First American Home Buyers Protection (First American Home Warranty)

I am a new home buyer and I have a home buyer protection from First American. After a few months of living our new house, I noticed a wet spot in the drywall in one of our bathroom on the first floor. I had no idea where the leak was coming from, so I called the First American to send me a technician so evaluate the leak. The tech told me that leak is hard to detect and we may have to use camera to detect a leak, and they told me they will come back in few days.

Next thing, I find out that First American tells me that tech didn't find any active leak since the leak was in the wall. So I had second tech come in and same thing, they told me there is no active leak at the time of visit even though the wall is clearly damaged and possibly the foundation of the house. So I decided to get a plumber of my own who cut the drywall and noticed the leak was coming when the second floor bathroom shower was on. There was a leak in the pipe connecting the bathroom faucet to the shower head which was not visible because leak was inside of the wall. So he fixed it and charged me $300 for it.

Now First American doesn't wanna pay for it because the work order is too old and they think the leak was due to the shower head but it's the pipe in the wall leading to shower head. Please help me with this.

I had been a customer of First American Home Warranty for 9 years with them automatically drafting my account monthly. Never have I been late with payment, never! Last winter they had to replace a high dollar piece of equipment (heat exchanger) from my heating system (this is the only large dollar amount they have paid out in the entire time). This spring I complained because they sent a very unqualified plumbing company out to my house and still did not resolve my plumbing issue.

The next thing I know is without notice they had ended my contract. No notification! I have paid well over $400.00 monthly for the last 9 years with minor house calls, honestly no more than about two per year of very, very minor issues paying a $60.00 per visit co pay. I just happen to find out when I called the company checking on my renewal period that in the past they have called me several times before starting the new contract. I would not recommend them to anyone. This company needs to be shut down.

I have been a customer of First American Home warranty for over 6 years. When I make a claim, I specifically have concerns of who the service technician is and have certain requirements as to who can enter the house.

First American has denied and refused to honor my request recently and as a paying customer, this is illegal. I am also requesting any assistance or info as to follow up on this matter including consumers rights and info on pertaining legal action against First American home warranty.

I give them one star because I can't do worse. We purchased a policy from First American sometime ago. We renewed the policy on February 11, 2011. We have never had to file a claim with the company, until now. My heating and cooling system went out this summer. On September 4, 2011, the company sent a technician from Discovery Heating & Cooling (some fly by night contractor that they have). The guy stayed for about 15 minutes. He could not answer my questions, but told me that he would have to condemn the unit because of a crack. He would turn in the service order to the insurance company, and someone would be contacting me.

After 2 weeks and no contact, either from the insurance company or the contractor, I called the insurance company. The woman I spoke to had to go look up the order, and told me that the contractor had submitted it, and said that he condemned the unit. She indicated that he had some additional things on the service order that she didn't understand, and she needed to contact him. Now, I am wondering why they didn't contact him when they received the service order to begin with, but at this point, I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. She proceeds to give me a list of things that the contractor indicated needed fixing, but was not covered under the warranty, including Title 24 assessment, that they would charge $600 dollars for. I went online, and it costs between $250-$300 to do this.

After getting another quote from a different company, we found that the list of things this guy had quoted, were either over-priced, or unnecessary. We contacted the insurance company. The girl we spoke with clearly did not have a clue. We asked her to give us an estimate of what they would give us to cash out the claim. She could not do so. She left the phone for about 15 minutes to go and talk with her supervisor who, she said, was an expert at determining what the cost would be. After 15 minutes, she came back and said she was having problems, because the system was not working properly. I asked to speak with the supervisor. She gave me his extension, and when I called it, the voice message said he was out of the office, and would not be back until the following Monday, November 14, 2011. I left a message. I never heard back from him. I contacted him again on November 17, 2011, and left another message. I still have not heard a word from this company.

On Saturday 11/5/2011, I filed a claim with First American Home Buyers Insurance Company. The claim was with regard to my heating system. My heating system at home was not blowing hot air. On Monday the 7th, their contractor came to my house to fix the problem. He spent 2 hours without doing anything. Finally, he told me that he would go look for a part. If he found it, he would be back in my house in the next hour. If not, then he would come back tomorrow. He didn't come back in after one hour. I called First American and told them what happened. First American in their turn called his company and explained them what happened.

His company scheduled me for Wednesday because they had to order the part (computer or electrical board). I told First American that this technician was not able to give me accurate answers to my questions, and I think he would not to be able to perform this job for me. On Wednesday, I called the contractor because he was late. He didn't show up on the window time that was given to me when I was scheduled for Wednesday. The lady who answered me from the contractor company told me that they didn't receive the part yet. But anyway, she said that if they will not come to my house on Friday, then they will come on Monday.

On Monday, they called to tell me that they didn't receive the part yet. I called First American and explained them the situation. They told me that they know because they already called the contractor to follow up. For many times, I told First American that I have children in my house and it gets too cold at night. I rather switch to another contractor. They kept telling me that if I will do that, I will go through the same procedure another time. I told them better not to get this heater fixed. They didn't listen to me. The only thing they did for me is that they told me to go and buy myself portable heater for not more than $50 and they will reimburse me.

I bought portable heater for $70. Finally, the contractor scheduled me for Thursday, 11/17/2011. It was the same thing. He spent 2 hours and didn't do anything. He discovered that the problem was not from the electrical board, so he put the old electrical board in its place. Now he made another guess and he had to order another part. I don't know how long I have to wait this time. The contractor stated that he put everything back in its place and now everything is like before. As soon as the contractor left my house, I tried to turn the heat on to see if it's like before. Unfortunately, it was not working at all. I tried to turn the AC on but it didn't work. And suddenly, the thermostat screen became blank, and bad smell came out from the upper level fan ducts.

There was no light in the attic. Mostly what happened was electrical contact. I was thinking to call the fire department because I didn't know what might be burning in the attic. I called First American and explained them the situation. I and my family might be in the danger of fire because I still smell this bad smell. Unfortunately, they didn't take it seriously and told me that they would find a way to schedule me for tomorrow and the same contractor would come again. The contractor admitted to me that he made a mistake with the diagnosis and now would see again if the problem is from somewhere else.

We were then solicited by phone and agreed to sign up. Within the first week, our bedroom's ceiling fan stopped working. We called and the customer service representative took the claim.

No one said there were any restrictions, limitations or exclusions. After another week, a technician called to schedule an appointment. When he eventually came to the house, he took apart the ceiling fan. Then, he said it is the "receiver."

We decided to cancel the coverage within the first 30 days; we did everything we could to cancel, having both called and sent a fax to First American.

Of course, the company would not honor their policy and manufacture words that were not present in the policy, claiming the insurance excluded the "receiver." However, receiver was not a word used in the policy. Instead, the only exclusion was the transmitter (remote control device anyone can buy at Home Depot for $10).

Every effort was made to explain this to First American, but they only gave us a partial refund, charging us for every day it took them to handle the issue, not using the day the ceiling fax broke and we called for a repair.

First American not only was in bad faith as to what was arbitrarily excluded (not stated in the contract) and refunding the policy as we intended a recession of the contract, but what they wanted is to also pay for $60 service charge (it is noteworthy, the technician wrote zero (-0-) on the invoice. We believe the insurance company acted in bad faith after they collected their premium. It is shameful.

I called First American to address a malfunctioning sump pump. The technician they sent said he could not fix the problem because it was illegally installed. It was installed in my house for me by a previous First American contractor.

After much time on hold and being given the wrong email addresses for the Complaints Department, I still have a basement that will overflow at any second and ruin my other appliances. Also, the technician they sent collected his $60 fee after putting a piece of duct tape on my pump until First American decides whether or not to honor their contractual obligations.

The situation is still unresolved. This company seems very eager to take my money with no intention of honoring their contractual duties.

They are horrible. Do not believe anything on their website. They have "fine" print where they outline how they will screw you when you do have an issue. I hadn't even received my contract in the mail 3 months into it. When I did have an issue with my double oven, they wanted to replace it with a non-matching part to save them money because they say it is "functional" and fine if they do so. They offered us a few hundred dollars if we wanted to "buy" out the appliance and then it would no longer be covered. What a crock. Um, is it safe and appropriate to take another serial numbered part and put it in my oven?

I am so beyond angry at this point. I would never ever recommend their service to anyone and the service provider was a complete moron. I have not had an oven for 2 weeks because he wouldn't call back and then ordered a wrong part that the company still wants him to put in my oven. They say because the part is not available, they don't have to match the oven.

Stay away from this fraudulent company. With the money I paid for my upgrades and additions, I could have bought a new double oven. The customer service person just kept repeating stupidly that I should look at line X on my contract. Um, the one you never sent me? Oh, and there is never a "manager" available to resolve the issue. Freaking idiots.

