Old Republic Home Warranty Reviews

Incident 2: Their brochure shows that the Silver upgrade (which I have) includes the washer and dryer. I called to have the dryer serviced and they advised that it is not covered and I needed to look on their website. I was able to finally get someone to look at the actual brochure that they mailed to me with my renewal and they said that they apologized that it is unclear compared to their website. I've been renewing this coverage for over 3 years thinking I had the coverage to find out now that I don't and they will not even work with me on it and I cannot get it covered in the future because they claim I never had it on my plan.

Anyway, please think ten times before you are thinking about buying extend home warranty.

I have asthma and have spent weeks in this home without air-conditioning. I am trying to get into my doctor now and have an appointment for 10:45am on the 19th of August (if there isnt a cancellation sooner). I suffered every day until I paid $1775.00 to have it repaired. I have statements from my A/C agent that the whole system needed to be replaced and I believe that is why Old Republic wouldn't help me. I will be taking this to small claims to try to get the A/C unit replaced including the dilapidated duct system that had been plugged with duct tape and glue.

The next day they sent out their contractor who informed us that in addition to the water heater we needed about another 600 in "code upgrades" that were necessary which werent covered and we had to pay. The total bill was 1200 and we had to pay half due to so many uncovered items- which in my opinion should have been taken care of by them as one of their contractors had installed the most recent unit apparently not to code. But nobody could tell me when these codes were effective to determine if they should have been addressed in their prior installation.

First, when my house flooded in 2004 they would take no responsiblilty for the sub par installation and unit which led to the break down of the water heater and the flood which cost me about 1000 out of pocket for ins deductible. this time, again, they would take no responsiblity for the quality of work their contractors do even though the customer is basically required to use their low-end contractors.

I am sick and tired of the headache and lack of coverage you are getting with old republic home warranty and will be cancelling my policy. what good is the policy if you end up having to argue with these people to fullfill their obligations which decrease every year while the premiums go up. Then you get incompetent contractors who build up the bill for uncovered items that are supposedly necessary. I think if i go without old republic i will not be worse off. i will be better off for not having to deal with the stress of arguing with the dispatchers/approval department.

Explained the local weather and that I have a young child in the home. Nope...nothing but rudeness and policy quoting. Manager was worse. They have a priority service, but I do not qualify! WHAT? They also have an Out of Network policy where I hire someone and they "reimburse"...mot for OT (anyone coming out on a Sat eve or Sun morn is going to OT. Then once an assessment is made, they will determine what and if they will cover anything over $250.

They claim this is all in the policy, but my policy clearly states that there is "Emergency Service" with 24hr service. It says nothing of the qualifications the "cust service" folks speak of. Could not believe the number of complaints here, on the BBB and Ripoff Report. Am paying for a service tech to come out on overtime. Child was taken to urgent care for heat stress. I wrote company demanding reimbursement and will fax bills to them tomorrow after repair, but they stated they will "pass them on".

He comes over,and tells me the unit is too old and needs to be replaced!!!

(Why he couldn't figure this out the first trip----who knows??) I call Republic,they say they will replace the unit but I have to pay $1300.00 for the crane and to haul away the old unit!!!

I asked how they would replace and install the unit w/o a crane?? and they say they wouldn't unless I pay for the crane. I contact a reputable a/c company and they advise that for half the price they will put the unit on the roof and do a complete install....but Republic refuses to deliver the unit to my home without they're contract company doing the installation!!!
When I had a friend in the a/c business check my unit last summer he found that one of Republic's a/c contractors had used a 1/2 inch piece of copper tubing as a fuse for my a/c unit.....lucky the house didn't burn down!!!!!

There won't be a renewal in the future!!!!

The contractor's office had the nerve of saying that Hurricane Dolly was affecting their arrival. The hurricane only brought slight rain to this area and while I was talking to her, the sun was shining. They finally came out and fix our system. Within a few hours, we had water pouring through our ceiling from the repair, something that was not wrong before they came out. As I write this, we still have water coming through.

I was told to contact the secondary repair line. I have left a message and left at the mercy of these people. The person I spoke to at Old Republic already started defending their contractor wanting to know what we did to cause this problem. We did not have water coming through the ceiling prior to their visit. I was also told I will have to pay an additional $60 for a new service call to have the original work corrected and then wait to have the repairs done to my ceiling and whatever damage is in my attic. I am sure they will try to charge me a deductible on that too.

I would have rather have gotten the policy money from the seller and paid a qualified contractor that I hired to make the repair in the first place. I am a licensed Realtor in the state of Ohio and just moved to Texas, I can't believe this company has not had class action suits against them. I so disappointed in their services, their employees, the contractors they hire and the total lack of disregard for the clients that they are serving.

So far, our A/C is still in need of repair, we are out $60 in deductibles already, they want another one to correct their error (if anyone would even show up) and we don't have a quote yet on the ceiling damage repair, carpet cleaning and damage to our floors and any damage to our attic from the water.

DO NOT BUY FROM OLD REPUBLIC--they will tell you that you are simply out of luck. This company does not understand customer service. You are better off just fixing the problem yourself or going to a more customer friendly company.

Had to pay someone to replace the valve.

We began calling local AC persons. Finally found somebody to come and check it out on June 7, 2008 for the cost of $300 because this was considered overtime. Svc. person checked the unit and said the compressor had failed. He did not have a replacement but could order one for delivery and install within 10 days.

In the meantime after numerous calls to Old Republic we were told yes our plan DID cover central air and they would have somebody there on June 8. Nobody came. Then told it would be June 9. Nobody came. Finally on June 10 a service tech from First Choice Air Conditioning & Heating came to the home and told our daughter, who was trying to stay in the home with a small window air conditioner we purchased, that the compressor was bad and while he had no new compressor he did have a full unit he could install that afternoon if Old Republic would give authorization.

