American Home Shield

I think people should think twice before spending $300 on a home warranty that won't cover the most common and basic problems.

AHS called to schedule a second opinion appointment so my husband, a doctor, took an afternoon off to wait for this company. No show, No call, No surprise. When AHS called to schedule this second opinion appointment, the customer (no)service representative said if the replacement is supported by them he would need to have a conversation with me about policy limitations for the a/coil piece.

I inquired about the incompatible SEER ratings if the other two parts are not upgraded as well and he said compatible SEER ratings are not necessary. This is interesting to me in that my fine print clearly states AHS will not cover HVAC systems with incompatible SEER rated pieces.

When the fan motor and blade went out, the tech found a part locally but AHS refused to pay the extra $75, instead searching the US for the part. They did tell us we could purchase a room cooler for up to $60.00 and get reimbursed! So that was a difference of $15 for to them, but a loss of 4 days of work and finding a place for the kids to stay for us.

They are now refusing to pay for leaking air ducts, citing improper installation. They continually finds reasons to deny or delay service.

My air conditioner has gone out three times; twice they claimed the evaporator coil needed to be replaced at $300. Each time the local contractor had to come back, after the so-called repair, two or more times. The local guy's answering service refused to contact the a/c company over the weekend without a request from AHS, and AHS only offered excuses everytime I demanded help with what is supposed to be a covered item. The only thing they ever did in the 4 years was repair my garbage disposal, and that was primarily because the plumber worked around their can-barely-skirt-the-rules-laden system.

Every contractor called out to my house under an AHS warranty said the same thing -- it's not worth the money or aggravation.

The repairman said the a/c needed a coil, but of course AHS had to see if they could find one. It is now Wednesday morning and we have heard nothing. We can't leave or go anywhere else because we have about $3000 in exotic birds that need care and can't be taken to a motel.

I feel that the medical conditions should have taken priority over other things and a new unit should already have been put in.

I called and was told how sorry they were and they would cancel it immediatly. I had the additional payments taken out of my checking acct through bill pay. I started receiving collections notices stating I never paid. I called and was told sorry AGAIN but 2 payments were submitted to your Washington address. I advised them that contract was to be cancelled as I never wanted that contract.

That was when I was told, "Oh, the person who opened the contract probably saw an opportunity for additional commission". Wow I could not believe their own rep said that!

He told us he would order the part. He left the old gasket dangling from the door and left!!!! The refridgerator was left gaping open and we had to put tape on it to keep it closed. I called for 2 weeks straight to get a status on the repairs and finally received and estimate for the shell, $329!!!! That is almost the cost of a new fridge! So I called AHS back to argue my claim and asked that they at least send a professional tech back out to try to reattach the new gasket and they wouldn't even do that!!!! What a rip off!!!!

AHS could not give me a reason why my claim was denied other than lack of maintenance, when this was done.

We had to pay out of pocket for something that they were supposed to cover. I feel it is unfair for them to offer a contract and not honor it.

Another plumber was sent and he asked us to change the shower head. We did and the problem remained. By this time 6 months were gone since each visit from AHS will take a month and it takes a month for us find somebody to do what they asked us to do. Finally I got frustrated and arranged a local plumber to come and look at the problem. He came and immedietly said the problem was due to a washer and he fixed it next day. Only thing is I had to spend $400.

Now that the problem is fixed, I called American home shield to close the walls since it had to be opened for fixing the problem. It is almost a week and still no end to the problem. It is almost 9 months and I still have open wall in the kitchen and masterbath.

a) It took 9 months during which using Masterbath was restricted b) I had a open wall in the kitchen. I could not invite any business associated to home since it looked really bad. c) I had to spend close to $600 to fix the problem.

AHS will not even give me another company to use. They advertise "call us 24 hrs a day" but their service is slow as a snail, and nothing, not even extreme heat and small kids, is considered an emergency.

Their warranties are worthless and I will not be using them again.

I called the air conditioning company back and they put in a larger amp fuse to hopefully fix the problem! Two hours later the fuses blew again.

I then called AHS to report the same problem was continuing.They scheduled the air conditioning company back out for the third time. I was very adamant how important it was for them to resolve the problem due to the extreme heat we endure in Southern Nevada. By this time we were experiencing 110 degree temps and I have a two year old and three pets to worry about. They assured me that the situation will be taken care of.

During the third visit the tech condemned the unit and requested a new one.

We are now entering the second week and I had to buy a portable air conditioner, portable swamp cooler and several fans to try and keep somewhat cool. I had to send my 2 year old daughter to my friend's home to insure her well being. The third week was still not productive and all I was told was the part was on order.

