I think it's a great thing I have Home Warranty.

They specifically told me that my A/C unit was covered. They send out a technician the next day and I am told by Old Republic that my AC unit is still under manufacturer warranty and that warranty supersedes my home warranty. What does this mean to me? This means the manufacturer will replace the parts but I am responsible for paying the labor and the cost of freon. Total amount out of pocket, $2,200.

I have the platinum plan, which is the best plan Old Republic Offers. I also added my pool. Paid just under $700. I called some of the other higher rated home warranty companies and was told that if I had their warranty I would have been covered. I am now looking for a new company and wanted to warn other potential Old Republic consumers to stay away. Their ratings are low for a reason. You have been warned!!!