I called Old Republic, they refused to authorize the installation of this and if we personally paid for a new one then our warranty would be null and void. They spoke to a rep from First Choice Air Conditioning & Heating, Inc. and he said he did not have a compressor in stock but could order one for delivery and installation for approx. $700 on June 11. At first Old Republic said no because they could order a compressor at 1/2 the cost of what the service tech could get one or approx. $350 and have it installed within 10 days, but I stressed to them this had become a health issue as our daughter has severe asthma and could no longer remain in the house without central air conditioning. They finally approved.

BUT it turned out that First Choice Air Conditioning & Heating, Inc could NOT get a new compressor until June 16. So our daughter had to finally leave the home because of the extreme heat. Our granddaughter went to the home on the morning of June 16, taking a morning off work to be there and First Choice did not arrive. She went to work. In mid-afternoon on June 16th my daughter received a call from First Choice service tech saying he had been at the house, nobody was there, it was evident to him that nobody was living there and therefore he could not install the compressor until somebody was actually living in the home and Old Republic would not cover the install because of that! Nobody was living in the home because the oppressive heat.

My daughter called First Choice and told them somebody WOULD be there on June 17. They finally did install the compressor on the morning of June 17.

Our second problem with Old Republic arose today. There is a leak in what is called a saddle valve in the kitchen. We called Old Republic and they sent a plumber from DGH Plumbing of Charlotte, NC. The plumber looked at the valve, said yes it needed replacing but that he would not fix it because it is not covered under our warranty plan. Plumbing problems ARE covered under out plan. We also have the main water turn off valve stuck in the ON position but he would not repair this either

Charlotte Temp. Control=$302.50 Window Unit =$107.24 First Choice Trade Fee =$ 70.00 (should have been $55.00 according to our plan) 1st Choice Reclaim Fee =$155.00 1st Choice Freon Dis. =$100.00 DGH Plumbing =$55.00 Total of both complaints= $789.74

In the meantime after numerous calls to Old Republic we were told yes our plan DID cover central air and they would have somebody there on June 8. Nobody came. Then told it would be June 9. Nobody came. Finally on June 10 a service tech from First Choice Air Conditioning & Heating, Inc. came to the home and told our daughter, who was trying to stay in the home with a small window air conditioner we purchased, that the compressor was bad and while he had no new compressor he did have a full unit he could install that afternoon if Old Republic would give authorization.

I called Old Republic, they refused to authorize the installation of this and if we personally paid for a new one then our warranty would be null and void. They spoke to a rep from First Choice Air Conditioning & Heating, Inc. and he said he did not have a compressor in stock but could order one for delivery and installation for approx. $700 on June 11. At first Old Republic said no because they could order a compressor at 1/2 the cost of what the service tech could get one or approx. $350 and have it installed within 10 days, but I stressed to them this had become a health issue as our daughter has severe asthma and could no longer remain in the house without central air conditioning. They finally approved.

BUT it turned out that First Choice Air Conditioning & Heating, Inc could NOT get a new compressor until June 16. So our daughter had to finally leave the home because of the extreme heat. Our granddaughter went to the home on the morning of June 16, taking a morning off work to be there and First Choice did not arrive. She went to work. In mid-afternoon on June 16th my daughter received a call from First Choice service tech saying he had been at the house, nobody was there, it was evident to him that nobody was living there and therefore he could not install the compressor until somebody was actually living in the home and Old Republic would not cover the install because of that!

Nobody was living in the home because the oppressive heat. My daughter called First Choice and told them somebody WOULD be there on June 17. They finally did install the compressor on the morning of June 17. Charlotte Temp. Control=$302.50 Window Unit =$107.24 First Choice Trade Fee =$ 70.00 1st Choice Reclaim Fee =$155.00 1st Choice Freon Dis. =$100.00 Old Republic Svc.Fee =$ 55.00 Grand Total =$798.74

oven got so hot it burned home-made buns i was making for company. The door now is a mess from the heat

Had to pay labor myself. Will use service calls, company complaints, online reviews and a complaint to the consumer affairs office of Virginia to exact that cost back out of OR.

I got a voicemail from OR saying the filters were denied at this time but would have an electrician come out and look at the motor. The pool is starting to get really green. The electrican came out and fixed the outside circuit breaker so now the motor works. Called OR AGAIN and said, i need the pool filters looked at. They sent a pool co out. They had no clue why they were to come out and would have to reschedule an apt. They once again, did not look at the filters. The pool company came out this last time, took the filter out, glanced at it, said the filters need to be replaced and that pool needed to be cleaned before they replaced the filters. He said that the filters were out because there was so much pressure from the pool being dirty. OR once again denied my filters to be replaced.

I called OR and the rep spoke to his supervisor and said they would not replace the filters because I did not keep the pool clean. The pool is dirty because the motor kept going out and I'm not about to pour a couple hundreds of dollars in chemicals when the filter won't clean the pool even if I drained the whole pool and filled it back up with water. Oh! get this! OR had nothing in their system stating why the electrician came out to do repairs. I had my friends neighbor who works for a pool co. He actually hosed the filters down and looked at them. There were about 4 holes in the filter and the DE powder was blowing back in the pool and is why the pool was always cloudy. OR still denied my claim.

Problem #2. Just recently, I heard a tapping noise. Went in my hallway and noticed that there was water dripping from my ceiling, around the attic. I opened up the attic and noticed that the water from the cooling system was not going in the drip pan. Called OR. They sent out an a/c company. He said that someone had stepped on the main drip line and is why all the water and something else was broken. He asked if someone else had done work in the attic. I said yes, OR sent out another co earlier this year to replace the air ducts. But since the cooling system was installed backwards, and needed to be brought up to code, they would not replace it. I have their standard warranty policy. It clearly states that unknown pre-existing conditions are covered and both the a/c and pool filters are covered under my warranty. I need an attorney! Please contact me!

Finally at 6pm on Friday a technician arrived and my experience was almost exactly like so many others on this site. The technician was dirty, and certainly not professional. He informed me that he couldn't fix the problem and that I would need to contact OR the following Monday. Waiting until Monday would have meant enduring the high Texas temperatures for over a week. I contacted my own AC company at 6:30 pm on a Friday and was informed they could have someone out in an hour which they did.

