Choice Home Warranty Reviews

Before posting this comment, I certainly went to their blog site to attempt to deal directly with Mr. Moss. It was no shock to find that all comment sections are disabled. I went to the Facebook page and no commenting available there either!! So surprised, I tried the email address and it was rejected, a shocker. We have sent everything by fax. We will be pursuing delivering all of this by certified delivery in person to Mr. Moss and his company as well. Based on all of this, we will pursue through the BBB as well.

I only post here to say to anyone who is listening, googling, wondering, considering Choice Home Warranty, don't do it, don't do it! Save yourself the hassle, wasted money and headache on throwing your money ar illegitimate scammers!

We submitted our vendor application via fax on March 13th and assumed since they were sending us calls, we were approved. After the first three invoices were not paid within the agreed upon 30 days, we called the company, and lo and behold, they had "never received our invoices," even though our fax gave us confirmation that they went through. We refaxed the invoices and were told that it would be another 15-30 days before we got our payment for the four invoices outstanding.

Another call was placed today to ensure that they received the latest fax with the invoices and they stated that they had, but payment would not be made until they received our application to be a vendor, which, of course, was sent five weeks ago by fax (the same fax that seems to eat invoices!). Another rude accounts payable rep said that we were sent an e-mail stating that no invoices were to be paid without an approved application. That e-mail was never received by us. Yet, they continued to send us out on calls even though we weren't approved. I asked to speak with a manager and was told that there wasn't one available. I told them that I would hold, but she told me that she would hang up on me if I continued to hold.

This company will give you the complete runaround in order to not have to pay their obligations. We also believe that they are not only scamming their vendors, but are also scamming their customers. Two out of the four calls that we serviced were not "approved" for repairs and the replacement cost that they wanted to give the customer was a joke.

Oh, and by the way, we sent the CEO an email message as he had asked on one of the consumer complaint websites for "concerned customers" to do if they had a problem with his company, and guess what? We never heard from him! Maybe they have a problem with not only their fax but their email system too.

I called on April 8, 2010 and got Abbie. Abbie placed me on hold, came back and said her supervisor told her that since the check had not come back to them (from a non existent address), and we would have to wait 90 days for them to issue another check. I told her that was not acceptable; it was their error, not ours. I asked where they even got that address and she said their "system locator" gave it to them. I asked to speak to her supervisor and she got nasty and immediately said he wasn't available. I asked how did she know without asking, that she just talked to him and she said in a snotty way that he wasn't available to speak to anyone. When I demanded to speak to him, she said, "Yes ma'am, any more orders? " and put me on hold. Guess what again? He wasn't available.

I asked for her name so when I file a complaint, I'll have it and she spelled it out A-B-B-I-E and her supervisor was S-A-M. When I hung up and called back for customer service instead of accounts receivable, I was put on hold. Guess what again? I got transferred to Abbie. I told Abbie I would just call Corporate and she said there was no corporate. It was just a website and anyway, there was no one available to speak to me for 24 hours. I told her I didn't want to deal with her anymore and she told me she didn't want to talk to me either and hung up. So, now here I am, stuck with $670 owed and no way to know if we'll get payment. It looks as if we won't, since I've read some other complaints.

I contacted Choice because they did not call me to find out what was going to take place. Choice stated that they were not going to replaced the A/C unit because it had some rust and corrosion from everyday/every year use. The unit is 16 years old with this being the first problem and Choice found a loop hold to not pay the claim. How do you keep a A/C unit that is 16 years old from not having rust with it is rained on and produces water. This is the second claim that has been denied by Choice. I had a roof leak and they refused to take care of the problem which just needed shingles replaced. I read some of the other complaints and the responses from Choice if they say I'm not a client I will provide you with my contract and claim numbers.

Then I finally spoke to a manager, which it's always the same manager that they send you to, who never responds until he wants to. He said that the only way I could can cancel is that I sign a waiver that all issues are resolved so that I won't go to the Better Business Bureau. They try to take away your civil rights and threaten you if you say that you're going to BBB. They also said if I went to BBB, they definitely would not refund any money to my account. Initially, they quoted one price to me that they would refund on 2/17 and on 3/24 the price that they initially quoted dropped $100.

