American Home Shield Reviews

When I called about my air conditioning unit, the AHS rep said she would get somebody out. I said, “I think they've come out here before.” She said, “No. They haven't.” I said, “No. ‘Cause they sounded so familiar. You sure?” She said, “No. I'm looking in my system now. They haven't. I can assure you they have not come out there before.” When I got off the phone, she had already called them. I went to look back. Sure enough, they had come out here for my water heater. What if that was a company I didn't want to come back? And I'm being told that, “They've never been to your house.” I need that to be fixed in some kind of way in the system. I don't know how it wasn't shown that they had come out before. But that needs to be fixed, because if something was to happen, and I don't want that company coming back.

The first time the contractor came out for my water heater, the tech had to go up in the attic. My daughter had to come over because I was at work. When I got home, there was stuff from the attic that he left on my floor. The broom was in the kitchen. He could have swept it up before leaving. But I talked to them about that. They came back out a second time. And everything was fine.

What I pay monthly, is good. When contractors come out, I pay a flat rate of 125. The only thing I don't like about that is that before they even come out, that 125 was already taken. Maybe it's because AHS has to pay them. But what if they come and they can't fix the issue? When I first got AHS, I was told that if they couldn't fix it, I wouldn't have to pay, yet they take it up front. I guess they would give it back. But that doesn't make sense to me.

I've had American Home Shield since December, and I haven't really had any used case for it. I did have some issues scheduling with the initial visit of the AC technician. I worked with private contractors, and specifically like home renovation companies and contractors, so I know how that industry works in particular and how the scheduling side of things isn't like the most efficient process a lot of times. My thoughts about American Home Shield is still up in the air, but the price and what the coverage allows are very attractive, especially when I signed up, which was a Black Friday sale. So, I like the pricing of everything and the coverage and what that allows.

I checked the ratings for the decibels. I called the manufacturer. I said, “Tell me, one, two, three, four, what are the decibels that I should be expecting?” The manufacturer told me. But it's way above that. I contacted them again. They sent somebody out. They didn't help either. But they're not willing to replace that microwave. But they're also not willing to fix that microwave because they don't consider a noisy fan being covered. I said, “Are you kidding me? How many times are you gonna fix the microwave anyway?”

The recent contractor was good. It was an annual freebie where they come and do a service of your HVAC system. There were two gentlemen that were here, and they were great. The offer was appreciated. They double-checked the HVAC system. They said it was all good, but they would check the Freon because it was low, and they fixed it. It’s cold. It works. That was part of my service that was permitted, so there was no out of pocket for me. The gentlemen were courteous and very professional. They were English as a second language. They were more worried about that. Their English was fine. You know how when you have English as a second language, sometimes people treat you poorly? I had a vibe about that. But they were so nice. And they were minimally in my house. They were mostly up on the roof. I had no issues with them.

I’ve had good things with AHS. I've also had not so good things with them. However, I keep them, because I have an older house. It was built in 1956. And when I moved in, we had to have plumbers come out. It was on the seller. When the people checked out the plumbing, they said, “You better not lose your home warranty because some of your pipes are pretty darn old.” So, I only keep AHS because I assume that my plumbing will fail someday. It’s that bad. I pay them 100 bucksa month. But that is why I keep them, even though I've never told them that. They've always been polite enough, even if you get the response, “That's in our policy” kind of thing. My next response would be, “So, can you show me your policy?”

American Home Shield did a good job and so did their contractor. If you need a home warranty, look at American Home Shield first. Having their service, I like that I don't have to go look for a contractor for a specific issue. They have contractors that they've vetted. Since I'm new to the area, I'm happy that if I have an issue, I can just go to them and they know who works on those specific things.

The contractor has just been taking money from AHS, even though all the technicians who are 1099 employees have been stating that my refrigerator needs to be replaced. It can't be repaired but they just want to keep trying to repair it. It's still not cooling. The ice maker still does not work. It does not hold a temperature. And the last technician that came out made it worse. However, AHS keeps telling me I have to allow the repair company to rectify the problem. There's supposed to be a new technician from the same company who will come out the day after tomorrow to still try and find the same problem.

He took the panel off the front of it and said there was nothing apparent there. But he didn't drain it or do anything to see if there was any residue or build-up. He knew we're selling the house and one of the things he did that I thought was questionable was he asked if we needed work done on the house other than the water heater. We told him we had an inspection done, and there were some things we needed to do. He gave us a card for a company and told us they'd give us a free estimate. We told him we already have a handyman that we can call. He told us it was a free estimate so we might as well have them come and check what we've seen to see if it's fair. It felt like he had a monetary interest in it.

We had these guys out, and the estimate that came through was mind-boggling. We hired a guy to go under our house, and he spent all day long replacing insulation and fixing a dryer vent from our dryer. There was a vent that had dropped and not connected right. He cleaned that out, and he vacuumed for hours under there to get anything off the crawl space and clean it up. $600 is what we paid him, plus we bought the insulation, and we bought him a hazmat suit so we're probably 800 into it. But this guy wanted $5,700.

We also asked the plumber guy very clearly, before this guy came out and gave us this horrendous kid, “Will you put in writing that you inspected the hot water system and it’s running fine?” He said he would do that but he left the house and never did. He said it would be on American Home Shield's website. I'd be able to pull up the report ‘cause he would give the report to them. But it's not. All American Home Shield did was put on that the service has been completed, but there are no results. I've called American Home Shield and they said they sent me an an email and they'd send it again. But the email, once again, just said the service has been completed.

I want something that I could show a buyer that says we've had the unit looked at and it's running fine. But we don’t have that, and that's more of a frustration with American Home Shield than it is with the plumber. The plumber was what the plumber was. If the guy did a bid to repair something, my guess is that information would probably be available. But if everything's fine, that information should still be available because I'm sure he had to make a report to American Home Shield. The way that the home warranty is supposed to work is that I pay the deductible, they pick the dude, and dude comes out. If something's broken or needs to be replaced, he lets them know, and they cover that.

I'm a real estate broker and I have sold these warranties for years to people. I have bought them for years for my clients. I just got an email this morning saying that one of my clients had their washer/dryer fixed thru American Home Shield. I also had a client who had to replace their whole HVAC system. My client thanked me for buying them the warranty as it saved them money. American Home Shield covers what we wanted covered and the price is very reasonable. I felt that it was very legit because I've seen it work but it was only a great experience until I had my own.

American Home Shield then asked me how I was doing. When I hadn't heard anything from them or Mike, I informed them that I still had to go into another town to do laundry, so I wasn't really happy at that moment. But then, my husband received an email from American Home Shield and they were offering a replacement of value. So, we took the card because I didn't know exactly which machine to get. When you look online, they don't give you the details. There's a couple of features that I like and that's how to tell how long you have left in a cycle, plus the delay. You could set it to delay so you can wash off peak hours. The old washer here had that and every washer I've had that. It's really convenient. So we went down to Lowe's and researched on all these machines. We ordered one that's got those features and it's supposed to be here on Friday.

I'm just holding out and I'm hoping that the dryer sticks with me for a while. It's just as old, but sometimes you get extra time out of a dryer. So far, I'm very happy with the way American Home Shield handled my claim for the washing machine. They were great and their response was quick. We've had them for a few years, but we've never had to have a claim. It was funny that we bought this beautiful house that was perfect and checked all our boxes, then, when I went to do the laundry, I had to file a ticket with American Home Shield. But that's okay. And if that's the worst of it, then I can't complain.

We have to get this laundry room ready for the techs to set up the replacement on Friday. The house that we're in is a very nice house. But it started out as a little house and later, things were added on, then it was rebuilt, and remodeled. Where the laundry room used to be is in the bathroom closet and they didn't put any new plumbing in when they did that. So, the plumbing is Jerry-rigged right now and we have a plumber coming today because there's no way that Lowe's is going to come and hook up a new washer to this existing plumbing. We're just realizing what little things we need to take care of but we're still happy, in a good location, and have great neighbors. So we're blessed.

With American Home Shield, things can be a hit or miss, but I've had a majority of great experiences. I would warn potential clients to read the fine print because there are certain things that aren't covered in scenarios, but other than that, it's very easy to get quick communication and updates. And the portal is very user-friendly.

After four times, I called again, and the guy finally said that he couldn't find the leakage. The offer that we got for the fridge was $1,050, which is not even close to what the fridge costs, even a decent fridge. I called AHS, I was upset, and they said there was nothing they could do. This was the minimum that they could provide us. That's number one.

