AHS - American Home Shield Bogus Lack of Maintenance" Excuse - Claims Drain Pan Rusting on A/C is due to Lack of Maintenance. Internet
I recently bought this townhouse (1.5 years ago. It was originally built in ~92 or 93...
The original Central A/C is made by York and has a metal drain pan that captures the condensation/sweat of the Internal A/C Coil Housing. This reclaimed water that is removed humidity from the air collects in the drain pan then is routed outdoors via the water exit pipe line.
So, after over a decade of use (most of which was not by me) the METAL drain pan has rusted through. When I turned on the A/C the last weekend of May 2008 (for the first time this season), the condensation water leaked through the Drain Pan then down the Furnace Walls and flooded a portion of my finished basement.
After several visits from several techs associated with AHS ($55 per visit for 4 visits) the last Tech finally opens the unit. He finds the drain pan completely rusted and the side walls that the pan is connected to completely rusted.
He talks a sweet game to me, but then provides AHS with a Bogus Report. The end result is that AHS is refusing to fix/replace the A/C because somehow the rust in the drain pan is there due to Lack of Maintenance.
They claim that the A/C coil and the outdoor unit haven't been cleaned so the drain pan rusted. ----- Totally Bogus!
The drain pan is made to collect water anyhow at any time the A/C is running. The quantity of water running through and out the exit pipe is irrelevant. Any sensible person that took Middle School Science knows that a drop of water or a cup of water all can cause rust. Furthermore, just humidity alone will cause metal to rust. You don't even need a puddle in direct contact for Oxidation to occur.
So I am paying for a new unit and will be pursuing every measure to set the score straight with AHS. My next step is the Better Business Bureau.
They (AHS) are ridiculous.....I talked to their Claim Person to Contest their findings and all she did was read what the ignoramus tech supposedly wrote. Then when I argued with her that the drain pan was made to collect water and that the unit will generated water anyway - her response was " I am not a technician to know..."
Then when I said to her that rust can occur with one drop of water as much as a whole cup or gallons of water... - her response was " I don't have the technical knowledge to reply..." So she has the technical knowledge to understand what the A/C technician wrote but not to understand my point?
How can they say that the drain pan rusted because of lack of maintenance???? I did what is was supposed to do....there is a reason why drain pan these days are made of Plastic...
My initial claim with AHS started in Late May....I have gone till mid July with the issue pending and with no A/C.
Casacaiu
Bowie, Maryland
U.S.A.
5 Updates & Rebuttals
Lavern
Ramona,California,
U.S.A.
Try this.
#6Consumer Comment
Sat, August 09, 2008
Call AHS and tell the you want a second opinion from another company. First you want to know who the company is so you can check them out. (Don't tell AHS that part.) You can tell AHS you don't feel comfortable with thier choice until you get a company you feel you can trust.
The reason the service companies report to AHS a maintenance problem is so AHS denies the repair and you the homeowner gets stuck with the full bill, at the contractors regular street price which will be 2-3 times higher than what they are being paid by AHS. In short the contractor is using AHS for a sales lead and not the piddly $55.00 deductible.
Also though in all fairness, you have a 15 - 16 year old AC system. Do yourself a favor and upgrade. The system is old and inefficient. If you have had water run down the inside of the furnace chance are it will soon be rusting out. AND a new system is going to be a lot less expensive to use.
Don
Oceanside,California,
U.S.A.
sounds like old times
#6Consumer Suggestion
Sat, August 02, 2008
you are correct, humidity will cause a steel drain pan to rust, as a former AHS vendor, ( smartest thing I ever did was quit ) i could tell you stories that would flat out curl your fingernails. ALL home warranty comapnies will find ways to deny the claim, but then on the other hand, what exactly do you expect for a couple of hundred dollar premium ? I currently have 3 to 4 dozen former warranty clients who call me exclusively when their stuff breaks, these companies claim they do extensive back ground checks on vendors, uhhh guess again, in my area alone there are several who do not have proper licensing, or claim no employees to avoid paying work compensation insurance, and the list goes on. One of the biggest lines is "lack of maintenace" but the issue is, unless you know how to get the evaporator coil apart, the average homeowner is not going to clean it, so there is the lack of maintenace issue.
do your self a huge favor take the monthly fee, & start a small savings account at your local bank, then when something breaks, you may not have enough, however at least you will be able to choose the proper repair method
Richard
Columbia,South Carolina,
U.S.A.
sorry partner, you got hosed....
#6Consumer Comment
Wed, July 16, 2008
Sorry partner, but your not going to get anything from AHS. I would ask the so called AC Technician does he not know his job???? He probably saw how difficult it would be to change a metal drain pan and decided he didn't want to do it. Besides, he probably had 10 more AHS calls to go on, and will probably say the same thing, lack of maintenance. $550.00 a day, not bad. eh?
As a service technician myself, our company is getting out of the home warranty business. They want us to basically do the repairs for nothing. Our time is too valuable to be screwing around with them. Many times I have called the warranty companies to get approval, and the 1st question they ask is the problem due to lack of maintenance.
Personally I would never have a home warranty. If you do have any problems with your system, they will only replace the bad component. You will never get a new entire system from them.
Good luck with your attempts with AHS.
Richard
Columbia,South Carolina,
U.S.A.
sorry partner, you got hosed....
#6Consumer Comment
Wed, July 16, 2008
Sorry partner, but your not going to get anything from AHS. I would ask the so called AC Technician does he not know his job???? He probably saw how difficult it would be to change a metal drain pan and decided he didn't want to do it. Besides, he probably had 10 more AHS calls to go on, and will probably say the same thing, lack of maintenance. $550.00 a day, not bad. eh?
As a service technician myself, our company is getting out of the home warranty business. They want us to basically do the repairs for nothing. Our time is too valuable to be screwing around with them. Many times I have called the warranty companies to get approval, and the 1st question they ask is the problem due to lack of maintenance.
Personally I would never have a home warranty. If you do have any problems with your system, they will only replace the bad component. You will never get a new entire system from them.
Good luck with your attempts with AHS.
Richard
Columbia,South Carolina,
U.S.A.
sorry partner, you got hosed....
#6Consumer Comment
Wed, July 16, 2008
Sorry partner, but your not going to get anything from AHS. I would ask the so called AC Technician does he not know his job???? He probably saw how difficult it would be to change a metal drain pan and decided he didn't want to do it. Besides, he probably had 10 more AHS calls to go on, and will probably say the same thing, lack of maintenance. $550.00 a day, not bad. eh?
As a service technician myself, our company is getting out of the home warranty business. They want us to basically do the repairs for nothing. Our time is too valuable to be screwing around with them. Many times I have called the warranty companies to get approval, and the 1st question they ask is the problem due to lack of maintenance.
Personally I would never have a home warranty. If you do have any problems with your system, they will only replace the bad component. You will never get a new entire system from them.
Good luck with your attempts with AHS.