I'm now entering the fourth week and still no cool air. I have had to call another air conditioning company to resolve my problem. The new system is costing me $7500 plus all the portable units & fans. AHS is only willing to reimburse me $60!!!!

I will not renew my Home Warranty with AHS. I also plan to contact an attorney to help me recover some of my out of pocket costs and unnessasary suffering!!!

Within five minutes of the phone call my bank account had already been debited and the amount of the payment had been deducted from my available balance, causing three items to overdraft.

The bank has charged me, and taken out of my account, $99 in overdraft fees.

AHS sent out a local plumping company that came up with a cost of $235 + my $45 deductable (extra charges for electrial parts and an additional expansion tank,all which are not covered). They even had a document with all the little parts AHS refused to reimburse. I spoke to a support rep and a supervisor that both kept repeating the same ole "not covered routine".

I was expecting a $45 repair and it turned out to be almost $300 bucks. When I asked about the point of paying $400+ a year, they suggested I check the amount of the new water heater + labor and I could find my own contractor!

I won't be renewing this year.

I have had AHS for 11 years at $539 a year and have used them three times for a minimal amount. They will not tell me the name of their regional supervisor. They sent me a letter stating that my insurance covering the ac was cancelled until I got it fixed.

I been without AC since April 2006 - AHS does not seem to under the law of contracts.

As it turns out I was having some remodelling work done on the home and had a HVAC person my builder uses in the home. When I asked him to review the AHS technician's costs he could find no basis for the $1200. He also said that the AHS technician's plan for the install was incorrect and would lead to potential problems down the road. I went back to AHS and asked for a cash sttlement. They came back with an offer of $432. A total unreasonable amount by any stretch of the imagination. And totally non-negotiable according to AHS.

I have been without heat now for 1 month. And am now having to get bids to have the work done myself. I will never deal with AHS ever again. I suggest anyone reading this do the same.

Replacement unit was installed and the cooling was acceptable. That fall the heat was turned on for the first time and the unit produced no heat. Called AHS again and, after several days of discussion, they sent a repairman out. He determined that I had been given a cooling unit ONLY with NO heat capabilities. He installed an auxiliary heat unit in the air handler. Heat was produced but electric bill doubled.

After many phone calls to American Home Shield, a heat pump was installed and the repairman disconnected the wire to the auxiliary unit but did not remove it. The “new” unit appeared to be used, was very noisy and not very effecient. I was dissatisfied with the service received and did not renew my annual agreement with AHS.

Because the unit was especially in-effective in winter months, used small space heaters instead of using the heat pump, installed ceiling fans and bought supplemental cooler for summer months.

Recently contacted A-Quality Air Conditioning and after a thorough inspection, determined that outside equipment was a 3.5 ton unit and the air handler was a mis-matched 3 ton. The estimation was that the outside units would continue to be a problem and may have to be replaced every few years due to the mis-match. Also determined that the auxiliary heat unit was a potential fire hazard as the wiring used to connect to the electrical service was inadequate to handle the voltage.

I will need to replace both inside and outside units with an estimate of approximately $5000.

The impact is I spent 95 bucks so far and have a broken humidifier to show for it and I don't know what to do next.

Now,everytime we use the new washer, lint gets all over our clothes and in the washer drum. I complained to AHS and they told me I would have to deal with Whirlpool. Whirlpool sent a repairman out who told me nothing was wrong with the washer and I needed to sort the clothes better. I'm 63 years old and I KNOW how to do laundry. I've owned many washers and I've NEVER had this problem. I insisted that Whirlpool give me a new washer or correct the problem and they hung up on me.

I called AHS and told them they are the company that sold me the washer and took my money and I needed them to make this right and help me resolve the problem and they said I'd have to deal through Whirlpool. All of this is very difficult for me because I have MS which has affected my voice and it's hard for me to talk a lot and especially to argue with irresponsible merchants.

Our furnace broke down, and AHS sent out a contractor who recommended that the furnace be replaced. It took him 3 days to give us an estimate on out of pocket costs, and then he gave us a service appointment another 3 days out.

We felt the costs were excessive, but were caught between a rock and a hard place. The cash out option was certainly not enough to cover a furnace and labor. AHS has specially contracted rates with suppliers, and it seems quite unfair that the cash out option equals AHS's costs, not a reasonable portion of ours. AHS should at least let us get the equipment at their cost, and then allow us to pay for our own contractor.