Number two was we also had a leakage one of the days when it was raining from the roof, and I called, and I made an appointment. Someone came from plumbing. He looked and said, "Okay, you need roofing." Then, he said, "Just give me 5 stars, and I will schedule the roofing guy." I was like, "Okay." I put 5 stars on the thing, he left, but no one ever called. It was like nothing ever happened. And he literally came for two minutes. After he left, I called American Shield again, and I told them about the whole thing, and they said someone would reach out to us. But no one came. So that's where I'm at, and I'm very unhappy. I'm still waiting for someone to get back and look at the situation.

The recent contractor came out, did their thing and went back to wherever they were. They went through and fixed it and they thought they had fixed. But they told us that they would go back to the people that asked them to replace it because it couldn't be fixed. But it's not the people that came out's fault. It's the machine's fault. We're waiting on our answer for them because they said they had to go back and report it.

2. Provide a reasonable cash-out amount.

The cash-out amount offered is lower than the cost of the repair, and does not reflect the technician's findings. I have babies at home, and this is a health and safety issue. I am requesting immediate resolution.

I contacted AHS and they have denied any reimbursement because their team did not label the ticket as an "emergency", and due to the fact I had to hire a non-AHS contractor to fix it when their contractor was unavailable. I escalated the ticket and got the same denial. If you ever have an emergency or urgency in a fix, they most definitely will leave you stranded paying for it yourself. Very dishonest company.

So, a week and a half later, I called and the tech said he tried to reach out but nobody answered. He also said he left a message. But nobody did because Brinley would have forwarded that message over to me. I tried to set some stuff up for that week but he said he was going to try on Saturday and that he'd call me. But he never called me. He then said he'd come on Tuesday and he did. He also pretty much came within the timeframe that he told me he would. He communicated with me that he was almost there and when he came, he confirmed that the liner failed. So, we needed a replacement.

I told him exactly what I was looking for and that I wanted to weigh my options. I wanted it replaced with an upgrade and that I'd like that priced out. He said no problem. Then he said he couldn't get the app to work on his phone for AHS. So, he called it in as I was standing with him. He gave AHS all the information of the tank and what I was looking for. They said on the phone that they would call me back and he left. After three weeks, I started calling AHS asking them what was going on. They said they were waiting on Barr Plumbing but I told them that I heard on the phone that AHS was supposed to reach out to me but I never heard anything. Then I started calling Barr Plumbing and they weren't responding. They tech wouldn't respond at all either. Eventually, I gave up. Two months later, I finally was able to get ahold of them and by that time, I had reached out to my realtor who had a contact with AHS and they got the ball rolling.

Then, right as they got a new plumber for me, Barr Plumbing's tech reached out to me. At the time, I didn't know about the new plumber yet. I told him that I wanted to look at the upgrade option versus the replacement option. I told him that I needed a quote back for both and I needed him to reach out to AHS. I also asked when should I expect to get my requests and he said either that night or the next day. A week and a half later, he texted me a quote but you couldn't even decipher what it was. It was like he typed it up too quick and sent it out. It was not what I asked for.

So, in between that time and when all this started, I had tried to reach out to him multiple times. I was losing on both ends of the stick between AHS and him. I deal with a lot of plumbers and he seemed like a fly-by-night kind of guy. He was telling me he was working until10 o'clock every night, doing this and that, and I don't know that that was truthful. If it worked out for him, I wouldn't have want him working on my stuff. I could be very wrong, but he seemed very irresponsible and unreliable.

Also, I couldn't express any further how dissatisfied I was with my experience. But I won't put that against AHS. The person that I dealt with today that put me into the escalation portion of it was very good. But, overall, it was the same song and dance every time I called. The rep I worked with at American Home Shield was Patricia and she was great, but when I called into the customer service line, I was just wasting my time. I knew what I was going to get out of it and I shouldn't have had to reach back out to my realtor. I’ve apologized to her and I felt bad to reach out to her. My experience here was awful, short of the last two weeks dealing with Patricia and her handling this. I didn't even come out with the outcome that I wanted here. The tank is getting replaced. But I wanted to upgrade and work through that, so it didn't work out at all. It became a disaster.

I would tell my friends to steer clear of AHS and to look elsewhere. I would explain my experience and how much of a huge inconvenience it was for me. I could have had that replaced in half a day myself. American Home Shield's call center is obviously outsourced and not helpful. I called eight times and I got no help. They said they were trying to reach out to the plumber and at one point, I told them that I'd like to speak to a supervisor or manager. I wasn't rude or ignorant, and they sent me over to somebody that did the exact same thing as everybody else. There was zero concern and that really burned me. Nobody that I talked to cared until I started going through my realtor. It's hard to fathom how a business can operate that poorly on both sides, that first plumbing company as well as AHS.

I had no choice but to do it, because the lights were still blinking. So, I went to the store and bought a gallon of milk. If it didn't work with a gallon, I was gonna have to call somebody back. I poured half of it in there and sent it through the cycle, and it didn't get them all. The lights came back on, but not for the first time. I poured almost the rest of it in there again, started watching television, and the next thing I knew, everything was gone. The only way the lights would stop blinking is if it goes through all the cycles. I wasn't too satisfied in the beginning because it didn't make sense to me. But I took the advice and it worked. So, National Platinum did great. I've been with American Home Shield for a while now, and the coverage is good. AHS is a little pricey, though.

American Home Shield does the upgrade program through Frontdoor Pro. I was reading the terms of agreement with Frontdoor Pro, and I had misinterpreted it. I thought when my new system was installed, it would not be covered under my AHS policy anymore. So, I contacted AHS, and I got transferred around a bit. The person that I talked to at AHS said they have never been asked that before. They had to get with a supervisor. They put me on hold, and I had to sit on hold. I ended up having to call back twice before I got the answer. I got transferred back to Frontdoor Pro. By that time, I was a bit agitated.

I explained what the situation was, and I said, “This is just a simple question. The new unit that's going in, is it still going to be covered under my American Home Shield policy that I've got?” The rep said, “Of course, it will.” I said, “I can't get a straight answer from anybody.” I said, “The way I'm reading it under the terms of agreement, I must be interpreting it wrong then, because I thought I was interpreting it that, no, it would not.” He said, “No, that is not correct. The new unit will be covered under American Home Shield. What they're talking about is that you've got a warranty from the manufacturer that's good for a certain amount of time. So, it would go through that warranty first, and then American Home Shield.” I understood it finally, but that's the only little hiccup I had. Lowering the monthly cost would be wonderful. I've been with AHS for 13 years and it seems to go up every year.

The repairman was friendly. Appliance Repair Company is a very polite company. They've come and fixed three things for me. American Home Shield wanted to replace the washing machine with white, but I didn't want white 'cause I have a gray dryer. I just chose to get the cash and buy my own to match better. American Home Shield is a good company to help you with anything that's broken in your home. It doesn't have to be a new appliance for them to come fix it. It can be an appliance that you have for a while. They have fixed my heating unit, my refrigerator and my stove and replaced my washing machine.

I also wish American Home Shield would improve with customer interaction and communication, namely being to be able to understand the people better. Some of the accents are very hard to understand especially over the phone. I understand call centers are pretty much contracted out overseas, but that can make it a hassle if I can barely understand the person when I'm trying to resolve a problem. I have had a little bit of frustration where I felt like they weren't very customer forward focused, in the sense that they were trying to get out of work than help me with the service that I've been paying for for years.

American Home Shield is only worth it in certain applications. I have properties that I can access quickly, so it works for me. But their guarantee could be longer because I've had other issues that happened just past 30 days, and I had to pay a new service fee for the same thing for them to come out. The contractors that American Home Shield works with are motivated to fix it the easiest way. That way they can make their money. I value the idea of what American Home Shield dos. But it's like insurance, too. It's no longer about insuring people. It's about getting as much money as possible out of people and making billionaires even more billions. The average person just gets raked over the coals with fees.

Alpine Appliances had to order the parts for the stove then they came back and fixed the dishwasher. But whatever parts they got for the stove were not the right parts and this was two weeks later. They had to reorder the parts then they set up another appointment. When they set the appointment up, their technician got sick, so they had nobody else to come out. We were already going on a month. Finally, they were able to come out and fix it but the next day, it stopped working again. We had to call them back out, and they said it was something electrical. I think they blew whatever fuse was going on. There was nothing wrong with that stove but as soon as they came out, they made everything worse. The electrician ended up coming out and fixed whatever had blown up.

For the amount of money I paid for American Home Shield, I could have had me a brand-new dishwasher and a new air conditioning unit. I was gonna cancel them but they credited my monthly fee twice. I started off at 80 something dollars with them, but now it's double. It’s ridiculous. I also like filing claims online but for some reason, it does not allow me to select online for the air conditioner. It doesn't say central heat and air. It doesn't give me that option. It's always a window unit or some evaporator, and I don't know if that's what they call an AC. When I have an issue with my AC, I have to call.