In the mean time I called OR to tell them the situation. They informed me they would only pay $200 for using my own contractor. The bottom line cost was ~$700+ or ~$550 with purchase of a service contract for $189 from them. Given terms of the service contract and unsure of the condition of the AC unit as well as knowing I would never contact OR for anything again I picked the $550 + service contract.

The bottom line is my AC was repaired in 3 hours instead of the 4 days it took OR to get an incompetent technician to my home. I paid approx $550 for repair of my AC. OR still insisted they would only reimburse me for $200. On the following Monday I called my real estate agent who assisted in the purchase of the home. When I purchased the house she recommended OR because she had a relationship with their sales rep and if I had difficulty she could leverage her relationship. I was informed through my agent that they would reimburse me for the $550 amount.

Unlike most people, I was actually able to recover the $550, obviously due to the relationship between my agent and the OR rep. It shouldn't take pressure from a real estate agent to get OR to live up to their contract. Recently OR has contacted me regarding the $60 service call fee. I don't dispute owing the $60 fee, however, I explained to them that I saved them money by purchasing the service plan from the company that was able to repair the system. It would have been $700 vs $550 but still they persist for the fee. I've decided to file a complaint with the Texas Real Estate Commission because I don't believe it's ethical that it should take a real estate agent putting pressure on OR's sales rep to perform on a contract. I was lucky in that respect. If they want to argue over $60 when they still owe me money, bring it on.

What does he do calls in a report that he needs to return to the home next week and does not want us waiting that long. What he should have told his warranty company is I don't know what the *###@%%%$## is wrong and don't have a clue . Our nieghbors informed us they put up with this clown changing out parts in their furnace on three seperate occasions before they finally wised up and got someone else in to fix thier furnace.

My biggest concern is he acted dumb founded, clueless and appeared more interested in getting his service fee and on his way than providing any kind of proffessional solution. Why do companies like Old Republic use companies lke this ? Surely they must hear complaint all the time... This clown was as arrogant and rude as they come, very unproffesional; not even a uniform or company name on his dirty junk truck.

Our advice to our Home Warranty Company is supervise who you hire and pay attention to your customers complaints. We will not be renewing this year when our plan expires. Were a 7 year customer of Old Republic thier handling of our complaint prompt us to write this review to warn of others of thier incompetence! Seven years of paying into a plan and when you use it, you get the bottom of the food chain in ac contractors makes you think twice of who your signed up with.

The delays of this company in providing prompt and proffesional service left us without air conditioning on some of the warmest days of this year. His delays cost us time of work, etc. Let's hope the re assigned company comes with some resolve.

What he should have told his warranty company is I don't know what is wrong and don't have a clue . Our nieghbors informed us they put up with this clown changing out parts in their furnace on three seperate occasions before they finally wised up and got someone else in to fix thier furnace. My biggest concern is he acted dumb founded, clueless and appeared more interested in getting his service fee and on his way than providing any kind of professional solution.

Why do companies like Old Republic use companies lke this ? Surely they must hear complaint all the time... This clown was as arrogant and rude as they come, very unprofessional; not even a uniform or company name on his dirty junk truck. Our advice to our Home Warranty Company is supervise who you hire and pay attention to your customers complaints. We will not be renewing this year when our plan expires. Were a 7 year customer of Old Republic thier handling of our complaint prompt us to write this review to warn of others of thier incompetence!

Seven years of paying into a plan and when you use it, you get the bottom of the food chain in ac contractors makes you think twice of who your signed up with. The delays of this company in providing prompt and professional service left us without air conditioning on some of the warmest days of this year. His delays cost us time of work, etc. Let's hope the re assigned company comes with some resolve.

Repairman states that it could take a month of better to get the part. I called Old Republic, stating the lead time is excessive and that I should not have to do without a fridge for better than a month. Old Republic's response, Make do until the part arrives. I will update this post when I get more information.

Now, it looks like we will be paying a total of $600 to replace an A/C unit that should be covered by our plan.

We are so please to have purchased Old Republics Warranty. It's disheartening to read some of these complaints . Some of the letters I have read here are misinformed people who do not fully understand or want to the Home Warranty Policy.

We would highly recommend Old Republic to anyone seeking HOme Warranty.

Both tanks were Reem and installed August 2001. Old Republic took responsibility for the defective thermostat (approx. $60), however, refused to pay for replacements. I paid $1200 to replace both.

Case 2: 02/08 - Kitchen disposal stopped working. The motion of the blades was tested with an allen wrench. No obstructions or scrapes were detected. The plate freely turns by hand. The technician's first diagnosis was associated to clogged rose stems and q-tips. After removing the debris, the disposal worked long enough for him to get out of the door. Within minutes it returned to a nonworking state. It appears as if no power is getting to the appliance. A second visit was made. 2nd diagnosis, a bent plate was making it inoperable. Again, the motion of the plate has been tested with no detection of resistance or scraping. Old Republic informs me I am permitted to get a 2nd opinion at my own expense and they will review that diagnosis. I can not allow myself to pay for another opinion knowing Old Republic's response will be refusal to pay.

The company says that was the agreement of the warranty. The agreement was also a limit of $1000.00 of repairs. They admit they crossed that limit four weeks ago. But I still have to live by the agreement even though they don't.

I'm taking the buyout. But I'm telling everyone I can to avoid this scam. It's a joke. And the people in purchasing and customer service have lied so many times I lost count. But again...I have to get over it!

1/31/08 OR HVAC tech returns. Replaces burned wires and resets breaker. Breaker pops 20 minutes later, lots of burning wire smell. I call HVAC company & they said they would send someone out Monday 2/4/08. 2/4/08 HVAC tech arrives finds that the wires his partner had replaced had burned. Replaces wires and says that he'll come back and replace the 'sequencer'. Breaker pops a few minutes later. HVAC tech contends that 41.2 amps is too much for that 60 amp breaker. Says he'll come back tomorrow and stage the heat strips. 2/6/08 HVAC tech returns and stages the heat strips. Breaker pops in about 15 minutes. I speak to OR and say that the unit still isn't working and maybe they should get a second opinion.