On 6-9-2011, the A/C failed. The technician was unable to find the problem. The final repair took place on 7-26-2011. So that was 47 days without A/C during the hottest summer in Houston, TX. On 8-27-2011, A/C failed again and it has the same problem. Now, I had 23 days without A/C. And the total was 70 days until 9-20-2011 when it was repaired again. On 9-24-2011, A/C quit again. This time, the compressor went out from previous problems due to lack of Freon.

2. For a new compressor or new unit, it will be out-of-pocket expense again because of the failure of service from First American Home Buyer Protection.

I had a policy with this company for almost 9 years. Early on, they were a completely legitimate business. I had a handful of service calls where things were taken care of. Somewhere along the line, this company stopped covering anything as provided by some rewording of their coverage. They have this loose wording that allows them to wriggle out of any claim.

Even worse, they make it as hard as possible to cancel your policy. They won't let you do it online; they won't allow you to do it on the phone. You have to email them and they tell you to send it to cancellationsupport@firstamerican.com but it's a completely false address. The real address is cancellationsupport@firstam.com. When they do this, it allows them to charge your credit card one last time and to have a built in excuse to not refund your money because it was "your fault" for sending it to the wrong address. No less than three different First American flunkies gave me the cancellation address and they spelled it out so there's no question about their tactic. But, you won't have it in writing because they only tell you this over the phone. Watch out for these idiots.

We bought this house, and the owners paid for us a year home warranty. We never got a say in it. We found out that our toilet has a leak and is rotting through the floor. First American Home Buyer's Protection won't cover it; calling it a secondary damage. Then, we called because our heating system and A/C unit was messing up-- 95 percent upstairs and 54 percent downstairs. The original homeowner ended-up (after a few months of FA) giving us the runaround. Many technicians came; we paid out of our pockets for a new damper system.

By now it is spring in Texas, and our A/C unit doesn't work. We once again called, and after a week, a service technician came. We have exposed wires, and still no air. We have called several times since, and have had many technicians come to the house all doing different things. One set even offered to discuss the problem with us-- over a six pack. We complained to First American. A week later, yet another technician came out, saying it is a broken part from a previous technician. We waited a week, and he came saying it is still not fixed. We need a new unit because the condenser coil is restricted. We were told it's all covered.

We called First American, and they said we had to wait for the report. Four days later, I called again, and they said, "Sorry, your claim was just sitting there. I have no idea whose fault that is, but I processed your claim today. It's all covered." We were told that we have to be patient because everyone needs air, and it takes time for them to come to our house. So, we waited (mind you, we have been living now for over a month in our vacationing friend's two different homes) for another four days and we got a First American representative who told us that they are waiting for us to pay $800 for uncovered parts that the A/C man filed last week. I asked why we were not notified sooner, and he said, "I am telling you now ma'am." I told them, "Yeah, only because I called, and not the other way around." So, he told me to cash out my claim. I told him, "No, I don't want money. I want my unit fixed." So, I called the A/C guy who said, "Either you pay me and get A/C system, or you don't and you have no air." How wonderful.

So, we called back to First American and got a girl representative, who said that she spoke to her supervisor, and there was nothing they could do. She said that I could do like she did; close out the claim, and get someone else cheaper to do the work. We had no choice, so we closed out the claim, and then finding out we get $700.00. That was it. We found out a A/C unit will cost us up to seven grand. Thanks to A#1 Air, we were qualified for a loan, and they came out less than an hour after we called. We will have a new A/C unit tomorrow that we paid for. Thanks First American Home Warranty, I am glad we have your protection!

I purchased the home warranty package (contract #10307075101) and was told items such as broken pipes and garage door was covered. I purchased the warranty from 10/2010 until I finally dropped them on August 3, 2011. The two times I attempted to use the home warranty I was told those items, such as broken pipes and garage door springs and doors were not covered. I was told "I should have read their contract. The contract was never submitted too me for review prior to purchase. This contract was never sent for me to review.

They automatically took $58 out of my checking account each month since I first purchased the plan in October 2010. When I tried to get my garage door repaired last month, they sent out a company (exit garage doors) that told me nothing in my garage door was covered and they tried to sell me new springs that cost $350.00. When they put those in, then they said I needed to spend another new garage door for $775.00. I rejected their costs and got another garage door company that put a new door and springs for $675. They sent me a letter stating my warranty did not cover doors or springs (dated August 1, 2011 - claim #302018218). I finally cancelled my warranty with them they threatened to charge me a a cancellation fee. They told me if I really wanted items to be covered then I would have to purchase their premium coverage plan. This is a scam operation that takes advantage of seniors such as myself and should be stopped immediately.

STAY AWAY FROM THESE **!!

I had made complaints about my air conditioning not working back in May. Here it is almost August and it's still not working. They sent several so-called technicians out to fix my air. Luckily, I told them to scratch with all those $55 deductibles. I paid once. They said the compressor was the problem. They replaced it and it still ain't working. So after several ** came out to try to fix it, the last guy rigged my wires together and then just up and quit. If it had rained that nite the ** thing could have caught fire and burnt my house down.

So the owner of Air Tech Mechanical came out to fix it and he can't fix it. They call the warranty company back and tell me there's no mechanical problem. Well, let me see. If my thermostat is set at 78 and my house is 96, there is a mechanical problem. **!!!!! Go back to HVAC school!!!!!!!!!

First American (FA) was originally contacted on July 9, 2011 due to air conditioner not working. The house was under warranty, as a new purchase, and this was under four months into an annual contract. Technician was dispatched on July 11th, follow-up by his supervisor on July 12th. The diagnosis was replacement of condenser unit due to age and leak with the coolant. Initially, this was approved by FA, although when no action happened after several days, I learned that the purchase order for the new unit had been "lost." This was now a week after the original claim submission. A second purchase order was approved, although then there were mysteriously no units anywhere to be found in my area. The agent assured me that she and her supervisor were expediting finding a new unit, although phone calls to her were not returned. At present its been over 48 hours since I've heard from the agent, and this is in the middle of record-setting heat (103 F, heat index of 115 F). Also, we have a small child in the house.

FA's actions, especially after reading other complaints online that are similar to mine, seem to be a typical stall tactics often used in the warranty/insurance field. Stalled long enough, the customer will get fed up and pay out-of-pocket for whatever needs to be done. However, given the circumstances of extreme heat and vulnerable persons within the home, this strikes me as being criminally negligent. I will be following up with a letter from a lawyer and further counsel.

Placed claim on 04/28/11 to fix AC unit in home that is not working. Baker Distributing came out claim# 301844928... The person advised I had a leak in my system, yet did not fix the problem... Less than two weeks later I had no AC. Second claim placed on 05/24/11 claim# 602554076 W & W contractors Inc. A technician came out advised I needed a new compressor, and there were leaks in the unit. He advised he would drive & pick up parts to fix, and would be back in a day or two... After a couple of days & no information, i called Warranty company & in two 1/2 weeks time have spoken to 6 supervisors, Who all advised my unit would be fixed and parts were ordered??

I was called on 06/7/11 That the tech received the part and was coming over today to replace. All Managers that I spoke to advised this person would check and fix any leaks in unit. The technician showed up rang my doorbell, walked out to his truck. After a half hour i went to go check, this person was sitting in his truck the whole time, taking a break???

When i tapped on his window he ignored me... I tapped three times and sat there for fifteen minutes before he rolled down the window and acknowledged me??.. when I asked him what he was doing he advised, that he would not be fixing or checking for leaks?? I advised I had already talked to several managers in Warranty deprt. who advised this tech should be fixing leaks, and any and everything wrong with the AC unit.

This person proceeded to roll up his window and drive off?? I have been sitting here with 100 % temperatures in my home for over a month total, that is not only dangerous, but could be fatal??? I called the Warranty deprtment as soon as that happened spoke to another manger who advised that they were going to send another senior tech, not the same unprofessional person to come and replace the parts, as well as take care of any leaks, and make sure everything is corrected and fixed today... I sat on the phone for 1/2 than he transferred me and dropped the call to a rep that had no idea what was going on?? When I asked to speak to a manager, I was placed on hold for 1/2 hour total one hour on phone to have to call back... I still have no AC....Ludwig Rodrwgez Ext. 5356 Was the last person I spoke with... I have taken off work to have nothing done, It is hazardous and dangerous to live in my house with 100 % temperatures, and to have a warranty company that promises service 365 days 24/7 is outrageous to have to unprofessional tech's to come to my home, and not do anything...Take my money and leave... and last one sat in his car for a 1/2 hour on break, to advise he refused to fix leaks and than drive off???

October 14, 2010, I called the First American to request service for an air conditioner that was not cooling. It was determined in November 2010, by two different contractors sent out by First American that a new heating and cooling unit would need to be installed.