American Home Shield has been good to me over the last 25 years. Every time I've called, I've gotten quick responses. It's worth the money to get them. But I have issues with some of their contractors. I've had one or two issues with contractors that I've gotten taken care of in a fairly good manner. American Home Shield could give me more than one option for a contractor.

When they came out, we had what we thought was a thermostat or a wall unit malfunction where it wasn't connecting to the actual furnace, which they ended up finding that it was that. They cleaned that out and fixed it up. That was it for the first claim. They were super communicative, and informative in what they let me know what they could do and how they could figure out something. They had to re-run some wiring. We had a wire that was for a smart device, and they connected it in a way that it would always read from the wall mount. The initial issue we had was it would not read from the wall to the actual unit. So, they made sure that they got that connection back working.

The biggest thing for me is having that vast array of contractors and the availability. I got assigned to Frida's because the company prior did not have any availability for two weeks and we needed someone to come out quicker because it was a furnace. AHS was able to reassign that, which is super helpful. I've had to call in a couple of times and check on some things and get things squared away, but those were just a matter of details. I've been pleased.

We also had our microwave fixed last year, and they had to work hard to get that done, and they did get it fixed, and it still is fixed. The only thing with AHS is once you use their service, they start to hound you with emails and other promotional things. I don't like all that advertising that they send out afterwards. Other than that, my overall experience was satisfactory. I wouldn't say that AHS is the best, and I wouldn't say they're the worst.

I was surprised at how little Home Shield covered. I thought it was going to cover more than what they covered because it said it covers up to 5,000. When they gave the estimate, they were saying it doesn't cover this or that, and I ended up having to pay 7,000. So, I'm still debating about the value of service if I start to pay 7,000. I was hoping, as a peace of mind, that I didn't worry about stuff like that. They could improve the coverage.

Overall, it's a good experience with American Home Shield. We've had them for almost 14 years. Their customer service has been good. It's just for the last couple of times, their reps' accent was difficult to understand. I think they were outside of America. I have to ask them, "Please repeat what you said." Job-wise and quality-wise, there was no problem.

I like American Home Shield. The price is not bad when the claim is covered. It's always good to have a home warranty because you never know what can happen and everything is so expensive right now. But I'd tell others to do their research because sometimes American Home Shield is good and sometimes they're not. Half the time, you can't understand what they're saying. You got to keep asking.

Mid-April, they came back and said, “You're gonna to have to replace it.” So, I ordered my replacement. I was told, when they delivered the right replacement, they would install it. Those people showed up, said, “You have a plastic water line. We can install it.” They left my dishwasher in the middle of my garage. I had to call another company to come install it. Those people did, but they didn't pay them to haul off the old one. I pay them, so I put in the work claim, and they do all the work. But I did all the work. I ended up taking four days off work to try to get my dishwasher replaced. I put my claim in on February 18th, and it got replaced at the end of April.

When the Sears person came to initially work on my dishwasher, he was very nice. He told me, “They'll look for this part for 15 days. If, after 15 days, they can't find it, they'll reach out to you about replacement.” Never heard another word from Sears. When I call them, I can't get a real person on the phone. AHS would tell me what they were doing to fix it, but zero follow-up. I've been an AHS customer for 20 years. I will probably cancel my services with them.

Someone had introduced me to them before, and I already had somebody. I just decided to just give them a chance, see how that works, but it was very disappointing. They did their work, and they look for the lowest bid. Because of that, you get very poor service. I'm going to discontinue with them. If they said that they have to protect the customers and give them a peace of mind, for very sensitive work like this that could result in major issues, very sensitive work that requires local commission, like for code inspection, they should ensure that the people that they're contracting with, to go ahead and request permission from the city before they start any kind of work for the safety of the homeowner. AHS should take responsibility of that to make sure that the contractors follow the code regulations of the city that they're going to perform work in.

The repairman American Home Shield sent out had to be told three times to go in the roof to look at the AC units but instead of blowing it out through the system so that it would drain outside of the house, he just hooked up the hose outside and blew all the debris back into the attic. It was a complete miss in how to fix or prevent it from happening in the future.

The AC unit was also making noise and we've called out for service calls. Crispy Air was the most recent one. Every time the unit shuts off, you hear a vibration in the ceiling above you in the attic. I ended up calling two days before Crispy Air came out. I had another company that I paid out-of-pocket over $300 to diagnose what was going on with my air conditioning system. They found a capacitor had failed on or was failing in one of my outside units. In the ceiling, the blower motor was what was causing that rattle. This was two days before my most recent service fee was going to be collected. I called up American Home Shield and they said they could send somebody out. That guy came out from Crispy Air and said that it was not broken because the blower motor was still working. He wouldn't do anything about that.

I've got all this documentation from the other company and after talking to him, he flat out told me, "Unless it's completely broken, American Home Shield is never gonna fix it. I'll go ahead and replace the capacitor because I feel like you want me to do something.” He replaced the capacitor and gave me the little pamphlet from American Home Shield about a discount for replacing the air conditioning unit. He also said, "The ones that they do are really cheap, and they're not the top end. So, I wouldn't recommend doing that.”

I called up American Home Shield. I told them, 1, I don't think I should have to pay for the service call, and 2, I don't think I should have had to pay for my coverage that I'm trying to cancel. I've been a member more than 20 years with American Home Shield but they treated me like I was a completely worthless individual. They offered to discount my service, if I continued, 350 bucks that would come off of what I was paying for the next three months.

I told them I was done with them. I've had to have four service calls and no one solved it until this guy finally replaced the capacitor, but he still didn’t fix the AC unit in the attic. They said the best they could do was $119 refund. I apparently need to send an email to the CEO of American Home Shield and request the same information and relay this to them. I was asking for something reasonable. I told them realistically, I should get a refund going back to September for those three service calls, as well as my $300 I came out-of-pocket for, and the $100 for Crispy Air, who just confirmed everything that I've been being manipulated and lied to since September.

American Home Shield doesn't take any ownership on fixing something yet they've continuously raised my rates. I used to be an insurance agent, and we didn't sell a version similar to a home warranty company, so I sent all of my customers to American Home Shield, which was over 500 customers, and told them that would be a good option. My mom and my brother had it, I'm one of eight kids. I was a big advocate for them, and now I am an advocate against them. They're extremely disappointing.

I was with AHS before and then got back with them again. I left and came back. There are times when they have some vendors that are not the best. I got my bathroom done before this last claim. There was a leak in one of the bathrooms, and it took the company three times to send technicians. The work wasn't that hard, but the leak was leaking downstairs, and they couldn't stop it.

The person that they sent the first time didn't want to open up the wall. I don't know why. They sent the first person three times, and then they sent this other person, and he came in and got it done. But otherwise, some of the vendors, like United Air Temp, did work. My air conditioner should've been replaced. It took a year and a half, and they just kept coming back. Finally, I was like, "Don't send them back." When they sent another vendor, the other vendor was like, "Oh, you need a new air conditioner." Yep, that's what I thought.

I paid all this money for these people to come in here. They need to make sure that whatever's getting done is helping the customer. For that air conditioning thing, it took me almost two years, with constant callbacks. I've paid way too much money for these calls, and it didn't get fixed until I put my foot down. They should've initiated getting another vendor to come out, like that second opinion. Same thing with Brick Street, when they did the bathroom, and I called American Home Shield and said, "It's still not fixed."

Eventually, at some point, they should say, "Let me see who else I can send, another vendor, because this one doesn't seem to be fixing it," and then work it out with the vendor, saying, “You didn't get it done." I don't know what that looks like on their end. But for the customer aspect, I shouldn't have to keep. But regarding Appliance Magic, they've come twice. They've always come through, and they've done the work quickly and efficiently. Appliance Magic was very good. They asked for a picture, and I gave them a picture. They said, "Oh, this is easy to fix. I'll be there." Came, fixed, left, and it was done. I'm using the dishwasher again.

I don't have a problem with AHS. There are worse home warranty companies out there, and I had one. I'm okay with whatever I'm dealing with. It's expensive, but efficient.

There were three people involved: the original guy who came over to diagnose the problem, the guy who came in, installed the fan motor and left before I even knew he was here. Then the two guys who installed the return air, those guys stepped through my ceiling right above my desk and broke my ceiling. They had to hire a subcontractor to come and fix the ceiling. It was one thing after another. They came in and declined my plumbing. $2,000 later, I have another return air. My AC is working fantastically now, but it was expensive to get there.