So I email the complaint address and they don't have any professionals. They tell me to ask to speak with a claims manger. So I tried and every day I have called and asked to speak with a claims manager they always tell me one isn't available. They don't even have a voicemail. Then they always transfer me to this girl named Rachel who is I can't say what she is. She is very unprofessional and rude. Every customer that we have serviced from Choice said they hate Choice and will not be renewing their contracts with them for the fact of the customer service skills and the fact that they cover nothing. I feel bad for the people who have them because you are paying for a service and they will not cover you it is always your fault and not theirs. I can't seem to get to a professional person to get this taken care of.

I realized that Choice Home Warranty may cover it, so I called and explained to them exactly where the leak was and was told it was covered. My husband and I were elated! We even received an email saying that a service tech would be out and that we need to pay him $45. He came out and couldn't figure out where the leak was and called Choice and the lady told him they didn't cover it but needed to know where the leak is.

Then, the tech said you owe me $125, the $4!. So I called Choice and was hung up on by John **, who by the way said they would refund the $80! I called back and talked Troy ** who said that we would not get a refund and it was not covered. It seems like it depends on who you talk to that tells you different stories. We used to have American Home Shield and never had this problem. I intend on cancelling with Choice and going back to American Home Shield. Choice Home Warranty is a sham and a scam.

I called the tech and they said the compressor was bad and no mention of installation had been made. That was exactly what the tech had told me before submitting the claim. When I called to report this to Choice, the woman hung up on me. I called back to talk to the supervisor and Mr. Jim R got on the phone. I could hear him speaking to the woman and laughing as I tried to explain that she had hung up on me. I asked what they needed to fix the furnace and he said that they needed maintenance records (I now see that is there common practice). I sent the records via email and then emailed asking for a confirmation to which Mr. R did not reply. I sent the email again. No reply.

I then called and Miss A stated they had no records on file. I then submitted them to her and she admitted she received them. One week later, nothing. I called and they stated that they had denied the claim. When I asked why, they said they needed records from the previous owners for the past three years. I stated that was not possible and that when the unit was serviced in August 2008, the tech stated it was in working condition. Then I asked if I was able to get the records would they fix the unit and they stated probably not. I also received complaints about the companies they contracted with on their rude manner on the phone. They are a total scam.

When I spoke with Choice (John **), they first said the claim wasn't covered because I had only been a customer of theirs for a handful of months, but I opened my contract on 4-13-09, much more than a handful and not a reason to deny a claim. I was then told that the claim was denied due to lack of maintenance. I explained that I haven't been in the house a year yet and before I bought the house, it was inspected and a cleaning was done (9-10-08). I informed John that the owners before me had it serviced every year prior as well. I had 2 other service calls related to the furnace, 9-14-09 (Owl) and 1-11-10 (David Robbins Plumbing).

Neither of them made any indication that the furnace was not being maintained properly. Choice said they needed proof of maintenance, so I sent them photos of the furnace that shows the sticker with the history of maintenance, the 9-10-08 cleaning tag and the home inspection report indicating it was functioning.

When I signed up for the warranty program, no one came to inspect any of my items to determine if they were properly maintained so I don't understand how they feel it wasn't maintained, on what basis? On 2-11-10, I received a message from Choice indicating they reassigned the claim to Dyson, as they wanted a second opinion. I called Choice and asked what was the purpose of the second opinion as I've already replaced the furnace. I have asked to speak to the supervisor, Jim **, on several occasions and left messages. He has not returned any of my calls. They have violated their contract with me.

As of today, Jim ** is telling me that they are not covering still due to maintenance, but it has been maintained. I have proof. After looking online, I see many people have ran into this same problem. Choice is a scam artist, they should be shut down. By them not covering my claim, I am out the money and that was the whole point of having a home warranty contract - to be covered.