First American ordered the improper heat pump and condenser unit for my home and has delayed in rectifying the mistake. First American hired a contractor, California Express Enterprises, Inc. to replace the heat pump and condenser unit. The contractor failed to recognize the requirements of the heat pump and tonnage of condenser unit, so the unit never worked properly. The contractor not only installed the improper line set, but failed to flush out the old coolant and installed the ducting in an unsuitable manner that caused the return line to be crushed. This continued over a course of two months as First American dispatched the same contractor to my home on three consecutive jobs over 5 different days to attempt to resolve the problem. Each time, the contractor failed.

First American caused further delay by claiming that the wiring necessary to accommodate the improper unit was not covered under the terms of the warranty, when in fact, First American ordered and installed the wrong unit.

Only this week, March 21, over five months later did the First American representative named Oscar admitted that the wrong unit had been ordered and installed. He mentioned that the original contractor would be given another chance to come out and fix the job. Judging from the prior interactions, the contractor is simply unable to complete the job. Furthermore, based on the consensus opinion by two independent contractors and the opinion of a contractor chosen by First American, the work performed by the contractor has been consistently subpar. I am still awaiting a resolution to the issue.

We purchased a home in January 2011 from HUD and the realtor suggested we purchase a home warranty to cover all of the appliances and heating. On February 5th, we purchased the warranty from First American Home Protection and was told that every appliance and all heating would be covered from day one.

On the following week, we decided to have the heating unit serviced because the home sat empty for a year. We assumed it was working properly because the fan was operating properly. The company that we paid to service the unit stated that the heat pump was not operating properly and should be repaired.

The following week, when I returned from my Moms', I called First American on Feb 21st and filed a claim. They sent a heating company out and found the unit should be replaced. They called First American and explained the problem and the claim was denied on Feb 23rd due to a smell and rust.

At no point, during the purchase of the warranty over the phone that there were stipulations as far as rust and smells. There is no rust on the outside of the unit and I do not smell anything. The conversation was recorded by First American and can be verified.

It was taken and they now want $4900.00 to replace it.

I cancelled my order within 2 hours of signing up on Feb 17, 2011. Anthony from cancellation department called at 3:02 PM and said it was cancelled already. However on Feb 22, they still took the money out of my account. This is a consumer theft as well as rip off. No one from the customer service has returned my calls or emails to discuss this matter.

I reported that my heating unit was out on Nov. 4, 2010. It took more than a week for a technician to appear. He worked on it once and said it needed a fan motor. After a week of waiting, I started calling the contractor (AAA Furnace) but got no return calls for at least a week. Finally, the technician came back with a used fan motor but then he pulled off the job. I was told a few days later that another company would come out and finish the job. The new contractor, Bayland Electro Mechanical of Cupertino, said I needed a new compressor and fan motor. He ordered the parts but it took 3+ weeks for him to come out and install it. In the interim, I was calling him and First American to find out what the status was. Again, no return phone calls after leaving many messages with both companies.

Finally, Bayland came out and installed the compressor and motor. It took him 2 days. After the 1st day, he left after 3 hours on the job saying he was tired, thirsty and needed to do Christmas shopping! He came back the next day and finished the install. However, immediately after he left, there was a God awful noise coming from the heating unit that went on all day and night. I called him right away but again, he did not return my phone call for a week. In the meantime, I was calling First American but all they could say was that Bayland has to be the company to come back out and look at it. Well, it has been 8 days and still no Bayland. This contractor only returns phone calls once a week and you better be home or you will never hear from him again.

As of this writing, 12/29/2010, and after almost 8 weeks, I still have no heat and no response from Bayland. Of course, First American says all they can do is send him emails to come back out but that results in nothing. My contract expires on Jan. 10 and I have already informed them that I would not be renewing after 2 years of payments. First American did say that they would not bill me for the next renewal year but I simply do not trust them. We will see. I would never recommend this company as they hire second rate contractors who have no concept of customer service. There is more but it is too frustrating to even think about First American and their "service".

I purchased this protection and filed claims but they were never completed. I cancelled my contract in August 2010 and discovered months later that they were still taking deductions out of my account. The resolution department was very nice in trying to get me to keep my coverage however, they employ not so smart contractors to do the work. I had to hire someone else to complete the work that their supposedly contractor started and did not finish. I submitted a letter to cancel my contract and did not follow through to make sure that they received it. So, my fault for not following up. They can keep their shoddy contractors.

We had a bathroom ceiling fan/light/heater/start making bad noise and then started smoking. I contacted the home warranty company and they assigned a contractor. The contractor never called me and after a full workday, I called them to make an appointment. They told me that they did not service my area and I lived too far away. I re-contacted the home warranty company and they assigned a different contractor. I waited two days for someone to contact me and nothing happened. I attempted to call the contractor at least 10 times and could never get a hold of anyone and there was no answering service. I contacted the home warranty company again and they stated that someone would call in 24 to 48 hours but nothing happened.

In the mean time, we had our power turned off due to the fire hazard in the attic. I went up there with a flashlight, disconnected the wires, and cap them to prevent fire hazard and get the power back on. We are in snow country. I called the home warranty company because there was no response to my claim and they told me that since I disconnected the wires to prevent a fire hazard, they would not provide a service contractor. They told me I had to reconnect the wires and have the unit in its original operation mode. I explained this was a fire hazard. They did not care and refused to send out a contractor.

I am convinced First American is a fraudulent company. They claim repeatedly that they will repair or replace an appliance no matter what age, make or model. They pride themselves with having integrity but that is so not the case. I put in a claim so my parents' cook-top can be checked. It works fine but we need a lighter to start it. The tech claimed the whole stove was covered in grease. I was blown away by the lie. I immediately took pictures and sent it to a First American representative.

Note that we have a lady that cleans the house thoroughly once a week in addition to our daily cleaning. First American then sent another company. Mind you, I've had to make so many calls and devote so much time because they wouldn't follow through. I had to keep calling and pursuing. Tech #2 came and said the manufacturer of our cook-top no longer exists so the parts are really hard to find. Well, FA guarantees that no matter what the age, make, or model, they will repair or replace. Again, months went by and no word from FA. I'm waiting while they find the pieces. I called again. They decided to send out another technician (Why, when they determined the parts they need and are looking for it?).

This technician told me that in addition to removing all the removable parts off the cook-top to clean, we are supposed to buy a metal brush and brush over the screws. I have never known any one to do that. It was a 20-year-old cook-top, of course there is going to be rust but FA said age is not a problem but rust is. That is ridiculous. I asked the representatives whether they had personally picked up a metal brush to brush over the screws in their appliances and she said, "Yes, if I were instructed to". Exactly, no one instructed us to. Why would something like rust deny the claim when they promise age doesn't matter? Isn't rust a part of age? And it's not even a lot of rust, it's normal wear and tear on a well-maintained cook-top that's 20 years old.

But, I think what happened was that they weren't able to find the parts and because they don't want to replace it, they pressure the technician to say something that's somehow not covered under the warranty. It's fraud and they keep taking advantage of people. I wonder how long they are going to keep getting away with this. It's a service-oriented company that's been anything but service-oriented.They give more business to Tylenol because of the headache they gave me. This is not the first issue like this I've had with FA. It seems if they don't want to cover something, they find a way out. First it's covered, then somehow it's not. Oh, and it would help if the techs they hired spoke English.

I had a gate valve (the mechanism that regulates the flow of water into the home) and contacted First American to file a claim for repair. Within a few days, Just Plumbing came out to try to fix it.

The gate valve is attached to a pipe that comes out of a pipe in the wall of my home. The actual valve itself is 5.5 inches from the wall. Seeing this, the plumber called First American to see if it was covered and the claim was denied because the valve was not directly attached to the wall. The plumber offered to repair it himself to the tune of $447.50, and that was after a $20 discount.

The following day, I contacted First American and spoke with a rep who told me that because it wasn't attached to the wall, it wasn't covered. She pointed out that the contract reads, "Items must be installed for diagnosis and located within the perimeter of the main foundation of the home or garage." When I asked her what "Perimeter" meant, she just stated in the wall or attached to the wall. She couldn't give me any metrics. Again, I told her that the valve was attached to a pipe that was coming out of the wall. My claim was denied.

I've filed a complaint with the Attorney General's office and the Dept. of Insurance. Advice to those looking for a warranty - go over every covered item with the rep who sells you a policy before you send them a premium. And start with companies located in your city so they know how your home is built. (In other regions, gate valves are located in the garage due to weather, but they are outside the home in AZ.)

First American was my home warranty through the escrow company during my first year as a new homeowner. The claim came up when my contractor discovered a leak under the sink. I called First AM and they sent RiteAway Plumbing couple days later to inspect it. The plumber said, he would contact me back about a week or a half latest after getting authorized by FirstAM. While he was there, he also turned off the water to prevent any more damage. I was patiently waiting but 2 weeks past by, no response.

