Home warranty insurance companies

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havasu

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As many know, I purchased a home last year, and was provided a home warranty, so I would not have to worry about a thing for the next year. Our policy was upgraded to the "gold" version, and included all pool and spa equipment.

My pool heater has been giving me some problem, and I began smelling a slight gas leak, so I called the warranty company to send a company to fix it. As soon as the company drove over to the house, they asked for my $60 co-pay. He saw that repair of the old unit would be a waste of time and recommended a full replacement.

I figured that was great. I pay my $60 co-pay and I end up with a new pool heater. Wrongo-dongo. I called the home warranty company yesterday to find out when I would receive my new heater and they said that a replacement heater far exceeded the maximum claim for pool equipment, and I would not be receiving anything from them. They had me get my magnifying glass and look as the extreme small print inserted on page six of the full contract. It reads, "the maximum claim for any one item is $1000, and once this price is reached, anything future claim in this contract will be void."

To add insult to injury, a new pool heater will cost $2800, they will deduct $100 from my $1000 maximum for the service call, and I now have a $900 balance. She gave me my choice to either write her a check for $1900, and they will replace the pool heater, or she will send me a check for $900. Yep, I requested she send me the $900.

I am writing this as a reminder to really read the fine print on these bogus home warranty insurance companies. :2cents:
 
They don't tell you that they are also underfunded subsidiaries of larger companies so when they get hit really hard they just file for bankruptcy. You can not win.
 
havasu said:
As many know, I purchased a home last year, and was provided a home warranty, so I would not have to worry about a thing for the next year. Our policy was upgraded to the "gold" version, and included all pool and spa equipment.

My pool heater has been giving me some problem, and I began smelling a slight gas leak, so I called the warranty company to send a company to fix it. As soon as the company drove over to the house, they asked for my $60 co-pay. He saw that repair of the old unit would be a waste of time and recommended a full replacement.

I figured that was great. I pay my $60 co-pay and I end up with a new pool heater. Wrongo-dongo. I called the home warranty company yesterday to find out when I would receive my new heater and they said that a replacement heater far exceeded the maximum claim for pool equipment, and I would not be receiving anything from them. They had me get my magnifying glass and look as the extreme small print inserted on page six of the full contract. It reads, "the maximum claim for any one item is $1000, and once this price is reached, anything future claim in this contract will be void."

To add insult to injury, a new pool heater will cost $2800, they will deduct $100 from my $1000 maximum for the service call, and I now have a $900 balance. She gave me my choice to either write her a check for $1900, and they will replace the pool heater, or she will send me a check for $900. Yep, I requested she send me the $900.

I am writing this as a reminder to really read the fine print on these bogus home warranty insurance companies. :2cents:
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ok,,the tech "said" you needed a new heater,
because it might have benefited him more to install a new one than fix the old.
get an estimate on fixing the heater. if its under a grand
at least you will get that much out of the shyster ins co.
 
I have a friend who owns a pool service company. He has a client who wants to replace his slightly used pool equipment. He is offering to sell me a 18 month old 400K gas heater and 5 speed pool pump and filter for $1500, I'll keep you posted.
 
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I got a new AC from my home warranty last year no questions asked. I'm not a fan either but in my case it was a win.
 
Really depends on the company. I received a new water heater for my house... would have rather just had the warranty in cash though and done it better myself.
 
Reading the contract, most items have a maximum payout limit for heat/air, water heater, plumbing, etc. A real rip off. I do know a guy who received both a pool filter, and a heater. He must have paid for the "diamond" package warranty, which was obviously more money, but worth consideration in the future.
 
Warranties are a joke for the most part. Same as that extended warranty for your car. They exclude everything that actually goes wrong and blame you so they don't have to cover.

They wanted to sell me a 100,000 mile maintnence program for my truck for 5k. Guess what goes wrong in a diesel in the first 100k? Nothing! Oil change at every 10k and maybe one trans service. That's makes each oil change about 500 bucks. A real deal.
 
I went in this morning to file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. Their ratings are poor, at best. I saw a little note from the president of this company to please contact him prior to lodging any BBB complaint, so I let him have it in an email. I also forwarded a copy of this email to my realtor, so they can see the real life problems with warranty claims.

I guess what really frosts my arse is the company who came out to try to fix my pool heater was a company who specializes in toilet flapper replacements, and the inside of his truck had about 6 old toilets in it.
 
Should have called Angies list. Now THAT is a reputable company! Matter of fact, I think Angie thought up the home warranty scheme. She was partnered with Bernie Made-off at one time.
 
I have a buddy that does AC, heat and appliance repair. He says that the only people who work for those warranty companies are either new businesses looking for work or people that just do shotty work anyway and want easy money. He says he won't do them because the warranty company tells them what they are allowed to bill per job and is much less than the job is actually worth.
 
Speedbump said:
Should have called Angies list. Now THAT is a reputable company! Matter of fact, I think Angie thought up the home warranty scheme. She was partnered with Bernie Made-off at one time.
Click to expand...

Tell me more. I know nothing about Angies list.
 
You want a 1st hand synopsis of the bbb, "pay-for-play" business model,
AM 640, ask Bill Handl.
 
Snoonyb said:
You want a 1st hand synopsis of the bbb, "pay-for-play" business model,
AM 640, ask Bill Handl.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I've heard many horror stories about the BBB and their unscrupulous practices. Then again, I also hear the same stories about Yelp.

Within an hour, I received a reply from the president of the home warranty company. He basically repeated all my claims, and said he could expedite receiving my check sooner than 4-6 weeks. he then had the gall to say, hey, we are reimbursing $310 more than what you paid for our home warranty policy.

Could you imagine paying $800 for auto insurance, then totalling your car, then receiving only $1110 saying, "Hey, I'm giving you $310 more than what you paid for the policy!"

Pretty disgusting if you ask me. :confused:
 
You know, Guys. I know I don't have a leg to stand on because the limits are listed in the policy, albeit in a size .1 font. I am only writing my dilemma in this forum to warn others to really read the fine print in these home warranty scam companies.

Caveat emptor!
 
Tell me more. I know nothing about Angies list.
Click to expand...
Snoonyb and Havasu pretty much answered the question about Angies list and the BBB.
Speaking of Yelp. I have one 1 star rating from some lady in St. Petersburg, Fl. about my business. We don't even work in St. Petersburg. We never cross the bridge, but I sure have been having a great time trying to get it removed. These outfits list you whether you like it or not and allow people give reviews without recourse. That stinks.
 
You want a 1st hand synopsis of the bbb, "pay-for-play" business model,
AM 640, ask Bill Handl
Click to expand...
We listen to Bill the Radio Doctor every Sunday morning on 970 AM coming back from breakfast. I love the guy! Never heard his slant on the BBB though. Maybe he has archives I can bring up.
 
In the past , customers have ask if they could refer me on social media sites, and my response was/is, not with your dying breath.
 
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