They were fixing my drain. I didn't know that I had a drain problem. The condensation drains into a bathroom sink, and when he tried to adjust that, he broke the fitting, and it leaked really badly all over the inside underneath the sink in the cabinet. I had to have a bowl under there for a week and a half, waiting for that to get fixed. The Plumber came to fix that.

They did not have the fitting, a brass one. They left to go get it, but they never came back. About a week later, I finally followed up, and then they put me on the schedule the next day to come and fix that. The original issue was that the fan motor on my AC went out. It was a solid two weeks before everything was resolved, because the AC company broke my ceiling and they broke my sink, creating some problems.

But, everything is fixed now, and everything works great. But it was two weeks in the process. It was terrible. I recommend not using that AC company again. They did a good job at the end of the day. They just were sloppy in getting there. Full execution, end to end, everything works great. But it was a rough, very rocky road getting there.

American Home Shield has been great. They're very responsive, normally. Until this incident, all of the contractors they have brought in have been fantastic. I wasn't sure how this AC company got approved by American Home Shield, ‘cause American Home Shield’s standards have always been fantastic. They've always had the highest of highest and highest standards. And anybody that comes in and fixes anything, it's usually better than what you can make a phone call yourself and take care of. I've been using American Home Shield for 15 years, and this is the worst experience I've ever had with an AHS contractor.

American Home Shield sent a second person who said there was a piece of plastic stuck in the pump that he was able to remove, that he got the pump working and I didn't need it replaced. The first one didn't know what he was doing at all. There was a much quicker turnaround with the new pool guy, and he was helpful. It was just frustrating that it got to two people in two different occasions. I'm not supposed to find my own contractor, but this last time, I still had to do the legwork and figure out what was wrong.

We also had submitted a claim for our refrigerator not making ice and our dryer. A guy came out and said he needed a piece for the dryer, but he didn't have it. Meanwhile, I'd taken off work to be there during this five-hour window. He also said he couldn't fix the icemaker because it had to defrost, that it was frozen from the inside, so it was gonna take a long time. It was completely worthless. We had to reschedule. I've had to learn a lot about what's acceptable and read through what's covered. I had something cracked with the pool, but they said it wasn't covered. They could have told me that when I called in. We had our pump rebuilt in January by the same company that just came out in April and said that the pump was destroyed and they were not covering it.

I've been an American Home Shield customer for years and years and my payment went from 120 to 150, but I don't remember getting a notice that the price was increasing. It is a little bit more expensive to maintain it. I just haven't had the energy to find anybody else yet. Over the years, I'm paying more than I'm getting out of American Home Shield. Maybe at some point, it'll be positive for us. I'm still holding out because I haven't had a situation where they took care of something that was a major deal. Until now, it's always been things that could easily be paid for.

When I talked with somebody else that has the same type of voice, they also told me that it was covered and they would fix the ongoing process that I had. I also asked her twice and she said, "You do not have to come out of pocket for anything at all." When the Fix It guy came over there that American Home Shield suggested, he looked at it and then asked me, "What they told you?" I said, "Two women told me twice on the phone, I have nothing to worry about." So, he said, “That doesn’t sound right.” I said, "Well, you can call them." So, we sat in my living room and called some lady. I had them on a speaker phone. They told me that the two ladies gave me the wrong information. If so, that is American Shield's fault, not mine. She told me that I will come out of pocket all these. It was almost $3,000. I don't have that type of money. I didn't like that.

Once American Home Shield assigned somebody, they sent me a text and said it would be C & P Plumbing. Then a young lady from that office called me the next day and scheduled the appointment. The technician called me when he was on his way. They stayed in the loop with me. He replaced the faucet. It was all torn on to smithereens. Then he did something to the fill valve and it stopped making the noise for a couple days. But it's back making that noise again like it's gonna go bad. The leak downstairs was great for about a week and a half, but it's trickling now. It's been about a month and I was gonna call back to the company and report that it's not fixed. My toilet’s still leaking.

The problem I have is there's a disconnect with what the contractors can fix and what they get paid for. A lot of times, they don't wanna fix everything. They’d say American Home Shield is not gonna pay for that. It’s discouraging. I also had an issue with my dryer. The vendor didn't wanna fix it. American Home Shield kept making them come back out to do things until they said the dryer was shot. But American Home Shield didn't buy me a new one. I was upset with that. They always tell you, “If we can't fix it, we'll replace it.” That's a lie. On the higher dollar items, if they can't fix it, they're gonna give you out-of-pocket price that you got to pay to where you're basically paying a contractor. I don't like that part.

The price is too high for what American Home Shield is giving me. For I'm paying for, I should get an A-rated contractor every time who is knowledgeable. But they're sending me B- and C-rate contractors, where some of the others have sent D and F. I went through two home warranty companies. All of them advertise they'll do this and that but the last company I had was so full of garbage.

When my air conditioner went out, the first one I had wasn't paying for anything. I could have done the job and had $1,000 in my pocket for the portion they wanted to charge me to pay the contractor. I told them they could do the job for $4,000. I had a buddy who had American Home Shield and he was happy. I read a couple reviews and the reviews are good as well. That was why I went with them and out of all the warranty companies I dealt with, American Home Shield sends me reputable contractors. The other two that I dealt with, they sent me some clowns. They were sending their junior-most technicians who didn't know anything.

One of their technicians that they insisted on was where I had a problem with. They came out four times. They couldn't resolve the issue. I asked for a second opinion. He came in, and then they refused to take his opinion on it. The second technician was very good. The first technicians were horrible. That was the first choice by American Home Shield.

I like the service because it helps when something happened like that. Now, I would have paid over 10 grand if I had to get two new units. So, I just went ahead with the repair. They gave me an option where if I wanted I can go ahead and receive the money and get somebody to put a new unit in. They're gonna give me $1,000 something, which was nothing compared to what I had to pay.

The interaction was straightforward and very pleasant. There was nothing confusing. They took a lot of pictures, which they sent to American Home Shield. They also sent them to me. They outlined everything and showed us where the problems were, and then that was it. It was very low requirement for me. Other than just agreeing to the final out-of-pocket cost and then scheduling the work, there was nothing I needed to do at all.

The repair took a couple of weeks, but we ended up getting the hot water heater replaced completely. My experiences with American Home Shield has been super easy because you can submit most of the stuff online in terms of if you need a request. I've never really even had to interact with American Home Shield. Everything is done through their website, which is great but there are people available to answer questions, which I have had to call for questions about stuff. In terms of getting serviced or getting things fixed, it's all done through the website, and it's super easy. Overall, having American Home Shield gives me peace of mind. It's super simple to use. They seem to do a good job. I've had no issues personally using the product.

When I had the problem just recently, American Home Shield said they had somebody working in the area in the morning, and they could get them there later in the afternoon. Their customer service is excellent. When I call, they know me. They stick to their word. They make sure they come out and take care of the issue. When we couldn't do anything more about my heat pumps, they replaced them. They have put in new heat pumps upstairs and downstairs and did a great job. They were there when I needed them, and they covered my claim.

I called the delivery company, and they said they don't install. They just deliver. So, I called American Home Shield. They eventually got ahold of somebody who would install it. Between the time I talked with them and I talked with an installer, and the time the dishwasher was delivered, it was determined that the delivery company does install. The bottom line is incomplete communication. Once they got it here and got it installed, it was great. The installers who came were in and out. It took within 30 minutes, and it was done. I felt bad for the guy that was supposed to come out and install it. This is after American Home Shield told me someone else had to install it. He made arrangements to change his extended weekend vacation so he could get here knowing that it had taken so long to get this taken care of.

I also had a home air conditioner problem. It vacillated. They repeatedly said it was covered, and then it was not covered. Somebody came out, and it cost me $1,600 because they wouldn't cover the refrigerant. Then they said, “We'll repair the part that's bad, but it's only warrantied for 30 days. And if it goes bad after 30 days, you're going to have to have us out again, which means another $1,600 to replace the Freon.” I was thinking that’s not warranty. Then they wrote back and said I was covered. I talked with them on the phone and they said I was covered and that they'd replace it.

Then I got another note from somebody else saying I was not covered. So, it went back and forth and back and forth. I'm still debating whether I'm gonna take them to small claims court. I ended up paying somebody completely different to do the work, and I know it got done well. That was how that warranty protection ended up. I just wish they’d communicate better. In addition to the $1,600, I had to play the deductible of $125 and I got nothing. My experience was mediocre. They need to communicate better.

As far as American Home Shield, if the service was just a little quicker, I'd be happy. It takes individual follow-up on my part to get in contact with the specialists that are approved by American Home Shield. After I submit the claim, they will tell me who my assigned person is. I don't hear anything from them and I always wound up having to reach out to the company. It's every single time I've had a claim. I've had to reach out to the company before they establish a schedule with me, and it really should be the other way. AHS should have some kind of quality control over the time frame from when the claim is submitted to when an appointment is scheduled. If I don't have a scheduled appointment within 72 hours of filing my claim, I'm not happy, and that's generally what happens.

