Cinch Home Services

The owner of the company ended up calling me because he was like, "Oh, I'm the owner of the company." I said, "Nope, I don't want you guys on my property no more because how are you gonna try to tell me that I need a complete box? And then y'all are trying to tell me that I need it from the pole to the house, I need to have all that." So, I ended up going with another electrical company and they were like, "There's nothing wrong with the box." I said, "Exactly. When they did my air conditioning, the electrical company unhooked where my dryer was and hooked the air conditioning unit to that. I was like, "No, that's not right." So the electrician then came back out. I'll never deal with On Time again.

Go with Cinch. It's a no-hassle thing and it's easy to go through the process.

Cinch Home Services called a third contractor and they said, "Okay. We could do this." It went back and forth. They ordered the furnace but ordered the wrong one. When I called, I was expecting the furnace on a particular day. I said, "What time are they coming?" They said, “We don't have the furnace.” "What do you mean?" "We had to reorder it. We ordered the wrong one."

I called the provider and said, "I got to get heat for my husband." He understood. They did all that they could to ensure that I had heat right away. He was an hour away from where I live. He was down in Hackensack. He came up and said, "I could do this for you." I said, "Great." He came in and did it. I paid for it out of pocket because I needed the furnace. The guy was amazing.

However, we found out that I needed a permit. And it was back and forth. While they were putting the furnace in, they couldn't restart the hot water heater. They had to change the hot water heater. So, I had to go out and purchase another hot water heater at my expense for them to put in. Also, they found that the main valve tubing wasn't working right. So, they shut another valve. But one of the helpers turned the valve the wrong way. I had a big flood in my kitchen. I had to get somebody in here to replace the ceiling in my kitchen. It was a disaster.

They told me not to worry. I said, "If I get inspected by the Home Association, it's all on you, because I didn't know I needed a permit. I didn't know what I was supposed to do. You were supposed to come back and fix it and you didn't." I'm still waiting. This is mid-February. The follow through wasn't good. But they came out on a weekend, when it was freezing. They did everything they could on a Sunday to make sure that I had heat for my husband. Also, I can call Cinch and get help inexpensively.

One problem I had with them, when they replaced my outdoor original AC units, a heat pump, they sent a guy that didn't know what he was doing. And he even admitted, "I do home improvements. I don't do HVAC." And I said, "Then why are you here?" We had nothing but trouble. We didn't get heat, we couldn't get AC. It was just blowing air 24 hours a day. And he came back and finally got it right. I told him that what he was putting outside did not match the inside. I said, "No. Outside is the TXV valve. Inside as the piston valve." "No, you'll be fine." We weren't. It took them a year to get it straightened.

The next problem we had, that outdoor unit went up because it was small. It was supposed to be two and a half tons, and it was, but it was small and not efficient. So, the outdoor unit went out, then the indoor unit went out. And when they went to send that guy, I said, "He's not allowed on the property. I don't want him here." They sent Smith & Sons. Those guys were great. The tech said, "I'm gonna be honest with you. This is an old system from '89. You need everything new." So, we just bit the bullet and said, "Okay, just put it all in." I even helped him do the work because he was by himself. And when he couldn't get it to be cold in the summer and be hot in the winter, I said, "Okay, something's not right here." So, we got it straightened out. Cinch took care of it and I'm happy with it.

On the other hand, I was very satisfied with the work I had done for a garage door opener. I called a company out to look at it, because I didn't think it was a warranty issue. That company charged me $100 twice just to come out and look at it. First time, they didn't fix it. The next time they came out, they did whatever they did, then they wanted put a whole new thing, so I said, "Forget it." I called Cinch, then they came out and fixed it. They did a good job. The thing wasn't working and they said, "Couldn't repair it," so they replaced it. I was very happy with that one. However, I learned a lesson on this. I'll never call anybody other than Cinch, but they raised their deductible up to 150.

We're Realtors, and we use Cinch all the time. The disadvantage is on some things, people need something instantaneous. They gotta fix it now. They can't wait for a part. Right now, for example, I have an air conditioning unit that's at least 25 years old. It works fine, and I've had it checked every year, but that may not even be compatible with the new furnace we put in. If my furnace went out on January 1st, I can't wait for three weeks to get a new furnace. One issue we had was two months for a part to come in. We had another claim, for a microwave oven, and they couldn't get it fixed for four months. The home warranty company sent us a check for 350 and told us to get it fixed, because we could get another company here to fix it for 350.

I am generally satisfied with Cinch. The only complaint in selling them is some Realtors say things they should never say. They lead people to believe that, "Oh, if this breaks, you get a new one. If this goes out, you get a new one," and people's expectations are awfully high. That's not the way it works. People pay 150 bucks, the home warranty company sends someone out, and if they can fix it, they fix it.

My wife had almost insisted that everybody get a home warranty, but I don't do it, because if anything goes wrong with Cinch, they start blaming me. However, I tell people it's a good idea if they want to get it. If something major goes wrong with their house, they have a warranty. I would give Cinch good marks as any of the other companies. Also, I like the agent that's in charge of this area. She's cute, really helpful and does a nice job.

One time, my husband had the plumbing service doing something here and the guy was saying he could get in there. I said that I have to call up the maintenance service. When I called, they said that the plumbing service was not on their list, but they’re sure they do good service. Whoever Cinch is sending out to your house, they know.

I have encountered some problems within the last couple of years since COVID though. Cinch has a hard time getting people to come to Forest now. We are out some of the ones who's on their list. I’m 42 miles from Jackson. It’s a little old town. So, sometimes, the contractors can't come. But I like that if Cinch can't get anybody to come out, they let the customer get someone. They just don’t say they can’t. All the contractor has got to do is turn in their description, what they did and how they did. They go through that process and how much it was, and I send it in and Cinch refunds me because you will have to pay the person, whatever they charge right then.

I know one business that it’s just certain things, but I was able to ask them would they come and do it. They have to go by these steps with this warranty and they understood it because they were familiar with this. I had to do my deductible but I got my refund. Cinch will stick with it and ask you if the person came, and you can call them back. The only part I don't like is that it’s hard to get to the right person. It's automated. I like to talk to people. I can do it and text and get online, but I don't like that. But as long as Cinch keeps doing what they are doing, I'm good.

The process is also a little annoying. I'm not sure it would be any better in person, but when I file a claim, I have to wait for Cinch, as the middleman, to pick out the repair people that are gonna come out. I can't just pick somebody myself and call direct. I have to wait for Cinch to see it on the website and contact somebody, then they get back to me. I'd tell people to compare the cost for having someone come out to visit when they file a claim. I have a friend in Arizona with $75 every time they file a claim.

It was my first time using Cinch, and rather than looking at an outside vendor that I can talk to immediately, I couldn't contact the people directly then when I contacted them, it was just going to voicemail. I was a little annoyed about that because I was stressed out. It took about two days for someone to confirm the call and tell me that the techs were coming. It was a hassle to have to wait for someone to get back to me the next day to coordinate a date. However, I was very satisfied once the technician got out. He was very nice to me, and he explained what was going on. Everything was perfect, and our dishwasher is working now.

It happened twice. So, the first time they came, they had to order a part. So, the next time that they came, once again, it was an hour later than they were supposed to be here. Two gentlemen at this point came, and it's not very comforting. It was like at 8:30. I'm single, so it wasn't comfortable for me. I have no problem with Cinch but if I had to go back to them, and that was the company or organization that they gave me to call, I would go back to Cinch and ask for somebody else.