I called RiteAway and left couple messages but still no response. I called First AM and they told me the claim was still in process and I should give them time. I consistently called First AM and finally they got a hold of the plumber. The plumber came, replaced the pipe and made a big hole on the wall. He left the wall open just like that and left. Since I had a bad allergy, I had to clean up the mess and covered the hole with tape. Now then I had to wait for a drywaller after the plumber finished.

I called miserably to First AM and the drywaller to expedite the process to finally schedule an appointment. The drywaller called himself to confirmed the date and time. I waited the whole morning on the date of the appointment and called the drywaller again to learn that he was too busy and forgot about the appointment. Professional? Anyway, he came on a Saturday, and could not complete the rough patch as there was mold though the plumber was there a week before told no mold. Now I find myself to clean up this whole mess and it would be better off if I did not call First AM from the beginning.

This experience is the worst for a first homeowner with First AM, calling and talking to their emotionless representative, their unprofessional contractors and their unpleasant service. On top of that, I have to deduct my rent and pardon my renters for all the inconvenience of this matter. I am a customer service supervisor myself and I am very amazed of how they call themselves - Service Value Integrity.

I called in the same week to get my A/C and freezer fixed. It took 4 days in 100 degrees weather to get the A/C fixed. The freezer took over a month! I was on the phone with First American every day for a week, trying to get someone out to fix my freezer. Each CSR told me something different. I left up to 3 messages a day for the contract who never returned my calls. After calling almost daily to First American, they finally sent out a different contractor who said he had to order parts because the first contractor who came out, didn't do his job.

A week later, the parts came in, and two days later, it was finally fixed. I sent 8 emails to First American not one was responded to, I sent two letter to the CEO Daniel Langston, who did not even have the common courtesy to answer them. I got a form letter from a claims rep, stating the issue was resolved. I've been trying to cancel my warranty, but cannot get anyone to take my call. The cancellation department is always busy, so you have to leave a message. I have faxed and emailed my cancellation request.

Taking the time to call the company daily, took all my work breaks and lunches, eating out every day for a month, because I did not have a refrigerator/freezer. Feeling helpless that no one in the company would help me, or kept giving me the run around. I could've purchased a new refrigerator/freezer for the money I spent on eating out every day.

My air conditioner was blowing out hot air on July 27, 2010. I called the home warranty company. They said they would have a contractor restaurant services company call to schedule an appointment. I called the contractor by 2 pm that day. He said he would be in my neighborhood and stop by at 5:30 pm. Well, he never showed up or called. The warranty company called him the next day and he said he didn't say to me. So needless to say, he didn't show up until late 07/29. He said the compressor was burned out and he could guarantee 100% that we will need a new system. Well, we didn't hear from him again the next day. We called the warranty company and asked what the decision is. They said he would get a new part by Tuesday, 08/03.

Again, we didn't hear from him until 08/05. During this week, our weather was ranging from 89 to 92 with major humidity. He called on 08/05 and said he would be at my house at 8 am. He didn't show up until 10:30 am with a "new A/C". He did not finish until 5 pm. I didn't feel any air blowing from certain vents that always were very active, even when it was warm air. The contractor told me, "Oh, it will take 4-5 hours before you will notice anything." Anyway, the pipes were frozen. There was air escaping from all around the holes he made in my combo heater air conditioner. I called First Am. I told them I didn't want him back. They sent a new contractor, Comfort Express. They have been to my house for the last 4 days and cannot fix it either. So now, First Am said the original contractor must come back out. I am recovering from breast cancer. My blood pressure has been off the charts (said my doctor). My grandbaby has been staying with me. She has asthma. So, it has been 2 weeks and the humidity is above 100.

We have had First American as our home warranty company since 2003. We have used them for claims on a faulty electrical panel, broken refrigerator, dishwasher repair and twice for a bad ceramic cook top convection oven. I don't want to write a novel about each one but the one constant is that they take an exorbitant amount of time to process a claim and do what they state they will do.

Every claim has taken weeks to get resolved and required multiple calls from me to prompt them to do the right thing. My current issue is the 2nd ceramic cook top they replaced doesn't work. My initial claim for service was submitted on May 17th. Three repairmen, six repair calls from three different appliance repair companies and the factory telling First American the stove is not repairable have resulted in nothing. Today is August 5th. I have been told multiple times, "purchasing is looking for a like replacement". Apparently First American doesn't have access to Google.

It's now Day 48 and counting with no stove and they are fine with that level of customer service. I saw a posting by another gentleman regarding his 6-week adventure and speaking with 27 different individuals at First American. I completely concur with what he said in his note. This has been our experience exactly. My advice is to pick another home warranty company. When our renewal is up, we will be moving on. The frustration, lack of professionalism and complete inability to grasp what customer service is, isn't worth the frustration to us any longer.

We purchased a home warranty in May 2010, the day after we purchase our home. First American Buyer Protection Corp. was recommended to us by our broker. Everything was fine until March 28th 2010, when we woke to find our kitchen floor flooded. We initially thought it was our young dog, but as we cleaned it up we noticed there was no color and no odor.

We discovered that the water was coming from our refrigerator. It was the ice in the freezer- running down and out of the freezer door. We opened the side by side doors to see the thermostat was through the roof and everything had thawed overnight. Everything in the fridge was warm. We ran to the phone and I scrambled to find a technician to come out asap. I took the day off.

The technician came out and diagnosed the problem. He said he'd order the parts and be back in a few days as this part is hard to come by and not stocked locally. I called my husband to let him know about the solution and he reminded me of our home warranty and he thought it should be covered. I did call and it was covered, however, they could not use that tech and it had to be with someone they contracted with.

So two days go by before Sears could get one of their techs out. When the guy came out, I told him all of the information I had learned from the initial tech (who I paid 80$ for his time). He said he would have to do his own diagnostics. He confirmed what the first guy told me. He said, he'll order a couple of parts because if it isn't one of 3 parts then it might be the other and he wanted all the parts there so he would be able to take care of it next appointment.

He said he'd also have to order the parts because they weren't local. He also learned the warranty company would only allow him to order so much based on a dollar amount. He couldn't get an override to place what he wanted to order. The next visit came. It was a different tech, and the part was wrong that the last tech decided to order. Which by the way was not the part the original guy wanted to order. This continues on and on and on to approximately a dozen visits during work days and weekends.

Both my husband and I took a few days off each for these appointments. Also, I had a friend come to my house on 2 separate days to accommodate the tech as we could not be home and another day when I took my work home with me. In the meantime I have made several calls to both Sears and to First American to attempt to get some relief as this went on for over two months! No offer to replace the cost of a couple hundred dollars of food, having to eat out more often and having to borrow my neighbor's mini refrigerator.

Finally, in mid May I had Audrey from First American offer to refund $75.00 to us if we wanted to go out and purchase our own mini. I explained to her that this mini is literally in the middle of my kitchen floor as my kitchen has no wall space and once they repair my "repairable" refrigerator I would not have use for it even if I wanted it.

Finally a tech decided that perhaps they needed to order a new part and not a refurbished part, per Sears policy! Once that part came in, on June 1st the tech put it in and it was working! Thank God! So in the meantime of over 2 months with no working refrigerator in Florida we(two working professionals with a child) intentionally allowed our warranty to expire with First American as we felt their service to us was pathetic. They never ensured timely service and they claimed it was Sears who did the scheduling so they pushed the buck there. Sears would claim they couldn't fix it because the warranty company restricted them!

So, here it is August 2nd, 2010, and last night my refrigerator is broke again. Currently the temp in my freezer is 12 degrees. Last night it was 28 before my husband and I pulled it out from the wall and took the back and front panel off. We unplugged it for 10 minutes to allow the compressor to cool and thought it may reset itself. It turned on, the compressor fan came on, we left it out and opened and placed a table fan behind it for extra cooling. However, the heating problem still exists. The front panel is so super hot like touching a pot jut coming off the stove.

I know hat everyone is thinking- "Unplug the damn thing!" I know! I know! I know, I don't want to lose all the groceries I just bought Sunday and I know I don't want to burden my friends and neighbor's again! I'm monitoring the situation. I did call Sears and told them the problem.

Obviously they don't feel it's a concern or they'd be out in less than a week- don't you think? I even told the girl that other similar units have caught on fire. I'm so worried that we will leave to go to work and our refrigerator will catch on fire, so will our house and our 2 dogs will be trapped inside. I did call Sears first thing this morning and they do warranty the part for 90 days so we are in that window.

And of course, they can't get out here till Aug 9th! I'm just so disappointed. The unit should had been replaced by the warranty company. I read so many reports on consumeraffairs.com of other people having extremely similar problems with their whirlpool refrigerators! This sounds like a very serious and dangerous issue. I'm surprised that Whirlpool hasn't recalled these units with heating/fire issues!