2/8/08 New HVAC tech arrives and says that unit is miswired. Rewires controls. Breaker trips. He pulls heat strips and says that they need to be replaced. Says he need to get an accurate schematic of the unit because the wiring diagram on the cover of the unit didn't seem to be correct. Calls his office to ask for parts and is told that no parts are available for unit (too old). 2/11/08 HVAC tech returns to get dimensions of the air handler. Says that the unit is too old and no parts are available, so the unit will need to be replaced. 2/11/08 OR call and says that the claim is denied because the unit failed due to lack of maintenance. I said the unit was serviced last July (07) and none of their guys has mentioned that the unit wasn't properly maintained but now that they find out that you have to replace the unit, suddenly it has not been properly maintained, that's silly.

2/12/08 I called OR to complain. OR called twice saying they would talk to, the last was Kareem who said that the claim was denied. I said the unit was serviced in July and he said that If I'd send him the service order maybe they would reconsider. I reminded him that they had been out 5 times over two weeks (during which I had no heat) and none of the tech reports had mentioned that the unit wasn't properly maintained until it became obvious that they had to replace the unit. He said Oh, we wouldn't do that. But they did.

Salt to the financial wound of the huge non covered costs now $70.00 more.

I was given the name of Larry at Old Republic, and he gave me the work order #. When I call Larry back with the contractor's verbal report of the severe wind damage issue, Larry put me on hold for 5-10 minutes so he could internally consult with Old Republic personnel. (This was mainly due to the fact that Jason was not working that weekend, and we couldn't wait till Monday. After all, the weather report was for continued rain through out the weekend.) Larry came back on the line and told me that Old Republic would honor the work order, but would only allow $1000 coverage - my contractor's estimate was quoted at $1,100. He told me to make sure I faxed the contractor's invoice to Jason after the job was complete. Based on Larry's approval, I had the contractor complete an emergency repair. I faxed the contractor's invoice to Jason as instructed and he called me back that following Wednesday to tell me that Old Republic was not honoring my claim.

And here's Jason's reason: Covered under the plan: The repair of specific leaks that occur in the roof located over the occupied living area (excluding garage), provided that the leaks are the result of rain and/or normal wear and deterioration and the roof was watertight and in good condition on the effective date of the plan. (It was.) Exclusions: ...missing or broken roof shingles or tiles, damage caused by persons walking or standing on the roof... Ironically, since the severe winds blew some tiles away, causing them to partially break, Old Republic denied the claim. When I stated that the broken tiles were the result of normal rain/wind, Jason did not care. In Old Republic's opinion, the resulting broken tiles due to natural causes voided the warranty.

Well, as you can imagine, I argued that the broken tiles were a consequence of a covered rain/wind situation. They did not break due to misuse. I further challenged Jason to explain to me how anyone can be covered under these circumstances. That didn't seem to matter - so long as tiles were broke, the claim was denied. I then spoke with Jordon Reynolds, the purchasing supervisor, stating that I did my part to work with Old Republic, and didn't think they were being fair. And Jordon took the same position as Jason. The bottom line - they were looking for an excuse to walk away from honoring Larry's verbal commitment that Saturday the contractor was at my home. I also explained that we had an emergency situation with water damage to our closet, and had to get the contractor on our own. With all we were going through, I had hoped that Old Republic would have been more sympathetic to our cause. Rather, they made me feel like we were not worth their time. I left other messages for Jordon, to further plea for help, but he never responded back.

My wife and I had to do our best to place buckets in the attic to prevent more water from entering our closet. We also had to call numerous contractors to find one who could respond on an emergency situation. We incurred expenses in the amount of $1,100 and had to throw away clothes which were covered with fiber glass from working in the attic to stop the water leak. We were also very stressed out from the leak incident, and then Old Republic's attitude.

I am writing this on December 29th, one month later, and I still have no parts that were supposedly ordered by Old Republic. All I am getting is lip service from the Old Republic money watch dogs, and to this day the sub contractor did not even know they ordered the parts. I have no oven and the holidays were a little tough this year not cooking the normal food, and I also had a plumbing problem they denied, and a heating problem they denied, and I feel that every claim I submit will be denied from here on. All I receive now is lip service from Old Republic, and I do not believe what is being told to me at any time. I would highly recommend that anyone research home protections before purchasing.

They only wanted to give me $200.00 for the stove and kick in an extra 100.00 for the hardship. I could not buy a comparable unit in a junk yard for that price. I know that they will not get the specified part, because my own research found that it is not made. If they do not pony up and accept the loss, then I must buy a new stove.

I have noticed that a lot of contractors go into a home to find reasons to deny a claim and then give the customer a retail bid. We would go into a home find switches miswired but we would rewire them and not charge extra charges others would put them back and ask the customer for more money. What we found a lot of is older homes with dangerous illegal installations where-as a realtor who sells a lot of these polocies sells a home with say 10 open splices in a residential attic (seriously illegal), we would deny the claim but since we report to the new owners naturally they get upset and raise hell with the realtor and the last home owner, threaten lawsuits etc... and all of a sudden we would get in trouble for not going in the attic and tightening illegal splices and telling the new home owners.

my favorite home warranty story was a emergency call --all three ceiling fans and a few plugs not working, must get out today. We go out there and meet a realtor who tells us that the house was going into title the next day---we look in the attic and her handy man put in at least 6 illegal electrical splices--some of the wires were just twisted with no wire nuts and had electrical tape around it.. we told her that this was an illegal installation, she started yelling at us telling us dont you know who I am you need to get this working and that her home inspector said these splices were legal.

She calls the home inspector that had a building department electrical inspector attitude and tried to tell me what my codes were, I told him that he was helping selling houses that had serious and expensive code violations and that he was helping to deceive the new owners--the realtor than called the warranties main sales support person who then told me that I needed to watch myself and that she hoped nothing bad would happen to my company in regards to the work allocated by the company she worked with--she didnt want to hear about the fire hazards.

