American Home Shield Reviews

I contacted AHS at approximately 11:00 PM for a repair request. The call was taken by their automated service. I provided all the requested information and stated at least twice this was an emergency (witnessed by 2 people) and was told by the automated operator to shut the water off and AHS would get me a contractor of their choice.

He made a temporary repair that morning, 1:15 AM, because of the late hour and the amount of water in the area. He said he would return later in the morning to do the repair properly. The repairs to the pipe were completed at 12:00 PM.

I still hadn't heard from AHS or their contractor by the next afternoon. I called AHS determine the reason for the delay and to request compensation for the expense of the plumber. I explained in detail to the customer service representative what had occurred and why I had the repairs made myself. She said the call had been "logged in as a routine service request" by their service and, therefore, I wouldn't be compensated. If I wanted, I could fax a letter explaining why I felt it necessary to call a plumber on my own and a copy of the repair invoice to their claim office for further consideration. Already knowing this was an exercise in futility, I submitted the requested information.

As expected, compensation was denied even though it was their mistake that they marked my call as "routine." I am now out $841.00, a couple of rather large holes in my walls and ceiling that I must pay to have repaired, and the cost of a worthless insurance policy.

In the process it was discovered that the contractor knocked the holes in the wrong place and the leak could be repaired without moving the water heater. After being exposed as unlicensed and incompetent the contractor and AHS would not repair the leak, replace the drywall or pay to have the water heater reinstalled. Instead they sent me a refund for the $60.00 with a release attached to let them off the hook. I said no. I had to have all the repairs made and I'm out $900.00. I'm in the process of filing a claim with the CBI and Small Claims Court.

I got a call a week later from who I thought was Meyers stating there was a $460 charge. I waited a whole month then called American Home Shield they stated I should have called them; like its my fault and I know when the information and processing occurred on their end. I asked next step August 15 the worker said sir I'll call Meyers and I'll call you and let you know what we discussed about your problem. On August 17 my air was completely out cause Meyers left something unconnected, and I call following up and one African American service worker & her African American supervisor (and yes I know they were African American just like me) had the most ghetto uncustomer service trained attitudes I have encountered at a business in a long time. Made me ashamed that we had anything in common.

After constantly blaming me in this miscommunication as she called it, they never took responsibility for what they were suppose to do in July or August just 2 days prior. No one was called just simple notations in their system. Please, AHS, retrain your customer service people on customer service. Like another complaint, my house was 88 degrees inside with ceiling fans on and the supervisor said "I cannot upgrade the severity of your issue to emergency because this is a continuation from the July work order." What nonsense is this. I promise I'm drooping them the day I get Meyers to fix my unit and I'm being charged to replace the outdated parts to my unit because it is considered an upgrade even though I'd like the same exact parts used.

There were delays in receiving parts and finally a mechanic came out on June 28th with no motor and the wrong fan blade.

On July 2nd, I called AHS to complain about the poor service. AHS called Caviness and two mechanics came out on July 7th. They examined the AC and condemned it because the compressor was bad! Finally, on July 15th the AC was replaced. This all occurred during one of the hottest summers on record. The workman got the AC working; but they tracked in a lot of dirt and they burned holes in the vinyl flooring when they welded the parts connecting the AC to the furnace.

My daughter and I suffered through more than 6 weeks of some of the hottest weather on record before AHS and Caviness Mechanical managed to get the AC replaced. I suffered from an extremely itchy heat rash over most of my body the last two weeks without AC. The poor diagnosis of the problem, the ordering of the wrong parts and the many delays made this whole experience extremely frustrating and we are left with burn marks on the vinyl flooring around the furnace. I cannot understand how AHS can use such an inefficient company to carry out their requests for service.

So now another AC company came out today and they said that the AC company AHS had come out 1st time didn't install the coil to my AC correctly and they put way too much freon in my outside unit which caused it to over work itself. I should get some reimbursement for the wear and tear on that outside unit that's only 3yrs old because of the poor job AHS had that company come out and do. Now the new company wants est. $500 for the repair the other company made. AHS didn't notify me that it wasn't covered under the home warranty the very first time the AC company came out and instead the AC people continued to pick at what could be the problem and now AHS says I have to pay for it.

The first replacement machine offered was standard sized, and would not fit in the opening. When I called AHS, and explained the problem, I was told AHS was only obligated to replace with a standard machine, and was offered a small cash settlement, which I could use to purchase an appropriate dishwasher. After I reviewed the policy I called AHS again to explain AHS was obligated to replace the machine, with one of similar capacity. Several days later AHS agreed to replace the broken dishwasher with another compact dishwasher.

On 24 May 2010 I spoke with an AHS representative, about ordering and installing the new machine. I was told it would take 5 to 8 days to deliver, since they did not purchase locally. I told the representative that I was leaving town for 2 months, and not to proceed with the order unless the work would be completed by noon, on Friday, 28 May 2010. I left town and a week or so later I got a call from a local installer saying my dishwasher had arrived. I was dumbfounded, and replied it was not supposed to be ordered, if it could not be installed by noon on 28 May. The installer asked me what to do. I replied that I was several states away, and could not return for deliver, and since the order was not to be placed, it was a problem to work out with AHS.

When I returned to Urbana on 29 July, I phoned AHS to arrange delivery of the dishwasher. When told it would likely be delivered in 5 - 8 days, and delivery day couldn't be guaranteed, and since I would be away from home 6-9 of August, I asked that the order not be placed at that time. The representative also told me that I would have to pay a $50 restocking fee for the first machine AHS ordered. I explained that following my instructions the machine should not have been ordered in May. We agreed it would be wisest to place the order when I returned.

On 10 August I called AHS to order the machine. I was told about the $50 restocking fee. I explained the AHS mistake to the representative. She offered no solution. I asked for a supervisor. One returned my call on the 11th. She repeated the position that. AHS has procedures and we're not responsible for the mistake. I then asked to speak to a manager, and spoke with Michael **. He repeated the AHS position. No matter how many times I repeat, that on 24 May I directed that the machine should not be ordered, unless the work would be completed by noon of 28 May, Mr. ** repeated the AHS position- they have procedures, and can't imagine their procedures not working properly, and they are not responsible for the error.

Today a friend recounted conversations we had the week of 24 May, that I was very clear not to order unless work would be competed on the 28th. The AHS position implies the contrary, that I did not clearly instruct the representative not to order the machine, unless the installation would be complete by noon 28 May 2010. Though the AHS phone system repeats the warning, that calls may be monitored or recorded, Mr. ** told me that they cannot access those audio recordings, and disprove my statement. AHS claims no responsibility on the basis that their procedures are followed.

However, AHS first ordered an inappropriate machine. Second, AHS told me they would replace my compact machine only with a standard machine, and since such a machine would not fit the opening, offered a partial cash settlement. Only after I contacted AHS about the terms of the policy, and only after further delay, did AHS agree to replace my broken dishwasher, with one of similar capacity. AHS staff demonstrated they are capable of making mistakes in judgment and in fact. AHS only needs to admit they made another mistake. Hours of phone calls, weeks of delay, and still no dishwasher.

There was not a labor charge on either item. I just feel the services in which I paid for aren't being considered. Also, in viewing the various rip-off contractors that are noted in many complaints against AHS, it shows that the contractors utilized aren't the most ethical. I work for insurance in which I fully understand the need to control expenses, but the fact that there is nothing that this company can do for a service in which I paid fully for is just plain rude, inconsiderate, and customer service is void no matter who you talk to. When calling to cancel my service, the representative argued the fact and wanted to try to retain my business that way. I will continue to speak out against AHS due to the horrible experience that I had with them!

CI call AHS shield back and tell them still not cooling, getting hotter on the outside then it was and leaking underneath. Rico at AHS said refrigerator is cooling and freezing. And that it's getting up to 200 on the outside and getting burnt on it is normal. Sears comes out, puts another part, a motor and says no it's not normal for it to get as hot on outside as it is, but give it a couple of days and see if it cools down. No it didn't, it gets just as hot but the refrigerator is getting cooler. Mind you, I can't have children around the refrigerator or my grandchildren. One was burnt by it. But this is all normal.

I have talked to several people at AHS several Supervisors on several different dates, to no avail. Sears was going to call them and let them no still not working correct and getting very hot. Wayne, the Sears service man, said if this part he put on did not work, refrigerator was no good. Well guess what still have not heard from AHS however they are willing to send another service person. In the meantime, the refrigerator is still over heating and running power bill sky high. But this is normal!

AHS is a scam and you have to fight for everything. I tell everyone not to go with this company and when my contract expires in few months, I never will again.

On July 28, 2010 someone from AirOTemp called to let me know that they could have someone out at my house on July 29,2010. I informed her that I was not at home but I would be home on July 30. A time was set for the technician to come on July 30, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. The technician did come out and I was informed that the compressor to my air conditioner was completely gone. The technician got on the phone and called AHS and AHS called me back to tell me that my cost to have my air conditioner unit replaced would be $994 and that I must pay this fee (which I didn't mind). Becky from AirOTemp also called me on July 30,2010 to let me know that I must pay the $994 my Monday, August 2,2010, in order to set up the appointment for the technicians to install my air conditioner unit on Tuesday August 2nd.

On Monday August 2nd, I called AirOTemp and gave them my credit card information for the $994. I received a voice message on my phone and checked it after I had given my credit card information only to have a message from AHS to inform me that my air condition unit would not be delivered until maybe Friday August 6, 2010. I called Lisa from AHS back to inform her that there was no way we could stay in my house any longer because the temperature was 112 degrees. She informed me that I could either go out and buy a window a/c unit or some fans valued up to $200 and AHS would reimburse me. I also called AirOTemp and spoke to Heidi to let her know not to put any charges on my credit card until my a/c unit was delivered.

On August 3rd, I spoke with Andrea from AHS to inform her that we could not stay in my house because it was too hot. She informed me that she had to speak with her assistant Lisa to see if it could be approved for us to stay in a hotel. It is now 6:45 pm and I have not heard anything from Lisa or Andrea. Last year in November, I had problems with having no heat in the winter and also had the same problems with AHS. I would never recommend this company to anyone and every site that I can find on the internet to warn people about their crooked practices just to get their money, I will.

The refrigerant is hazardous material and can't be simply thrown in the trash. The $178 code support hanging kit (metal strips and nails, allegedly to comply with code, the installer will not re-use the current ones) I disagree with but might possibly be construed to fall in the category of construction. Not sure how they would install the unit without supporting it like it currently is supported on straps. The $154 float switch is required by code but not sure why the current float switch in the current pans cannot be reused.

The $274 Mastic Air Seal, I really disagree with and they have not shown me the language in the agreement that says it is not their responsibility. To replace the coils, it is necessary to remove them from the duct work. Reattaching to the duct work and resealing so the air does not leak out is a required part of the repair, not an option, upgrade, modification, new construction, etc. and is the responsibility of AHS. In addition, the mastic is about 5-10 minutes of work and $5-$20 of parts to apply it with a putty knife, and cleanup/disposal of the putty knife if a plastic one is used.

Furthermore, they indicated that only this one repair company can be used to do the work so they do not have an option for me to get a different quote to do the warranty replacement work from another one of their approved installers. This tying agreement with their installers makes them part of this transaction and essentially lets the installer recover its costs and profit on "non-covered" items. If I had the option to seek other AHS approved installers to do the work, that would be different than AHS mandating that I use this installer with its high costs.

The installer itself said that these charges would not be required if I were to take the upgrade option, using the buyout value that AHS would provide for replacement of the old unit. If the same work needs to be performed and doing it under warranty is a required, chargeable expense and doing it as part of a new sale is just part of the normal install process, then it calls into question if these are necessary or just a way of cost recovery and profit.

So, while the coverage is useful, the consumer needs to be aware of and fight the typing agreements that AHS has with its approved installers, that force the costs of the install to the consumer with no option for competitive bid to do the work. The work has not yet been performed and I have escalated the issue within AHS. I am in a take it or leave it situation due to the tying agreement between AHS and its installer that does not permit an alternate installer quote for non-required services. I am locked in to use the one they sent to diagnose the problem. Out of pocket for $731 additional, non-covered charges, delayed service on air conditioning unit . I live in Texas with temps in high 90s/100s and have my grandson (infant) that will be staying with us for a week who may be at risk due to high temps in house.

It's a really dishonest company, and will not reimburse me the money I paid them for the year. They kept me on hold for over 30 minutes, yelled at me, and treated me like I was some idiot. Do not hire this company, they are a fraud. We paid for the water heater out of our pocket in the end, over $2000.

It seems that this modification clause has been used a lot because most new coils won't just slide in into old systems. In essence it's like having your engine blow on your 1990 Chevy and you get a new engine but have to figure out pay to fit 2010 engine into your 1990 Chevy. It seems that this same clause also happens with people that get their compressor replaced. The old R22 lines don't work with new systems and lines and coils need to be replaced which again fall under this modification clause.

I would appreciate hearing from any other AHS customers who fell victim to this modification clause. The house has been 80-90 average for over a week. They mailed the coil but I have no idea when the technician will get it.

I then informed the supervisor Kelly for AHS that I did not want the same company to come back out to handle the service call on my unit because I did not like their service. She told me regardless of whether are not I like anything about the companies, AHS reserves the right to send who they want to send out and I could not refuse them into my home. Furthermore, Kelly continued to place me on hold until I was willing to give into her demands as well as talk over me while never addressing my concerns of the service I received from the last company.

I also asked Kelly the supervisor for AHS website in order to make a complaint. She said she did not know how to utilize the website and direct me to where I could make a complaint concerning the service I received from her. Also, she could not provide me with any number to contact her superior. She stated she would have him call me. As of 07/23/2010, I have not received a call from anyone despite the fact that I have continued to call AHS and make the same request over and over for someone to call me.

We called American Home Shield a second time to inquire about emergency assistance. We were told that there was no such service. We called a third time and asked to speak to a supervisor. A gentleman, who was at a home show, assured us that the company was attempting to locate an emergency company in our area (they had put in an emergency request) and that AHS would contact us within a few minutes. (As of Tuesday, July 20th, at 7:00 PM, we are still waiting for that call).

Finally at 9:00 PM and in extreme heat, we contacted a company who showed up within the hour, only to inform us that the control board was out and that a part was not available at that hour (at a cost of $159.00). That company called us at 8:00 the next morning (Monday, July 19th) to inquire if we wanted to order the part and have it installed that day. Thinking that our AHS warranty would cover this repair, on Monday morning, July 19th, I called Steinmetz but the receptionist could not find our work order in her piles of orders. Eventually, she found it in the cancelled pile. She asked me to contact AHS again to make another work request. I asked if Steinmetz would be able to service us that day, since it was so unbearably hot. The receptionist replied, "You and hundreds of others"--she didn't know if we could get service on Monday.

I called AHS again and asked if we could use a company that could get to us on Monday. We were given the name of Air Service of South Kansas City. I called them and was told that someone would be out between 1:00 and 3:00 PM.

At 2:00 PM, two service technicians appeared, wrote up the order, collected $60.00, and reported that nothing could be done without AHS approval. We pleaded to get our problem corrected that day. At 7:00 PM, I returned home from work and called AHS. I was told that they had received nothing from Air Service, and no decision could be made without a diagnostic report.

On Tuesday, July 20th, at approximately 8:30 AM and after spending the night with a neighbor, I called Air Service and was told that AHS was not going to cover the cost since the damage was the result of a power surge, and that AHS would be contacting me shortly to inform me of the decision. That contractor said that he would install our part if we wanted. He, like AHS, did not follow-up with me on Monday, so I declined his offer. However, the emergency contractor called a second time to ask if we needed assistance, so I immediately arranged for a repair which was completed by 2:00 on Tuesday, July 20th, for $528.00.

