Complaint Review: First American Home Warranty - West Hills California

Kept declining/refusing coverage for a/c that we pay extra for. We pay extra for coverage for our a/c. Back in May of this year we noticed it leaking water through the floor. I called First American and they sent someone out to look at it. To do my due diligence, I also had two other companies come look at it to diagnose and get pricing.

The guy they sent out came back and told me that it's not covered because it wasn't installed properly. When I produced the home inspection report, there was no issue there. Then they changed their story to say that it's not covered because it's an upgrade. The unit was 25 years old. Then First American came back and said that they would pay $400.

The entire unit cost us S8,2530. I tried to talk to them several times. Each time, the representative was rude and would put me on hold for at least an hour to speak with a supervisor. Once the supervisor got on the phone, they were worse with their rudeness and frankly meanness in declining to pay. I tried to be reasonable with them, but nothing I was doing was working.

They tried telling me that the several thousand dollar coil (Which they were going to give me $400 toward) was the only thing that needed to be replaced. WITH A CONDENSER THAT IS 25 YEARS OLD I decided to go with another company and was only asking for reimbursement . They told me I couldn't go to an outside company.

I know that's not true. It was just constant runaround. The pricing of the person I went with was comparable to their guy. I just wanted to work this out so it was fair. I first made the claim on 5125119. The vendor I used was SoCal Climate Control. Job #4173456.

This is everything they did along with pricing and model numbers: REMOVE AND HAUL AWAY OLD SYSTEM UPFLOW IN CLOSET: INSTALL NEW GOODMAN 5 TON BUNDLE R410A INSTALL NEW GOODMAN GMS80 100.000 BTU FURNACE UPFLOW IN CLOSET INSTALL NEW GOODMAN GSX16 SEER R410A AC ENERGY STAR INSTALL NEW 5 TON HIGH EFFICIENCY MATCHING COIL R410A INSTALL NEW PLYWOOD STAGE VACUUM AND SEAL ALL FURNACE CLOSET AND CAVITY INSTALL NEW FILTER BASE INSTALL NEW GAS FLEX INSTALL NEW SS1 SAFETY SWITCH INSTALL NEW AC PAD AND STRAPPED INSTALL NEW DISCONNECT BOX INSTALL NEW ELECTRICAL WHIP FLUSH ALL DRAIN AND COPPER LINES WITH NITROGEN CLEAR GOODMAN EXTENDED WARRANTY TA S KD E S C RI PT I ON OT Y GSX165 Goodman GSX 16 SEER 5 Ion Condenser: Goodman 16 SEER high efficiency condenser manu·actured by Goodman 1.00 ASPC5 Aspen 5 Ton High Efficiency Standard Cased Coil: Multiposition coil manufactured by Aspen. Cased coil that can be installed horizontally or vertically.

1.00 GMS805 Goodman GMS 80% 5 Ton Furnace: GMS 80% AFUE furnace horizontal/vertical 1.00 10119 Filter Base: 1.00 SoCal Climate Control 7334 Topanga Canyon Blvd ste 101, Canoga Park, 91303, United States (833) 692-5462 BILL TO MICHELLE FOWLE (((REDACTED))) system size PLYS Plywood Stage: Plywood stage RF Flush Reirigeralion Lines I Line set: Flush out existing refrigeration lines 1.00 10107 Condensation Line Flush: Blow out clogged condensation drain line 1.00 10098 Safe T Switch SS1 (Emergency Safety Shut Off Switch): Forced system shutoff if drain line is clogged or system is overflowing condensation 1.00 10078 Disconnect Box: AC disconnect fuse box for HVAC system 1.00 EW Electrical Whip: Electrical whip installation.

1.00 10112 Condenser Pad: New condenser pad for AC unit sized for the system 1.00 1011 O Flex Gas Line: New gas flex line for central unit. Includes installation. 1.00 W2 Extended Warranty (5, 10, 10): SoCal Climate Control extended warranty included in package: - 5 year labor warranty - 1 o year factory parts warranty - 10 year compressor warranty 20 YEARS ON HEAT EXCHANGER 1.00 SUB-TOTAL $8,253.00 TAX SO.DO TOTAL 8,253.00 I paid them by deposit by credit card of $800 and balance by check when job was completed.

My last resort after two months of going back and forth with them was to post on Twitter about this. After I posted on Twitter to call them out, within an hour they called me and said I was right and that they would reimburse me $5,100. I said they need to reimburse me for everything. They said they wouldn't because they didn't think we needed a furnace. See email exchange by SoCal Climate and First American that I uploaded.

They did send me a check for $5,128.31 (check number 6347221 dated 8/2109 and on the back of the check where I endorse it said: "Endorsement of this check constitutes full release of first american home warranty corp from making future repairs or replacement to your evaporative coil in your hallway." WHAT?! Did i mention that I pay extra lo have this covered???!!! I would like to be reimbursed the remaining amount of $3,124.69.

I filed this complaint with the Better Business Bureau and yesterday, I got this response from First American: 

"First American Home Warranty Corporation (First American) apologizes for any inconvenience the consumer may have experienced during the handling of their claim. First American processed a cash payment for the condenser and evaporator coil replacement. First American is unable to honor the consumer's request as the requested amount is for the air condition unit upgrade and furnace replacement. First American considers this claim closed."

I responded back that I DID NOT accept this along with:

This response is similar to all of their previous responses. First they denied the entire claim calling it an upgrade. After going back and forth they relented but not fully. The entire unit is over 25 years old. It's imperative to flush out the old R-22 from the lineset or it would have contaminated the new compressor and coil. R-22 is no longer manufactured and the new units run on R-410a. They are trying to tell me that the only reason for having to replace the furnace was because our unit was upgraded to 16 seer.

That is incorrect. The blower in the old furnace was unsafe to operate, had a corroded heat exchanger, was rusted, beyond its lifespan and unsafe to operate. It had to be replaced in order to push the air flow needed for the new a/c. Also flushing the refrigeration lines is a manufacturer requirement when changing from an R-22 to R-410a refrigerant or you risk liquid line slugging and the mixing of mineral oil with the new refrigerant. Without the new furnace it would be like putting a new transmission in a car with a failing motor.

Please note that when I was in the early stages of going back and forth them First American, they told me that all I needed was a new coil and it would work find with a 25 year old condenser. Their story changes every time we correspond. In the very beginning, they said it wasn't installed properly and were denying the claim, then they said it was an upgrade, and on and on this went. First American is aggressive with their customers in denying claims and/or making it as cumbersome as possible so you'll give up. It's wrong. It's unethical.

The claims adjuster tried to tell me that the furnace (heating) is separate from the air conditioning and that they are independent and that the evaporator coil's failure has nothing to do with the blower (located inside the furnace). Of course, it's separate but you can't work one without the other. This is, yet another slap in the face, as the old furnace would not have worked with the new coil/compressor. They are mincing words and leaning on technicalities of those words to deny the claim. The furnace is the workhorse of any central HVAC system. It's the blower of the system whether the air is hot or cold.

It's clear that First American does not care about its customers. Only their bottom line at our expense. First American owes me the balance of my claim. Period."

They are a huge corporation stepping on hardworking people who trusted them to follow through on their promise. They need to pay for what is outstanding.