I then called the city building department and asked for the head electrical inspector (Randy). I put my cell phone on speaker phone (I feel bad because he didnt know)and said Randy I have 6 splices in a residential attic , a home going into title tommorow and a realtor and home inspector trying to tell me this was legal---can you please inform them of the electrical codes---(because of serious complaints and lawsuits with-in our community) he yells out, get that blank blank on the phone I will read her the riot act---I swear I have never seen any one take off in my life --she grabbed her purse and things she had on the counter, ran out the door and streaked off in her car leaving us standing there in this home in amazement.

The fact is she didnt want to sign anything admitting serious code violations and having to disclose this to the new owners the next morning jeopardizing the sale of the home. The next day we were threatened with our contract from the warranty company. Two weeks later we got a work order to go to a home and that the new home owners specifically requested me which my office found weird and was wondering how they new of me which we thought maybe of reputation. Now I am only 5' 6 1/2 inches tall and the request was to check failures to several outlets and report our findings immediately--we had to access the back yard to get to the panel on the side of the house and found three breakers not tripped but turned off--we turned them on and made sure all wiring was tightened in the panel.

I told my helper to close the panel and I was going to check power in the home--as I went to enter the home a man that was at least 6' 3 and a good 260 was standing by the fence giving me this mean I am going to kick your butt look and bumped me into the edge of the fence where I got about a 8 inch serious scratch--not knowing who he was I went in to check power and tell the woman who let us in, next thing I know he comes in yelling dont you know who I am over and over again---and I told him I was leaving and went to walk around him---he then stepped in my way put his face in my face and started yelling get out of my house, get out of my house.

I said im leaving and to stay away from me you freak--then went to step around him again and he again steps in front of me again yelling I told you to leave why arnt you leaving --I try to go to the other way around him and he steps in front of me--this goes on for I swear 5 minnutes, he definitely was picking a fight but making it sound that I was refusing to leave his home, I finnaly looked at him and said look that outlet is on fire, he turned to look and I ran out the door, he actually chased me and as I got to the front door he tried to grab my shirt and bang the door at the back of my head. As I was running at the door I realized the woman was his wife and that she had a cell phone on and was talking to some one with a big snicker on her face---as I was leaving I realized my helper was still stuck in the back yard and trying to jump the fence.

I called there autho...department immediately to tell them what happened and found out that the mans wife was on the phone all that time and that we were getting terminated for refusing to leave a home when asked. Now this guy could of killed me with his bare hands--trust me I am not going inside his home to just hang out and refuse to leave---we later were terminated of our contract which we believe for being to honest with their new home owner contracts.

A month later we got a call from a realtor telling us that their contractor has been working on a 400 amp panel and still having problems with it--we found their contractor put new breakers on pitted and burned busswork and told them the panel had to be changed--he then called the warranty about the illegal repairs made by the contractor--the warranty company then told him to proceed with the proper repairs and that they would reimburse him--as soon as they found out it was my company doing the work after the work had started they called us and tried to get a discount where-as we told them we no longer and will never work for them again---then they were hopeing we didnt take pictures and tried to deny the claim for no proof of illegal repairs and damages---- yes they ended up paying.

Remember you have rights by law for second opinions dont let them tell you you dont, demand them----on denials get a lic... contractors out there--take pictures etc.. and affidavits---on disputes on shoddy work dont hesitate to call your State Contractors Board and Building Departments and demand action---and dont be afraid to report your complaints to the insurance commision---that is the people that govern your warranty companies.

I called Old Republic and told them and all they said was that I owed him the money because he came out to the house! Never mind that he did nothing. The technician and the Old Republic service was unprofessional. It turns out that the sewer line was completely collapsed and Old Republic doesn't cover anything to do with that.

At first, Old Republic's techician could not come out for a week. Old Republic's customer service specifically told us that they do not guarantee timely service and that they do not require work to be done to code. A company we used before came out the day after the failure and told us the unit needed to be replaced and should have been replaced before. We called Old Republic back. They demanded their techician evaluate the system. We agreed and waited at home in 100 degree temperatures an entire Saturday only to have their techician not show.

We called again and were again told that they could not get any of their contractors out to even look at the unit for 2 or 3 days. We were told to contact a contractor in the phone book who would be able to come right away, which we then did. The contractor came and looked at the unit and told us that the compressor was bad and needed to be replaced. He recommended replacing the whole unit due to the age of the unit. On monday, July 23, when our contractor contacted Old Republic and gave them his recommendations, old republic called us and told us that they would only cover $700.00 of the cost of replacing the unit, or they could call one of their contractors to do a second opinion.

The loss of purchase funds of the warranty 450.00, 55.00 service charge 3 times and potental bill of 1500.00 out of pocket to replace compressor.

The technician wrote me an invoice with a (-0-) Zero balance due and went on his way. The fan continued to work when I would flip the switch. A month later, Old Republic sent me a bill for the $50 service call with an enclosure stating that I must have over looked the payment to the technician and instructed me to remit payment upon receipt of this notice or an explanation as to why I had not made the payment. I then faxed the invoice the technician left with the (-0-) Zero balance due and an explanation of no service was preformed because the technician could not get the unit to not work.

A couple more months went by and I get a collection notice from Old Republic stating the $50 service fee was now past due. I now had to call Old Republic to see why I was being sent to collections when I had sent the invoice showing the (-0-) Zero balance due. Old Republic told me, A service tech was sent to your home. Even if he did not perform a service, I was still responsible to pay the $50 service fee just for him coming to the house.

So this summer we decided to call Old Republic in May and get a jump on our AC problem. A tech came out and said we had too much freon (too much Freon put in from the previous tech that said everything was fine) and said our house would be just fine now. The next day, it was 94 degrees outside and our house was increasing up through the day to 86 degrees. We asked again for service (needless to say my wife is 9 months pregnant) and a tech came out and said we had an open duct. This whole time we have had attic air pumping into our house and that is why our house has been extremely hot.