The next day, Choice said that they would not authorize the fix due to the possibility of it being a problem before we took out the agreement. They stated that the problem could have been caused by our not taking the care of it the way that we should have, cleaning, etc., for maintenance. It was appalling that they asked for any and all paper work having to do with the furnace. I sent them the paperwork for the check-up, cleaning, etc., which we always do before time to turn on the heat. That was not enough information for them, and they called to inform us that the repair could not be made, insinuating that we knew there was a problem, thus the reason we took out the home warranty. Apparently, one is required to become heating specialist to check out his furnace and know when a future problem might occur. I paid $400 plus for the warranty, and the $45 service fee for the technician's visit, and had to pay myself in order to have heat, to get the furnace operational. Needless to say, I cancelled the contract with Choice, after an unpleasant conversation with customer service. The furnace was working fine when we first used it, so nothing we did or didn't do had anything to do with the timing of the igniter going bad. I expressed my chagrin that what else does one do but have the yearly checks, cleaning, etc., to prove that the furnace is being taken care of. This company did not live up to their agreement for less than the cost of the yearly fee given to them to fix the problem and keep a customer. Choice is certainly not a company one should trust. Thank you.

Then I investigated about this company on web. I found out that people had really bad experience with them and there are lots of complaints against them. So after 9 days only on 08/28/09, when I called up to tell them that I do not want to make this contract since we are planning to move to a different school district because of better school choices and I spoke to Mr. Robert **. Unfortunately I will have to say that he was very rude and highly unprofessional after I told him that I do not want to make this contract. Then he said there is a $50 penalty for cancelling it. I told him my contract did not starts even and previously I had been told by your person only (Kevin) that there will be no deduction if I cancel before starting date of contract which is Sept.19, 2009. Then he said there will be an investigation for it. After that they never got back to me and they deducted $50 for no reason.

I never had a contract with them and I did not take any service from them. In spite of many calls to this company, I am not able to get my $50 back from them. And logically also if I cancel after the contract starts then they can deduct money. If I cancel before even if starts they are supposed to deduct any money. I lost my $50 for no reason even though their person said there won't be any deduction.

On October 19, 2009, I signed up with these guys. As of last week, my heating furnace started making some noise when I turn it on, which I reported to Choice Home Warranty. I never had any problems before with any of my appliances. Then a technician came to my home and saw the heating furnace (in fact, he told me that I should pay him first before he even touches my furnace; that is what has been told to him by Choice home Warranty, which is fine). He immediately said that the inducer motor has gone bad. This is due to normal wear and tear in the bearings of the motor, then he left. After 2 days, I got a call from Choice Home Warranty saying that they will not process my claim unless I provide them the maintenance records (they never mentioned about this when you sign up for the warranty. This is the first scam).

I faxed all my maintenance records for the furnace and a couple of days later, they contacted me saying that they will not pay for the claim. That means they will not fix my furnace. The reason stated is that they will not fix any noise coming from the furnace. That means basically they will not pay any for any of your complaints/claims. I spent a couple of hours on the phone with their customer service department, authorization department, etc., arguing that when some moving/rotating part in a motor goes bad, it does make noise. If it had not made any noise, I guess I wouldn't have come to know the problem itself. What kind of a company which denies the claim on this ground? Hence I filed a complaint with the BBB (Better Business Bureau) on how they are cheating people. Hence guys, please be careful when you sign up for something like this.

We have paid $500 in premiums/service fees during the 4 months we have had this warranty and they told us that since we do not have a long enough history with them, they need all of our maintenance records for the heating system (which is just their way of finding a reason to deny the claim). We sent them 2 years' worth of service receipts to show the repairs that had been made to the system and they said that was not enough, and that we only sent them documentation for when the system broke, not documentation for how we maintained the system. What is the point of buying a warranty if they are not going to fix items when they break?

To add insult to injury, the weather is 20 degrees which constitutes emergency service, but after 4 days we still have no heat! We have only had this warranty 4 months and Choice Home Warranty has already breached the contract by not performing emergency service. We filed a complaint with the BBB requesting our heat be fixed or our $500 premium/service fees refunded and this warranty cancelled so we can find a reputable company that will actually perform the service we are paying for!

