- Report: #155219
Complaint Review: American Home Shield - Nationwide
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American Home Shield
www.ahsservice.com Nationwide, U.S.A.
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American Home Shield Unreliable, ripoff, fraud Internet www.ahsservice.com
I am extremely unhappy with the service provided by American Home Shield Warranty. The insurance company has denied my claim to replace the air conditioner/gas heater unit because the unit was not properly maintained. This reason just does not make sense to me, as the homeowner for only two years. First of all, the home inspection prior to purchasing the property said the unit in question was in working order. The warranty under American Home Shield also only covers appliances in working order as advertised on your web site. Therefore, if there is negligence on any party involved it would be the previous homeowner who did not maintain the unit in working order, unknown to the new home owner.
As records indicate, a work order for the heater was order soon after purchasing the property, of last year Dec 2003. Now since the air conditioner is not working, I have asked once again for an inspection of the unit. As advertised on your website once again, the warranty is used to replace expensive appliance costs at a minimum cost to the insurer. The contractor wrote the entire unit had to be replaced due to the poor condition of the unit and the age of the unit of almost 30 plus years. If the unit was in working order previously then could the unit not just have died due to old age or regular wear and tear? Then why has the claim been denied to me? The reasons for having the insurance is to replace and fix any appliance under coverage without the worry of expensive bills from other sources. An independent contractor was also called to check the unit, and also ordered a replacement of the entire unit at the cost of $6000. The insurance contractor quoted $4000, which is considerably less han the previous quote as mentioned above for the same replacement. Both quotes are extremely costly to the home owner and such, not easily affordable, thus purchasing the home insurance warranty to help with the costs.
I have spoken with the supervisor in charge, regarding this matter, but she was not helpful at all in terms of understanding the needs of the insurer (Monday August 8, 2005 around 7:00am).
These actions do not coincide with the objectives of the company "pursue excellence" or "grow profitably."
So basically, all appliances in my house which are orginal to the house won't be covered since they are old and have not been maintained?
In the meantime, I am still getting mailer to renew the membership since covering basic appliances like the AC is so expensive to replace. Are they just full of BS?
This is a warning for everyone! If you have or plan to get AHS service, call for service every year regardless of need so that it is on your record that you made attempt to "maintain" it.
Ken
Woodland Hills, California
U.S.A.
As records indicate, a work order for the heater was order soon after purchasing the property, of last year Dec 2003. Now since the air conditioner is not working, I have asked once again for an inspection of the unit. As advertised on your website once again, the warranty is used to replace expensive appliance costs at a minimum cost to the insurer. The contractor wrote the entire unit had to be replaced due to the poor condition of the unit and the age of the unit of almost 30 plus years. If the unit was in working order previously then could the unit not just have died due to old age or regular wear and tear? Then why has the claim been denied to me? The reasons for having the insurance is to replace and fix any appliance under coverage without the worry of expensive bills from other sources. An independent contractor was also called to check the unit, and also ordered a replacement of the entire unit at the cost of $6000. The insurance contractor quoted $4000, which is considerably less han the previous quote as mentioned above for the same replacement. Both quotes are extremely costly to the home owner and such, not easily affordable, thus purchasing the home insurance warranty to help with the costs.
I have spoken with the supervisor in charge, regarding this matter, but she was not helpful at all in terms of understanding the needs of the insurer (Monday August 8, 2005 around 7:00am).
These actions do not coincide with the objectives of the company "pursue excellence" or "grow profitably."
So basically, all appliances in my house which are orginal to the house won't be covered since they are old and have not been maintained?
In the meantime, I am still getting mailer to renew the membership since covering basic appliances like the AC is so expensive to replace. Are they just full of BS?
This is a warning for everyone! If you have or plan to get AHS service, call for service every year regardless of need so that it is on your record that you made attempt to "maintain" it.
Ken
Woodland Hills, California
U.S.A.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Tom
San Diego,California,
U.S.A.
What a Warranty policy really means
#2Consumer Comment
Sun, March 05, 2006
I am wondering if this consumer (and many others on this site w/ similar problems) really understands the intended purpose of home warranties, and how they are structured to work. Basically, they are to help the home owner avoid, in most cases (not ALL cases), expensive REPAIR costs. In other words, they are not intended to pay for total REPLACEMENT costs for old, worn out appliances or complete systems (e.g. heating, air conditioning) that have seen their day. So, if you have not maintained the system, or if so many parts of the system are worn out, that replacing one or two parts would still not bring the appliance back into working condition, your claim will probably be denied. Now, if a broken part cannot be repaired or replaced, the insurer may replace the whole unit. For example, my home was equipped with a combination oven/range/microwave. When the fiberglass braid that keeps the glass in the oven door from falling out disintegrated after 15 years, AHS gave me a $1500 credit to replace the unit because the part was no longer available. To their credit (no pun intended), they included the cost of the microwave because the manufacturer no longer made combination units. In addition, because I ordered a new oven/range and separate microwave through AHS, I received an additional (and considerable) discount through them. I checked at Home Depot, just to be sure, and did in fact, save about an additional $400. I want to state again, that the deciding factor in getting AHS to pay for the REPLACEMENT of my entire cooking system was based on the fact that the rest of the system was in excellent condition. If everything were about to fall apart, they probably would not have paid for replacement. So, in closing, the consumer really needs to understand what these policies are intended to do: save you money on potentially costly REPAIRS. If you're counting on your insurance to REPLACE old, worn out systems, then you're better off saving your money for that eventuality. Note: I am not an employee of AHS, just a satisfied consumer. I recently replaced most of the other appliances in my home, so I do not currently have AHS insurance. I do intend to re-insure when the appliance warranties run out.