The technician that came out to work on my stuff was overwhelmingly professional. They did an absolutely amazing job from start to finish. From the time that they called me right before they got here to when they were here, how professional they were, and in my house, when they got done and left, hands down, they did an excellent job. The only caveat was having to reach out to get scheduled.

What I like most about AHS is I have a peace of mind. I know that if one of my appliances goes down, I'm paying 100 bucks, and it's either gonna get fixed or replaced. That sits well with me. I've seen the cost of my plan over the years just rise. If I set something up, I would like for that to be my price. When I first started, it was $72. Now, it's almost 100 bucks. I get that costs go up and they got to pass it on to the consume, but at the end of the day, the expectation stays the same.

In all actuality, what more are they doing for me to warrant an increase in that product? Their services haven't changed. They're communicating with third parties to come and fix my stuff, and that's it. The only thing that I would say might change is the fact that the items that they might replace are a little bit more expensive. Even then, they set parameters on what they're willing to replace with. So, it's not like whenever I have to replace a dishwasher, I'm getting the Cadillac of dishwashers. They are assigning me one that's in line with the capabilities of what I had before. They replaced my washer one time with the same washer. That was awesome.

The timing has to be improved because it takes a long time to approve and get claims fixed. It takes almost 15 to 20 days, and that's not acceptable. We have a thing every month as a service fee, but they are not on time, meaning they send the request, the person comes within 48 hours, and they schedule an appointment that will take, again, three to four days. And once they come and have a look at it, again, they have to go and approve that information. They put it into the system, and then the approver has to approve it. Then they order the parts. Once they get the parts, it may take almost 15 to 20 days to fix one issue. Last year, a water heater broke. It took almost one and a half months to fix that in the cold winter weather.

I submitted the claim online and it was easy to get to and understand. I didn’t have to call anybody and was able to fill out the details. The contractor texted me back and said when they would be there and at what time. The guy called when he was on his way and when he was down the street and said he would be here in 15 minutes. I was skeptical about using American Home Shield for the first time, but it worked out perfectly. The contractor was upfront about the cost before they arrived. They told me it would be around $100 plus tax for the service, and the parts did not cost anything extra. I would highly recommend American Home Shield and do it again with them, no questions asked. I would tell a friend to call them and let them know I sent them. Hopefully, they would be able to repair the issue one way or another.

I rated the technician who came as 1. When they completed it, I kept saying, “They're not working.” He just took a picture, snd went back, with a bad attitude. I put that also in the written email. But once I rated them as 1, they called me back. I said, “You wouldn't call me back.” They wanted me to change the rating, because it would damage their business. I said, “You are not addressing the problem, but then you wanted me to change the rating. I never received a call once from you to give me an update or address the problem, but you want me to change the rating because it's gonna damage your business.” That was crazy.

I said, "I don't care what they said they put in. I paid thousands of dollars to have my kitchen color-coordinated the way I wanted it and you are not putting that faucet in." He said, "I have to go back and ask again." I was getting a little heated because insisted on putting in this chrome faucet. He left again and never came back. Never called me, never said anything was going on. I called AHS and they said, "What we're going to do is reimburse you for the amount of the faucet." They texted me on my email, which was nice, and said, "Here is the information we need from you." What they needed was all my banking information. I said, "I do not put that online. I do not like doing that on an email. Then somebody could get into it and have all my information and go to my banking account."

They said, "We'll take about 30 days or so to send you the amount of that money." I said, "Okay." Meanwhile, I don't have any hot water and my faucet doesn't work. And this was after three weeks of going through this thing with AHS going back and forth. The people they've been sending me lately have been terrible. I still haven't received the check from AHS. I had get a faucet with my own money, have a man come and put it in for me who knew what that he was doing, and it's fine.

I had another contractor come out for the water heater. This was five years ago. He put in the water heater. Cost me $1,000 to put in this updated water heater. American Home Shield does is replace basic, which is fine with me. The tech came out and said, "You got to get this permit and you got to get that permit and you got to update." Okay, I understand part of that, but $1,000 later. Meanwhile, I found out he did not strap the top because it wasn't the law then, but now it is, that you have to strap this little unit that they put up on top, which is a heater element. I smelled gas in my garage. They came out and put a thing in. It's like a rubber tubing that goes from one place to the other place. They put it in backwards. And there was something else that wasn't connected somewhere. They came back because the guy who came at the time before turned up my water heater.

The water was burning almost. It was up so high. I got a popped pipe in my house. I have a flood in my house because it got so hot. Cost me $8,000 because I had to pay for it. But I couldn't prove they did it. And on the back of their sheet, it says, "We're not responsible for anything once we leave the house." This other company came out for the water heater and he adjusted something on it. I turned it down to vacation and it was still on the hot side. It's not supposed to be hot on vacation. He turns it up and fiddled around with something. I had told him to come in and put his hand under my faucet before this whole thing started. He didn't. He said, "Yes, it's warm. Warmer than it should be." He went out and fiddled with it. Came back into the kitchen, put his hand under the water and the water is not running. The hot is gone.

I said, You were just here and it was just fine. Can you fix this?" He said, "No, I only do water heaters." That is when that problem started. He only does water heater. He's a plumber. I've had some bad luck with the four times I've had AHS do the work. But now, I'm older and wiser and I know what to ask for. Just give me what I got. Don't charge me $1,000 more and don't burn up my pipes. I've been with them for 10 years and haven't had these problems that I've had recently. They ought to check out these places that they send and the people they send. They would say, "We have one in another area." I don't know about the people even in my area. That's what AHS' job is. Tell me which one is a good one and which one has bad recommendations before they send them into my home from now on.

I pulled out my cell phone, and I said, “Let me just look at Home Depot, what an opener costs." I saw openers out there from the low 200s to you can get a Cadillac maybe at $400. I said, “What is the rest of this covering?" He said, "You can get that door opener, but then it's $450 for labor." I said, "That's okay." Later that day, I went to Lowe's. I bought the door opener for 279 and Lowe's had an installer for $175 come out. It was about 450 altogether. But they wanted to charge me 1,175. I asked the guy from 495, I said, "Is the home warranty company going to even pay for the installation even if I bought the door opener?” But it was like the guy didn't want to do anything.

I'm sitting here, I'm paying 120-something dollars a month with American Home Shield. I hadn't gotten around to it, but I'm at the point now where I might as well look for another warranty company. I couldn't even get anything from them from a labor standpoint. The opener had to be replaced. I’ve been with AHS for twenty years, and the rate’s been going up and up every year. I'm probably going to cancel them and start the research process because it's just not beneficial when they're not covering stuff that I need them to cover.

The only thing I didn’t like was the window of time when the techs could come out, which was an 8:30 to 3:00 timeframe. And for the big issues, not knowing how much American Home Shield covers. For instance, if my furnace goes out, not knowing how much that will be covered or how much they will replace for the bigger items that just go out and need a replacement, is kind of up in the air. American Home Shield finds contractors for you who are reputable. But the price keeps going up. I have been paying for this since I got my home, and it started at 70. Now, I'm probably at 100.

I've been a customer with American Home Shield for almost nine years since I've had the house. It was recommended to me. I'm a Realtor and another agent referred it to me for one of my clients, and then I've been using them ever since. The prices have increased, but the cost of living has increased so, it's not really a complaint. It just does seem to get a little pricey for the service. I've had a few clients end their relationship with them because $150 every time someone comes out can get a little pricey. But with this latest service with the refrigerator, kudos to American Home Shield because they have that company in place.

A few years ago, there was a different company for appliances, and I really want to say kudos to American Home Shield for getting this other company. I don't know if they still have both but this company was amazing. It's all about who you partner with when it comes to these kind of situations, and they really partnered with the right company. It shows that they care about the customers. It was really great.

If I have an HVAC issue, they use one particular company. The last time I had them out, it was a really good experience, one young gentleman in particular, whom I've dealt with a couple of times. Before that, I had a shoddy experience with that HVAC situation that caused the condensation pipe to come loose. Because our HVACs are in our attic, it dripped through and destroyed the ceiling above the bathroom.

The company can be hit or miss, depending on who you have out looking at it. So, when you want to reach somebody to resolve the situation, then you have to deal with this HVAC company that is regional. Then, to go through American Home Shield to find somebody else to do the work is virtually impossible. One more thing, it's that when we were going through this whole situation, where it took months to get the repair done, questions answered, it seemed like every time I called, I was starting at square one because I had a new person every single time. I couldn't get the same person to work with me.