At 6:30 PM on Tuesday, July 20th, AHS called to inform me of the decision not to cover the problem. My point to this complaint is not about the money, although we have been customers of AHS for many years and expected this problem to be covered under our warranty.

Our primary goal was to get the central air fixed as quickly as possible. The issue is lack of follow-up and lack of addressing this issue in a timely manner by passing the responsibility around. As a result of this experience, we are cancelling our membership immediately. Our money will be better spent on handling our own emergencies. We endured a 90 degree house for two days and nights and spent $159.00 on an emergency call and $60.00 to AHS for nothing.

This past June, I called AHS and reported that my heating/air conditioning system was short-cycling and not cooling my home. They sent a technician, who, per the invoice, simply refilled the freon. The air conditioner worked for a month, but by mid-July, it started short-cycling again. I complained to AHS, who sent another technician (different company, again). This technician checked the motor and determined that it wasn't working properly. He told me that he had to order a part and would check with AHS to see if if this was covered under my warranty.

Well, lo and behold, I received a call from an AHS representative early next morning who informed me that the blower motor was wired improperly; thus, they would not cover the $300+ repair! I then spoke with her supervisor and complained that I report a problem with my air conditioning system each year, they send a technician, and not one of them had ever reported this problem before. Why? Either this has been the problem all along, or a previous technician must've messed with it.

He suggested that if I disputed these findings, he would send another technician to determine if, in fact, the motor was wired improperly, and if it is, I would have to pay an additional $60.00 fee! I informed him that I was extremely unhappy about this and I would not be renewing my contract next year. He simply thanked me for being a customer and for letting them know of my intentions.

They called me back and said that because the ducts in the attic was not tied up correctly, they could not fix anything until the problem in the attic was corrected. I asked them to fix the outside unit and I would get someone to fix the ducts in attic that has been like that for 15 years. They called back and said that they couldn't fix the outside unit because of the problem in the attic.

I called Harkins to get an estimate for the duct repairs and they never called me back. I was without air for two days going back and forth with them. The next morning, I called Calvin's Maintenance and they came out at 8:30 AM to put a new motor in and completed the job by 10:30 AM. The motor was under warranty so I had to pay $200 for labor.

I wasn't going to complain since we got a new refrigerator but my in-laws both in their 80's, temp 90 to 100 degrees, just got the warranty about six months ago; AC went out on Monday, July 12th and on July 14th 2010. She had to call them to see what they were going to do and they told her the reason it had broken was because it hadn't been cleaned in several years. She had to call Baton Rouge AC and they came out that Thursday with the part and fix the AC by 1:00 PM. It was also under warranty.

We both had to pay our $60 to withstand these high temps and way three days before getting AC fixed. To me, a scam is going on and Harkins AC in Baton Rouge is part of the scam. Beware!

After many calls back and forth, I was told by AHS that the faucet would be covered feature-for-feature by the terms of my warranty and it was just a matter of making an appointment and getting that replaced. It has been almost six weeks since my initial call and I am still waiting for that faucet. Between AHS and All Pro Services, I have made 20-30 calls over the last few weeks, each time spending about half an hour or more on the phone during my work hours and spending my daytime cellphone minutes.

Each time I have been promised a follow-up and resolution but to no avail. To makes matters worse, I now have water damage in the wooden cabinets under my sink because of the water leak (which I tried my best to contain using bowls, plastics etc). I have told AHS about that and they state that water damage was not covered. I explained that the damage would not happen had the leak been addressed on time and they said they will see if anything can be done about that. I have yet to get the faucet fixed or get any sort of assurance about doing something about the damage to the cabinets.

I spoke to a live person and was later told that this was a recording! It’s not possible! Anyway, I called another plumber that fixed both valves and fixed the running water in the house and checked thoroughly to be sure that all was in order before leaving. The cost was $465 that evening. I asked them to come back the next morning to replace the insides of two aging toilets for another $150. I could see AHS arguing about the second appointment but the first, so they also admit, was covered by the warranty. However, they denied reimbursement. I resubmitted my complaint and they have not yet answered.

I believe I will cancel this contract today and take them to small claims court. Their system was so difficult to follow in the eye of an emergency that I could not get through. Their records showed that I called and they refer back to the contract saying that I was not to call anyone else to do the work. Forget the house and the water spraying all over! Forget them! They also ‘fixed’ our dishwasher or just looked at it, fiddled around a little, then said it was ‘calc build-up’ which can always happen but didn't solve the problem.

For the toilet spray, we have had to make a home insurance claim with a $1,000 deductible. There was damage to the hall, carpet, laminate flooring in the bedroom, linoleum flooring in the laundry closet, wallboard and baseboard wicking and wallboard problems downstairs where the water leaked to. We were lucky it wasn't worse! Anyway, they had to use dehumidifiers and huge blowers for 3 days which are noisy and horrible, even though it is 100 degrees outside. Now, all the various parts must be repaired which is an expensive journey. All is covered by AHS, by contract, though they don't think so. Flimsy excuses and useless workmen.

I contacting AHS for support and assistance with helping me resolve my problem has not been a easy at all. I have spoken to 21 AHS agents, three supervisors (Emily, Rhonda and Andrea) and one contract relation representative (Ron). Rhonda and Ron got the ball rolling again with trying to get this problem solve but as before the ball stopped rolling. At this point and time, Rhona is on vacation and Ron is no longer returning my calls (per the 3rd supervisor, AJ, Ron has been very busy but had intention of returning my calls). I did not want to deal with Strong any more and Oxford Heating and Air was sent out for what I assumed was to complete the work. Oxford came out and realized two things that the company (Strong ) who installed the compressor did wrong: 1. the compressor was bad or 2. when it was installed they allowed debris to enter a/c lines which now would not allow coolant to pass and now freeze the entire unit.

Oxford refused but thanks to Ron that finally agreed (I assume). I received a call from Ron (AHS) on July 1st stating he had good news that everything had been work out with Oxford and I should be getting call to schedule an appointment. Beside waiting for more than three months to have my unit repaired, paying Strong $150 to remove a part that I now found that installed incorrectly (will have to be replaced again) and created other issue with my a/c that was not the reason for my first call. Ron calls me back (not Oxford as he promised earlier) and telling me I will not have to pay the $150 disposal fee again but now I have to pay $260 for parts that's now not covered by insurance.

I phoned Ron back and informed him that these new found parts that needs to be replaced are due to the error made by Strong Heating and Air. I never received a call back from Ron so I wrote the complaint department with AHS which was received on July 12th. Today (16July) Oxford finally called and scheduled an appointment for Monday (July 19th) between 8am-11am but stated there will be $460 due for uninsured item. I contacted AHS again and that's when I spoke with a 3rd supervisor, AJ at 3pm to get an answer as to will the fee be waived she had no answer and suggest I give them a call back on Monday to see if a decision has been made.

My elderly mother lives with and suffer from diabetes and the temperature in the house has reached over 90 degrees. I had to purchased three window units and was told by AHS they will only reimburse me up to $60 period and not per unit purchased. We have had to sleep with windows and, some days, doors open all night. I have lost all plants and inherited a boat load of bugs entering my home due to open doors and windows.

After looking myself, he was absolutely correct. I could see small holes on the top along with a ton of corrosion! He ran the water and then showed us the water coming out of the corroded valve fittings on the top of the water heater. I called AHS and they assured me this was something that would be covered. They sent a tech from Rite-a-way Services the next day. He spent about 5 seconds looking at it and told me there was nothing wrong with it! He didn't even turn on the water to check the leakage! He just shrugged his shoulders and told me everything looked fine. I then informed him that my plumber said as soon as he tries to run the new plumbing, the water heater will break. The tech then called AHS and told them I was going to purposely break it! What nerve of him!

Then, on top of that, he told me he could replace the lines for $100. There is nothing wrong with the lines! It's the valve fittings! I asked the tech if he could wait five minutes to explain this to my husband (who is a licensed contractor). He told me he didn't have time and just left. But, he had time to fix lines that didn't need replacing!? Hmmm... My husband and I own a construction company and would NEVER treat a customer like that! It's companies like this, that give other construction companies bad wraps.

I refused to pay him the $60 service charge, since he wouldn't even do anything to test it. He said no problem, they'll just bill me. Bill me all you want, you won't see a penny from me! What a waste of time! Glad I left work early for that! I'll just pay my experienced plumber to replace the water heater! I wouldn't even let that company plunge my toilet!

All in all after weeks of waiting for a washer, they will only give us $570. They also said that they could give us their "volume discount" which is higher than I can find on the internet, and they won't pay for delivery, installation or removal. If I want, I can have them repair the bearings just to still have a machine needing major repairs. I feel like I have paid a premium to have high quality service and the replacement of a washer that is in need of major repair. Instead I could have saved my premiums and bought a new machine for less myself. I had to do 48 loads of laundry at a laundromat and will still have to wait a few weeks to get this resolved. I have surgery next week and the last thing I need is to have no washer or repair men in here just to have it not work when they're done and have to go through this process one more time. Never use AHS.

I called AHS to complain and see if they could send a different company and the customer service (and I use that term loosely) said it was not an emergency. I said not an emergency for you because you have air where you are. She said they couldn't switch companies just because that company couldn't come when I wanted then to come. I said well ma'am isn't that the definition of customer service. I said well surely I don't want that company now that you have told them I called to complain. She said I didn't have a choice.

I even tried calling to speak to another customer service rep and asked for a supervisor. This was not the first time I've gotten crappy service from AHS and from reading some of the other complaints I see that it is a trademark of theirs. It has only been a week and it not working again. It seems I am going to have to call them out here for a third time in three months. It's going to be one long hot summer.

On 7/13/2010, after the 12 p.m. deadline, I contacted Waldorf Water/Gas twice to inquire about the status of the technician. The answering machine was put in only. There was no live contact and I left a voice mail to call me. I contacted AHS home office approximately 1:30 p.m. and explained the situation. I was asked to hold. The AHS representative informed me that technician is running late and would be at my residence within the hour. I assumed CS representative was in contact with Waldorf Water/Gas representative.

On 07/13/2010 at 4:30 p.m., I had no contact from Waldorf Water/Gas representative. I departed my residence to conduct personal business. I returned home approximately 5:45 p.m. and found a "Sorry, we missed you" notification on the door. This business practice is totally unacceptable. On a scale of 1 to 10, AHS's customer service rating is -10 and subcontractor's is -20. I will not be recommending their service to any more of my family and friends. In addition, I will contact everyone that I have recommended to them and relay the details of this particular incident.

Today is July 13, 2010. The part is not here and not expected until possibly the 16th, which is a Friday. So I am assuming that they will not put it in until week three. It is 110 degrees in Phoenix. My tenant's pet has died and now I'm paying for hotels (which I don't mind). I wish I had known there are so many people with no common sense in this world to make a decent choice to help an AHS member--mind you, for 20 years, at $600 per year (which is $12,000 that I have paid them and they have fixed only minute things. You would think they would find a way to get the A/C running for this single mother and her children and pets. I will cancel and never ever use them or anyone else for a warranty again.

I called and reported the problem with Ryan, but AHS definitely has PR problems. It will be Monday, 7/12 before someone calls me. One of the things they advertise is 24 hour service. That's a joke. Needless to say, no contract renewal! They are losing about $13,000 from my family and friends alone.

Now it has broken down again and when the repair man came out to inspect it, we asked how could they afford to continually send people out. He said, "because the LG parts are so cheap, it normally costs less to repeatedly repair than replace." We waited 10 days for the parts to arrive and another week for the repair man from Sears to appear. Guess what, it still doesn't work! Tomorrow I must start all over again!

It's 10:02pm, July 9, 2010, and my washing machine has not been repaired. I have a family of 5, and the closest laundry facility is 25 minutes away. I pay AHS every month on time, but I am not getting the service that my contract clearly reads I should get. This is unacceptable, and no one at AHS seems to care enough to do anything about it.

I called them and they said that the system was down. The next day, I called and they told me that they could not contact the technician, so I talked to the manager and he told me that he would investigate the situation. The next day, I talked to one of the employees and he told me in the computer, they had to charge me $138. I talked once again to the manager and he told me that the technician would charge me $325. In the store, a water heater costs $350. How is it possible that they charge the same price that a water heater costs? I once again talked to the manager and he told me that that was the final price. I paid $420 for the membership and $60 for the inspection. I would like to know if I can get my money back. Thank you for your time.

So today, the tech said that my drain pan was rusted out and would need to be replaced. He did nothing but check the unit. He did not have a ladder and asked if I had one, I ended up giving him a chair and put a towel over. He said he would need to blow out the line and gave me a consent form to sign. Within minutes he was finished (did nothing) and said he would call AHS because of the drain pan and would need approval.

I called AHS and they said the tech reported that my problems were due to lack of maintenance. I could not believe what I was hearing. I told AHS that was a crap. I had been having this problem for 3 years and none of the techs told me the drain pan had a hole in it. My filters have been changed, the vents and coils have been cleansed, so what would I know about a hole in my drip pan?

They said I would need a 2nd opinion and I would need to pay for it. I told them absolutely not and asked to cancel my contract with them. I was given a number for that department and the guy told me he would send out another tech for a second opinion and it would not be charged to me.

Ironically, they took out my payment today. I am not feeling any trust here. I am going to wait and find out if my problem will be dealt with. If not, I am going to submit a complaint with the Attorney General's Office.

I have been told by two certified Trane contractors, Acors Heating & Air Conditioning, Hull Street Road, Richmond, VA and Philip **, owner of Allen Mechanical, Turner Road, Goochland, VA, that the Bradley should have replaced the original dryer filter inside the heat pump with the uniflow filter (i.e., due to the internal plumbing configuration), or he should have removed and bypassed the original dyer filter inside the unit and placed it with a bi-flow dryer filter where the uniflow filter was installed.

In either event, the original dryer filter should have been removed because it was contaminated and the contamination would damage the newly installed compressor. I was told that the manner in which Bradley installed the dryer filter, without removing the original dryer filter, would result in contamination and premature failure of the newly installed compressor. I was also told that the heat pump will not operate properly in the winter with the uniflow filter (i.e., that it will allow necessary flow during summer when operating the air condition, but not during the winter).

We contracted a manufacturing representative of Trane, Ken **, who concluded that the repair performed by Bradley was incorrectly performed and supported his conclusion with the following excerpt from the Trane Service Procedures Manual: "Remove existing liquid line drier(s). Replace with new drier(s)."

Ken indicated that the new compressor would have a shortened life expectancy due to improper installation. I reported this to AHS on June 29, as soon as I discovered the faulty repair. I was told that I would be contacted by Contractor Relations, and was assured that the system would be replaced. It's been two weeks and I have heard nothing from AHS. I called again this evening and was told that I could make another service request, which would cost me an additional deductible payment.

The technician couldn't fix the fans and didn't have any fans on him. AHS over the phone authorized me to use a previously purchased fan and to purchase a second fan. I was told I would receive full reimbursement for both. I just had to send in my receipts. The end of May (2 months later) I get notification from AHS that they aren't going to reimburse me because there is no documentation in my file. I send them my notes, the notes I sent my realtor the day of the service, and the notes from the technician all verifying that I was told I would be reimbursed for both fans. I even provided the confirmation number provided to me by the AHS agent. They are still refusing to pay. Do not do business with this company! I haven't been reimbursed $230 for the two ceiling fans and the emotional crap of having to call them every week to check on the status.