Why hasn't an attorney pushed this? I filed a complaint with Florida's division of consumers affairs today. I've been advised by some to report to the attorney general and to BBB. We'll see! Do not buy Whirlpool, Do not use Sears, Do not use First American Home Warranty based out of Arizona and California.

There are two problems. The first one was our pool. The heater was not working on jacuzzi. First American sent out company called All Seasons Pool. The company came out and declared they fixed the heater. Couple of days later, we noticed that the pool pump would turn off and the jacuzzi would be empty of water. We called First American. They wanted to send them back. No thanks, not on your time table. My pool might be totally messed up. They told me to hire my own person. He came out and told me to check the valve, that it's messed up.

These things were probably done by All Season. So, the pool was operating again but the heater was still not working. It was the original problem. Try to turn it on. The heater was not working. I called First American (this is now July). Four months later, they sent out another company to service the jacuzzi. He deems fixed and disappears. The next day, the pool would not come on and then the jacuzzi is emptying of water again. It's unbelievable. The story gets better because we also had an A/C problem on June 1, 2010.

They sent out a company who said the coil was bad. The owner of the A/C company told me there was a $300.00 permit fee. They said that the homeowners company will pay $50.00 and we would have to pay $250.00. I called city permit department. There is no fee for what they are doing. I called First American and told them that I don't feel warm and fuzzy about a dishonest person in my home. They insist on using him and sent him out with brand new coil. He is in my home for 6 hours. And then, the AC was still not working. Guess what? The coil model number of new coil doesn't match. They did not install a new coil. Are you laughing yet? I am so disgusted beyond belief! I have become a full time employee of this circus! It is still not fixed or the problem.

Our air conditioner went out on Wednesday, July 7, 2010, so I made the claim immediately. Everyday, for the next 10 days, it was above 90 degrees. We were promised that a tech would be out in 3-5 days, it took them 6 days to arrive. Then, a part needed to be ordered. We were promised that the part would arrive in 3 days, it has been 5 days and it is still not in. First American does not have a complaint line or any way of getting things resolved. They supposedly put your complaints in your file, but as for what happens after that, we haven't seen anything. Dominique (a supervisor) was argumentative and rude. In general, their staff was unhelpful and unsympathetic.

I purchased my home in March 2010. My home came with a 1-year home warranty. I filed a complaint that my A/C wasn't working to First American. They sent someone out and they said they fixed it, wrote up a work order and left.

It worked maybe 2 days and went back out. I called First American again to file another complaint, yet they sent the same company back out. Again, they said they fixed it, wrote up a work order and left. Two days later it went out again, this time I'm **. It's reading over 90 degrees in my house and someone has been out twice to fix it. So I called First American again, and asked for a new contractor. The new contractor came out, said he fixed it, wrote up a work order, and guess what? Two days later, it stopped working again!

This time I have a house full because it's the night before my graduation, and I have to come home to a 90-degree hot house. I called First American fort he 4th time! I spoke to Micheal who seemed to rush me off the phone to talk to someone in a different department, when he knew it was closed. This is 10pm EST. Why say you are going to transfer me somewhere when no one is there? I called back and argued with some dummy in the customer service department because she didn't feel like me, my two kids, ages 3 and 8, and other family members, sleeping in 90-degree hot house was an emergency.

What's the difference between that and a parent leaving his/her child in the car in that type of weather? It sounded like an emergency to me. To break it down, they are trying to keep from replacing my A/C unit. So they are trying to do everything in their power to keep fixing it and not replace it. If you are looking to sign up with this company, then look elsewhere. I'm sure there is another company that cares more about their customers! I did four calls to First American for the same issue that never got fixed! If it has to be replaced, forget about it if you're looking forward to First American doing it!

I have a Home Warranty through First American Home Warranty. I have been paying it for 2 years and now when I call with a claim, they are telling me all of the things that are not covered with the plumbing problem. I requested a 2nd opinion and was told I could have one, then received a call back a week later saying no 2nd opinion would be authorized. I finally learned they have only 1 technician in my area and have told me that I would have to pay for a 2nd opinion. The 1 technician in my area stated we needed a pipe modification and it would cost us $250.00 in addition to the $60.00 service call. The reason you get a home warranty is to have systems covered. I am changing home warranty companies immediately.

My AC unit went out. It took 5 days for a contractor to schedule service and then missed their appointment. I asked to get my own contractor to get the job done, they refused. I had to pay out of pocket to get the job done. I was out $412.00

My A/C died so I filed a claim with FAHW. They assigned a contractor who is 125-mile round trip from my home when there are several that they use within a 20-mile radius. Further, the contractor they assigned gets terrible ratings on Yelp and other forums, where they are continually accused of trying to sell the customer stuff they don't need. They are part of the problem, but FAHW has been worthless. They assigned me a "claim representative" who never answers her phone, whose name is not listed in the company directory and who doesn't have a valid voice mail box.

So I have called and started over with them trying to get an update on status. They do everything they can to get you to throw up your hands and say "** it, I'll just pay for it myself." They sent a second contractor for a second opinion, then decided to go with the first. I had no choice of contractor, even after complaining about the first one. I have been patient but I have had to personally advance the status at every turn. I can never reach the last person I spoke with at FAHW. They're always nice on the phone, then no follow up. I have left as many as four messages for some of them--no return calls. I am making a long story very short, but suffice it to say that it has been over a month and my air conditioner is still broken--this is the height of summer!

The first contractor refused to do the job unless they could charge me for services I didn't need and FAHW did nothing about it until I demanded they assign a new contractor. To get that far, I spent hours on the phone and went so far as to call the CEO's office--which did get me some response. That guy called very quickly, then said that he'd get back to me in an hour.

Four messages and two days later, I finally heard from him again. So much time on hold, and getting transferred through voice mail, hell, you begin to laugh when you hear the messages while you're on hold: "We are about service, value and integrity." "You pay only a service charge." So the contractor three comes tomorrow. I have spoken with over eight different people at FAHW--and with one exception, I haven't ever been able to reach them again. I lost hours upon hours of my time. I also suffered through a 100-degree heat waves, and it is still unresolved.

My air conditioning broke @2 months ago. First American sent out a technician the first time. He claimed that my unit needed to be cleaned and that I needed a new filter inside.We did these things, but a/c still did not work. The technician came back out 2 weeks later. This time he claimed we needed a new unit. It took First American two weeks to locate a comprable system. The technician came back out and installed the new system. He claimed that he could not test it because there was an electrical problem.

then First American sent out an electrician. He repaired the problem. The A/c technician told me to go ahead and run the system. It still did not work. I contacted First American again. This time they sent out a new company. The new technician evacuated the system and recharged freon. He claimed it should work right this time.

The A/C is still broken. I contacted the warranty co. again. I spoke with a manager which gave me the same song and dance that have gone through the last two months. I was assigned a representative for my case after 2 months. I have left several messages with him and the supervisor I spoke with previously. I spoke to the A/c technician. Now he claims I need a TXV valve for the inside system. apparently they have no idea what is wrong with my system. It could be weeks for them to locate the part seeing that my unit is very old. What am I supposed to do in the meantime in 90-98 degree weather.

I heard nothing- for several days- so I called First American on 6/9- 7 days after the technican had been to the house- only to be told the contractor never submitted the claim form. I called on Thursday 6/10 and Friday 6/11- and told the exact same thing- the contractor had not submitted the claim. On Friday 6/11- since it was the contractors "third strike" First American did assign another contractor for an "emergecy" call. I was suppose to hear from the contractor in 3 hours and they were suppose to come out in 8 hours. That never happened either. This company is a huge scam. I have since contacted my own contractor to have the a/c unit fixed and I plan on filing a claim in small claims court to recover my costs and report them to the PA Dept of Insurance fraud.

After the a.c. continued to be out of service, I called back and requested a more local company that migt be more reputable come out. I have never heard anything. I canceled my policy, saving the money to get the repair done myself! These people should not be able to sell insurance! THEY ARE A RIP OFF!

Call to follow-up on service request (a/c) only to find out that the sub-contractor reported back that damages or request for repairs were due to a lighting strike. I try to explain that that wasn't so but they felt that the service provider knew better than those of us in the house. I do need to say that there was no bad weather in the neighborhood nor did it rain, unit worked fine compressor stop along with fan motor.

If you think for a moment that I was able to speak to someone who gave a sh-t think twice, they gave me the royal run around, you want to respect the individuals answering the phones but you know they are not in a position to make decisions, yet First American hides behind such tatics.

When I stated that I wanted to cancel my warranty the second layer of sh-t occurred, I was told I needed to file and go on line to cancel my warranty and the company would review my request and get back to me, and I was told this was the fastest way.