I have had other home warranty policies in the past and have never been questioned on a claim. I cancelled my plan with another home warranty which I purchased in August to go with Choice per my brother's recommendation. He purchased a two-year warranty, as well as a two-year warranty for my father. The contract states that the covered items will be repaired or replaced 30 days after acceptance of application by CHW. It doesn't say 31 or 37 days of purchasing the plan. I bought this warranty in good faith. When Mr. ** refused to do anything regarding this matter, I instructed him to cancel my warranty and I would go back to my previous plan. He said he would not allow me to do that. When I asked why, he said, "Because I said so and I won't let you." He then offered to give me $180 to do whatever I wanted with. What I want is to have my washer repaired or replaced as stated in the contract.

My husband and I have left several messages for the manager, Mr. **, and have not received a call back. If you cannot make good on this claim, then I want to cancel the warranty at both of my properties. The contract clearly states that a contract can be cancelled after 30 days for a pro rata refund. I expect a full refund. I will contact the BBB and anyone else I need to, to get this resolved.

My galvanized pipe broke this past week, and they would not repair it, because it was galvanized. I kept asking where in the warranty did it say that, and the young lady on the phone kept saying that I needed to look at the contract that was online, plumbing and paragraph 8. This was never given to me. I was so mad. I told them not to renew my contract when it comes due in May 2010. Their company sucks big time. Things that I have read about them are so true of their character. Also, when I called, I was given a plumbing company that was 70 miles or more away from my house. The lady on the phone insisted they were a few miles away. I called the plumber two times, and they finally called me and confirmed what I had been telling the Choice rep. I should have stayed with American Home Shield. In other words, you get what you pay for - sucky service!

On 08/28/09, when I called up to cancel this contract since we were planning to move to a different school district because of better school choices, I spoke to Mr. Robert **. Unfortunately, I will have to say that he was very rude & highly unprofessional after I told him that I wanted to cancel this contract. Then he said, "There is a $50 penalty for cancelling it." I told him that previously I had been told by your person only (Kevin) that there would be no deduction if I cancel before the starting date of contract which is Sept.19, 2009. Then he said that there would be an investigation for it . But after several phone calls, the company has refunded only $280 to me whereas I cancelled 3 weeks before the contract was about to start. In these recession times, I don't expect that companies should start snatching money from the public like this & fool them.

The technician told me that it is the compressor. I told him that the compressor was replaced by AHS a year and 9 months ago. He told me that compressor went out of order because the person improperly turned the valve, the oil from compressor was spilled out and freon leaked, and the compressor needs to be replaced again. Then Choice refuses to fix the problem, considering it as "pre-existing condition". But it worked good for 1 year and 9 months. The warranty on any compressor and labor to install it is only 90 days.

When I made the contract with Choice, everything worked fine. I was not asked if the compressor was replaced or something in my house was wrong. The compressor did not have any pre-existing condition and it is not my fault that the companies hire people who do not do the work properly. I am the victim of bad service. When I made the contract, I asked Kevin (Choice representative) to e-mail me the copy of the contract as well as to mail a paper copy. I also asked him to include the counter top microwave instead of a built-in microwave which I don't have. I never received anything till I called back after 3 weeks. He promised that he will do it.

Finally, I received a paper copy of the contract, but the counter top microwave was not included again. Then I called Choice to make a complaint to the supervisor. It was Mr. **. He fixed the mistakes on the contract. I was suspicious about the reputation of their company after even doing the contract I had so much trouble with them. Mr. ** said that they are "highly reputable company". Unfortunately, my feelings were right. They charge money without any intention to do the service.

I am devastated about this situation. I am on disability retirement. I bought the plan hoping to avoid problems, but the problems only multiplied. The money that I paid for the contract for the whole year in advance ($450.00), as well as the $45.00 that I paid partially to the technician to fix it - I would rather spend it toward the new refrigerator. But why? I have "service" of the company that should take care of it.