Since the work order stated that my microwave was tripping the circuit breaker, MAC General believed the problem was considered a circuit overload and not covered by the warranty. When the technician arrived at my home, he said my warranty did not cover circuit overloads, therefore if I wanted service from MAC General I would have to pay the bill in full upon performing any work. When I refused this offer, the technician left without diagnosing the problem. I contacted Old Republic and told them what happened. Old Republic transferred the call from MAC General to a third electrical contractor who never responded to me or to Old Republic.

No air conditioning until I purchase new equipment that is also under warranty.($1900 to $3200)

As of this date I am still fighting with Old Republic over this claim. I am looking at paying at least $280 to have the fans replaced in the two units. In the meantime I am wasting energy on inefficient a/c units.

On Tuesday I contacted the service company and the told me the order was sent at 8am that morning. I then called Old Republic who again said they had not received the fax yet. While I held on the phone the rep was able to find the fax and told me they would be shipping a compressor to the service company. I was told it would take 3 to 5 days for the service company to receive the unit. When I asked if there was any way to send it faster, I was told this is the shipping time and it couldn't be changed. Apparently Old Republic requires that the compressor comes from their warehouse and they could find or authorize the service company to find one in Phoenix.

I disputed this finding with them as the first contractor actually had two different people out and both claimed there was nothing wrong with the hinges. I also added my own observation that the oven door closed properly before their contractor replaced the gasket. Of course they offered to look at the issue again if I wanted to pay for my own third opinion and it differed from their last determination.

For the last 3 to 4 weeks my wife and I, not to mention our 5 month old daughter, are living in a home that has an air conditioning that should be condemned.

On July 8, a technician arrived with the wrong size air handler to install. He did not know it was the wrong size until after he had disconnected the existing system. Upon his discovery he asked me what I wanted him to do. I told him to reconnect the old one, charge the unit with freon, and to call the office and find the right one. He then reconnected the old unit without properly connecting the condensation line so water has leaked all over our new hardwood floors and caused substantial damage to the sub-floor and the hardwood itself.

Old Republic then told me to contact one of their approved contractors (Tatem Air). I talked to their recording and was told that a Tatem Air contractor would contact me within 24 hours - a long time with an infant in 100+ degree heat. They contacted me the next day and arranged for an appointment at 2:00pm on Friday the 17th of June. When the contractor showed up, he told me that several things were wrong with the AC unit including a compressor (shorted out), blown fuses, contacts welded shut, run caps are bad, and that the start cap was recently replaced, and that when this was done, the run caps should have been replaced also. Essentially, the AC unit had a complete meltdown. When I moved in, it was working fine for five days. On Monday 06/20 - (after 5 days in the heat), I contacted Old Republic again (they did not call me) to see what they were going to do.

I am told too bad, no claim will be opened unless I pay their contractors $45 for each item. It is like a racketeering scam. I asked to please receive a claim form as I would like a written record of my claim. Ofelia advised me that there are no written forms, it is all conducted verbally and I would not get past her until I agreed to pay more fees.

I will have to pay out of pocket to have the shingles repaired, about $150.00, plus the cost to repaint the master bedroom and ceiling where the leak occurred.

The gas company had investigated, found that the furnace was the problem and had red tagged the furnace. The technician finally looked at the furnace, charged me extra to clean the flue and declared it to be working properly. Forty-five minutes after he left, the carbon monoxide alarms went off again. That was almost a month ago and after numerous telephone calls and unanswered messages to supervisors, we are still waiting for a second opinion. The customer service people argue with me, try to make it seem as if I am at fault and tell me that I have to find someone to fix the problem The final straw came yesterday, when a rep. gave me a complaint line number to call and no one answers the phone.

Since we were remodeling the interior and were using multiple fans and left the windows open for about 5 weeks, I didn't call the company right away. Then In November it started getting cold and I turned the heater on. The heater just blew hot air constantly and was not regulated by a thermostat. By mid December I received my heating bill which was unbelievable. Then the tempurature dropped quite a bit so I called them. They sent out a technician who said the unit was basically fried. Literally fried. Wires were burnt inside the unit and he could not fix it. He did try to get a temporary fix in place so we could run the heater a bit. He was going to tell Old Republic that I needed a new unit because this one was not repairable.

They have increased their deductible to $45 per visit. Their premiums have also increased without any increased customer service.

I called Old Republic to have them come out and check out the problem. They referred me to the contractor, US Plumbing in Murrieta, who came out on Aug. 28th to inspect it. US Plumbing found a couple of things wrong and called O.R. to inform them of the issue and what parts had to be ordered. O.R. informed US Plumbing that it would take 10 days to order parts. US Plumbing calls me and informs me of the situation and suggests that I call Sears since the water heater has a 12 yr warranty on it (its approx 2-3 years old and installed by previous homeowner) and see if they can get the parts sooner.

I called Sears and the soonest they could arrive was Sept. 3. On Sept. 3 Sears comes to my home to check out the water heater and finds the same problems as US Plumbing had noted. I was to contact OR while Sears was there so that OR could authorize Sears to make any repairs on the spot if needed. Since the water heater was warrantied in the first place, OR felt they didn't have to pay the costs of the parts and labor. Turns out that because the previous homeowner installed it, for whatever reason, that warranty did not pass on to the new homeowner (me). Therefore, the conclusion was that OR had to pay to have it fixed.

On Sept 4, I had to make another appointment to have US Plumbing come back out to the home to inspect the water heater and start a brand new invoice so that O.R. would order parts and we could get it fixed. On Sept 5, US Plumbing came to the home as requested. They wrote up a new invoice and went back to the office to order parts. I get a phone call at work that O.R. has offered to replace my water heater with a brand new one. However, I would have to pay approx $200 in misc. fees to have it removed and get water heater permits through the city to have the new one installed. I told US Plumbing I would think about it as I don't have $200 to pay for a new water heater.

