We had an annual service contract with Service America. On one of the hottest days of the year, a Saturday morning, our A/C failed. I immediately called Service America and was told that they couldn't get a technician to my home until at least the following Wednesday afternoon and then, if a part was needed, it would take at least another week for the part. It was then 94 degrees inside my home. I asked to speak to a supervisor and was told that no one was available. I asked for a call back and never received a call. Because of the heat emergency, I called another repair company, who responded to my home within one hour. Their technician showed me the wiring on the compressor was done improperly and fused, causing the compressor to short and burn out. That faulty wiring had been done by Service America just a few months earlier. The new company located a new ($800) compressor on the next Monday morning, had it fully covered under the manufacturer's warranty, and installed it over several hours on that same Monday. I then asked Service America to pay for the emergency repairs, necessitated at first by their own negligence and then by their refusal to provide service in a heat emergency.
First, someone called and rudely told my wife that they refuse to pay. I wrote to them, promising to sue them and received a call from Tracy G of the executive office, who told me that, UNDER THESE SAME CIRCUMSTANCES, SHE WOULD DO THE EXACT SAME THING WE DID - call in another repair company, and she offered me less than 25% of our actual out-of-pocket costs. I told her that was not acceptable and she promised to discuss it with management and recommend payment and would call me again. She called me several days later and generously increased her offer to only about 30% of our expenses. I refused that, as well.
Service America has now done everything they can to stall, avoid responsibility, and refuse payment. They are trying to hide behind the very small print on the back of their service agreement which, I have been reliably informed, is not at all binding because we were never presented with those terms in advance, nor did we ever sign the contract. I am in the process of filing complaints against Service America with every possible governmental and consumer agency, and on every appropriate web site, and when I am done, I plan to sue them, not only for our actual out-of-pocket expenses but additional amounts for our discomfort and inconvenience. They may enjoy treating Senior Citizens like this, and may think they can get away with their misconduct, but we are a couple of Seniors who will not accept their disgraceful conduct and will take every step possible to correct this situation.
In addition to the above, I am starting the process to request that Service America be barred from our 6500 resident community, on the grounds that they are total frauds. I will post the progress on a later date. Further, I have filed complaints against Service America and their state licenses, and I expect further State examination of their continued operation.