Three months after signing up, Mom's central air conditioner went out. She lives in a mobile home and the temperature gauge was reading over 100 degrees. Mom is a 3-time cancer survivor and had just lost the love of her life, and she did not need to hear that Choice would not honor their agreement and cover her A/C unit.

I wrote them a letter, hoping to get some remedy and resolve. They never did reply to my letter. Mom ended up buying a new A/C unit. Because the loophole they used is written in the contract: if the appliance has not had yearly professional maintenance check ups, then they do not have to repair or replace. Tell me who has all their appliances professionally checked every year? That is a ridiculous expectation. Well, we have learned the hard way to look for this loophole in any other home warranty service company we might consider.

When I called them, they said they had the right to change the terms anytime and I had to go to their website instead which has different clauses which allows them a way to bail out of a claim. They had to direct me to their website that had additional fine print, which indicated they can ask for maintenance records of all kinds and that gives them reason to deny claims! Plus, if you decide to cancel, there is further fine print that says they could deny the cancellation and if it's not to their benefit, they will charge you for everything they ever did for you during your time with them.

I provided them with proof of coverage with American Home Shield and the invoices for my maintenance. They still denied my claim, stating that it was a pre-existing condition. He yelled and screamed at me and then laughed at my face, telling me he was simply not going to fix my unit. The tech they sent to my house was so shocked by their behavior that he cancelled his contract with them. The tech fixed my unit on his own and charged me a very low price because he felt so bad. I tried going to Dateline, but my complaint alone will not do it. Please, all of us that have been scammed by this company, go to the Dateline’s website and complain about them. If enough people do it, maybe they'll take us seriously and get someone to take them out of business for good. The emotional distress this has caused was way more damaging than the money they took.

Briefly, you are required to have professional service people come in yearly to perform maintenance for each appliance or system in your home, and you have to keep the records for 5 years. Even the IRS only asks for 3 years. The homeowner is not allowed to perform this maintenance. So assuming a home has a heating system, AC, a hot water heater, appliances, etc., you are being forced to spend money on each of these yearly or they will refuse to honor the warranty. In order to cover these items, this requires you to spend $500, $600, $700 per year. Add that to their contract price and you are now talking about an insurance policy that really costs between $950 and $1150 each year. In two years time, if you just put this money in a savings account, you would have enough to pay for almost any system that broke.

So, bottom line, how does a Choice Home Warranty make economic sense? It doesn't.

Oh, one other item. My problem was a hot water heater. I had been with American Home Shield for three years, as was my neighbor. He had a similar problem last year and they replaced his water heater for the $55 service fee. Foolishly, I had decided to switch to Choice and they refused to honor the contract due to section 9.1.2 even though I could prove that I'd had continuous coverage. Incredibly, they even have an out there. If you don't show them proof of an existing contract within 15 days of signing up with Choice, they act as if an existing contract never existed! Duh! So, I had to spend $1900 today and I can't get out of the Choice contract, but I will never get another one of these contracts again.

After many phone calls and 14 days with no heat, the customer representative from Choice, Ron **, stated that the repair could not be cover because: it is odd that two of the systems fail in the same time? There is no date on the document from 6/26/2008 (?) even though it is printed. There is no signatures on the receipt from 06/26/2008 (?) even though it states on the receipt that it is a electronic invoice and the authenticity can be proven by contacting the company that did the repair/checkup service on 6/26/2008. Ron ** stated that no company will be contacted? There are many inconsistencies in provided documentation (?) with no additional comments provided.

I need to add that dealing with this guy (company) was the worst customer service experience. Imagine rep. screaming, inventing stories that do not add up. The management needs to review your files (?) and than 5 sec. later (?) "Oh, it just popped up on my screen that your claim was denied"? I asked for the manager many times but never - no one was available. He was accusing me of taking long time sending the documentation where in fact they (or he) were not replying to my faxes, emails and phone calls. The faxes were being lost and I had to resend the documentation. I felt like it was really immature, irresponsible, unprofessional, ripoff one person shop.