I read all the negative reviews and still signed up, to those who read my review and complaint, trust me they are listed in the top three in home warranties and that does not give us much to look forward too.

The first day I moved into my home, I smelled gas. I called PGE and they determined the leak was coming from a pipe in the basement, it left the basement and was buried in the backyard to the garage. I was able to fix the problem, not a PGE issue. I called First American Home Protection and inquired if this was covered under the plan. The representative was unsure, she said, from how it sounded, it might be covered, I explained I wanted to know if it was covered. I further explained, I needed to know if it was covered before sending out a tech because I was not paying for the service fee of $55.00 if they would deny the claim.

I remained on hold for some time while it was "researched". She came back on the line and again, remained unsure if what I described was covered or not. The second plumber came out, he claimed it was not covered because even though the pipe was in the basement, a portion was buried and it is not covered. He had claimed he has seen this several times, now Home Buyers has sent me to collection for a fee that should never have been charged.

Their customer service rep did not properly qualify my call, she should have known, based on what I described, it was not covered. Now, they expect me to pay for a service not rendered. I made it crystal clear on the recorded call, I would not pay on a denied claim. They have sent me to "collect" for an issue they created. I asked for their manager to contact me to resolve the issue and they failed to do so. Now they are trying to ruin my credit.

Insurance purchased for Home Warranty. Company is refusing to complete all repairs calling "damage" maintenance. Problem is the motor of our air conditioner failed and spun grease into the unit. Company is saying the cleaning is maintenance, yet also say the system can't be repaired until the grease is cleaned as it will not function properly. They are hiding behind a "cleaning" clause in the Maintenance section. The removal of the grease is required to complete the repair. I get the run around and double talk with every call. They have instructed the vendor (picked by them) to not repair until we pay for cleaning. I talked to the company that serviced my unit 9 months ago and they note the little amount of grease that could come from the motor would not affect the unit. $180 at this time maybe more, 3+ days and counting without air conditioning, frustration of being trapped with no one that can make a decision unless we pay.

My refrigerator broke down at 5 pm on Friday, and I placed the call with FAHW after digging out the contract information. I was very satisfied when the customer service agent told me he was upgrading the call to emergency status. He said the contractor would contact me within 4 hours, and the problem should be resolved within 8 hours. By 9 am Saturday, I had yet to be contacted by the technician. I called FAHW and spoke with an agent who told me that appliances are not considered emergency repairs, and the technician had 48 business hours to resolve the issue, which puts me looking at Tuesday before I can buy food to feed my family.

No one with FAHW could do anything but tell me I had to wait for the tech. to call. They offered no attempt to satisfy their customer (they already had my money, right? ), and showed no concern for the way they did business. The contract does state that the tech. has 48 hours to schedule service, but I seem to be the only one who feels this protocol was preempted by what I was told by their employee in customer service. I am severely dissatisfied with this company and would not recommend anyone doing business with them.

My complaint is for insurance fraud. I purchased the warranty protection for my home, spa and pool. I submitted a complaint which was declined. First they declined the claim because they said the part was inaccessible. The contractor they hired took two days and really couldn't figure out the problem. When I called and advised them that it was an above ground spa and that it could be moved, then I was told that the claim was being declined because the part that needed to be replaced was a jet and that part was not covered by the warranty program. I advised First American that it was not the jet but the pump that needed to be replaced and gave them an estimate from a contractor that I hired to come out and take a look at the problem.

The contractor took literally 15 minutes, pulled out the part and the part that needed to be replaced was a pump and not a jet. The company said they were going to speak to my contractor. After not hearing from them, I went ahead and paid out of pocket about $500 to have the pump replaced. I was also informed by my contractor that my home warranty company did not call him and did not speak to him.

This is a rip off and I do plan on taking this to litigation, I am also going to contact the State Insurance Department as well as the local Consumer Fraud Bureau and I advise anyone who experienced similar problems do the same. My contract states in black and white that it would cover the pump. This is a pump. I have the old one sitting in my back yard and am more than happy to take that and my contractor with me to court to prove that they are perpetuating fraud.

This is the third (3rd) time I've filed a claim with First American and this is the third (3rd) miserable experience. The first occurred less than a week after I purchased my first home. The plumbing for my washing machine was spewing into the laundry room and First American sent one technician out whose name I can't recall (this was 2.5 years ago from today). The second technician came to my home, cut a huge (4ft x 4.5ft) hole in my wall to get at a 1.5 foot long section of pipe, cut it away and replace it with a new piece of pipe that I was told would alleviate the flooding. This turned out to be false and the actual issue was plumbing under my house. The same plumbing company was sent out a second time and told me I was responsible for the $3500 fee to fix what was wrong with the plumbing.

I called First American while the plumbing company was on site and as I was dialing, the contractor said something along the lines of "Oh, I was referring to if you'd like me to do it for you on the side". Clearly, this was a crooked vendor that First American uses. That problem was fixed but there is still a hole in my wall, 2.5 years later, because I've repeatedly attempted to get First American to send a vendor to repair it, which was promised to me before the hole was cut. The second claim I made with First American was for the same problem and a different plumbing company was sent to my house to fix the problem, again. This last time I called First American was on 12/04/09 for inoperable heat. I was expecting a technician on site as soon as possible since it's December and unseasonably cold. This didn't happen.

It took a week for a heating technician to arrive, 9 hours late, and they stayed for 45 seconds. The issue is that they can't work on the type of heating system I have in my home, boiler with radiator heat. The vendor, Air Go, indicated they would call First American Home Buyers themselves to file a continuation on my claim so that FAHBPC could dispatch a different vendor to my home. That was a month ago. Upon receiving a bill from FAHBPC for Air Go coming to my home, I became extremely frustrated and called to demand an explanation for the bill and why no one has fixed my heat. The person to whom I spoke on January 2, 2010 in the afternoon was Bethany, indicated she could see the continuation note on my file and that she was confused as to why First American hadn't contacted me a month ago to resolve the issue. She then told me she would have someone call me to set up an appointment to have this fixed.

After not hearing from FAHBPC in 36 hours, I called back only to be told there's no continuation on my file that any of the phone personnel could see. I first spoke with someone named Juan, whose ID number I didn't request, and then with Bernard, whose ID #**. This is an extremely frustrating situation being without heat in 20 degrees temperature is unacceptable. Unfortunately, this complaint is being made out of anger and not out of any expectation that this complaint will be addressed, let alone read. Thanks for your time.

I have a pipe leaking in my garage. I do not know why it is leaking. First American sent out Drainco plumbing and the tech told me that I had a main line stoppage that needed to be fixed. First American will not cover repairs because I do not have a ground level cleanout installed. The tech also stated that my entire house was backed up. This was not true. He did not take off any pipes to see what the actual issue was.

I contacted Mr. Rooter plumbing who stated a camera would have to be placed in the pipe to find out what is causing the problem. Mr. Rooter stated that First American always hires contractors that a paid to not fix the problem at hand. You cannot assume what is causing a problem unless you actually diagnose the issue at hand. Drainco did not do this.

First American kept changing their story on what I said, and what the contractor said. This is my second time dealing with First American and they tried this before. Last time I was assisted by Chris Ward from First American who was able to reimburse me for hiring and outside contractor to fix the problem.

Due to the pipe being broken under the home, they will not reimburse because the contractor had to do other work to fix it. They keep taking documents out of content and will not follow their own rules.

They are on week 6 for a claim on a range. I have spoken with 27 different individuals and always here a different story as to where it is and when it will be installed. This claim started when they sent a tech from whom they contracted out (Sears). The tech didn't listen, didn't turn off the circuit breaker and flew across the room after getting shocked by the defective stove. He then decided he didn't need to measure the stove in need of replacement...when the new stove came in a week and a half later-it was the wrong size! The tech left the incorrect unit sitting in the middle of my tenants kitchen (she could have stolen or returned for money $$).

We then called Sears and First American to do their job of arranging the pick up of the incorrectly ordered unit. A week later Sears called us, inquiring what we wanted to do with our RETURN?? I should have returned it, and ran with the money, but instead I had to do First American job and coordinate between the two companies. First American then sent a different Appliance Repair (Not an installer)which means that I have now arranged to have my tenant arrange her schedule a third time to let someone in between 8-5? WHO HAS ALL DAY TO WAIT FOR REPAIR---A THIRD TIME?

Bruces Appliance repair came out and determined we needed to order a NEW range--I already knew that, but now it needed to be reordered and Bruce doesn't do installation!? Week goes by, multiple phone calls on my behalf--First American imforms me that Sears will be sending a second tech to determine the measurement not handled correctly the first time. Unit is measured and then reordered for a 2nd-3rd time depending on whom you talk to at First American. I have now been waiting two more weeks to have this unit installed--This whole time I have been paying First American for this SERVICE?

