Complaint Review: HMS Home Warranty

Nov 2001 Nebraska, we purchased a 30 year old home after having a home inspection and decided to purchase the home warranty thru HMS. A/C unit could not be inspected due to the time of year and temperature.

In May 2002, when we started using our AC unit, it was not cooling. We called in a claim and HMS had a local company come out. They determined that the unit was low on freon and added some. Since our contract did not cover refrigerant, we had to pay for this, along with the 75.00 deductible. (May 31, 2002)

After the repairman left, we noticed water leaking around the unit in several places. They came back the next day to determine that the drain line was clogged. (Why they didn't check this the first time, I don't know. No charge for this visit. (June 1, 2002)

The unit still was not cooling properly, and water continued to leak out of the unit. 2 weeks later the same compnay is back out and this time they replace the Evaperator coil & recharge the system. No charge for this visit. (June 17, 2002)

Season is over, winter comes & goes, then summer arrives again, and time to turn the AC back on. Works ok for a couple weeks, then starts making strange noise. Since our unit is no longer under the HMS warranty, we have our local heating/air company come in (the ones who do annual maintenance on the unit) and check it out. The evaporator coil has frozen up and at this point the technician can't do anything. Has to come back the next morning after it has thawed out.

He returns and checks the freon, and guess what? It is low again (deja vu??). He adds a couple pounds, and says the valves are what is causing the problem and need to be replaced. Since the unit is 30 years old, and made by a company no longer in business, you won't find replacement parts so will have to get a new unit. (July 26, 2003)


I called HMS on July 27, 2003 to ask about their policy on standing behind their repairs. I am told they only do so for 180 days after the initial claim. , if I had used my AC in December, I would've had this problem then and it would've been covered under their policy (remember, I live in Nebraska!!). Connie at HMS tells me their is nothing they will do for this situation.

My main issue is that they sent me a company for the original fix and it took this company 3 separate trips to 'fix' the problem. Turns out they did not REPAIR the problem, but merely prolonged it by placing a band-aid on the situation when clearly more was needed.

Bottom line? Purchasing ANY sort of 'extended' warranty is USELESS! The only people making money are the warranty folks! If they weren't, they wouldn't still be in business!

Joseph
Omaha, Nebraska
U.S.A.