I then had another A/C guy come out (not under the AHS plan), who was able to get to the root of the problem and fix the problem. I had to pay about $740. Of course nothing to be reimbursed by AHS! I called AHS to complain about this and my feedback fell on deaf ears. I had the contract cancelled. Do not use this organization.

The 2nd A/C company came & said the unit was so old (21 years old) & it needed to be replaced & the draining pan is cracked & broken. I called AHS to let them know that the company they sent out didn't know what they were talking about & this was the problem. Meanwhile this is already 2 weeks after the 1st call I had out to them. I was informed they will not take what my A/C guy said. They will send out another company to look at it. Another company came 2 1/2 weeks ago to look at it & sure enough there is a crack in the pan & that is why there is water gushing out into my hallway floor. They also informed me that AHS will not replace the unit just because it's so old that they will rig it every which way they can.

So therefore they were going to have to order a special pan to be made & it would take no longer than 2 weeks to be made. What? My A/C isn't working & it's gushing out water into my carpet & I have 4 young kids in a hot house all day & you're telling me this? Oh ,it just gets even better. They called me July 1st to inform me the pan is finally in. Great! I made my appointment for Monday July 5th between 2-4. I took the day off to be here for them to come. It got around 3:45 & They were still not here, so I decided to call them. Answering service picks up! Oh they worked half a day. I informed the man I had an appointment between 2-4. He called the A/C guy that was to come out & that guy said the pan did not come in & they were not coming to my house. No one even had the nerve to call me to tell me this & I missed a day of work with no pay.

I then called AHS & told them what this company did to me. I told the rep the company worked half a day & no one was there. She put me on hold & came back to the phone to let me know she just tried calling the A/C company but no one answered. Then the lady had the nerve to tell me to prevent the A/C from gushing water is to turn it off. It is 100 degrees here in Florida & I have 4 young kids & you want me to turn my A/C off for 1 month while they ** around & take their time fixing my A/C? I told the lady she was out of her ** mind! I just told her they worked half a day & no one was there!

She claimed they would call them the next day to take care of this matter. I still have not heard back from AHS! I called the manager of the A/C company this morning & he said the warehouse was closed & they couldn't get the pan. I asked why no one called me & he didn't know why. Supposedly they are to come tomorrow afternoon to install the pan. Needless to say I will never use that A/C company which is called 3rd Generation here in Florida & I will never use AHS ever again!

I went out, checked the coils and it looks like normal wear on them, and I'm not seeing the same thing they are reporting. I feel that they are sending technicians out that don't want to do the job and write up reports so AHS won't repair the broken parts. Another example was on 7/1/10, a service for my microwave. The technician comes out, says that it needs a certain part, however, it will take several days to come in because it has to be ordered. The part cost more than a new microwave. What sense does that make? I am more than sure that when this issue is over, AHS will never again get any business from me. I'm sure that when I finish blasting them on FB with my 1,000 friends, they will take a big hit.

The Sears representative showed up at the house at 1345, about an hour and forty five minutes late. The Accurate plumber showed up 20 minutes later than the scheduled appointment. This is not the first time I have run into scheduled delays from these types of contractors. As a matter of fact, my renewal contract with American Home Shield expires at the end of next month and I am not going to renew it. It was a total waste of money. Not only am I paying a monthly fee to American Home Shield, but I am also paying the contactor a $60 fee regardless of whether work is performed or not (covered or not covered) under the contract. This is a total scam and I do not want to be another victim.

Needless to say, after 12 years of paying into something that did not protect me when I needed it caused me to cancel this plan. I figure putting $60 dollars in the bank for 12 years could have purchased me a new dryer and air conditioner by now. What was I thinking! Take it from me, and learn from my experience. This company does not protect you; they just take your money and leave you high and dry when you need them. This is the first time I have ever written in a complaint on-line before.That is how compelled I am to make sure no other person gets taken in by AWS. If you have a policy, I pay another monthly premium for nothing.

On June 11, 2010, I received a call from AHS stating that a technician will come to the house on June 14, 2010. I was not told what for so I assumed it was to replace the fan. The technician shows up around noon and told me he was there just to do a second assessment of the situation. He looked and said the previous owner did not install the fan properly and it is a code violation so AHS would cover up to $250 for installation. He took pictures and left. On June 16, 2010 at 11 am, Brenda ** from AHS called me and told me that they will cover the cost to replace the fan and that for installation only $250 will be covered. She said that to correct the code violation installation, I would have to pay $350 out of pocket. Basically, she's saying it will cost $600 total for installation only. I told her that it's ridiculous that it would cost that much to install a ceiling fan and asked her about the cash out amount. She says she will research it and call me back.

On June 17, 2010 at 1:40 pm PST, I got a message from Brenda ** stating that AHS can offer a cash out amount of $340 and that includes the $250 toward the code violation installation fee. I called and left a message for Brenda on June 18, 2010 8:24am PST and told her the brand/model of my fan and how much it would cost me to replace the said fan. I also asked her to call me back. I did not receive a call back so I called once again the same day and she did not pick up. On June 26, 2010, I received a letter from AHS regarding the $340 cash out amount. This alone angered me since she did not have the courtesy to call me back before sending out that letter to me.

I called Brenda at AHS on June 29, 2010 at 10:38 am PST and she actually picked up the phone. I spoke with her and she told me the $340 includes the $250 for installation. I then asked her that they believe the cost to replace my fan is $90 and she says that is what the technician from Jesco Electric said, so that is what they went with. I reminded her of the brand/model of my fan and that to replace it would be $399 + $25 for the downrod. This amount doesn't even include any tax or shipping. She says that AHS doesn't take brand/model into consideration and said that the fan would have been the same color and same number of blades. I told her that's ridiculous and that I would like to know the brand/model that AHS thinks is equivalent to my fan. She kept saying that the cost I find would not reflect their cost and I told her I just want to know the brand/model to see what they think is equivalent regardless of the cost I find.

I am now waiting to hear back and am furious about this situation. I will never recommend AHS to anyone and will be sure to let this policy expire with no renewal. At this point I am contemplating even talking to a lawyer and seeing if anyone else would like to consider the same. AHS has already faced a class action lawsuit.

The next day, it still didn't work. Again after work, my husband and his friend looked at it. They found and hit the reset button, etc. They thought it could be the motor but they did not touch the motor! We thought it best to wait until Monday for the repairman to look at it. We thought we were doing them a favor by leaving the access panel off, etc. But according to AHS since it was off, they denied the claim! I understand they must say if it was open, etc. but the repairman said it was the motor which we honestly did not touch! They are saying everything was dismantled when it was not! It seems they are just trying to get out of their part of the warranty coverage. They are not upholding their end of the bargain!

We spoke to a couple CSRs and a supervisor to no avail. Instead of us paying our co-pay of $60, we had to pay for the whole repair over $350! We our beyond broke now. I would've been happy to work out a deal. They pay half and we pay half but they wouldn't budge! We have been with AHS for five years and can't believe they would treat a loyal customer this way! After this, I doubt we will be a customer for long! Because they denied the claim, we had to pay for the whole repair over $350, instead of what we expected to pay our co-pay of $60. We our beyond broke now.

I have not heard from him neither has American Home Shield. We then said we would not let the company replace the unit since they will not return our calls. What will happen if it is the new compressor? We have been two weeks without A/C and I called a new company at 4 pm asking about replacing the A/C. They will do it tomorrow 6/26. I paid $400.00 to American Home Shield for insurance and to take care of problems and they have not! I am paying out of pocket to have the A/C fixed tomorrow.

I then called AHS out of my mind with this gross misrepresentation and they said my part was $1,735.00. I then said that is absurd, I can get it done without the $600/year insurance for cheaper by a more reputable company like Bill Joplin that would never deal with American Home Shield. I then said I want a supervisor--no one to go to. I want an explanation. I want a cash-out option. They told me I would be notified in 48 hours. I called today for the status and they said it would be next Wednesday. Excuse me, why did you tell me 48 hours yesterday? On this same day they came out and denied my refrigerator claim. A refrigerator should cool at 40 degrees. Mine has been 64 degrees for 6 weeks. Came out once and replaced something on refrigerator. It still did not cool.

Waited 2 weeks to come out again and yesterday said the door seal needed to be replaced at the cost of $417.00 on an 18-year refrigerator. They have been out 6 times on this refrigerator and will repair it to the very end and then find a way to say it is something that is not covered. Ridiculous. I have called 3 other repairman and gone online and they all say is that if you think a door seal that is working according to the dollar bill test will cool an extra 20 degrees, then you are crazy. He said to defrost fridge and it will work fine. Defrosted all night and used hair dryer--no ice. Still is at 64 degrees today. I’m done. Emotional damage is horrible. Thinking you have insurance to protect you and now today I need to buy a new refrigerator and also spend $1730 on AC.

They agreed to fix the unit and I was supposed to reimburse for the service fee for the second repairman. I have been fighting with American Home Shield that they are going to reimburse my money. To date that promise to reimburse my service fee of $95.00 was not done. The fact that American Home Shield contractor put my family in harms way of an illegal hookup. I requested not to do business with them anymore. Now, I have no coverage for my property as result of the lies. So now I have to find another company who will cover my property.

I spoke to a supervisor at American Home Shield who gave me the OK for me to call an outside company in which I did. He also said he would refund me the money I paid the company. They came out and said the unit needs to be replaced. I faxed the invoice to Norman ** at American Home Shield 5 weeks ago and still got no refund. I need this issue resolved. These contractors they have working for them work for them and only them. I have called, e-mailed and wasted a lot of time doing this. It is stressing me out that no one is willing to help.

The following week, a different technician from AG came out and again fiddled around for about 35 minutes. He then informed me that someone had taken out the internal thermostat and "jumper" the wires. I informed him that the only work ever performed on the oven was a few months earlier and of course now. He said it looked like I needed a complete new board and that probably wasn't available, so I'd probably need a new unit. After a few days, I called AG and was advised the claim was denied. I called American Home Shield and got the runaround. Finally got to the denial department (30 minute wait) and I reviewed the entire matter with Carolyn. She basically scoffed at my story and said they weren't going to fix it.

We agreed that the unit was working after the Feb. repair and it was still under coverage. Her position was that, since a part is now missing I must have done something. Ridiculous. The tech at AG did tell me "unofficially" that sometimes if a thermostat is old and they can't get the part, they sometimes jumper it (remove it and reconnect the wires). I can't prove anything but I have a strong feeling the first AG tech tried this "fix" and made things worse. This is based on the amount of time he was attempting to fix it. In any event, the unit remains broken.

Oven was left only partially reassembled with screws sitting inside the microwave and the service ticket was "closed" at AG. I intend on taking American Home Shield to small claims court. That possibly means a trip to Iowa but I'm retired and determined.

I insisted they find the repair needed and stop the patch work that only allowed the unit to cool for a couple of hours. It was determined on the 5th repair visit that the compressor was not working and needed to be replaced. They ordered the compressor which took more than 5 business days to arrive, after many calls and Pro Air locating compressor, I was informed it would take another 7 business days to replace. For the past month, we have experienced extremely hot temperatures in Texas, over 90 degrees, much higher in a hot house. AC has not been repaired for over two weeks with extremely high Texas heat weather, house is not fit for occupancy until AC unit is cooling and running properly.

Shortly, AHS called and told me that my contract does not cover wet ground cleanup warranty and there is nothing else they can do.

It is absolutely amazing to me that the plumber AHS sent simply refused to do the work.

My observations are: 1) the plumber they sent simply can't perform the job because he's too big to fit in the crawlspace. The wet ground was just an excuse.

2) there is no incentive for the plumber or contact to do the job, unless the task is very simple and easy to complete, so he can collect his $60 with minimal time spent. The insurer, AHS pays these contractors too little, as an AHS representative told me, with HMO-like pricing. They pay a contractor a fix fee per job, probably, the $60 fee is all they get or probably less. So there is incentive for the contractor to not perform the task the first time. The more times they have to come, the more $60 they collect.

3) insurer like AHS also have incentive to delay any works unless it is a very simple task. If a task is expensive, the longer they delay the likelier the home owner will hire his own contractor to complete the work at his own cost. AHS then, can read you back the contract that all work must be approved by them. However, if you need approval from them, they will simply drag it as long as they can.

The bottom line is the system does not work. AHS doesn't pay the contractor enough to perform most tasks at market price. So the contractors have great incentive to refuse work, cooking up all kinds of excuse to delay work. Repeated visits generate the $60 fees.

Don't buy American Home Shield or any similar warranty. Save the money you pay on the premium for a rainy day fund.

The next day, AHS called and told me that Accurate reported to AHS that the problem with my AC was that the blower wheel needed to be cleaned and since this is a "maintenance" issue, it was not covered by AHS. I was also told that Accurate had estimated that the uncovered cleaning would cost $250. I told the agent that this was not what the Accurate service technician had told me. That he had said the blower wheel needed to be replaced. But the AHS agent said that AHS could only go by what the technician had filed in his report. At no time did AHS then offer to send in another contractor for a second opinion. Assuming that Accurate had made a mistake, I called them to explain what happened. They insisted that the technician had determined the only issue was a dirty blower fan, which they would come and clean for $250, independent of AHS.

Since Accurate had been dishonest either with me or AHS and since nothing would be covered by AHS, I did not want Accurate to do any work on my AC as they are not trustworthy. I had 2 other HVAC repair companies look at my unit. Both determined that the bearings in the motor had come loose and the blower wheel was broken. Ultimately, the blower motor and wheel had to be replaced, costing me about $950. I called AHS to see if we could come to a positive resolution. It was very difficult to actually talk to a real human being. After many tries, I was finally routed to the service department and talked to a young lady. She said that I have no recourse except to send a note explaining what happened and a copy of the bill for my new AC parts to an email address she gave me. She also noted that it was unlikely I would be reimbursed, but I could try.

In the course of our conversation, she told me that if I was not happy with the conclusion drawn by their AHS' designated repair service, I could have gotten a second opinion if AHS had suggested it (this is not noted anywhere in my contract and even the AHS admitted that I would have no way of knowing that AHS could have sent a second technician if they so chose). Of course, if a second assessment had been made, I would have had to pay another $60 for the service call. I wrote to the AHS email address I was given and asked that I be contacted regarding this issue. I also said in my note that I would not post a complaint on Consumer Affairs if they would contact me by June 14. It is now June 20 and I have not been contacted by AHS regarding this by anyone.

Now Ms. Lori ** from AHS, a customer Regulatory Claim Resolution Specialist, is stating otherwise. This is not a fair resolution. The contract states if it is agreed by an AHS representative that the refund would be honored. This is false practices and I will continue to take it further. The phone conversation was recorded and the refund of $89.99 should be honored. Therefore based on the terms of the contract, I should receive my refund! My Desired Resolution Refund of $89.99 that was promised to me for the cancellation of contract #**.

They got this company ARS (6/17) who has yet to call us. We have called both AHS and ARS several times and keep getting the same answer by both, "we are scheduled and they will call 30 minutes before coming out and they will be out today". It's Friday already and after calling ARS at 9:33PM (6/18), I was told they will call in the morning. We have been hearing this since 6/15. I am fast getting sick of this having to pay out the you know what for service and not getting it!