I have also had to deduct $50 per week to my tenant as she had nothing to cook with! I am now currently on hold as I was told 3 days ago by Sears that the unit would be installed in the next 2 days, that I would be contacted to make the arrangements--does anyone see a problem with the math in that sentence? I now sit here on hold with both Sears and First American on the phone to find out that a tech will now be scheduled again within the next couple of days.

First American offered to settle for $250 after 4 weeks of this fiasco--no way--they need to order and replace. Here again, I have paid them $100 per month for 8 years now---paid $300 (6 weeks x $50 per week for inconvenience) to my tenant--and still have no resolution after speaking to 27 different representatives. PROPOSTEROUS!

I had filed a claim stating that furnace pan at my home is rusted and wanted to replace the rusted pan. I asked the customer rep whether this work is covered. I was told that this work is definitely covered. When home warranty company sent the person to check the furnace, I was required to pay the $60 upfront which I did. The person looked at the furnace and said that he would let the warranty company know how much work is required and would give me a call 2 days later to let me know about that. He then left. I did not receive the call after 2 days. Then next day I called the First American home warranty and enquired about it. The customer rep told me that she would get back to me in 2 days (again!) with more information.

WHen I did not receive the call back (again!) after another two days, I called back the warranty company on what is going on. I was told that claim has been denied because company won't cover the repair. I told the customer rep the whole story but she was adamant that claim has been denied. She then put me on to her supervisor (Chad). He told me the same thing. When I told him that initially when I filed the claim I was told that this work will be covered he said there is no note for that. And Chad told me that claim was that heating is not working, which I had never said because heating is working. I asked for money back ($60) and I was bluntly refused. I believe that this company is running a scam of getting money from customers by visiting them and then saying that this work is not covered. I need help to get my money back and then I would shift to other warranty company.

Be Aware!!!

This is a problem with my HVAC... It was not cooling below 80 degree during summer time, and so I called the First American, the home warranty company. They sent a first technician (Solaris), who tried to fix the problem the best he could... but ended recommending a replace to since it was not cooling enough.

First American called on another tech (A&P), who said... that YES, it should not go below 80 if its 95 outside.. Does it sound normal to you? If its you home, would you be satisfied with a 15 degree split?

So, I called FirstAmerican again, and they sent a third tech (Dunn-Rite), who in the report given to me, clearly said that "unit may need replacement due to low efficiency" However, FirstAM called me and said that Dunn Rites admin person said that everything was normal.

I sent them the report that the Dunn-Rite tech gave me, so they again decided to have a fourth tech look into it.

The fourth tech was a new person from Solaris, and he came in after Summer is over. Its not hot anymore, and the problem does not show up on a cool day since the unit is not working as hard compared to a hot day. He knew about this problem, but he needed to report what happened on that day. He recommended that I call FirstAm again to reschedule.

By this time, FirstAm said that they will not send any more techs since 3 techs already said it was normal. When in fact 2 techs (solaris and dunn-right) said it needed replacement. And the guy from A&P said that it will not cool down below 80 degree, if its 95 outside...

FirstAmerican just don't want to change the unit... when shopping for a home warranty, look somewhere else. FirstAm is not worth the troubles.

After many telephone calls to customer service, I was finally notified that the company already purchased a Jenn-air range hood, and that they are sorry they did not get my approval. When we discussed this issue on the telephone I was reassured that the appliance fit the contractors specifications.

I followed by immediately contacting customer service and mentioned that according to Jenn-Air, this particular model can be converted to a recirculation model and hence you need to make sure the company has a conversion kit before they send another contractor to my house. I was reassured that the conversion kit was ordered!

The part arrived over the weekend and I contacted the contractor to install it. I explained that we are stressed in time since we will be leaving for a month. He said he will not be able to arrive on Monday but will be there on Tuesday. Of course on Tuesday half an hour before he arrive he notified me that he is late.

It has been more than two months and I still dont have a working range hood but sticking electric wires in my kitchen. I had multiple contractors sent by First American, for who I waited for hours and wasted work time. We have now notified the company that we will not be using their services anymore and will be installing the appliance by ourselves.

I enrolled in the First American Home Warranty in June of 2008. I had one call for an air conditioner that was not cooling, and they sent a contractor who recharged the line and who found no other problems or maintenance issues with the unit.

In January of 2009 we noticed that one of the built-in light fixtures in our kitchen was going through light bulbs at the rate of one per week, but the other three fixtures of the same type on the same circuit were not. We placed a warranty call for electrical service stating exactly what the problem was. We even put in the request that I suspected the light fixture may not be getting proper voltage based on my limited knowledge of electicity. The electrician came to my house and took my trade-fee, then put a meter on the circuit and told me that I am getting improper voltage on the circuit, which is not covered by the warranty. My question was why they even came out if the very words I used in placing the request were enough to know it wasn't covered.

On May 3 I placed a service call about a clogged condenser drain line on my A/C, and described in detail what the problem was. A service technician was dispatched and showed up to my property. I was out of town and my wife met him. She said he was very nice, but that he told her clogged condenser drains are not covered by the warranty. Again, they knew everything they needed to know in order to determine it was not going to be covered before they came to the house. If the service tech had called in advance and told me that this was not covered, I would have cancelled the request and been happy with First American for finding a technician who was honest. I may have even paid this contractor to come out anyhow and fix the problem outside of the warranty.

My recommendation is for everyone who has a warranty to create a contract that you require the contractor to sign BEFORE they step into your house and BEFORE you pay them the trade fee that states that based upon the description in the request, the repair appears to be able to be covered by the warranty. I'd love for some ambitious attorney to draft such a document for me. I am always going to ask the contractor when they call to schedule the appointment if it is a covered warranty repair, and what might disqualify it once they get here.

called company on 02/12/2009 to report that our water heater was not working and hot water was leaking. representative told my wife that contractor will show up the next day. the following day contractor come by and stated that he cannot check heater due to rain and he left.called again company to try to get problem resolved finally on 02/14/2009. around 3.00 pm a contractor show up and stated taht the water heater needed to be replace taht he will fax information to first american.

called first american they did not received work order. today monday 02/16/2009. no call from company or first american. finally after 30 hour waiting on the phone. an agent from first american stated that repirs are no cover, I told the agent that is not what it shows in the contract. this company is a rip off nothing was solved.

I got home warranty from the company First American, effective from September 30, 2008. I put aditional coverage for Central Air Conditioning (electric) and Roof Leak. Two weeks ago raining and the roof start leaking. I called the company and somebody came and saw the roof. After that no body call me back. I called some times to the company and no body answer me and nobody can say me nothing about the claim. I am woriied because if continuing raining my furniture and my carpet are going to damage. Please help me I know that they do not want to cover me.

My heating system was not working. So I called them. They tell me that because it was not maintained properly, insurance will not cover to fix it. I have cancelled the insurance on 10-16-2008. Is it not possible to require these companies to inspect the appliances etc before they issue the policy? Once they write they must be held responsible to fix.

On April 19, 2008 I contacted the warrenty company listed above and filed a claim for my washing machine. The assigned White and Son to the claim. White and son contacted me 5 days later to schedule to look at the washing maching. They came out and advised that it was the soap dispenser that was cracked causing my washer to leak. White and son told me that they would send in their information which was never done. After a week past by I heard nothing so I called White and Son to find out how much longer it was going to take.

I was informed that the item was on back order and manager would call. I contacted them another week later to check status and was given the same information. I called one more time and again was told I was going to get a return call from the manager. No one from White and Son has ever tried to call. In June I contacted First American to see if they could assist in moving this forward when I was told that the part was not covered under the warranty. I then spoke to the supervisor,Noel x3560 who advised that the first report was never sent to First American to notify White and Son that it would not be covered. He advised that he would take care of the claim for the washing machine sinse no one ever notified me that it would not be covered and the tech co assigned acted as if they were going to cover it.

They have proof of this b/c White and Son called in asking First American if they could assist in getting the part. They contacted White and Son who advise they would then order the part. This statement to me seems that White and Son was just leading me on b.c they never ordered the part in the first place. After 3 attempts to contact White and Son so that they could check a status after it was approved with no response the claim was transferred to C&H Appliance. I was contacted the next day after assiged and the tech came out to look at the machine.

The tech then called me the next day to tell me the part was not covered and that is when I informed him of the sup who approved this claim b/c of the length of time that had elapsed. After 3 days of making calls back and forth to the warrenty co the tech was made aware that the claim was going to be covered. I then found out that there was an additional part that was needed that was not covered.

I then spoke to Noel and he approved both parts. It has been three weeks since the inspection and the tech has now been to my house three times and has been sent the wrong part. The tech was at my house this weekend and told me that I could use the machine. He blocked off the section to the container. After trying to use the machine water was not coming through. Another tech came by the next morning and found out that it was the breaker that the other tech came in contact. While operating the machine two hoses blew and damaged some clothing and bedding. I was told that all the parts were ordered to repair the machine.

