Complaint Review: Cross Country Home Services - Sunrise Florida

I will be happy to email you. However, I don't expect much of a response despite this public display of professionalism and civility. My previous experience with your company has convinced me that any contact I have with friendly and seemingly well-meaning service operators will not be followed by any meaningful contact either by email or phone.

Before sending this email, I am publishing a duplicate of my specific complaints to be published on this public forum. They will be republished elsewhere, with accompanying records as necessary, in the near future. I also plan to file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau after I contact my lawyer about potential legal action.

Here are some of the details of my experience with Cross Country Home Service, Inc. Please note the most recent exchanges with Cross Country Home Services, from last night, November 25, 2014, and today, November 26, 2014.

At some point in approximately 2008, I apparently endorsed and deposited a check for some small value.  By depositing this check, I apparently gave Cross Country Home services the idea that I had signed away my rights as a consumer by authorizing my mortgage lender to withdraw monthly payments from my bank account after the end of a free trial period. These withdrawals began with no notice, and are billed as a hidden charge on my mortgage statement, alongside regular escrow payments.

These hidden payments have apparently continued for years. I was not aware that I was a paying customer with a contract, though money was being withdrawn from my bank account on a monthly basis. Before this fall, I've had no contact whatsoever with Cross Country Home Services, and have never received any communication from them until August, 2014.

In August, I received a pre-printed, metered envelope with a PO Box as a return address. It resembled an unremarkable piece of junk mail. The single-page form letter informed me of a newly-contracted payment amount which would be paid to Cross Country by means of direct withdrawal from my checking account for the following year. These withdrawals would continue without my permission via either signature or verbal agreement. As I had recently experienced theft from my bank account via a similar collection scam, I immediately called the customer service phone number included on the letter. 

After being kept on hold for nearly one hour, a friendly customer service representative informed me that I was the holder of a paid contract, supposedly insuring the appliances and major systems in the home in New York State. I questioned her further about the details of the service and the nature of the payment plan. 

As I had recently spent a very large sum of money out-of-pocket for major repairs on the property, including electrical repairs and a replacement boiler, I was shocked to learn that a company claiming to facilitate just such repairs had been extracting payment directly from my bank account. I would never have contacted my own contractors at my expense if I had any idea that I held a policy with a company that promised to cover such. I asked to speak with a supervisor and was again put on hold for a lengthy period of time.

The supervisor seemed to be familiar with these complaints, and informed me of my agreement to this contract through endorsement of a check. As I had no memory of this, he agreed to send me documentation of this agreement by mail. I have still not received this documentation. I inquired about my recourse for a refund of some portion of my out-of-pocket expenses, and he told me that I would need to assemble all the itemized receipts of the work and include them, along with a letter, to a PO Box. As I have only this week received the receipt of my final payment for the work in question, I have yet to send this letter. It is forthcoming.

At that point, the electrical repairs on the property were not complete. After getting an estimate of the cost of the work from my own private contractor, I contacted Cross Country to ask about a second appraisal. A claim was opened, and I was given the contact information for Hudson Valley Air Conditioning, with instructions to give them my claim number and request an estimate.I was told that the cost for this visit would be $75. I contacted Hudson Valley AC and told them about the issue and the repairs that would need to be done. They were then in touch with the tenant who resides in the property to make an appointment. 

Approximately two weeks later, I was contacted by a customer service representative informing me of Hudson Valley AC's repair appraisal. This involved the replacement of a service panel, something that no other licensed electrician has suggested was an issue in any way. As I was told the work was covered, with a cost to me of only $75, I agreed to allow Hudson Valley AC to perform this work. This turned out to be a regrettable decision on my part, but I was hoping to get some value from the money that had already been extracted from my bank account by a company that promised just such repair services. I was told that I did not need to do anything more. I would be contacted directly by Hudson Valley AC in order to be updated and to handle the $75 deductible for the repair.

I was never contacted by Hudson Valley AC. The work promised was never performed. According to the tenant who resides in the home, Hudson Valley AC came to the residence, but the technician left shortly after arrival because he needed to get a ladder. He never returned. As I had heard nothing from them, I contacted them directly to ask about the situation. The office knew nothing about it, and said they would contact the technician and get back to me. I never heard back from them, and left one final message before giving up and contacting my own contractor to finish the work. The repairs are now complete, and did not involve the replacement of a service panel as Hudson Valley AC had mistakenly determined. Hudson Valley AC performed no part of this work.

Yesterday, November 24, I learned of another necessary major repair involving the home's heating system. I called Cross Country yet again, solely to get a second estimate on the repair. After being led through the "phone tree" system about filing a claim, I again spoke with a friendly customer service representative. She first had to erase two claims that had inadvertently been entered during my interaction with the automated system. I informed her of the fact that Hudson Valley AC had not done the promised work and that I had paid my own contractor to finish the job. I then informed her of the needed repair to the home's heating system, and told her I would like an appraisal of these repairs from another contractor. She began opening a file, but experienced difficulty finding a nearby contractor other that Hudson Valley AC. She promised to find one, and that she would call me back by the afternoon. She never did.

November 24 (last night):

Yesterday evening, I called Cross Country in order to cancel my contract for their service. After being placed on hold for approximately one hour, I spoke with yet another friendly service representative. When i told her I was calling to cancel my service contract, she told me I'd have to speak with membership services. I was again placed on hold for an inordinate amount of time before speaking with a man in membership services. I told him my situation, and that I wanted to cancel immediately with no further discussion. He stalled several times, first by asking me for the reasons I wanted to cancel, and then by repeatedly asking the same questions regarding information about my account and verification of my identity. When I told him I would not repeat the same information again, he told me "I can go ahead and cancel your service if you'd like, however . . ."

I told him that I most definitely did want to cancel the service, as I had told him multiple times. he repeated: "I can go ahead and cancel your service if you'd like, however . . ." I was then informed that, as I had a claim with a value of some $550, i would be liable for the remainder of that amount. I felt that he was behaving very rudely, that he was clearly trying to instigate an argument with me, and was intentionally making it difficult to cancel this contract. At the end of this lengthy conversation, he told me my agreement was canceled, gave me a confirmation number, and confirmed that i would be receiving a bill for the remainder of this claim.

Allow me to restate: THIS WORK WAS NEVER DONE, AND YOUR RECOMMENDED CONTRACTOR NEVER RETURNED MY CALLS

November 25 (10 minutes ago):

Minutes ago, while writing this open letter, I was called by a representative from Cross Country. He was apparently trying to follow up on the claim regarding my heating system. I told him that I had canceled my membership last night, but he didn't seem to have this information.

PLEASE TAKE NOTE: 

As of yesterday, November 26, 2014, I have no contract with your organization. Your company is entitled to no further payment for any claim involving my property, as no service was rendered. Your company is not entitled to collect any further membership fees from my bank account. I don't believe your company was entitled to take money directly from my bank account for the preceding period, either, and I will be documenting my request for a refund as soon as I've gathered all available supporting documentation, filed a claim with the Better Business Bureau, and informed my lawyer. 

Your company's practices are at the very least unethical. I suspect they may also be fraudulent and possibly illegal.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. i will email a copy after it is first published as a response to your contact on ripoffreport.com.

Stan, we apologize for any misunderstanding there may have been regarding billing. Rest assured, our process is to obtain authorization directly from our members in order to charge for payment of warranty premiums. I would like to address your experience and ensure you receive every possible benefit your home warranty affords. Please provide me with your property address and telephone number via email ([email protected]) so I can address your concerns directly. Sincerely – Stephanie, eRelations Specialist, Cross Country Home Services