After half an hour I received a phone call from American Home Shield. They informed me that the plumber is unable to fix the broken flush of the toilet because it has been "tampered" with. They also informed me that my cost is going to be higher than the $60 that I was initially supposed to pay. Instead the plumber wants to charge me $250. This is after he had taken apart the entire toilet without my permission or knowledge. They also informed me that the plumber had told them that my other toilet was broken. He again had completely moved and taken apart this second toilet, claiming that there is something wrong with the pipes of the toilet and it is broken. This information was shocking to me, because for the past 12 years it had been working properly. And the cost to fix this new problem was at least $1,400. Both the $1,400 and $250 cost was not going to be covered by American Home Shield.

I found it astonishing that he had removed and taken apart the toilets and flushes without my permission. He left both toilets absolutely taken apart and decided to leave while I was talking on the phone to American Home Shield. American Home Shield basically said that they can't do anything about it, and that I'd have to pay in order to have my toilets back to normal before the plumber had destroyed them. And now after 30 minutes of being on the phone with American Home Shield trying to figure out what to do with this incompetent plumber that abandoned his unfinished work and left me with now two broken toilets instead of one, I still have no idea what to do.

It is baffling to me that American Home Shield has the audacity to defend this money hungry and moronic plumber. The plumber feels as if he can charge me such ridiculous price because I am a stay at home mom, and that he thinks I am clueless on these matters. But his ignorance has failed him and his greedy scheme. Sadly, this is the second time American Home Shield has failed to live up to what I pay them for. The first time was when they came to fix my dryer, and now it is working ten times worse than ever before. In conclusion, never ever trust American Home Shield!

Finally, at the beginning of November, I was told that the parts were in and that I could set up the repair. This is no longer cooling season in central PA where I live. I lost another day of work for the technician from York Mechanical Services to return to make the repair. After several hours of banging around in my basement, the technician told me that he needed to redo a lot of duct work to make the parts fit. I was presented with a bill for $212.00 for "Services not covered by my warranty". Neither American Home Shield nor the technician from York Mechanical Services warned me ahead of time that any of the repairs would not be covered by my warranty.

Under protest, I paid the $212 to York Mechanical Services. I complained to AHS and was told that the services were not covered and had to be paid by me. I also questioned the technician from York Mechanical Services as to how I would know if the repair was done properly, since there was no way that I could check air conditioning function in November to January in Pennsylvania (the work is only guaranteed by AHS for 60 days). He assured me that the repair was fine.

In March 2010, I did not renew the contract with American Home Shield due to my dissatisfaction with their services. In May 2010, I turned on my air conditioner and found a big puddle on the floor of my basement where condensate was leaking from the condensate drain tubing that had been installed by the technician from York Mechanical Services. I called American Home Shield and was told that they could not help me because my warranty was expired and 60 days had passed since the repair. I had the botched job repaired at my own expense for $85.03. A written complaint to the Better Business Bureau resulted in no action other than assertions by American Home Shield that they owed me nothing for the botched repair. Please file a lawsuit against these jerks at American Home Shield and put them out of business.

The other negative experience that I had is with the furnace guy who caused damage to the insulation and refuses to fix the problem. A second tech sent by AHS confirms that the first furnace guy did in fact cause damage but AHS will not pay to repair the damage caused. Please let me join a class action lawsuit against AHS. I hope there is one soon.

AHS had nothing to say. I didn't pay him his $60.00 service fee, because he didn't even look at the dishwasher but from a distance. I've now been on hold for an hour to cancel my warranty. It's a disaster. They should be shut down.

Our dishwasher was replaced a few years ago, but we had to pay several hundred dollars to get one that was acceptable. Sears installed it per AHS requirements and left brackets, insulation and wires showing. It looked terrible. Sears was not authorized by AHS to trim the dishwasher to our cabinets, so it looked very unfinished. When Precision Appliance (one of the only two decent contractors) came to work on the microwave/oven, once again they trimmed out the dishwasher at their own expense just so that the kitchen would look better. Oliver from Precision Appliance is wonderful! We still have an outstanding repair order (nearly two months old now) to have our whirlpool tub repaired. It took five contractor visits before the current contractor (the second decent contractor we've had through AHS) was able to figure out the problem, only to be told by AHS that they wouldn't cover the repair.

When I called, they said that the part that failed is not covered. When I questioned where it said that in the contract, all they could do is repeat, "Some parts are not covered, and some are." The part that failed is a switch that is a part of the whirlpool mechanism that relays power to the motor. I asked AHS how a whirlpool tub works without power. They said, "The motor is covered, but not the switch." Now, how in the world can an item be covered when a part within the item itself is not covered? The item is useless without this item. Don't Use AHS. You will be better off saving your premiums. We spent approximately $5,600 in premiums over the past 14 years, roughly $1,200 in service calls, and hundreds of dollars in "not covered" expenses. The cabinetry around the dishwasher was damaged by Sears through bad installation. We will have to spend close to $2500 to replace the microwave/oven combination due to the improper working condition of the microwave.

Our system was, at that time, leaking water on the inside, which was dripping from the cooling heat exchanger on the inside of the home and running down the metal surfaces on the inside and outside of the AC/Heater unit, and was actually dripping down internal wiring in the heater area and further down onto and into the blower motor that got replaced during the second call.

There was water and rust evident at all levels, but the technician shrugged on the first visit (the unit was not cooling adequately) and said the compressor needed freon, which he added. Repeat calls fell on deaf ears when I explained that the unit was operational but still dripping water inside the unit onto the wires and onto the motor, and from there through the bottom of the unit to the to the floor drain. I had requested that the technician check the A/C drip pan for a leaks during the second visit, but he did not comply with my request.

About a month later, the motor seized completely, and so All Right returned and replaced the motor. I noted again the problem I saw with internal water flowing over the internal wiring and the motor, but again, my concerns fell on deaf ears. This motor, now still less than one year old, broke off at 2 of the 3 mounts this past Tuesday. A call to All Right on motor warranty got the answer that blower motors are only guaranteed for 90 days.

So now we are looking at a total Air Conditioner and Heater replacement for a problem that was identified last year under your warranty but never addressed nor prepared. The new AC unit will cost about $8000, and I will be filing formal complaints with you and ServiceMaster, as well as notifying the realtors home office so they can tell agents what a shoddy job your company does.I would gladly discuss this further with you or your customer service department. Again, I am most unhappy over this entire episode with your service company. Almost $9000 to replace both the heater and AC unit when a much less repair would have prevented the issue.

I voiced my dissatisfaction with the situation. I was proactive in trying to avoid having AC issues and now my family has been without AC from 5/31/2010 to now, 6/03/2010. The tech from Air Tran tells me that our condenser went out on the AC and he has to have AHS approve ordering a new one, so now it will be 3-4 business days before he can return. This weekend, the temperature will be 102-103 degrees, and my family and pets will be without AC. Not a life threatening situation, I have found alternative accommodations for my family and pets; however, this company (AHS) draws $45 a month from my account claiming they assure 100% satisfaction of their service. They offered no solutions, and the customer service rep says, "I'm sorry for the inconvenience, we'll be waiting on the tech to call us with his part order."

I have received the letter stating American Home Shield has denied my claim for the hot water heater I had to replace 1 day after moving into the home and almost 1 month before receiving any information about the Home Warranty that was purchased for the home. I am not sure how to say this any clearer. On March 23rd, 2010, I purchased the home; the Home Warranty is for the period of 03/22/2010 through 03/22/2011 12:01AM. I was not given any Home Warranty information at the time of closing on the home. I was told, by the closing attorney, the Home Warranty information would be sent in the mail by the Home Warranty provider.

On March 24th, 2010 (still, no Home Warranty information has been received) I moved into the home, at which time I discovered the basement of the house was under water. I determined the cause of the water to be the hot water heater. The hot water heater had water pouring out the front. I then turned the electricity and water off to my house. I called a repair man. The repair man inspected the hot water heater and stated the hot water heater needs to be replaced, it is not repairable. I then go to the local Home Depot and purchase a smaller hot water heater than the original, bring it home and the repair man installs the hot water heater. Still, no Home Warranty information has been received. I have a small child who lives in my home; we cannot live without hot water.

I was not going to wait the 3 weeks, it took to receive the Home Warranty information before replacing the hot water heater. My child's welfare is most important. Your denial letter regarding my claim states, "We will not reimburse for the service performed without prior approval." 1. If I had the Home Warranty information, I could have and would have called the Home Warranty provider, you, American Home Shield to seek prior approval. 2. I am not asking to be reimbursed for service (labor). I am asking to be reimbursed for the hot water heater (item) I had to replace. Not only did this impact me economically, but physically and mentally I was impacted from the stress of trying to deal with American Home Shield. I honestly feel I do not have a home warranty and this leaves an uncomfortable feeling in that if something else breaks in the home, I will be footing the bill.

Anyway, I speak with the customer service rep. Bernice who tells me how much she sympathizes with me for the inconvenience. She has no idea. I have small children and the SC weather this weekend is predicted to be in the 90's! What an exciting weekend we have planned after a long week of working! After being unsatisfied with my experience with Bernice, I was connected (at my request) to Joe in the Executive Services Department. Joe gives me the same scripted lines that Bernice did and the person before her and so on. I requested that they look at the history on the unit because it has been an issue for several years. Joe tells me that she cannot draw any conclusions and makes compares the unit to a car.

I expressed that that was so unfair; if anything you should compare the air conditioning in the car to the air conditioning in the house as opposed to my HVAC system and a car. It is totally different like apples and oranges. Anyway, my contract expires soon and I will not be renewing. The money I have invested in annual fees and trade fees, I probably could have bought a brand new unit or at least have made a pretty significant dent in the cost of a new unit.

Buyers beware. The best thing is to get yourself a trusted and reliable handyman that can be honest and not stiff you each time. These are really hard and tough economical times not just for the homeowner but for many businesses as well. What incentive would this repair company (Air Plus Services) have to repair or replace the unit after 5 years of failed tries? None! That would mean missed revenue from a consistently reliable customer! Hope this message helps the next person. An extended weekend with no air conditioning because we would rather, for 5 years keep patching a unit as opposed to replacing. Unbelievable!

One week later, the third company was finally sent out which confirmed that it was the compressor problem. After nearly another week since this third company figured out the problem, I finally got an update today that it would take at least another two weeks before they can get the part. Meanwhile, our two other A/C units stopped working. It is too much a coincidence. I have to wonder if these people accidentally messed up the two previous working units.

During the whole three weeks ordeal, AHS has been extremely unreasonably inflexible and showed no concern of their customer’s needs. It would have been so simple and easy to solve the whole problem and would not have cost AHS any more money to just have the outside company do the installation. But, "No, we have our rules to follow." We have paid thousands of dollars each year for this type of rare occasion. When something is finally covered under the policy, but found out that this is not the company that is willing to help.

As to date AHS and Superior Systems have done nothing to repay our cost of repairs despite a complaint to Superior Systems' insurance company or his bond holder. Our experience over the last 10 years is that AHS contracts with service agents whom are incompetent, lacking the expertise needed to perform much of the repairs required. At this date we are still litigating this matter. Superior's bond company sent out a representative to verify our claim and his finding was that the workmanship was shoddy and our claim valid for the damages but disagreed with the amount of our contractor's bid to repair the damage.

My 90-year old mother-in-law has been in the house, in 95 degree weather for seven days. Another two are required. I don't think "Please spare my mother-in-law" had any effect and fell on deaf ears. Neither AHS nor ACS expedited their service to assist the elderly. This is not the first time AHS has made it difficult. In another instance, they tried to insinuate that a dual over that was covered was faulty because it was cleaned with oven cleaner instead of using the electric facility for that purpose. It took my wife about two months to get that situation cleared up.

On Monday, 5/17, I had a second HVAC technician from a different company provide a second opinion, regarding the estimate for the work. He noted that the unit was a newer one (his best estimate was less than 5 years old), and that if there was a problem, it would likely be covered by the factory warranty. He turned on the heater, and evaluated the flames. He let it run for several minutes. He did not identify any evidence whatsoever, for a broken heat exchange, or the need to replace the furnace (the flames were blue, uniform, and no roll out was observed). Clearly, this was surprising news, since the A-US Air technician reported that there were problems, so significant that the entire furnace would need to be replaced. It is not clear what the A-US Air technician observed.

On Tuesday morning, Kenny from A US Air contacted me to schedule the replacement of the furnace. I stated that I did not intend to work with A US Air. He solicited additional information, and I told him the entire story, and expressed my concern that his company was attempting to up-sell and defraud me. He was very concerned about my experience, apologized immediately, and stated that he would get with the technician to understand what his side of the story was. He stated that I could expect a call from the manager later that day. I have not ever heard from the company again. I am writing a letter to American Home Shield regarding my experience.

As of today, AHS will not accept either rep's estimate, and said that my mother would have to wait until 5/21 for a new compressor for the A/C. Both reps said they could have the compressor here within 24 hours. In the meantime my mother's health is being compromised by the heat and the stress that this situation has caused. My mother cannot leave her home due to the medical and physical support in her home, plus her pets would have to remain there in the heat. I really don't know where else to turn, but I am going to make a complaint to the BBB, the Washington State Insurance Commission, and the AARP who many times will advocate for seniors. I have also contacted Shandra ** who is the assistant to David Crawford, the CEO for AHS (under ServiceMaster Inc.). Physical...my mom is one week out of the hospital for a stroke! This is an emergency and AHS won't respond. My mother does not have the money to pay for these repairs nor do I.

I also have a dishwasher that doesn't clean properly. They have sent three different repair people out for a total of eight times. They've replaced parts and the dishwasher still doesn't clean properly. They've told me everything from the water isn't hot enough (140 degrees) to "don't load it full, use only half the spaces on the lower level." I've tried to explain that for eight years this dishwasher has worked properly and now it doesn't and they still say they don't know what else to do. Their contract says they will replace products if they cannot be repaired but, after eight service calls to my home, they say they're not going to replace it. I can have another service tech out if I want one.

I will not renew with this company. Their people are rude, incompetent and totally untrained for this work. The contractors they send out are also incompetent and mostly stand around staring at whatever is wrong and then say they don't know what to do. I definitely want to be in on any class action suit that is filed on these people. They are liars and thieves. They take your money and don't honor their contracts. It has cost me money to hire my own contractors (I'm disabled and on a fixed income). It will cost me more because I'll have to hire more and/or replace my dishwasher because it won't clean properly.

Eight months later, The system suction line was freezing up. I contacted the A/C company that installed unit. A new technician advised me that the unit needed Freon and a coil was dirty in the air handler. The technician repaired a small leak in the system suction line on the unit that was installed where the line was soldered during the original install. The technician clearly stated to my son that the original install was not done correctly. He still billed me for 5 lbs of Freon and 3-hour labor and checking of the coils. He stated that the coils were clean. He was not at location for 3 hours.

I spoke to the owner of Higginson's who states that AHS only paid him $250 to install and has nothing to do with him. I asked the owner for some consideration and the owner stated that I was a thief. The owner stated that repairs only guaranteed 30 days. I told him that it has nothing to do with me on what the insurance company paid him to install the unit.

I threatened to go court to resolve this and the owner stated, "Go ahead." I advised that I would file a BBS insurance consumer complaint. I also contacted AHS and they refused to accept the responsibility for the A/C installer's actions. The representative spoke to a supervisor that relayed the message. I also asked for the CEO consumer complaint division. They just gave me an address and there's no phone available.

I had to pay $370 for repairs and the owner defamed my name over the phone. All I wanted was considerations for a repair not done right the first time and never did the company accept the responsibility. Because of the ** service, I cancelled my ** with AHS and quit paying.