I placed a call to this home warranty company on 7-1-08, regarding my air conditioner freezing up repeatingly. I told the home warranty company that the air conditioner was brand new just prior to us moving in, in August 2007. They stated they would send someone out to look at it. This was Superior Plumbing and Air in Wichita, Ks. Superior came out to my home, looked at the unit and stated it was most likely still under warranty under the original company that put it in and that they would not do anything. Then charged me 75.00 service fee. I wrote the check and paid him.

The following day, I did not feel right about paying someone to come and tell me sorry I can't do anything for you, you'll have to call the people that originally put the unit in. They should have told me that over the phone, especially if the home warranty was not going to cover it. Both of them should have told me that. I stopped payment on the check and phoned First American.

First American told me I would still be responsible for the 75.00 service fee. This is a rip off as they should have just told me on the phone they would not cover the unit. I believe this is just their way of getting money out of people. It did cost me 24.00 to stop payment on the check, but at least I got 51.00 back. The orinigal company came out and fixed the problem.

I am out the 24.00 to stop payment on the check, it is just the principal of the situation. First American and Superior knew the AC was less than a year old and new they were not going to cover anything, but still sent someone out to make money and tell me to call the original company that put it in. I was under the assumption as stated in my home warranty that I was to phone them as this was a covered service.

FAHB in Cal, but have to negotiate through Odessa, Tex, call center. Outside of one year in a condo had policy with FAHB for about 18 years with one major claim 10+ years ago. Moved into 1964 built home 3+ years ago. Feb 17, 2008, smoke alarm woke up family. A&M Heating said ..T-stat & some control wiring burnt..transformer bad..wiring & transformer replaced to check for other problems. FAHB said they would pay $486.52 toward new heater, & it would cost us $1,100 for non-covered items.

I requested email breakdown which was sent 3/7. On 3/10 orally told Justice no, then received 3/13 letter: ..need an additional 30 days...and then maybe more time.. The $1,100 was to cover vent modif, sheet metal, gas line, electrical, PVC piping, disposal. Sent them email, telephoned but except for 3/10 email from Ms. Justice have never been able to communicate with her since; never returns my calls, operators have even said that she is not in directory, etc. Rep said, just waiting for you to accept cash out. They just sent check, I complained..in frustration finally said that would accept A&M repairing, but FAHB said that they would have to send A&M back out because it had been so long...the codes may have changed!

In the mean time, second unsettled claim. Electrical connection where we have computer plugged in stopped working. FAHB sent out Southern California Electrical, Inc., who reported hot Grd reversed (metal J/box). FAHB said not covered because pre-existing condition, but would try to negotiate SCE to fix for $300. Worse than before, they have failed to response to anything. However, even I know that a loose wire making improper contact can cause a hot-ground to reverse itself. Based on their pre-existing condition defense, FAHB would not have to pay for anything in a home because normally the first year or two is the contractors and/or home warrantee guarantee responsibility. Any time after that would be pre-existing.

Heater/AC: My wife, daughter and I have had to endure both cold and hot spells since we have central air/heat which was disconnected by A & M Heating, Air Cond, when they came to inspect. FAHB has continuously refused to negotiate in good faith and keep stone walling. Electrical problem: We have to run an extension from the opposite wall to use the computer, printer, et al. Originally there was one plug out, but now there are several.

Absolute horrible service. They send incompetant contractors that never resolve the problem. I had a main sewage line backup. Raw sewage was coming through all drains in the house. We waited over a day for their plumber to respond, despite our pleas. They had no concern they were in viol;ation of county health codes. When you call to make a claim, follow up, file a complaint they leave you on hold literally for hours on end. I would not reccommend these idiots to my worse enemy. Consumer beware..........

First American Home Buyers Protection Corp. will ask you up front on their website to sign up to be a service provider. To be a service provider you have to pay for General liability insurace, commercial vechical insurance, business license, trade license, buy all equipment to do the job with. These cost are very high. They will pay the contractor the rate for a while but then they lower the boom after they know you are good at what you do. They will submit their flat rate sheets to you and tell you if you do not sign them your service calls will dissappear, and do they ever. If you advertise on your website what is your hourly rate then the contractor pays and assumes all liability for the work and is forced to warranty the work for 90 days then First American should have to honor the contract agreed upon from the start with the contractor.

Forcing the issue from hourly to per job is not honoring the original contract and ought to be illegal in any business. After the contractor has payed for and listed First American as additional insured on his General liability policy for that year, if the service calls stop because the contractor wont agree to flat rate pricing, the contractor will eat however much money he payed for for the remainder of the policy. First American and American Home Sheild both use this approach, lets stick it to the contractor.

When the warranty companies play these Flat Rate game; they disrupt the planning that a contractor has to do in order to keep a steady work volume coming in to be availible for people in need of the services and to keep the open for business, sign in the window. They wont even return your phone calls to explain how they arrived at the rates that would have contractor's eating at the soup line if they agreed to the Flat Rate Pricing.

We got our home warranty policy from the previous owner of the home we bought in July 2007. It was to cover issues that arose during our first year as new homeowners. We made two claims on December 18, 2007. One for our doorbell and the other for our heating. S&M Electric came out to our house on December 22nd to look at our doorbell and mentioned First American would probably not cover the repairs due to missing parts. We weren't happy, but it's only a doorbell. The heating issue was a lot more complicated. After the first heating company told us they didn't work on our unit, the second company, Feders, told us the same thing.

However after calling back First American on December 20, 22, and 24th, I learned Feders did work on our unit and said they came out for an appointment on December 21st that they never made with us. Finally we set up an appointment with Feders through your group supervisor, Oscar (who's in Texas) to come out January 3, 2008. I let Oscar know I was unhappy about the delay and not happy with Feders but was willing to let them come out if we could get another company to follow-up after them. He said this would be fine. Feders came out January 3rd and said our Pilot Generator Cartridge was improperly installed which contradicted what the gas company told us. They said that First American wouldn't cover the repair but they could fix everything for $500. I immediately realized it was a scam and called Oscar back. On January 8th, Oscar finally called me back and said they wouldn't fix it and gave me the fax number above to ask for a refund of the policy. I have read our policy many times and it does not give any indication that these claims would not be covered. As I mentioned, we got this policy to cover unexpected problems and have tried not to call unless something major happens. When we finally do, we are immediately turned down. Therefore, I'd like a full refund on our policy since First American seemed to never have intended to fulfill their contract with us.

$300 for policy plus $200 for repairs to heating.

First American Home Buyer Protection Corp. sells insurance to cover repairs on home appliances and systems. When something breaks in your home that is covered under the policy, you call them, they are to send a technician to your home, and you are to pay the tech a $55 service call; and almost everything else is covered: NOT! The problem is the nightmare that follows if it is anything that requires parts or replacement: lack of response, lying, contradicting information, they literally drag things out for months, and they never, ever call or return calls. In the meantime the homeowner is without whatever system or appliance the policy was meant to cover.

My current situation is my furnace: it has cracks that constitute a safety issue because of possible carbon monoxide leaks. This was verified by their technician two weeks ago and by San Diego Gas & Electric, but my family and I are still without heat. The temperatures at night have been 35-37 degrees. I have contacted First American by email messages 4 times on their web-site, pleading with them and telling them how cold it is. I have also called and spoken to a customer service rep who told me it needed to be assigned to a claims specialist. After almost two weeks, I have not been contacted. I discovered a web-site with more than 100 complaints about this company with almost the identical experiences as mine.

This is the second experience I have had with First American in the last 3 months. I tried to cancel my policy when I was 4 months into the contract because of another nightmare repair episode. I asked for a pro-rated refund (the policy cost $430 a year). They refused and said the policy remains in effect until the expiration date of April 2008. When my furnace went out, I thought now they have to fix my furnace, but it doesn't appear that that is going to happen either.

I have filed a complaint today with the California Department of Insurance, but after reading the experiences of the other First American policy holders on the rip off report I would love to see some consumer attorney take them on. Their biggest customers are real estate agents who sell these policies to homebuyers, giving the homebuyer a false sense of security. I know from first hand experience the real estate agents receive compensation in one form or another from the sales people at First American--just like the title insurance thing.

My five year old grandaughter and my daughter live with me. My daugher has fibromyalgia and the cold exacerbates the pain. We have tried space heaters, but the circuit breakers trip if we are running any other appliance in the house--like the washing machine or dishwasher. It is 9 days until Christmas and First American has turned our holiday into the nightmare before Christmas. I have contacted a local heating company and they can replace the furnace in one day, but it will cost me $2500--an amount I don't have.