Complaint Review: HomeSure of America Inc. -

 We bought our new house on Aug 23, 2016. An HMS masterpeace protection plan warranty was purchased and effective as of Aug 23, 2016. Contract # 93464653. Prior to settlement we conducted a complete home inspection and second inspection of the HVAC units by a licensed Maryland HVAC company. No defects were found. Only recommendations to change the filter, add a little refrigerant to level and drain pan in attic. Both units worked on day of settlement.

Four days later one HVAC unit stopped working. I opened a case with HMS. They told me they assigned my case to Cold Comfort contractor and I would be called to set up a diagnostic appointment. I waited several days and no call. I called HMS back and was told they switched my case to suncloud services but they never bothered to tell me. I finally got a call from suncloud and set up an appointment on Aug 30, 2016. Suncloud determined the cause to be compressor not drawing amps and mechanical wear and tear. I called HMS back and was told mechanical wear and tear is covered by warranty but they ruled the unit had a preexisting condition so the warranty did not cover repair. There is no preexisting condition as clearly evidenced by the home inspection and invoice from the HVAC contractor. I filed a complaint with a supervisor named Mariel and she told me to email a copy of the invoice noting no mechanical defects were found before settlement proving no preexisting condition and the warranty would cover the repair. I emailed the invoice to HMS on September 19, 2016. Another two weeks went by and I never received a response from HMS. I called back HMS and was told me a manager would call me back within 48 hours. Again no return phone call. I escalated the complaint again and asked for the case manager Mrs. Bennett to call me to appeal. She finally called me back and told me that on September 24 they upheld the denial even with the invoice noting no evidence of preexisting condition. I told her to escalate the case to her supervisor and she told me management would call me back within 48 hours. It has been over a week and no phone call.

I called back today and spoke with a supervisor named Cassandra at extension 4256 and again was told management would call me back but could not estimate a timeframe because they're busy. This is the worst company, worst customer service and they unethically deny claims that are covered under warranty to not pay for the repairs. Other homeowners in the community have told me they had similar problems. My family suffered in extreme heat this summer waiting for the HVAC to be repaired and they kept denying my claim after they have repeatedly received valid proof of a mechanical wear and tear issue. I have asthma and suffered in the heat without working air conditioning. I was contacted on October 12, 2016 by Calvin Ford of Cross Country Home Services. He told me he was assigned to work with me in coming to a resolution with HMS. He told me his company sells HMS warranties products to customers. I provided Mr. Ford another copy of the report from SunCloud Services noting that the failure was due to mechanical wear and tear. The report did not indicate any pre-existing condition diagnosed from the technician. I also provided Mr. Ford a copy of the report from the HVAC specialist we contracted on July 16, 2016 prior to settlement that does not indicate a pre-existing condition. As noted in the attachment I provided, the report states only three minor recommendations to change the filter, drain a pan and add a little refrigerant to the system. All of these recommendations were completed prior to the failure of the unit. None of these minor recommendations cause a compressor to fail and not draw amps. Mr. Ford kept telling me that he is not a licensed HVAC specialist but informed me of his own assumptions from cases he worked on that these could cause the issue. Mr. Ford is not an expert and should not be coming to technical conclusions that he is not licensed nor trained to diagnose. I also provided Mr. Ford with a copy of the appraisal of our home completed on July 25, 2016 which does not state any needed improvements, noted deficiencies or problems with our HVAC units. All of these reports are evidence there was no pre-existing condition before we purchased the home on August 23, 2016.

Mr. Ford called me yesterday October 24, 2016 and left me a message that he spoke with the technician from SunCloud Services and claimed the technician told him the items needing to be fixed could cause the failure of the unit. However, I have not received an actual report from Mr. Ford or SunCloud stating new statement ever occurred. The only report I received from SunCloud does not state any of this and only confirms the diagnosis is wear and tear which is covered by the warranty. I left Mr. Ford a message today to receive a copy of this so called second report of the technicians additional findings which were never presented to us and to escalate this dispute to his supervisor. A coincidence of the date the unit failed after we purchased the home is not legal justification to deny our warranty claim and make false allegations of a pre-existing condition. His supervisor Danielle Pottinger finally reached out to me to blankly state she would not consider our position in reversing the denial but claimed she could help us get a 15% discount with a service provider to fix our unit. It appears HomeSure of America and HMS is getting kickbacks from contractors to deny claims which saves them money and then refer customers out. I set up two calls with her on January 18 and 19, 2017 both of which she missed wasting my time. I have repeatedly contacted the executive office for intervention and assistance with no response. This company is a scam and providing fraudulent warranty products to receive money from customers. We expect a fair resolution by HMS to honor our warranty and fix our unit.