So, not only do we have to scrape together that money by getting loans against 401K & premature IRA distributions, which has penalties to pay later, but we pay off the loan on 4/30. What do they do on 5/5 but take our mortgage draft and basically steal our money. They won't give it back. I'm already living on pennies and now checks are going to bounce. Bounced checks, tax penalties, no savings left. Thanks AHMSI.

My contractor called a heater technician friend (not a candidate for a sale) who said the same thing, and while he ran it to check it, the heater sent up so much smoke the detectors sounded off! At this point we talked about replacements, and I suddenly remembered the warranty. My calls to AHS were many; they assigned a technician to come, but he couldn't come till the next day. Then the next day, he called and had a rude conversation with me, and then apparently got in a car accident on the way here, so obviously did not show up. So that second night, they assigned another technician, who couldn't come till the next day, and pushed it almost till 5PM (quitting time!). This technician just jumped into the basement space to work on the heater, but since 4 experts had said don't run it for fear of fire danger, I wanted him to talk to me about what he saw and what he intended to do. He got angry and said he had no obligation to discuss any aspect of his work with me (the owner) and then he walked out, leaving me with a weekend of below freezing temperature and no heater. AHS claims to have offered me the "Band Aid" solution of $75 for a space heater, but in fact the gal I spoke with about 10 times on Friday said she was "trying to get authorization" for that, and never really offered it.

Because I had spent 8 days, 5 of them wasted by AHS, in freezing temperatures trying to keep my pipes from freezing, using space heaters loaned by new and caring neighbors, I called to have the heater replaced myself on Monday. We replaced it with a similar conservative model, for $3000 less than the brochure's stated "average" price for heater replacement. AHS ignored my problem Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday (a full week after my first call of no heat in below freezing temperature, a condition Idaho folks consider a full emergency), a technician called saying he was coming out to take a look. We were actually leaving town for Thanksgiving, and informed him it had been replaced, so not to come. We subsequently attempted to negotiate reimbursement, but the AHS company said we did not go through "proper channels" so they would not pay. We reported to the BBB, and AHS responded to BBB with a request for several reports about the previous heater, etc. in spite of the fact we had given full reports of all inspectors involved, receipts for the heater and wiring, several photographs of the old heater, close-ups of the problem areas. Because we bought a house in foreclosure that had been vandalized and with few covered appliances, we have now decided to request our premium back and sever our relationship as clients. We have not yet decided whether to engage our attorney. It's nasty to have your life be all about the fight when a dishonest company takes advantage of hard working consumers.

On April 5, 2010 I called AHS and told them that my air condition unit was not working. They sent a technician out the following day from a company that I had never heard of. When the repairman arrived, I showed him the unit that was sitting in my back yard. Be mindful that my unit sits on a level concrete slab. Not surrounded by tall grass or any other obstructions what so ever. After showing the repairman the location of the unit, I returned to doing some work on my computer. After about five minutes or so, I heard this loud noise and went outside to investigate. As I was heading for the location of the noise, I met the repairman coming to inform me as to what had happened. His exact words to me was "I think I have located your problem".

He proceeded to show me burnt oil from the compressor. He made me aware that the oil was also black and made references to the fact that this oil should be looking like Wesson oil. He then ran his finger over some oil that had escaped from the blown compressor and noted to me that there was metal shaving in the oil.

He surmised to me at this point that he felt like the compressor had had some internal failure and that is why it blew. He informed me right then and there that it would be covered under AHS Warranty. He told me that he was going to put it back together and that it would take about a week to get the repairs done. I thanked him for his services and said I will see you in about a week. After 8 days of waiting, I decided to call AHS to see what was the problem. I was told, after a long period of hold time from A calling B to see what C said, that my claim had been denied.Naturally,I asked why. And on the third day, I was told that this same repairman, who had told me 11 days ago that my unit would be repaired, has now changed his finding to my unit was 75% dirty and that voided my warranty.

I spoke with a supervisor at AHS and I asked her how can a claim be denied from the time the repairman left my home, until now 11 days later. She informed me that the repairman had still photos of the unit being 75% dirty. I said, lady I have still photos of it not being 75% dirty. I asked her what constitute 75%? I also asked if they would get a second opinion of which they said no. End of story and as soon as I finish this, I will be canceling my membership with this fraudulent company.

I am still without air and doing research as to the cost of having the unit or the compressor repaired or replaced. To date, the lowest cost for either is $1,000.00. A figure that I have surely paid to AHS over the years just for this purpose.

When we spoke to American Home Shield they told us that damage due to normal wear and tear were not covered. In the past these were covered. Now they say it is not covered. We were not aware that they changed the policy on us.

We are also putting a small addition on and therefore had to move the plumbing stack in the basement. We tore up some concrete and were just planning on cutting out the portion of pipe that was in the way. Then the plumber could tie into the existing pipe. Unfortunately, the 55 year old cast iron pipe is bad (it is clean but completely rotted through on the bottom). Since this was a large and unforeseen expense, my boyfriend suggested seeing if the warranty company would cover it.

I called AHS and explained the entire problem. They said they would cover up to $500 since it was under concrete (I spoke to two different reps in the same day who said the same thing). It seemed like a bit of a rip off since the new sewage line is going to cost way more than $500 but I figured it was better than nothing. I said they could go ahead and send someone out. The plumber came and agreed that the pipe was bad. He wrote this in an invoice too.

However, he called AHS and they said it wouldn't be covered. They left me a message saying they were off the hook because some of the pipe was already taken out (their crook terminology: "it wasn't properly installed so they can't obtain a proper diagnosis"). We kept the portion of pipe that we removed, it is visibly bad. What kind of idiot do they think I am? Why on earth would I pay some bozo $60 bucks if I knew they were going to refute my claim? That's the whole reason why I called them twice to verify that it was at least partially covered. I explicitly told the reps we already took part of the pipe out (that's how we realized it was bad).

At this point, I'm not going to settle for the $500 (we tore up all of the concrete so the pipe is now exposed, they can't use that convenient loophole on me). I have never even thought of filing a lawsuit before but this is injustice. I am in no way a litigious person. AHS is deliberately scheming people. It seems to me that people need to stand up to these swindlers. I am so disgusted that there are such crooks out there.

Then I called the AHS rep to tell her all of this and that the part was about a $200 part. She took down all the information then switched me to a Supervisor. I worked for State Farm as an Agent/CSR for 20 years and could not believe how nasty this woman, Diane, was to me, the customer. She did say that they would send me a voucher for one service call (there had been several) and was not going to do anything about taking the vendor who could not fix anything off their list or even review their complaints. She was not going to do anything about the laminate flooring I am going to lose because of this leaking refrigerator. If it was fixed correctly in the first place, I wouldn't be losing my floor. She told me that she'd been in the business for 30 years and that she'd never heard of this problem. I then asked her to take a look at how many times it had taken them to fix my 2 month old dual oven. I told her it was the same company and that they'd been out several times before they finally figured out what was wrong (bad lock on the oven door).

In closing, the techs that they send are terrible and their customer service is terrible, too. Who needs a snotty Supervisor when you are already upset to have to defrost your refrigerator/freezer again? I'm going to lose my laminate flooring in the kitchen which cannot be matched. I have the same flooring throughout my dining room and great room and hallways which are all open. So, this will never look the same. If it had been fixed right to begin with, this would have never have happened. I happen to like what I have now and I'm upset that it is not going to match and about the cost and time incurred to replace this flooring. It's not worth the stress, money and frustration to deal with this company.

They did not schedule the appointment for a week. Allison had been here for service on the same unit annually since we moved in 4 years ago. The tech was outside for 3 minutes, came in and first told me that the unit was dirty and that the charge to clean it would be an additional $60. I indicated that we would clean the unit if it needed to be cleaned (The same tech had not indicated that the unit was dirty during the last visits). Then he said the compressor was bad; he would order one and it would be about a week. He took a check for $60 with him.

Then, after waiting a week thinking he would be returning and I would be able to breathe and sleep again soon, I get a call from AHS indicating that he said it was dirty and that is what caused the compressor to go out. The short of it was that AHS was declining the claim! My feelings are that the unit was not dirty over the other times when he was paid to repair $60, but when it needed replaced, it suddenly was dirty and not covered.

I feel that AHS does not live up to their claims. We live in the Columbus area, yet the tech AHS sends is from Millersport. They are nearly impossible to get on the phone and untimely. AHS did not honor their claim. I have found numerous other complaints similar about Allison and AHS and other contractors and AHS. The repair companies they choose are less than top-rate. Additionally, it has been two weeks. I am suffering with my allergies and now I have to find someone to replace the system and pay for it myself. This is terrible, terrible service by Allison and AHS. One complaint said, "Worst possible service." I totally agree.

After involving three additional independent air conditioner companies, it has been determined in Bryan's presence, that the coil does indeed have a leak. The compression is 3lbs low of freon and the static pressure problem he describes was not found. Bryan still reports to the warranty company that the leaking coil is not the problem and my claim for service of the leaking coil and low freon is being denied. Bryan has displayed dishonesty and a lack of integrity.

Background: It was determined in Sept. of 2009 by another contractor of American Home Shield that the coil was nearly rusted through and the system was 3lbs low of coolant and the system was then recharged. The leak was not found, but pictures were taken of coil. The condenser started running rough again in Feb 2010 and was determined by two independent companies to be low on freon, and that there was a leak in the system.

Bryan was the service provider at that point and that is when he pointed the finger at the damper system. It has been determined by the manufacture's specifications that the damper system was installed properly, but that the static pressure relay could be moved to provide a more accurate reading and that issue has since been corrected. That item does not resolve the leaking coil, the low freon level or Bryan's responsibility to report factual data to American Home Shield in reference to our service contract.

Second was reporting that my sump pump was not working. Once again, the sump pump is covered but not the piping that runs from sump pump to the drain field. As they put it, 'we do not cover the things outside the foundation of the home'. Again, I wouldn't know because nobody tells you any of this when you're filing the service claim and I don't have a contract. The latest complaint is my dishwasher. It started making a really loud noise. I placed the service call to AHS and then I was contacted by Sears repair. Even though there is a Sears right here in my town that services appliances, this was a Sears service center somewhere else and the soonest they could schedule me was a couple of weeks out. I scheduled the service being new to AHS. I contacted AHS to see if there was anybody else in the area (my community) that could service my dishwasher sooner. AHS said they would look into it for me and someone would contact me to see if there was another vendor who could do it sooner. I waited for the call, but none was made.

Today I called AHS back to see what the status was of the service on my dishwasher. They told me the service call was cancelled. I asked why, they said I did it. That was a complete lie. I never told them to cancel. According to their records I did. Apparently when you request to have someone else do the repair, they have to cancel your original service call in order to look into having someone else perform the service. Nobody at AHS told me this.

Now I have two options. I can wait another 3 weeks for Sears to come to my house or I can pay from my pocket to have another vendor perform the work. And then the next catch all. You must comply with all the AHS guidelines in order to get reimbursed. However, they won't tell you what those guidelines are until you say you're going to take that option. Once you take that option in order to learn the guidelines, they have to cancel your service call and you get to start all over again. I expressed my frustration and they did not express any compassion to me the customer who has paid their premium. It's difficult enough these days spreading our finances and just getting into a new house, and then to feel like you can get the complete service answer you need and timely. Payment out of pocket so far is $906 plus cost of warranty plan of $1276.

Additionally, ARS guys would come out with no tools and just look at stuff without taking anything apart. I ended up paying for all repairs out of pocket. ARS always reported some lie to AHS who in turn would never cover the repair. ARS, of course, would always give me their cost to cover the repair which was always near or over $1,000.

Every repairman that I paid after ARS said the problem was something totally different and charged me a lot less! AHS solution is to send another contractor out with me paying the service fee for this person too! You aren't allowed to use someone you know to be trusted and experienced. Just the crafty techniques they hire. You can bet the 2nd contractor is going to confirm the 1st lie told by ARS. If the 2nd contractor by chance say something different, then they'll go with ARS. They can count on them to hold true to the original lie. AHS whole business is a scam!

I've paid nearly $2,000 in premiums and service fees alone. On top of this amount, I still had to pay for the repairs by qualified individuals. One plumber from ARS named Shawn fixed a leak in the basement apartment. He told me it was a problem with the toilet on the 2nd floor apartment and he fixed it (I thought it was strange there was no leaking in the 1st floor apartment). A week later, water was leaking in the basement again. I called AHS they said the Shawn reported that something was wrong with the 2nd floor toilet flange (which they of course don't cover)and the leak may appear again in the future. I told them the Shawn told me he sealed the 2nd floor toilet and the problem was fixed. I called ARS and got a hold of Shawn.

I asked him why did he tell me one thing and AHS something else. At first he said he didn't tell AHS anything about a flange. Then he admitted he did. I asked him why would he do that. He said he was trying to save me money. He then told me ARS could fix the problem for $642 minimum. I've hired an independent contractor to find and fix the problem. He says the 2nd floor toilet flange has absolutely nothing to do with the leak in the basement. As usual, he knew the exact amount it would cost for ARS to fix the problem in this case the toilet flange.

Talking with AHS about the problems I've experienced with them was equally frustrating. My requests to speak to a supervisor were never granted. The customer service reps, especially one named Nicole, treated me like I am the con artist. Two days ago I canceled my contract with AHS. I finally realized I was dealing with false security and was going to continue to pay for all future repairs. When I called to cancel, they told the department that handled cancellations wasn't answering the phone and they would call me back. I fussed and finally got a person in the cancellation department. I wish I had read all the American Home Shield complaints a lot sooner. I've paid nearly $2,000 in premiums and service fees alone. On top of this amount, I still had to pay for the repairs by qualified individuals.

He said if I was not there he would leave and I would have to make another appointment and said he does not come our direction unless he has 2-3 appointments in our town at least. So basically we have to wait until it is convenient for him to work on our equipment. Well, I told AHS about this and requested another contractor and they stated that they would have the dispatch company call me.

Well, 4.5 hours later, I called them back and they said they have not even looked at it and I am obligated to give them at least 24 hours to let them contact me. I said I have waited almost 4 days for this and they said they understood my concern, but they can't do anything else for me. AHS is the biggest bunch of scam artists I have ever seen. They make it near impossible to get anything out of them, so you end up having to call a contractor yourself.

Last summer 2009, our pool pump broke down (a plumbing/valve problem). Our spa continued to drain out. After a few service calls, AHS sent out several companies none of which fixed the problem. A couple of them were not in the correct service field; for example, they sent out a company called Platinum which turned out to be electricians. After multiple visits that spanned the entire summer with no pool and green water, they continued not showing up; and when they did they messed with the pump, cut pipes and generally made a mess out of our system because they were not plumbers. They left cut pipe and trash all around the equipment and they never got it working. The problem was never fully solved and we called in yet another work order.

This time we got a company in that fixed the problem and helped us clean up the mess. We took photos of the mess Platinum made out of the plumbing and yard. We were told by AHS that they had had other complaints about Platinum and that they would no longer be a contractor for them. Ok. That’s after 22 years of payment. Since then it is now April 2010 and we have had a couple of normal calls such as a leaky faucet and an electric breaker went out as well. Guess who they were going to send out? Platinum Electric.

When we inquired as to why we were terminated so abruptly, we were told that we had over 7 incidents in a year’s time and that we had been "flagged” for too many calls for repair. AHS never told us this would be an issue with our contract. No one cared that it was their bad business that they continued to send out the wrong service companies which resulted in more calls to them. In 22 years we have had other properties under contract with AHS and to this date within my family there are 14 members with contracts. I counted references that I specifically made to co-workers and friends and they totaled 11.