Approximately 15 mins later, US Plumbing calls again to tell me that O.R. has changed their mind and they want to fix the parts. Therefore US Plumbing was ordering the parts and they would be in on September 10. On September 11, 2003, I called US Plumbing to find out what the status was. They inform me that they had not heard from O.R. I told US PLumbing that they already had the authorization to order the parts. US Plumbing informs me that O.R. insists that since the water heater is under warranty that I had to take care of it. Now I am back at square one and 3 weeks later. I called O.R. to inform them they had to order the parts and that this whole thing is b-s. I haven't had hot water in 3 weeks, my mother is living with me and is very ill and this whole thing with bouncing back and forth about who said what is b-s.

I was informed on Sept. 11, that O.R. would authorize US Plumbing to order the parts. On Sept 12, the parts still have not been ordered because O.R. has not given authorization to US PLumbing (I swear, we have been over this a million times already). I was also informed that I would have to wait until Monday morning to take care of this situation as everyone had 'gone home for the day'. Sept 15: I call US Plumbing and they inform me they haven't received anything from O.R. to authorize them to order the parts. I informed them, that AGAIN, they received authorizaiton on sept. 11. Again, they tell me that I need to contact O.R. I call O.R. and tell them I want a fax confirmation for the parts to make sure they were ordered. They stated they do not fax anything to anyone and that its strictly verbal. (I wonder why?!) I call US Plumbing again and inform them of what I was told.

At this point in the game, it's in US Plumbing's court to get the parts ordered, but it's also in O.R. court to get the so called authorization crap straightened out. the bottom line is that O.R. knows that htey will have to pay approximately $200+ for new parts and they don't want to do it. They are totally jerking me around with "call this person, no call that person, no, we can't do that" and US PLumbing is somewhat in the middle of the whole thing.

Had to pay the $45 insurance co-pay for something I already knew the answer for. The service person said it would cost us around $250 to have the coils cleaned. Old Republic subsequently told me over the phone that they don't cover "pre-existing" conditions and if the previous homeowner didn't keep the coils clean it wasn't covered. My position is the system should work properly and anything that makes it not work properly should be covered. I told them their policy was a joke nothing could be repaired until it failed. The OR rep. basically agreed that their policy was good if "something failed". Short of that their coverage is useless.

We currently have to turn the A/C off when it ices up, wait an hour until it thaws, then turn it back on. This is until the service company repairs the system. Anyone should think twice about buying these warranty coverages. Think about it. For under $500 policy cost, it would take only 1 or 2 major calls for Old Republic to lose money on your policy. How do they make money? By weaseling out of covering anything they can. Put the same money away for emergencies instead of buying their policy. Odds are you'll come out ahead.

A few days later, it went out completely and I called again. They gave me a work order number and the name of a contractor who would be contacting me. I was never contacted, so I called and left a message, but my call was never returned. I called Old Republic again, and they set things up with another contractor. This one actually showed up with no testing equipment and took a wild guess at what was wrong. He ordered a part, and when he came back, the part wouldn't even fit. Next he ordered another part and I was told it was a cold control. I did some research and made some calls and found out that my problem was and still is a defrost timer control. I called and told him this and he argued and told me my refigerator didn't have a defrost timer. It took him a week and half to finally get the part he ordered and come back to install it.

The part didn't fix my problem, so I called Old Republic again and they made excuses when I asked to talk to a manager. They said they would get this taken care of immediately.

Now 4 weeks later. They set me up with another contractor -- the same one who would never return my calls. I gave him the benifit of the doubt and waited for his call.Guess what? I never heard from him. I have left several messages and no calls have been returned to me. At this point I have lost a few hundred dollars in food, spent a few hundred going out to eat, lost several days off work and have been stressed to the point where I have headaches every day. This is a simple problem that any moron could fix, but it has not been done yet. I would fix it myself, but then it would void my warranty. I suppose that would be no loss considering how well their warrany coverage works.

Companies like this are giving the industry a bad name.

July 10, 2003 Maytag Service Store comes to my home. Service man tells my husband he needs to order a part (transformer), it will take 3 to 7 days. I waited for a call. When I called Maytag service store they said Old Republic did not give them the okay to order part. I called Old Republic and asked them why? they said no one called them. I don't know why they wanted to send another company out. I requested Sears. I had already paid $40.00 for the first service call, now I was at their mercy.

Old Republic had to call Sears to get an appointment set up. Sears came out on July 23, 2003. My husband took off work to be at home between 1-5PM. Sears changed a wire and my micorwave worked for one week. I used it to pop corn and on July 30, 2003 I was melting butter and it died again. My butter didn't melt.

So here I go again -- I called Old Republic, they said I wasn't going to have to pay for the service because it's been less than 30 days. On July 31, 2003 O.R. called to tell me Sears will call me to set appointment. They are going to come out on August 9, 2003.

This was my first time buying a home protection plan I will never do it again. My appliance from my old home all have coverage from Sears. The only thing is when I moved from my old home to this new one I had to leave my dishwasher and range, also my microwave.

I had just purchased this home 1 month prior to these problems and had no trouble in those previous 4 weeks nor did the sellers disclose that they ever had a problem with plumbing or a leaky ceiling. This problem started in September of 2002. I moved in August 2002 and it is now May of 2003 and I guess it's time to contact an attorney for assistance!

An attorney may be overkill. Chances are the upstairs bath tile needs new grout to make it waterproof once more or a faucet fitting is leaking behind the wall. Neither of these is a big project. Patching the ceiling would take a handyman a few hours at most.

Recently, we called Old Republic because the heater was not blowing hot air out of the registers. They sent a technician who was paid the deductible of $45. After thinking about the situation for awhile, but without actually crawling into the crawl space to look at the ducts, this technician reported that animals had collapsed my ductwork, and that Old Republic did not cover damage by pests. And that the ductwork was inaccessible because the opening to the crawlspace was only 8" high. However, his company could replace my ductwork for about $1,100.00. I was skeptical about this since he admitted he had not actually observed any animal damage.