But we've had really good luck with AHS. Our pool pump and mechanicals on our pool are covered. And the gentleman who works on that has been really great, and I haven't had any issues. Also, their price is not terrible.

American Home Shield sent out Repair Rite and the only thing that concerned me was that they sent out a different guy than the one who was on the message about who was coming. He didn't wear a uniform and didn’t come in a marked car. But the guy was able to evaluate it quickly and everything turned out okay. He didn't have to even stay here very long.

My dishwasher was 11 years old and AHS took extra time while I was without a dishwasher because they had to send someone out to evaluate it. It went back to AHS either giving me a new one at a certain level they would allow or allowing me to pay the difference for another one. I'd be paying more if I paid the difference, which was very odd. The options requiring me to pay extra were a bit much. But it worked out. I opted to take a cash payment because I could buy a dishwasher that was good and the cash option helped alleviate some of the situation. My only thing is that the retail value of the dishwasher that I bought originally was more than the one that was offered.

I’ve been with American Home Shield for three years and this was our first claim. They cover quite a bit, but there should be considerations given for plumbing that is outside the home and not a city water supply, like a well, because that's what I have. If I had known about it, I might have done something such as a better connection of my well and plumbing to my house. But the reps were very nice and did their best to help me and did what they needed to do to go through their processes to escalate. The price has gone up every year since I've had the policy with AHS. It started at $70 a month and it's now $100, which is very disappointing. Especially when I haven't had any claims, that’s not right. But I’m right on with everything. After going through a claim and being with American Home Shield for a few years, it’s worth it to have something to lean on.

So far, everything I've had to have done through American Home Shield had been fine. I haven't had an issue that's not been covered, so I have nothing to complain about at this point. For my personal home, I have another warranty company, and I'm not real thrilled with them. With American Home Shield, I like the fact that if an issue comes up in the middle of the night, I can enter a claim online and it's accepted.

Also, I am told one thing in a verbal conversation and then receive some sort of written communication that contradicts the verbal statement. This led to my having a repair to my AC system that I would told would be covered but then was not. I was given, in writing fortunately, the information about cancelling my plan, and that requires a phone call. But there is a specific person I must speak to, they are never available for the phone, the agent on the line PROMISES AND GUARANTEES that I will receive a call back to complete the matter within 24 hours; this happens repeatedly with no call back. This means I am paying (double over the previous month by the way) for a contract I cannot use as I do not trust the company.

Sadly as I had a more positive experience with them on my last home 25 years ago. I advise others NOT to trust American Home Shield. They will say anything to keep you under contract and will not deliver reliably. I have had to tell my bank to not allow any further charges from them as there is no way to manage this on my own online and the phone calls are ignored. Can you tell I'm a bit frustrated? That's after spending hours on this!

We pushed back and tried to work toward a more reasonable solution. I even took the time to review the contract and sent a written request citing their language around when replacement may be appropriate if a repair is not reasonably feasible. I asked a straightforward question multiple times: what are we supposed to do without a refrigerator for 2–3 weeks? Unfortunately, we never received a clear or helpful answer.

Instead of working with us, AHS seemed unwilling to consider the situation or offer a practical alternative like replacement or reasonable compensation. The experience felt very one-sided and frustrating. Customer service was also difficult at times due to communication barriers, which made an already frustrating situation even harder to resolve. Overall, this experience did not match the level of support or convenience AHS promotes. I would strongly encourage others to read the fine print and consider whether this type of service meets their expectations.

Updated on 05/06/2026: This situation has gone from bad to worse. I was charged for a service request on March 17, with a visit scheduled from Sears (Ca-North)-3 on March 25. The day before the appointment, they canceled. I contacted AHS to request a different service provider instead of Sears, but the next day AHS gets Sears (Ca-North)-3 rescheduled for May 5. We drove 180 miles for the appointment, only to have it canceled again. To make matters worse, AHS is now trying to charge me again for the incomplete March 15 service request. This is completely unacceptable and it is dishonest.

Original Review: We purchased a cabin in the mountains and were advised to get home warranty coverage, so we chose American Home Shield (AHS). In hindsight, it has not been a good investment. One major limitation is that AHS does not allow you to choose your repair provider. Even though I confirmed with several local appliance repair companies that they work with AHS, my service requests have consistently been assigned to Sears (CA-North)-3. Unfortunately, the service quality has been very poor. The technician misplaced screws during a repair and only addressed the issue after my wife specifically asked if he had replacements available.

Because the cabin is 180 miles away, every service appointment requires a dedicated trip during the week. To make matters worse, appointments have been canceled with little notice—twice on separate occasions—causing additional inconvenience and expense. Overall, the level of service we’ve received through AHS has been disappointing. Before committing to a home warranty, I strongly recommend confirming which service providers they actually dispatch in your area. Otherwise, you may end up paying for a service that doesn’t meet your expectations.

I’ve had American Home Shield for a long time. I don't have that many claims, but the ones that I have had, they take care of them right away when I call. They call somebody and somebody calls me right back within that day or the very next day, depending on when I call. American Home Shield has good people. I will never change companies because they have always done me right.

Clear Flow came out, and they told me that I needed a new hot water heater, and they wanted $3,200, which AHS denied. So, they had a second person come out. CK Plumbing came out, and they said that it was something else going on. This claim was put in on the 4th of April, and it's been over a month, and I had not gotten service on that water heater yet. CK made a diagnosis, and they never submitted a report. I've called American Home Shield umpteen times to try to get this rectified, and each time, they tell me they're going to reach out to the company, and once the company gets back to them, they will get in contact with me. They keep telling me to call back in 48 hours like what I've been doing for the past month, and I have still not gotten this rectified. So, I did tell them that my intention was to leave the company and look for another provider because this is not fair.

I've tried to reach out to the company that came out. They don't answer the phone. I know that American Home Shield also reached out to them. They called them several times while they had me on the phone, and they were not able to reach them. My hot water heater is still not working properly, and it's been a month that I've had to deal with this here, which I shouldn't have to deal with it, because that's why I have a home warranty company.

AHS said that they couldn't send anybody else out until they got a report from CK. So, I have to wait until this person decides that they're going to submit a report. In the meantime, on the 15th of this month is when the money comes out of my account, which is over $200. I'm not going to allow that to happen because why should I when it hasn’t been what it should have been?

As far as submitting a claim, normally, I call and speak with someone directly. They address my concern. They have someone call me, and it should be taken care of, but this incident wasn't. I had another claim. There was a clog in my drain. They sent the same company out, CK Plumbing. They said they were not able to unclog it because it was grease in the drain, and that's what's causing the problem. They said because it was grease in the drain, American Home Shield was not going to cover anyone else coming out to take care of it. So, I called my own plumber. They came out, and within the first five minutes, they were able to clear the drain. I had to pay a total of $740 for that one visit. I called the American Home Shield and they did nothing. I even had the report of the plumber that came out to my house, and they said they snaked it and the drain has been fine ever since.

They told me that I would be contacted the day before to tell me when they would be out. But I never got that. My AC went out on Friday morning and they could have got out here on Friday afternoon because with the heat in Texas, that's an emergency. But they didn't treat it as an emergency, so we waited three and a half days. On Monday morning, I called them as they opened and I told them what was going on. I told them nobody had given me a call and nobody texted me anything though they stated this was supposed to happen. They said they were gonna try to get ahold of the person that would come out so I waited. They came back on the phone and said, "We sent a text message. They're not answering, but they will come out today.”

At 12:00, still nobody called, still no answer, still nothing. I called them back and I was irate. Their headquarters is up near Dallas, so that's five hours away. I couldn't just go there in person. I sent another text message to the tech. At that point, they were trying to get the tech on the line. As they were talking to me, I got a call from the tech. I asked him how many times did his home office contact him and he said it was the second one so they lied. This company dangles a fishing line out in front of you and just string you along. The tech said he wouldn't be able to get out until 5:00, 6:00 but he came out before 5:00. He sucked out the line to see if it was clogged. It was not clogged. An hour and a half later, it started spilling up again.

I texted him back and he said he would escalate to his supervisor. He didn't come out until the next day. But I had cleaned it out and I got it back working. When the supervisor came out, he said he was not seeing anything wrong. I told him the refrigerant in the AC was low. He said American Home Shield only covers $10 for the refrigerant so it was gonna be $120 something. It's worthless service, so I will be changing AHS.