Needless to say all of my family is terminating their contracts at the end of May "after careful consideration" and so far 8 of my friends are as well. Most of theses people have never even used the coverage; some because AHS would either not cover the item or it was just too minor of an issue. Of the 19 members that will be terminating the contract with AHS, 7 have never made a claim, 5 have made one each and 7 have made two in the span ranging from 18 to 20 years.

Goodbye, AHS. I felt good about having you in the wings but now I believe that after all these years I could have paid for my "fixes" and saved money by not paying you. Nice way to treat a good customer after 22 years of collecting my money.

8:18pm AHS

I have spoken to the department for approval, as all calls were recorded for customer insurance! Got to love this... Lynn told me that in two hours, I can call; and if they haven't found anybody to repair my Air unit, they will approve it to be fixed by an outside company that I have picked!

It has now been two hours, and My Air Now is on their way! I called AHS and spoke to a guy about getting this fixed. I was informed that I will have to front the full bill and that it will be reimbursed within 3-5 weeks. I informed him that all calls was monitored, and I was told that it will be covered and bill will be picked up! Not on my cost but on AHS!

I told them about all the complaints that I have read and that the service that I got already was poor so far! I asked to speak with a supervisor and as usual, they always try to cover up things, because they don't want to lose their customers! There was another of my 30-40 minutes time wasted when I could have been taking a shower to cool down! I will have more updates!

I called American Home Shield, and they told me it can take 48 hours. They were going to have Third Generation Plumbing service my call. I asked them what does plumbing have to do with electric? I have informed them that my mother has COPD and I need the unit serviced. They asked me what COPD was. I told them that I had contacted MY AIR NOW, and they are able to service the unit tonight.

I was told that they don't cover that company and I have to be serviced with their company! After 40 minutes on the phone, they tried to contact their company which told them I would have to wait until Thursday, 2 days from now! They told me that I have to wait 2 hours and if they can't find anybody who will cover my unit, they will give me an approval for MY AIR NOW to fix the unit!

I don't understand why they can't do this now. She gave me a number and told me to call back within two hours! In the meantime, I have to wait!

After fighting with AHS for more than a week and temperatures over 98 degrees, then they approved the company to change the compressor unit, which was a Carrier. They replaced it with a cheaper unit under the condition that I paid $400.00 to the a/c company to remove the other compressor unit. I told them that we could remove it ourselves, but they said that they would not install the other one unless we paid the $400.00 to the company they sent to do the work, and so we did. I thought my mother and children were going to die from the heat.

The technician named James installed the unit, and it was very noisy. A couple years after the main board burnt and when AHS sent another company to see what had happened, the technician noticed that the compressor unit had been left with the electric cables out and that it created a short. The weather and rodents had eaten these wires just laying on the grass next to the unit.

After that, and just last year, the a/c stopped again. AHS sent out a company by the name of Barkers a/c. The technician just went top the attic and said that the fan motor had burned due to the fan motor being dirty on the top. But he did not check anything; he just saw that. He called AHS, and they denied the repair. I fought this company back and forth, and no one took responsibility. They wanted to charge almost $600.00 for the repair, and my husband got the part for $11.00 and changed it himself. It was not the fan motor; it was the capacitor.

I hired an a/c company to do maintenance on the a/c 2 times a year, and they were just over last week to do the spring/summer maintenance. My husband asked them about cleaning the fan motor, and they said that the dust on top of it is absolutely normal and that it won't cause anything to be damaged. My husband vacuumed it himself.

A month ago, the compressor unit outside broke. I called AHS, after I had already cancelled with them, since the compressor had to be under warranty with Carrier (well, their cheaper brand). It was, and I had to pay $565.00 for the company to install it. They stated that the compressor was never installed properly, and the constant vibration (the one causing the big noise) caused the plug to break and the compressor burnt out.

I highly recommend not to use AHS. It is better to have a separate savings account and put the fee you would pay them monthly, and use it whenever you need repairs. I was told by the technician that installed the compressor the first time (the one that did not do it correctly) that AHS trains the companies they use to find something wrong that is not covered under the warranty, so that the customer has to pay for it. In my case it was the a/c, and he tried by blaming it on lack of maintenance.

2. Today, I had a problem with my thermostat continuously running and hitting 90 degrees in room. A heating specialist was sent, again another $95.00 given and he said the problem was the thermostat and I needed a electrician and he called AHS. AHS then called me back and said I was not covered for whatever had to be done with the thermostat. I will never pay them another penny since this company is robbing insurance holders and should be investigated. This is an abomination. I would like to know what steps I can take other than cancelling my policy. This is downright robbery. I cannot complain about the servicemen just the thievery of AHS charging high premiums and not delivering.

I fail to see where it is my responsibility to seek reimbursement from the company that American Home Shield not only referred me to, but left me no other choice but to allow them and only them to perform the AC repairs. American Home Shield is who my contract was with and they are the ones who are liable for the acts of their authorized agents. If American Home Shield does not make this right within the next 30 days, I will be filing suit against them for specific performance and seek actual and punitive damages.

After four days without heat, my dog made a great recovery. I was so happy until I found out from the company that I had to pay for to come out that my dog and my entire family had been probably suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning because of the condition of our heat exchange. It was said that the exchange had needed to be replaced for at least six years but probably longer and after I cut off 6" of my hair thinking my headaches were from that, I have to agree. We have had issues with our heat for over five years but if we ever got it working then it would stay on for the season. Thank God, it didn't this time.

We took pictures and had our company just replace the 17-year old unit out of fear and paid for it out of our pocket. After talking with at least 8-10 mostly mean people, I was put in touch with Joy S. who spoke with the company I used which by the way I used then after being told Home Shield would take care of it, only to find out as they called AHS with the ref# and diagnosis. AHS refused them and wanted to send the same *** back out maybe in two days. We chose to have heat that day since the high temp was 30 again and the rep for my company informed them of the dangers and everything we were put through.

After I sent my pics to Joy, AHS agreed to pay me half of what I paid for the unit, which shocked me. I thought I was just out of over $5000 because it could have been repaired but after almost killing my family, I was scared. I tried to cancel AHS and they will not cancel or refund my fees for the remaining six months I don't want. As I said, my dog was sick, seemed to recover, then my cat died January 15, 2010. My dog never fully recovered and had to be put to sleep on March 5, 2010. Both animals were old but very healthy until this. I paid $5,125 out of pocket for new heater. I was reimbursed half in Feb. I've had undue stress from every person representing AHS.

I checked the oven and it was working again. About nine days later, a box from Sears arrived with the two parts in it that the repairman supposedly installed. I called AHS and they told me the repair was completed and they had already paid Sears. I called Sears and they told me their records showed that the repair was completed and they asked me to let someone come and pick up the parts. A few days after their repairman picked up the parts, my oven stopped working again. I called AHS again and reported that the repair was not completed. They scheduled a different repair shop and told me I was going to have to pay another $60 fee. I demanded to have Sears come out and finish the job properly. Another appointment was scheduled for March 12. At this point, I have been without a working oven for more 30 days.

When Sears arrived again, their repairman said he did not have the parts and would have to order them. Now, stick with me here. They knew what the make and model of my oven was from the last visit and what the problem was well before the appointment. He told me the parts would be ordered on a rush basis and the would arrive on March 16th. He scheduled the next service call for March 17th. On Monday, March 15, someone called my home and asked if the parts had arrived yet. My fiance told them they were not expected until Tuesday, March 16. The person thanked her and promised to find out why the parts have not arrived yet. The next day, March 16th, the box arrived with the parts. On March 17, I took the day off of work to wait for the repairman from Sears. He never showed up.

I called Sears and they told me my appointment was reschedule for April 12th (without my knowledge) since the parts had not arrived on Monday March 15th. I could not believe what I was hearing. I told the woman on the phone that another 30 days without an oven was unacceptable and I wanted my $60 back so I could contact a different organization to make the repair. She told me I would have to take it up with AHS since they were paying for the repair. I also asked her to connect me with her supervisor. She told me he was unavailable but he would call me. He never did.

I called AHS and they told me I could use a different repair service but that would cost another $60. I asked them to refund my $60 in accordance with their satisfaction guarantee and the woman told me that Sears would have to refund my money, not AHS. I finally got my oven repaired but it took more than 45 days and I never received so much as a "We're sorry we made a mistake" from AHS or Sears. Today in the mail, I received a notice from AHS asking me to spend $765 to renew the policy with them. Not after countless hours of wasted time and the total corporate runaround. No way, AHS! You've just lost a customer for life.

The home I have purchased has a 15-year-old water heater. It will heat to an acceptable hot temperature only when set on 'very hot'. So I called AHS and reported this; the repairman came quickly. However, when he called this into AHS after examination of the water heater, he was told that he was not to replace the unit unless the unit was leaking. And that he was only to flush the water heater and see if that would 'repair' it. Apparently, the water heater had already been flushed as there was only a small amount of sediment that came out. He could do no more, and said that I would also have to flush it again several times over the next week.

I demanded my $60 'deductible' check back and he gave it to me, and left. Now, I know that AHS will probably not come out for any other problems that may arise, even though the seller paid $528 for the 'core level' plus 'service for undetectable' problems. So, all in all, AHS is no longer a warranty company at all; they accept sellers’ money, but never intend to replace problem units in a newly purchased home. There are no damages to report at this time; but I do feel it necessary to report to you that AHS does not stand for or behind what they sell to consumers. I see no point in ever calling AHS again and I will not renew 'the contract' after the year is over.

I defrosted the entire fridge and still no cooling. I called AHS to schedule, yet another service repair and another 60 dollars. The technician had noticed a hole in the back lining of the freezer and indicated that it was the problem and couldn't be fixed. AHS denied the claim the very next day. I spoke to the supervisor and the market research department in charge of denied claims. I was informed that they would not pay the claim. After 120 dollars and approximately 60 dollars a month, I am without a refrigerator and had learned a valuable lesson about this company. Needless to say, I have ended my relationship with this company.

Our children were sick from mold and my family had to go without hot water in very cold weather. We are suing American Home Shield and the plumber for the damage to our home, health, and living conditions. While American Home Shield tries their best to get out of being responsible for the damage, they also sent us a letter saying that they are not renewing our contract. Ouch! Talk about insult to injury.

2nd complaint: Basement drain from laundry flooded into basement and basement bathroom. AHS covered nothing, cost $1,000 deductible (thankfully our home owner's insurance covered the damage) plus $225 for plumber to come fix the drain.

3rd complaint: Sump pump failed, AHS did not cover it being fixed since we could not prove it was the sump pump failing over our (nearly new) roof "leaking".

During all of this mess we were promised contact within 48 hours. Emergency service fees would be waived if we could just wait a few more hours. With so many apologies it would make your head spin. So my husband and I renewed our policy because we thought it was a good deal! Little did we know what was going to happen next! After speaking to numerous "supervisors" our electrical outlet is still not fixed and the customer service representatives were beyond rude! Now we are in the process of trying to cancel the renewal policy and are just waiting on that drama.

I contacted the electrical company direct to see why they haven't contacted us. The electrical company stated they informed the warranty company they were out of town on business and would not be back for several weeks. This information was never relayed to us. This is the most frustrating insurance company. I will never buy a home with this "free" insurance option ever again!

In speaking with the contractor, he has stated to AHS that the unit needs to be replaced completely and could have the unit done in a couple of hours, due to the problems it's causing and having to replace the motor every couple of months. AHS will not replace the unit instead only wants to continue to replace the blowing fan that has been replaced four times since September 2009. It is February 2010.

I can only assume that this is just a one-time issue with customer satisfaction. But, I do not think that is the case. I have contacted a lawyer for this issue, under the law (a certain law), this should not be happening. The unit should be completely replaced. Normally I would not be this upset but I have a little girl (infant) that breaks my heart that I can not see her or be with due to no heat at my home. I hope that someone reads this and will think long and hard before considering AHS for service!

If this has a legal merit or not, I am not sure since I am not a lawyer but it feels horrible being a customer with American Home Shield and we will terminate our contract as soon as they open their phone lines again. The other time they said that they issue, a broken pipe was not covered since it was outside the house, but yet charged $60.00 and that might be in the contract. But even so, that is a crappy and questionable business practice to charge for something that you will not cover as an insurance company. We will cancel our contract ASAP and recommend that nobody else ever, except my worst enemies, to use American Home Shield since they are a, in my opinion, just collecting fees and are doing everything to avoid paying out and helping clients with their claims! And I am sorry that they are still in business.

Judging from all other complaints I have found now, I am surprised they are still in business. But I hope they will be taken down by some powerful lawyer. In short, my recommendation is to stay away from American Home Shield!

AHS was called to be alerted that the service promised to be provided was not in fact provided. The oven is still not working and the repairman isn't coming to fix it. AHS was unwilling to reschedule the appointment, unwilling to cover any repair fee costs and unwilling to contact an alternate service for repairs.

This part lasted up until February 11, 2010. The technician who put this part in wasn't available, so another was dispatched. Not even an emergency basis. They replaced my relay again, but the fridge still didn't cool. He then had to order a thermostat control. Two more days went by, and he replaced the thermostat and said to give it 24 hours and see if a bowl of water freezes. It didn't; I gave it 4 days. All the while, I'm living out of an ice chest. He said I needed a new fridge and he would tell AHS.

Two days went by, and he didn't call. So I called on a Friday. They had him on the phone, and he told them that I needed a new fridge. He however faxed over that he doesn't work on sealed systems and referred it out. Monday, I got a call from the tech who originally replaced my relay, and he also said I needed a new fridge.

10 days have gone by, and now, Sears comes and says it's the compressor and they authorized replacement. It will be delivered in 3-5 days. Then I called for them to put it in. I am going on over 3 weeks without a refrigerator, and AHS can only say "I'm sorry, but that's how it is."

I paid my monthly payment every month and pay my co-pay when called, which has only been twice since I got it in the last two years. I am a single mother and have no fridge and have lost now two refrigerators full of food because of this. They could care less!

As a result, since the appliance was not inserted into the space properly, the range hangs out in front of the counter space by three inches. The workers stated to me that since the gas line valve feed from the wall was too high, and the back of the new range had a stainless steel back that allowed no room for the valve to fit, therefore the range could not be fitted properly into its respective slot with the space restraints of the existing pipe.

My other complaint is, with the quality of the replacement appliance being substandard and causing additional with the smoke detector in my kitchen being triggered from one steak being cooked in the broiler. In addition, I boiled two pots of water for vegetables on the cook-top and when I was finished with cooking, I observed noticeable amounts of brown stains within three locations on the surface of the range, the metal burner caps that are located on the top of the gas burner heads, the fan vent that sits on top of the stove and the metal grates are inundated with gross brown stains from one cooking event. I removed the stained items and attempted to clean them with Dawn detergent and a soft cleaning cloth as prescribed in the range manual to no avail. The stains are there and appear to be permanent.

The very next day, they sent a plumber who came out and looked at the pipe. After a few minutes, he said that the broken pipe was not covered under the warranty because it had "Green corrosion on it." I explained to him that all copper will have some sort of green corrosion on them. It's called oxidation. That's why the Statue of Liberty is green. He informed me and AHS that copper does not turn green and that the green color was due to an improper install. He said that the installer should have cleaned the pipe before he installed it and that would stop the pipe from turning green. I asked him what product he used to stop copper from turning green, and he could not give me an answer. Well, as you can imagine, upon hearing the plumber's explanation, AHS denied my claim.