I did my own inspection, as best I could The ductwork seemed to be simply loose at the junction to the furnace. This technician did not crawl under the house to do any inspection, and told me he just guessed about the problem. So I called Old Republic, and spoke to Myesha who promised to get back to me about the situation. But she didn't. Then I spoke to Cynthia, and then to Debbie Kennedy who said she would send out a second opinion technician. I spoke with this technician by phone while he was at my house and he said that there are four inches of dirt near the junction of heating unit and duct, the coil needs to be cleaned, and it would take 8 hours to dig out the area around the duct.

I called Old Republic several more times and spoke to Kevin and Leah. At one point, Keven told me that yes, the inaccessible ductwork was covered up to $500. And he offered to "cash out" the problem for that amount. I said I would think about that and decided to take them up on it. But when I called back, I spoke to Latrell who informed me that a mistake had been made in offering me the $500 and that nothing would be covered by Old Republic. So, I ask myself, "Has this ever happened to anybody else?" "Am I the only person to get the run around?" "Is there any recourse for the consumer who pays a premium for a service, and quite often finds the contract is full of loopholes?" The policy states that $500 is the maximum payment to diagnose and repair ductwork. Yet, when I tried to collect -- no performance.

We've experienced three weeks of a cold house, an enormous amount of time wasted on the telephone, on hold, listening to annoying, deceptive company promises about their excellent service or talking to numerous customer service reps who gave conflicting answers. I've paid a premium for home warranty services that are too easy for the company to avoid performing, and I've paid the $45.00 deductible. And so far I've gotten nothing for my money. The biggest costs will be hiring a contractor myself to perform the work that I thought was covered by the policy.

Over the next two weeks I called Old Republic several times to ask about when the parts were coming in and the dishwasher would be fixed. To make a long story short, the technician claimed his wife had called and left a message for me on my answering machine (she didn't) that the parts had come in and that it was my fault so much time had gone by. Nonetheless, he came by on the third week and "fixed" the dishwasher.

The other night I was running the dishwasher and smelled something burning. Just bought a new dishwasher to replace the one that "could have burned down the house" because it was not fixed and really could not have been fixed, it should have been replaced. The same bunch of wires had all melted together again. I didn't bother calling Old Republic. The competent technician told me the previous contractor simply replaced the wires that had melted but did not correct the problem, thus if I had not smelled the burning wires and turned off the dishwasher, a fire would have started.

The third company, "A/C Heat & Refrigeration Systems Inc. came, diagnosed problems with my compressor and coils, and duct problems and fan speed, but the paperwork sat untouched on the desk of the lady in charge (Debbie) for a week, with no contact to me, when I called to ask about the status of my service call, she was rude to me and ended the phone call by hanging up on me!

My continual phone calls for updates on fixing my air, to Old Republic and to A/C went unreturned. I spoke with numerous people at Old Republic, all of whom said they would investigate my problem and call me back. Nobody called me back. My air has been down for 8 weeks now, nobody at Old Republic has tried to help me to get it fixed. I am frustrated at their lack of responsibility in fixing my air. I am now prepared to just fix it myself, insurance or not. It shouldn't be that way. They are suppossed to help me. That is what they were paid to do. They are failing miserably.

We live in the Central Valley, it has reached 100 degrees many times during the last 8 weeks of us having no air. We feel this is ridiculous to have to suffer the heat inside our home (that is only 4 years old, we've lived here for 9 months). I have spent hours on the phone trying to be in touch with Old Republic and leaving messages that go unreturned.

The company responds:

On behalf of Old Republic Home Protection and its employees, please accept our sincere apology for the experiences you related in regard to air conditioning service call last summer.

Old Republic Home Protection, like other home warranty companies, uses independent companies to service Plan holders. Although efforts are made to obtain highly qualified licensed contractors that can provide excellent customer service, occasionally circumstances occur which do not allow us to provide the level of service Old Republic Home Protection or its Plan holders consider acceptable.

I can assure you, Old Republic is committed to take whatever steps are necessary to provide the level of service our Plan holders want and deserve.

Gary Vistalli

Claims Manager

Old Republic asked us to find a technician; we did, he came out and quoted us and stated we needed a new a/c unit. We informed the warranty co. We were on hold for hours again and Rene in authorizations stated "she can authorize any work to be done" in her exact words. Well we went without a/c the whole weekend. Debbie contacted my fiancee and stated the quote from the technician was too high. She promised to call him back by 2:00 if she could not find one of their technicians, then she would authorize the work to be done by the original technician. She never called back.

We called the next day and spoke to Anthony, he sent one of their technicians and he stated the same thing -- we needed a new a/c unit. This technician tried to call authorizations to get the work approved and he was on hold and could not wait any longer. He called the next day and said the work was authorized, it would take about 5 days to order. Today is the 24th, we reported this problem on the 9th of July. I have mailed the VP of the company a complaint letter, and reported them to the BBB.

My fiancee and I lost numerous hours at work on hold trying to get this problem solved. Everytime we called we just got the run around. I explained to them we have three children, I have a newborn son who has asthma, I have asthma. We have spent 290.00 in ceiling fans because we needed to try and keep the house cool. Our electricity bill has gone up tremendously. We have been in the home 3 months only, our first bill was 142.00, 2nd month 262.00, 3rd month 372.00. I called Edison and explained to them the problem I was experiencing. They told me that the compressor was working extra hard that's why my bill has been high.

The company responds:

On behalf of Old Republic Home Protection and its employees, please accept our sincere apology for the experiences you related in regard to air conditioning service call last summer.

Old Republic Home Protection, like other home warranty companies, uses independent companies to service Plan holders. Although efforts are made to obtain highly qualified licensed contractors that can provide excellent customer service, occasionally circumstances occur which do not allow us to provide the level of service Old Republic Home Protection or its Plan holders consider acceptable.

I can assure you, Old Republic is committed to take whatever steps are necessary to provide the level of service our Plan holders want and deserve.

Gary Vistalli

Claims Manager