I was disappointed with the process when we had to replace our heating system in January. They only gave us $800, and the heat alone was going to cost $5,000. I ended up replacing the heating and air conditioning systems just so it would all be replaced. I was not happy about that. The contractor they used would not give me an itemized breakdown of what they were charging for. I had three other people come out and give us estimates, and they were inflating the costs to be able to get more, and they wanted us to pay that. American Home Shield would not cover the additional charges, and if they were not even gonna tell me what I was paying for, I decided to get it done myself.

In the end, American Home Shield still would have only paid $800 even if I had gone through their contractor, and I would have had to pay extra. I got a much better unit by doing it myself, so overall, I haven’t been happy with the experience. American Home Shield pushed the price way up from last year. They got it down for me, but it’s still very high, and I could have gotten it cheaper through somebody else.

AHS ended up charging us another 125, but at least they gave us a credit for $75 'cause the whole ticket was past the 30 days. And I appreciate that. But if the ice maker works for a little bit, and then it stops, and then fills up the tray with water, I guess there is a problem. Also, our first-year rate was a low fee and then it doubled. We've been with AHS for a year, and then it automatically renewed in March. Then surprise, it's doubled without anybody saying anything from the very beginning. But their reps have been polite on the phone.

AG came out for our washer. We got a code, and it wasn’t draining the load. So, whenever the load was finished, the clothing was so wet that it would take hours to dry. The young guy looked at the washing machine and said parts were needed. They ordered the parts and the following week, he came in and installed them. He wasn't there for very long. He said we were all set, and he left. But I did not ask him to run the washing machine. That night, my wife ran a load and the washing machine worked, but it sounded like a locomotive was in our laundry room. It was so loud and there was water leaking out from underneath. So we called AG about the issue, but no one had come out yet. They said a technician would come once the parts come in. We asked what parts they were talking about because the guy had not been out to find out what the secondary problem was. Communicating with them was difficult at best.

The guy finally came and AG called and said the parts were ready. We were thinking about what parts they could be talking about. If it weren't so irritating and time-consuming, it would be funny. The guy brought something in when he came out, and half an hour later, he said there were some problems with the washing machine. He recommended that we replace it. This was on a Friday, and on Monday, we received an email or letter stating that they would not replace the washing machine because of a clause in the contract. They said the drum was broken due to abuse, so the replacement would not be covered.

The washing machine was working, except that it was draining, before the guy came out. We were back and forth with people and finally, I got a guy to throw me a bone. He said they are not gonna charge the service fee, but they can't send somebody else out to get a second opinion unless a new claim is opened, which is another 100 bucks. I didn't feel like throwing good money after that, so I was on the phone last week for probably 40 minutes with a senior supervisor. He gave me a $100 credit for the service charge. But he was reading from a script and there was nothing personalized about it. We waited three times with a four-hour window and now, they are telling me that nothing can be done. So, I thanked him for his time and told him I’m not happy.

When the technician came back, he told us he was going to recommend replacing the washer. But in his report, he stated that the damage was due to abuse and because of a clause in the contract, they were not going to replace it. I felt like he falsified the report and lied to us instead of being upfront at the door and saying there was nothing they could do because of the clause. My wife later looked online and found other reviews describing similar experiences involving falsifying reports and lying. Because of everything that happened, my wife contacted the credit card company to dispute the monthly fee, which was just under $100. We felt it was fair to try to get one or two months credited back since we had received some semblance of service before this issue.

American Home Shield is very responsive when we submit a claim. We call and we’ve got the lingo down and we know what to expect. The rep would say one of the repair shops will be contacting us. And the companies always come out in a timely fashion. We're not big on the four-hour window, but it's the way in their world. So, I get it. They make the appointments. They're good about following up and saying okay. Most of the time, our technician is 15 minutes away, which is very helpful. But that’s where it ends. Everything else is not good at all. Price-wise, AHS is just like every other insurance company. If you make a claim, your next month’s bill is gonna be higher. Originally, it was 29.95. Then you make a claim and it's $40. Then you make another claim and it's $60 a month. We're up to just under 100.

I'm in the service business and I know customer service backwards, forwards, and in between. So, if I were the president of American Home Shield, heads would be rolling. They have no idea of the definition of customer service. They're robotic and unyielding. I would never recommend that somebody engage American Home Shield in business, and we certainly are no longer a part of their insurance company. If I had the time and the energy, and it was worthwhile, I would sue them for several different things. But I'm not litigious, and I don't have the time or the energy.

The second tech came. It was very cold in the Palmdale area. He fixed the heating system. But he did not fix the AC. I called back. The third tech came. I paid again. He said it was the mess with the wiring. I made a complaint every time. They need the two people right now to finalize and to approve this. Nice people. The third one, it became rocket science. They were going to review the estimate, but the kind of bureaucracy that you will obtain in the history of the former Soviet Union. It’s terrible service AHS is providing. This is torturing people. They need to improve their services.

I have not reached back to the vendor yet. The person I was speaking to said that after the day of our phone call, he was going to be on leave and he would call me. I was trying to be patient. Because I was already at a point where the food had spoiled. I went out and bought another small refrigerator for the basement to tide me over in the interim. But it means going to the grocery store every other day because it's a small refrigerator.

Submitting the claim with AHS is okay. It's a little frustrating because they only ask for minimal information when you do it online, and they collect the fee. But then, when they're not able to provide the service, there's no way to get the feedback. This brand of refrigerator, apparently, is a little bit obscure. And had I not already paid the fee, I would have sought other providers for service. But I was already committed to working with American Home Shield.

I felt a sense of urgency with the refrigerator and the loss of food. I asked to speak to a supervisor, and they told me that my contract states that they will provide service within 24 to 48 business hours. So this happened on a Saturday afternoon. That meant I wasn't getting any service until Monday at the earliest, possibly Tuesday. And that was a little disheartening, given the kind of appliance it was. I spoke with someone. She really was not giving a supervisor vibe. She was not particularly personable and didn't have a very customer service tone. But she said she was an escalation specialist.

It's troublesome that when you have an issue or a concern, reaching a supervisor or any other means of communicating your concerns is very limited. For example, I asked for an email address or even a street mail address that I could send a letter outlining my concerns and they said there is no customer service email and there is no address. It's a business. They have to have an address. But more than one person told me that.

I asked American Home Shield to assign a different contractor because the first contractor they assigned eventually called and wanted to know what the situation was and what was happening. I explained that I was looking to upgrade the system from the old refrigerant because I had heard the newer systems are more cost-effective. Over the last few years, a few technicians who came out for the same issue had told me the system was old and that I would probably need to upgrade it within the next few years. But with American Home Shield, the contractors seem a little shady. I’ve had other contractors come out for other things, and they were trying to get over on people. One contractor came out when my hot water heater went bad and wanted to charge me an additional $1,600 to replace it. I talked to a friend of mine who is a master plumber, and he did it for $600. Somebody needs to look at these contractors.

Submitting the claim is easy because you go to the website. But when I called and tried to explain to the customer service rep what the first technician had told me about speaking with American Home Shield regarding a possible upgrade, she told me that the technicians had said the coils were bad. I was trying to tell her I didn’t want to just fix the coils again, because the last time that happened, they ended up replacing the whole handler upstairs. I said I was just looking to do a full new system. But she kept saying they would need to send someone out again to do another estimate. Then a new contractor called me today and said he would call me back after getting more information, so I’m not really sure where I stand right now.

I would probably just look on Google, and have somebody check the contractors and see the negative comments. I went on Google for the first contractor that AHS assigned me, and people said they didn’t get back to them for a whole week and didn’t install things properly. Sure enough, those people didn’t get back to me. When contractors are assigned, the assumption is that they are responsible, but that’s not always the case.

My wife upgraded the warranty so it remains to be seen. I’ve noticed that the contractors come out here and sometimes want to do things that probably don’t need to be done or add extra work. I was a contractor before, so I know when they’re trying to do that. If I see they’re just trying to make a little bit of money, that’s life. This is the first big thing that I'm gonna do with American Home Shield, and I've been with them for probably over a decade. So, it all depends on what happens with this because I don't know what to expect anymore. I just got home a month ago from the hospital and I had to deal with no heating and no air conditioning. So, I’m just putting up with it. It’s just a waiting game.

As a service, American Home Shield is fantastic. As a homeowner, everybody should have it. But there is kind of that balance between cost and the pain associated with using it. It's tipping the scales for me. 13 years and two houses at the same time. It has tipped the scales that I'd rather just put that money in an account and use it for repairs.

I always have to call a representative when I have a claim. Their online portal is very narrow and, typically, doesn't cover most of the problems. Some of their representatives are good. A lot of them are scripted, and so they take a lot longer than necessary, but that isn't necessarily specific to American Home Shield. It seems to be a call center standard. The call takes so much longer because they can't just say, “Okay, thank you.” They have to say this whole script. It's frustrating.