First and foremost, I have lived in this house for 13 years and have had very few plumbing problem. Furthermore, when there's a plumbing issue, doesn't that mean something is usually wrong? AHS's brochure shows comparable pricing with their warranty as oppose to without one. It shows thousands of dollars in savings which are simply not true if they continuously denied consumer's claims.

I decided to call AHS myself and ask why they were denying the claim and while on hold, the plumber from Yankee's Plumbing decides to up and leave. When I finally got a representative on the line, they stated that they would get another company to call me that afternoon because it was a dire emergency. Needless to say, no one ever called and when I called them back the next day in the afternoon, they assured me someone would call me back before the end of business day. By 4pm, no one still had called and when I called them, they said they were still looking for another company to come out.

I was on the phone with them for about an hour and they could not give me a definitive answer as to when the other company would be contacted. I then asked what companies had been contacted and if I could get their names and numbers and contact them myself. I was told that wasn't an option and that I simply had to wait and that there was no time frame as to how long the wait would be. Not happy with that answer, I asked to speak with a supervisor.

Finally, a supervisor got on the line and told me that she personally had contacted a company who would be at my house first thing Friday morning. So, I took a full day off work and waited for the plumbing company to come. They called me in the morning time and told me they could not come until Monday, Feb 22, 2010. It's Friday and I have already been without water since Tuesday night! It will be almost a week before I will have a second company come out to my home.

Something needs to be done about this company, even if I need to file a lawsuit against them myself.

When we bought the house, we asked for the warranty, which was included in the closing of the house and included the well to be covered, but American Home Shield never sent us a copy of the contract so we could see what was and was not covered. What it turns out to be is that unless you get the premium package, Hose Bibbs and the 2 feet of piping connecting them are not covered! Now, the third time dealt with the well and pressure of the pump building up way too high. We told them what was going on. I even found someone who would work with them because they did not even have a service provider for wells when we got the warranty, and they sent the guy out (for the $60 copay/service fee) and the technician was told by American Home Shield that nothing would be covered. Why would they waste my money to send someone out to not do anything?

After 24 hours and no call, I contacted them to see what the hold up was. At that point, I was told that I could contact a Heating and Air company myself and pay for it and be reimbursed. I was able to find a company online that was able to service my heat within an hour! This is the biggest rip off I have ever encountered! No one has been able to resolve the dishwasher problem! A simple repair has taken over 4 months and no one at American Home Shield can even give me a solution. I am sure that I can contact someone on my own to fix it within the hour but unfortunately they already have my money. Beware, do not use this company!

I decided to cancel my AHS policy. I emailed them because the wait time on the phone was always more than 15-20 min. I was told someone would contact me within 48 hours, which, not to my surprise, never happened. I have now been on hold on 3 separate occasions for more than 17, each time with no response.

I will be contacting the news as well as the Better Business Bureau in regard to this and many past problems I have had with the business ethics of AHS. Thank you for time. Being out hundreds of dollars, I still have to pay out of pocket for most all repairs anyway, and being without heat in our home in winter conditions for a month.

On Wednesday, January 2010 we called about a plumbing back up in the down stairs bath at the covered property. American Home Shield set up a claim under the claim number ** at that time. They told us that Service Contractors of America, AHS's delegated service company, would call us and set up a time. Service Contractors of America called us on Wednesday and told to tell if or what the problem was as their instruments was would not work in the wet conditions due to the rain and snow. On Thursday February 13 was the large snow in the Dallas area. Their original excuse was they were over booked. We said well it is an emergency, may we call a local plumbing company and allow them to do the fix? American Home Shield refused to do any thing to help with this demanding that Service Contractors be the only company to do the work.

Friday: same thing. Too wet, too much snow. American Home Shield's required company could not or would not make the call. All this time the people in the home had no bath and no use of toilet. There are four children in the home and mother and dad. Saturday morning, Service Contractors at last sent a man. He arrived and looked at the back up in the down stairs bath and toilet and then asked if the home was on septic. He was told yes. He then went outside probed the location of the tanks. Then advised he would have to call AHS on this; he told AHS the home was on septic and in his opinion the system was stopped up. He did not ask where the clean out was located, he did not attempt any fix, and he just left. I was called within 3 minutes of this as he was leaving the drive way. I then called him within 2 minutes and advised him where the clean out was and demanded he at least check out the system inside the home before he left for good. He told me he was already in Plano, TX, which I drive every day and it is a 45-minute drive. He lied. He told me he would have some one else from his company make another call and help with a fix. He did not. American Home Shield does not at any time intend to live up to its insurance policies and should be shut down for fraud by intent.

The people in the home ended up in a motel. My wife is in tears. I may lose my tenant at $2,000.00 per month. If I lose the tenant, I may not be able to make the payments and lose the home. Loan balance is $220,000.00; current value is $350,000.00. I paid the $800.00 to American Home Shield for protection from stuff like this. They took the money and promised under an insurance contract to do their part. They never had any intent to preform under the contract. Fraud.

He stayed out side for about 20 minutes, came back in and demanded service fee and said American Home Shield would call me. I gave service fee and he left. About 10 minutes later, American Home Shield called and said my warranty did not cover my problem. How did this guy properly diagnose my problem with just a 15 second look behind a crammed hole. He even told American Home Shield that it was an improper repair when he told me that it was built that way. I asked for a second opinion and American Home Shield said, I would need to pay for a second service fee. This company is [bad] and a complete ripoff! [They] are ridiculous and should be taken to court. I paid 60 dollars for some ** to say, " I ain't crawling down that hole."

American Home Mortgage file for bankruptcy and change their name to AHMSI (ahmsi3.com), and they advertise false help in the webpage. You call them, and the people who answer are located in India and offer no help. We never received letters from AHMSI, Inc to offer anything for us to retain the property, and they went ahead and foreclose without any proper posting in the property or certified mail. I will like for this company to stop taking advantage of hardworking families and stop being so greedy.

Since 1-28-10, I have made phone calls every day with updates. On Friday was told tech never sent report in. Then was told tech went away for the weekend. On that Monday no report from tech, Tuesday no report from tech Wednesday no report tech. Now, today, Thursday again no report from tech then told one hour later on on voice mail the liner is not a covered item. I then spoke with a supervisor Will ** and told him about the sparks and fire. The tech never told them about that and now am waiting again. The liner was no problem it was the fire in the microwave. I am making a complaint about their tactics and not getting reputable contractors who do not file accurate reports.

Their solution was to relocate the door bell 4-5 inches higher. Of course, they don't cover anything but attaching the screws to the newly relocated door bell. Of course, it is ridiculous to relocate the doorbell, to open a hole in the wall and to cover the existing hole just to avoid running a new wire as their technician recommended. Ridiculous. Stay away from this company. Take your business elsewhere. Beware! It took $60 for a 2-minute inspection and didn't cover anything.

We were given an American Home Shield work order number, and instructed to use one of our own choosing, pay them out of pocket, and send the work order number along with the a/c invoice to American Home Shield for 'prompt reimbursement'. As instructed by them, we found a professionally state licensed and registered repair man who could come out the following day, and the work was completed to our satisfaction. We paid the a/c company out of pocket, and submitted a copy of their invoice along with the work authorization number as per instructed.

Three months later, I hadn't received the check and called American Home Shield. They denied all responsibility for payment, saying they never authorized the work, and that a work authorization number wasn't god enough for payment. What?! We have paid hundreds and hundreds of dollars in premiums to cover our household products, and one of the first times I need them, American Home Shield, refused coverage even after it was promised. My wife and I have wasted countless hours on the phone being shifted from one customer service representative to another, multiple levels of supervisors, always to no avail.

Trying to work with this company has been a nightmare, costing us thousands of dollars, countless hours of phone time, and needless stress and aggravation. Finally having enough of the whole thing, I called the dedicated cancellation number. The recorded voice said wait time exceeds fifteen minutes. No wonder they're lining up to cancel! American Home Shield appears to be a clever conspiracy with one goal - bill consumers out of costly premiums while using every means necessary- legal and illegal, to deny paying claims.

A month ago, I noticed the tub leaking again. This time, it was due to something around the overflow. I decided to get in touch with AHS online because I figure it won't hurt for them to send someone out again, in case this isn't a case of faulty craftsmanship. However, when I went online to set up the appointment, I noticed "plumbing" was suddenly gone from my list of choices. What am I paying these people for, if they can slice and dice whatever they want off my list of problems whenever they feel like it? How is it that I don't have plumbing covered when my contract isn't even up yet? Come June, I'm dumping these crooks. I hope they get the plumbing sued out of them.

After many phone calls, freezing temperatures in the home, days missed for work, late arrival of technician, a letter to the President of American Home Shield and an email to American Home Shield, finally 2 and 1/2 weeks later, on 1/7/2010, our heating system was repaired. However, the work was sloppy. The ductwork was dislodged causing heat to pour out from under the house and we still have not received the free $60 service fee card from American Home Shield as promised. They also advised us that we would be reimbursed for the purchase of space heaters which we still have not received either. We would never recommend American Home Shield or Strong. After getting online to do some research, it appears that there are many complaints about both companies.

I then contacted American Home Shield to have a repair completed on the furnace in our rental home. The full cost was $75.00. Our portion was $60.00 (Service call fee). Our monthly policy cost is $45.00. Total savings was $30.00. Yes, I was out $30.00 more than I would have been if I would have just paid the full amount of the repair. Later, we contacted American Home Shield to have plumbing repairs on the kitchen sink of our rental home and for a water supply problem in our personal home.

When I contacted them regarding the water supply stoppage, I asked again, "Is this covered by the policy?" Again, I was told, "Yes, as long as it is within the home and not outside of the home". That was the only response I received both times I asked the same question. Again, I paid the $60.00 service call fee for both homes totaling $120.00. They repaired the plumbing under the rental homes kitchen sink which would have cost me $80.00 had I just paid the full amount for it. Again, including the monthly policy fee, I over paid again by $25.00.

Now, the plumber arrives at our personal home. He states that the blockage is from calcium build up in the pipes within the home and American Home Shield will not cover it. He also stated that American Home Shield is not worth the money in his opinion because they will not authorize the replacement or repairs for most of his work and that as soon as his companies contract is over he will not renew it. I then contacted American Home Shield about this issue.

They now stated that they will not cover blockages caused by rust, corrosion or chemicals. The last I checked, Calcium is neither of those. I then asked why I was told two separate times that the blockage would be covered as long as it was within the home. They then stated that they can not explain every part of a warranty, that's why the policy is mailed to the consumer. I then asked if it was so easy for them to state that to me over the phone when I was filing the claim, why could they not explain that to me when I asked, All I got was a tap dance.

In my opinion, American Home Shield is a scam. They will only disclose enough information to the consumer to get the sale. I have filed BBB complaints on this and they will not follow up on it. I have since spoken with several other contractors in our area and they have all stated that if American Home Shield is supposedly covering the work, they require that the homeowner pay for the repairs and then file it with American Home Shield for reimbursement because American Home Shield does not pay as they say they will.

All of the contractors have also stated that they have never seen American Home Shield authorize any full replacement of any appliance as they claim they will. I'm sure there are some very few instances out there but not many. It is a much better financial decision to just save the money in a savings account and pay for any needed repairs that way. I am now out several hundred dollars and I am sitting on a repair that will cost me $2,800.00 to complete. The cost of the coverage and the cost of the service calls far exceeded the actual cost of repairs. There is a $2,800.00 repair that still needs to be completed. I am not pleased with their performance and I have not received my money back.

There are reputable businesses in our area, but they bring in these small businesses that have to travel an hour or longer to get up here. They do not have 4-wheel drive to drive in our snowing climate. They get stuck. It is just a joke. American Home Shield is just a joke. It costs us more money because we pay the service fee for nothing. We have to hire a company to fix the problem. We have already waited 3 -5 days just to get someone up here. It is hard not having your appliance in a timely manner.

There is a similar problem with my dishwasher. First they said they couldn't repair it, even though the things were broken when we moved in. Then they said they would replace, but offered me only one dishwasher, which didn't fit in my space. The cash out allowance was $300, but every other dishwasher was $550 and up with their"delivery fees and installation fees." So I could have bought a dishwasher at Lowe's and replaced it for less than the deductible and now the difference in price for the only dishwashers available to fit in my space. Then I had to wait another week for them to get my power of attorney because at no point in dealing with me on the phone did they say that I was not named in the Home Owner's Warranty. My husband is in Iraq, and next year we will not be renewing this warranty. This is too expensive.There are too many things they don't fix or replace.

Then a week later, our hot water heater went out. I happened to be vacuuming my son's room and discovered a wet carpet. His room shares a wall with the utility room. I opened the door and there's water running down the hot water heater. I call my husband, who walked me through turning off the valve. He came home, called AHS, and they gave us the name of a company. That was Martin Luther King day. They didn't tell us that no one was there. We waited, called several times to get a recording and then left a message, thinking someone will get back to us. Five hours later, AHS told us it will probably be the next day. They only have one company that does that work in the area. We're one day without hot water. My husband is a mechanic, no shower tonight.

The man showed up, and at first he said there was no leak. I had to press him and said that I wasn't blind, I saw it pouring out. After it warmed up, it started leaking, so he determined it needed to be replaced. He then warned me that AHS doesn't pay for everything, he's very familiar with AHS. He said it's typical that the owner has to pay between $500-1,000. He said if I didn't have home owner's insurance, it would cost over $1800. I get it, it's like health care, they have to write off what they don't cover.

So, when he added up the code violations that he had to fix, and called it in, we ended up having to pay $619 on top of the $60 for the trip. My husband tried to argue with the lady, but she would have none of it. How was it our fault that code changed after this unit was installed? Isn't that why you buy a home warranty? You're banking on it breaking in a year, and they're banking it doesn't? We lost the argument and have to fork out $679. We'll see how it goes because we have to spend another night with no hot water heater because he had to leave without replacing it. We're supposed to get it tomorrow.

No call but a plumber did show up the next day. I was delighted! He didn't look at hardly anything around the toilet tank, and said my pipes were probably froze and if I started hearing water running in my basement, turn the water off. He showed me how to turn the water off in the basement. He informed me that my pipes probably were not wrapped for winter weather before I bought the house. And now that American Home Shield knew that a water pipe was frozen. No other plumbing would be covered in my house.

My sister came over the next day and had to use the bathroom. I told her, "Okay we're going to have to fill the tank back up until the pipes thaw out." She came out of the bathroom saying, "It might help if the water was turned on to the toilet!" It flushed on it`s own but the hose at the top of the tank into the toilet isn't tight and leaks. So the pipes are not frozen! Never were frozen! I need a good hose hook-up! Seems easy enough for a Home Warranty plumber to do, right?

He looked in my Michigan basement and said, "it's a job but not one for me," because he is a big man! He told me, "if my brother-in-law was smaller, then he was to see what he could do. Yeah, seriously. I'll take a polygraph on this statement any day." I told him, "My brother-in-law is bigger than you are. And that's a fact, Jack!"

All in all, I do not have frozen pipes! Never have. Since American Home Shield Warranty people sent a plumber out, the plumber told me, since you've had frozen pipes, Home Shield Warranty won't cover any other plumbing problems you might have in the future. It's just totally wrong and AHS is going to send me a bill for $60.00. The plumber told me the day he came out, "You don't have to pay me if you don't think it's right. I don't work for these people. They'll just bill you later." "Bill me later, for what?" I thought there was a real plumbing problem going on.