AHS would not allow a second contractor to give us an estimate. Essentially, we are at the mercy of AHS and their preferred contractor. We have to agree to whatever estimate their preferred contractor comes up with. AHS and the contractor are in a win-win situation here, and hold all the cards.

Anyway, after my wife got home that day I told her about the outcome and she told me she had saved the handle. So I called, emailed and wrote a letter to AHS and they never responded. I made multiple attempts by phone and they just gave me the run around.

It's a good warranty, if nothing goes wrong.

I had a home warranty with AHS. I decided not to renew it when it expired and they continued to debit my account for the warranty. I called and told them the contract had expired and they said we renewed it. I said NO we didn't.

I wrote letters and sent Faxes but to no avail. Then I get a letter from a collection agency for the full amount of the contract.

I was ripped off and now have a collection on my credit report! Beware!

We are out $600.00 with a new hole in the wall.

American Home Shield is a prepaid warrenty company that seems to be in the business of contractor referrals. I purchased a policy for my home and had a problem with a rusted washing machine water spigot. I used a pair of pliers to ply it open and broke the internal valve creating a leak in the wall.

I called AHS and they sent out a plumber who seemed to find everything he could do to deny the claim for AHS. He told them that I had used pliers so they told me they would not pay for the repairs because there was human action involved. They said there was nothing that could be done and transferred me to two differnent managers that said exactly the same thing.

I ended up having to shell out $225 to the plumber to fix the pipe. He smiled knowingly as I signed the invoice.

I made a service call to AHS because of a malfunctioning furnace. I was told they had no service technicians in the area and was given an authorization to get outside help.

The service company informed me that my furnace was beyond repair due to basic wear and tear. Three days later, as I was trying to get information on my claim, I was told that AHS would send a contractor out to give a second opinion. The new company came to the same diagnosis with the exception that they added an elaborate $4000 venting system that is not covered.

AHS told me they would not allow me to get a second opinion on the non-covered costs and would not authorize the work without the extras. The first company told me the extras are not needed. AHS told me I can get a cash payout of $1426.07 which will not cover anything.

I have not had a working furnace for 8 days.

I had the so-called warranty and my microwave broke. Called AHS and they sent out a technician who took the unit apart, said it would take $300 to fix and they would have to reschedule someone to install a new one (supposed to get replacement if mine couldn't be fixed).

Then he reported that the liner of the microwave was damaged which voided their responsibility to fix or replace.

I called the service number, got several very snotty people and when I said to cancel my policies they indicated it was a "legal" contract. I told them the brochure I had said all I had to do was call to cancel. AHS said cancellation had to be in writing and probably wouldn't be cancelled. I faxed in a cancellation and have not heard back from them.

No matter what the problem, they find a reason it is not covered.

We renewed our contract with AHS for the second year (nearly $500). In September of 2005 our central heating and air unit went out. We did the 800 number thing---what a runaround!

They sent out a contractor who wrote up the work order stating that the compressor needed to be replaced, the circuit board was burnt (he said it was black), there were caps leaking, and the shrader valves needed to be replaced as well. After AHS gave the company a runaround playing phone tag and lying to us twice about ordering the parts to fix the problems, we were finally restored with air after THREE WEEKS.

The only thing AHS would allow them to replace was the air compressor (simply because that would get it running, to say the least). When we contacted AHS to ask why they did not allow them to fix the other problems, they told us that was the only thing the company told them about! WRONG! AHS was avoiding a higher bill.

We also had to pay a $150 "non-covered" charge for the company to remove the old freon. Now, less than six months later, the unit died again. It is still under the warranty, but is about to expire. AHS assured us it would be covered because the service request has already been submitted, but we expect this to be quite an adventure!

AHS recommended that we find our own company to do the repairs. We tried, but the eight companies we contacted said they did not deal with them (AHS), and wished us luck in finding someone who would.

I have a home warranty with American Home Shield (AHS) to cover various items including my heat pump. My home heat pump, built in 1978, failed January 14, 2006. I called AMS who told me to call a local dealer.

A technician came out, said my heat pump couldn't be repaired and I needed a new one. Estimate for new system and installation was $5520. AHS said they would send out external unit only, or they would 'cash-out' for $620 plus labor for installation. The local Heating company told them and me that their unit was not compatible with my inside unit and would not work. AHS told me that was not their problem, the inside unit had not failed and they would not replace it.

I decided I couldn't put up with the added delay of having a non-compatible unit sent here, so I chose to purchase a unit from second company for $7014. AHS sent me a check for only $1273.