My primary residence was in an area that was more densely populated, more service providers to choose from, but the service the area where I am now, there's much fewer contractors, sometimes none. Sometimes they assign contractors that aren't appropriate for the type of service request. I have had in both homes boilers and, for whatever reason, especially with call centers, the concept of a boiler is unknown. And so, it takes a lot longer to navigate, to explain. I read the contract before I put in a claim, but yet, I feel that many times I'm having to explain the coverage. In the contract, it's covered, but just from their frame of reference or experience, because it's unfamiliar, they'll say that it's not. So, it takes a lot longer than necessary.

My most recent service requests have been frustrating because the service provider does not communicate with me in a timely manner, or does not communicate. It's been very frustrating. Not with the actual technicians. Very rarely, over all the years, have I had an issue with a technician. Typically, the issue has been with American Home Shield representatives or with the service provider.

When I joined American Home Shield, I was active duty, assigned overseas, communicating with them. That was very apparent. I don't know at the time if they offered a military discount, but I ask every single organization that I interface with, or if it's not stated, I ask. And recently, I discovered that they offer a military discount. American Home Shield has become very expensive, and everything has become expensive, so I understand that, but they had an advertisement saying that they offered 20% off to active duty and veterans. And when I called, they were like, “You're not eligible for that because it's only available to new customers, which I find ridiculous. It seems to be a very, very, very narrow marketing ploy. It is a bait-and-switch tactic.

Apart from all my other issues, it has been a good service for me. I have relied on it, especially when I was overseas. But I don't understand. They offered me a token credit for one year, but I renew every single year. Every single year, it's a new contract. I don't understand why they would not then say, “All right. Well, your contracts in effect then, but we'll start the discount for the next term.”

American Home Shield has a very limited service request profile online, it doesn't reflect what the coverages actually are. I have yet to be able to submit a service request with their online tool without having to call. Their software is terrible. Whatever is listed in my contract is covered items should be reflected. I should be able to click on it. There should be submenus. If I'm saying plumbing, there should be submenus on whether or not it's this or that, or this or that. It's not. It almost feels as if it's discouraging you. It feels as if it discourages people like, “Oh, this isn't covered.” Because a lot of people don't actually read their coverage. They don't actually read the contract.

My sister also has American Home Shield, and she was not aware of things that are covered, because when she goes to look at it, and I was like, “No.” I said, “Send me your contract.” Because she's in a different state. She may have a different plan. And I said, “Send me your contract.” And I told her, I said, “No, this is covered. This is covered. This is covered.” It feels as if their webpage is used as a barrier so that people don't put in service request. It is not to enhance or streamline or make anything more efficient or user-friendly.

For example, you have either hot water or steam boilers. But online, if I were to do a service request for a boiler, it's only steam. But then there is hot water heater. I don't have a steam boiler. I have a hot water heater, but my boiler provides hot water heat. It is both, but you get the wrong provider. And I have to qualify every assigned service provider, because as soon as they say, “Oh, I've assigned somebody,” I have to contact them and say, “Do you work on boilers?” “No, I don't.” “Okay.” So, not only then I have to call back American Home Shield, say, “This provider doesn't work on boiler.” They're like, “Oh, well, we have to wait. They have to tell us.” I'm like, “Okay.” So, then I have to call back the provider, say, “Could you please communicate with American Home Shield that you do not work on my equipment?”

Then they'll assign someone else. Again, they don't work on boilers. They don't work on boilers. What I've had to do is, if I know that there is a specific provider who works on boilers, I have to request them. It just makes it easier. But again, this is my time. And again, I can't use the webpage. So, that's why I rate it so low. It's a covered item. But yet, I not only have to spend extra time with the online thing to try and see if I can put in a service request for this specific issue, but then I'm educating the people online by saying, “No, this provider doesn't do this,” or, “This provider,” or “It's not a steam boiler.”

I recently had a service request and radiators are part of a heating system. Yet, I had to go back and forth. It even got escalated because American Home Shield says, “We don't cover those. We don't cover that. We don't cover that.” I told them, “But you do. You cover my boiler heating system and radiators, and the pipes that lead to them are part of the heating system. It's more plumbing than anything, but it's not plumbing.” It took me two days and four calls and a couple of emails just to finally get somebody who acknowledged that it was a covered item. That's the best par for the course with me. I know it's covered because my contract says it's covered, but they don't know the contract.

Despite repeated calls to customer service, we are still waiting for a final decision on this claim. The lack of accountability and communication has been extremely frustrating, especially with young children in the home and multiple service visits creating ongoing disruption. At this point, we are trying to understand whether this is an isolated experience or part of a larger pattern. If you have had similar issues with this company, how was your situation resolved? Or are you still waiting as well?

I called multiple times getting the same runaround. I requested to talk to a supervisor or someone else and they could only "put in a ticket" for me to talk to someone, but couldn't give me direct contact information for any other department. After three weeks of zero movement, I finally decided to try and cancel my plan because it clearly did not do anything for me. I was on hold for over an hour with them before it automatically switched to the survey and hung up. My time and loyalty was of zero value to them. Since I'm calling them back now, I have had another hour to write this review.

I also got a phone call last week that American Home Shield was sending out a second person for a second opinion to look at my washing machine, and that's supposed to be sometime today. They said I could either have a second opinion or they would give me back the $100 I paid for the technician to come out the last time as my deductible. I was a customer of American Home Shield for 12 years. I had them back in 2007 and when I purchased the house, it came with it. I had no problem when I used them back then, and for 12 years, I really haven't had any problem until this.

Overall, American Home Shield is responsive. The only downside is that on the weekend, we have not been able to get anyone scheduled for an emergency. In previous years, the air conditioner went out on a Friday night after hours and I was not gonna get a call to schedule until Monday. Then, nobody will be out there till Tuesday, at the earliest. And that was in the middle of summer in Arizona. But other than that, AHS has been good. The customer service reps have been able to help and the price is comparable to any other service like that.

I called them back because I thought that a number came through from an 800 number, and it was them, but a woman told me that it's still in limbo right now, and that they would call me back yesterday. So in the mean time, I have no refrigerator and I can't buy anything that's got to go in the refrigerator. And this has been going on for over two months.

This is the last time that I'll be using them, because I got a few friends that have Choice Home Warranty and they never had a problem. So, I'm going to switch over to Choice. Because you can't go two months without a refrigerator. Aside from that, Sears subcontracts guys who cancel appointments and tell you they're going to be there at 3:00, but they're not there at 3:00. Then they tell you they're going to come at 5:00, but they don't come at 5:00. So, you're waiting around all day and you lose a day's work. The people that American Home Shield contracts to do the repairs are subpar and they can't make a decision because they're waiting to hear back from the warranty company. It's a whole three-ring circus.

Other than that, I always call in to submit my claims and the people that you're speaking to barely speak any sort of English. You're trying to explain to them what's wrong, then they're just trying to put in a claim and get you off-line, and they're not listening to what you have wrong. Half of the time, when the person's calling you up to come and service, he has no idea what's going on because the reps don't know how to punch it in correctly. So, if you call them up for a refrigerator, they'll put in a service request for a refrigerant system. Also, I don't even believe that they're in the United States and that's the problem. Then, when you log in on their website to see if your service is closed or to see your appraisal or what the guy wrote, you can't even do that. All you see is that it's an open claim, then it'll say “Closed claim.” So there's lack of information.

American Home Shield charges you $132 to make the call to come out, and 100 and something dollars a month. So in one year, if you put all that money aside in a savings account, you could buy a $400 refrigerator or a $380 dishwasher. With Choice Home Warranty, from what I understand from people that have it, there are no questions asked and they do things quickly. They are cheaper, too.

American Home Shield does what they promise. But it's hit-or-miss with them depending on who they send out. Some of the “professionals” American Home Shield sent out were less than. We had a contractor out to clean the dryer vent. They did not come out with the correct equipment. They wanna use our ladder. The guy also left a very large coffee mug and we had to climb up on our ladder and pull it out of there. A contractor also made eight visits before they fixed another issue. We were not pleased with them at all. The guy kept trying to divert the problems and telling us we don't have enough insulation. We told him it's the same amount of insulation we had last year when it was working. We also did a claim for the microwave and three months in, they were still wanting to redo the microwave. By the time they finished up, we had already bought a little standby microwave.

But the plumber who found the dishwasher leak was good. A contractor also had to come out for the refrigerator. The ice maker went out. Instead of making us wait the 26 weeks of lead time on getting the parts as we had to replace the entire refrigerator door for our ice maker, they offered us cash so we could go find a refrigerator, which is what we did.