Why didn't this Amer. Home Shield plumber see such an easy fixable problem?! My real state agent is on this like an aggressive pit-bull, and so am I. My own sister had a problem with roofing flashing when she bought her house and she actually paid for American Home Shield right after she moved in. Small problem. But they told her it was caused by hurricane Ike, and was a Natural God Disaster. Yes, all the way to Ind., my sister paid $60.00 for a roofman from Amer. Home Shield to come out. They gave her an estimate for $837.00. She paid $55.00 to have it fixed, by an Elkhart Roofing Co. So, I am writing this, printing this and sending it to J. Warlarsky, to let all home buying citizens know to be aware of American Home Shield. My agent is livid after H.S.W. people came into their office at Cressy and Evrette and gave such a gun-ho-speech. She even gave me the name of the Home Shield Warranter.

It doesn't make sense for the repair people to fix something that will cost more than AHS will reimburse. So they throw out the trump card. AHS gets my annual cost, and the repair person keeps my $60. Kind of sweet on their part.

I called AHS and spoke to Leroy and he said denied claim stands. How can they sell warranties without inspection of my home and say denied? The kitchen cook top that is to be looked at on Wednesday the 20th could be denied as well because of the door opener. This is Leroy’s words to me. Why would he say something like that? They charged me $60.00 for the service call and said sorry we denied the claim. This isn't right. They had the right to inspect my home before selling me the warranty contract. I called AHS on 1/14/2010 at about 7:10 pm and spoke to Leroy **, authorization supervisor. And again at around 7:35 pm. I had to call twice; he hung up on the first call. This has upset me to the point I just don't understand why they do these things. How could he say cook top could also be denied because of a door opener?

The temperature inside my home was 48 degrees. No one contacted me and by Friday I contacted both AHS and the contractor and was told nothing could be done till Monday or Tuesday. On Monday I called again and was told no compressor was ordered by either the contractor or AHS and to call back in an hour. As of now, the compressor is to be delivered to the contractor on Thursday, tentatively, and I will be contacted when installation can take place. I am also being charged for the removal of the old compressor and for the freon.

A word to the wise: Do not buy any home warranty policies, you will just get ripped off! If you have a policy, cancel it and put the policy money aside in a bank account for future needs. You will come out a whole lot better that way. American Home Shield should be sued by all the people they have ripped off and cheated! I had to call in a heating and cooling company and pay out of pocket.

I called them back, and talked to Leroy for half an hour or so. I expected a professional, helpful, respectful AHS representative, but Leroy was anything but. I asked Leroy if AHS was responsible for incorrect work done by their contractors, and he didn't answer. He would put me on hold and then get back on the line and say, "okay, do you have anymore questions". It is true that the second contractor jumped the gun, and replaced the thermostat without AHS approval, but I have nothing to do with that. This really was an issue with AHS not communicating with their contractors, and vice versa.

He told me that AHS contractors cannot do work without authorization, so I told them fine, and they need to contact the second contractor, and work it out, but he said they don't need to. He told me that they will not pay for the second thermostat, to which I reply that I won't either. I asked who will pay for it then, and I get silence. I asked him to please transfer me to someone else, and he puts me on hold. After he comes back he, again, says "okay, what other questions do you have for me?" This is my second year with AHS, since I paid the $400 or so to re-up for a year. I expect to be treated with respect, and for them to want to help their customer, but this particular AHS representative did not care. After my warranty expires this time, I will not re-up for another year. Many of my friends own a home with warranties, and I will share this story with them. Maybe another rep would be more helpful, but if anyone calls AHS with an issue, and gets Leroy, immediately ask to speak to someone else, but remember, he won't transfer you.

Since AHS would not call their contractor back to square the issue away, I had to. I called the second contractor back, and he admitted he jumped the gun. He was understanding and helpful. We settled on me sending him the $60 fee, and he'd have to eat the rest. AHS should have called their contractor, and worked this out, but they wouldn't. This could have been handled differently, and AHS might have kept me as a customer. Instead I had to do the dirty work, that they simply refused to do.

Today the inspector came out and stated exactly what was wrong after an Air National Tech came out Saturday and said "there is nothing wrong with it". Two hours after the inspector leaves, a second tech comes to the house (this time my BF is home) and the tech tells him that the unit was put in wrong to begin with. I come to hear that the way the unit was put it was that once we fired up the furnace that the area which the service guys installed "would smolder and smoke". But their website boldly states "Air National has experienced and professional service technicians that will treat your house like their house. " Would they install a unit in their own home that would smolder and not pass inspection? Well, since this is not over, we will see how this plays out!

Here it is in the middle of winter in Florida and it is in the low 50's as a high and this heater blows out cold air and will not go above 72 degrees. On Dec. 29 or about that date, I called Air National to advise that the heating unit that we have not used since it was installed is blowing out cold air. After speaking with Rachel, she stated that all management is on vacation and that there is one manager that is local and she would get in contact with him to get approval for a tech to come out to check the heating unit. To this day the heating unit will not go above 72 and we never gto any explanation on how to use the unit and all of the new elements.

We have spent multiple days off work, countless hours on the phone with Patric, Sarah and Rachel only to get no satisfaction service. I am still awaiting on that local manager to respond to my request for a tech. When we first fired up the unit, we did not sleep well at all the first night in fear of fire. So we would like to be repaid for lost hours waiting and babysitting your tech over and over again as they continued to do a shoddy work. They failed inspection three times and we believe they may have paid off the last inspector to get the project to pass no matter what happens to the house. We want some sort of liability coverage that if the house does catch on fire because of the heating or air conditioning, Air National will be responsible. Total amount desired is $3000 for raising two people's blood pressure, for poor/shoddy workmanship and denying it was done wrong along with the liability agreement!

The second customer services of AHS, Coco provided me with the number to Air Doctor, but the number only had an answering machine to take their calls. I left a message and waited for a response. While waiting, I called back to AHS and received a very bad treatment by the next customer service person. Because of the condition of the house getting hotter, I felt the need to call and seek another company. But this customer service person would not provide any assistance. I requested to speak with a supervisor and was refused.

The following morning, I called back to Air Doctor and made an appointment for a tech to come out between the hours of 2 and 4 p.m. on Wednesday. Mr. ** had contacted AHS that same morning, and the customer service person called Air Doctor and informed him that they were scheduled to come out that day. Mr. ** was under the impression that AHS made the appointment, but I made it.

At 2 p.m., I began to inquire if someone was going to actually come out or not. The receptionist at Air Doctor stated I was next to get service. I called again at 3 p.m., 3:30 p.m., and gain at 4 p.m. when I got the answering machine. I was not aware that Mr. ** was also in communication but through AHS by having a customer service person call Air Doctor at 3:30 p.m. where he was informed that as soon as the tech finishes with the job he Is on, he will be to my residence.

Mr. ** continued to communicate with AHS, trying to get them to get in contact with the tech to expedite the order, so we would not have to spend two nights in a house over 97 degrees. At around 4:45 p.m., the technician showed up. He arrived, walked over to the outside unit, and without touching it, stated with stuff or some sort of tobacco in his lip, that the compressor was out. I asked if it could be fixed. The tech blasted me by saying "You think I carry this type of equipment around with me? It will take at least two to three weeks before we will have it."

The tech stated that Air Doctor was the one who installed the unit and that the previous customer was having problems with it. He began to write up the service receipt and then stated that it will be $75. My thought was "For what?" He never took the unit apart, looked inside, or nothing really. If he can provide a diagnosis without touching a unit, he is in the wrong profession. I refused to pay the service fee and gave him a few choice words as I sent him on his way.

I then went to the phone book to find a reputable company that was concerned about the customer and spoke with Pat of Air National. They immediately dispatched two techs out who took the unit apart and gave it a good diagnosis. They stated that they could do a temporary repair, but in the next couple of months or more, it will go out. This was not new information to us, because (as you will see with the attached document) Joe ** was dispatched out by AHS last year who told us the same thing when they replaced the compressor on 09-02-08.

In the mean time, Mr. ** was on the phone with AHS customer service, attempting to get a diagnosis from the Air Doctor tech who ignored the emergency calls placed to him by three customer service persons and two by Mr. ** to contact AHS ASAP. One of the customer service reps did offer to compensate us with a room for a night at $60 per night rate, but we would have to send in the receipt to get reimbursed. Another customer service person stated that if we went outside of our contract and used a outside vendor for the services, we would be liable for all expenses.

By this time, the conclusion was pretty clear that we needed to get air by any means necessary. So Air National installed a complete unit that evening. Their service techs did not leave our resident till 2:15. They returned the next evening and spent another three hours completing the task and insuring that it was operating properly.

On Thursday, I contacted AHS and inquired about the service from Air Doctor and was told that we needed to contact the vendor and to handle any complaints. After speaking with Air Doctor and to have them state that they are standing behind their employee and attempted to justify the reason why the diagnosis was not called in the prior evening, Mr. ** called again to AHS.

The customer service person stated that the information was received and being processed as we were speaking. Mr. ** requested to speak with a supervisor and was refused. The customer service person stated that because my name was not on the account, I could not speak with anyone higher. After being told that Ms. ** would have to authorize his name being added to the policy and being put on hold, miraculously the customer service person stated "Your name has been added to the policy."

By this time, we were done with AHS and informed the customer service person that we would be canceling our service. She stated that she would be informing the cancellation department and that within 48 hours, someone would be contacting us. Mr. ** called Monday after getting no response. Because AHS did not hold up to their end of the agreement, we ended up paying $7000 for an entire inside and outside unit that is still today not working correctly.

Because of the anguish and heartache that ASH caused Ms. **, she is now taking high blood pressure medication and has not been able to maintain control of her finances since this occurred. She has failed classes, which she has to retake coming out of her own pocket, to achieve her Master's degree in Business. And she has to pay this outrageous money for the new unit which has caused an increase in our monthly electric bill. So by having AHS, we lost all the way around.

After more phone calls, they stated that it would be covered. The first company that they sent out stated that it would have to be replaced. The second opinion stated that he could repair it. Initially, I was told that the the first company would be fixing it. Then, they changed their mind when he stated that the heater needed to be replaced. Now, I am being told that I would have to pay $450 to have the unit cleaned. I contacted another company to have yet another opinion on the unit. They refused to clean the heater and stated that since it was so old, it needed to be replaced. I contacted American Home Shield, and have yet to hear anything, and that was months ago. So my children and I are without heat. Being a single parent, I can not afford $4,000 for a heating unit.

This is the worst treatment I have received. I got in touch with a manager and told her I either get heat in the next couple of days or I am calling the Insurance Commissioner of the State of WA and the Attorney General of the state. AHS already has class action suits against them. They have lost, so you would think they would learn! To go without heat in the dead of winter and not care about living up to your contracted agreement is bordering on criminal. Let alone, civil violations. I am awaiting their reply.

The company came out on August 6th to repair the heater and was to be here between 1-5pm. They did not show up until 6:00 PM after I placed several calls to ask when I could expect them. The person who answered the phone from their company was very rude and said they were on another job and would get to me when they were finished. They never gave me a time. I questioned the repairman about the cost of the permit and asked to see the permit. He told me he did not have it with him and said that an appointment would be set up for a county inspector to come out August 10th to inspect the work. The county inspector never came to inspect the work. So I called the contractor back and asked when the inspector would be by and he said a master plumber had to call them to set up a date to come out.

A man named Robert called and said he would be at my house on August 18th to inspect the water heater and would call me with a three hour window. No one called and no one showed up to inspect the water heater installation. I spoke to Dave ** WSCC (301) 206-4003, and he told me a postcard permit in the amount of $50.00 was required and had to be pulled prior to commencement of work. He informed that as a customer, I should have received a copy of the permit prior to commencement of the work, so I could schedule an inspection after the work was completed. I called Waldorf Water and Gas and spoke to Wayne. I informed him I had spoken to Dave ** WSCC and that the permit they need is just a postcard permit costing $50.00. And he said he had to charge me an additional $100.00 because someone had to go and stand in line to get the permit.

On August 17th, I called Dave ** WSCC and found out a permit was never pulled on my address for replacement of the water heater; therefore, the contractor should not have replaced my hot water heater without having one. He advised to contact Tom **, Chief Plumbing Inspector WSCC or send him an email and let him know the problems I was experiencing. I sent an email and letter to Tom ** on August 17, 2009, issuing a complaint against Waldorf Water and Gas stating they had replaced the water heater in my home prior to pulling a permit, did not give me a copy of the permit and charged me $150.00 for said permit.

To this date, I have not received any response from Mr. **, WSCC, or seen a permit so I could call an inspector to come and out and inspect the newly installed system. I feel that not only have I been ripped off my AHS but the company they referred me to and WSCC for not doing anything to resolve the complaint I filed with them. I don't feel like I should have paid $150.00 for a permit. I think AHS is in cahoots with these service providers. I could have gone to Home Depot or Lowe’s and bought a hot water heater and had it installed by a plumber. In fact, I have a plumber who told me that the heater should not have been installed without the permit being pulled and giving me a copy of the permit prior to commencement of the work. An inspector should have inspected the work after it was completed.

I feel that I have been ripped off by both companies. I now see that there is a class action suit against AHS, and I can see why; and I want my name added to the list as an interested party. I am seriously considering cancelling my home warranty with this company after reading all the complaints. I can take the money I pay them monthly and put in an interest bearing account and call who I want to come out and replace things in my home. I am paying them over $500 a year for what?

I was charged $535.00 for a new water heater and none of the compliances were taken care of prior to installation, no inspection to ensure the installation was done correctly and nothing to show that the company every pulled a permit and charged me for one. I feel like I should have paid AHS the $60.00 fee and the work should have been done for that fee.

The 2nd plumber came out and said that the first job was done wrong and that he'd have to order parts. I called both companies to complain about me losing money from work waiting around for someone to do this job right. Roy (mgr. of Service Connection) dismissed me by saying the job wasn't botched; AHS apologized but refused to prorate or refund my service fee because of this inconvenience.

I insisted that AHS send someone with a brain to detect the problem, since it was obvious it was the heat unit. The man they finally sent seems to be extremely knowledgeable and found that not only was the ignitor bad, but the fittings on the new heat exchanger were the wrong size and leaking as well! He immediately disconnected the gas and said that we were extremely lucky we hadn't had an explosion that would have not only leveled our house but put my neighbors in harm's way as well! I insisted that AHS do away with High Quality (aka Expert Service, Joe's Expert Service, aka at least 3 more names)! They supposedly blackmarked them from my file to never send them to me again.

I then have trouble with my washer, and guess who they wanted to send! I am still pursuing they discontinue using these idiots as a service provider. If my home, with or without family and pets inside, had blown up, they would never see daylight again with the lawsuits thrown at them. They are letting these fools put their clients in danger and allowing them to continue servicing other clients!

I informed AHS that my plumber inspected the unit and could not find anything wrong other than it being an old unit. I paid my plumber to replace the unit and was done. I accepted the fact that AHS would not cover the unit and bit the bullet. Then, my bathroom faucet stopped working, and when I placed a service request, I got a message that they could not receive any service requests until I paid the service fee from the second opinion. That upset me, so I contacted the Better Business Bureau and reported them for trying to charge me the service fee, and submitted the invoice from my plumber for the replacement of the tank. On the invoice it clearly showed in writing that the unit was up to code and went out do to age. I finally received a call from AHS about the complaint and was reimbursed for the replacement.

Fall rolls around and my heater would not come on, so I placed a service request on 9/30/09. Neil's Heating and Air came out and looked it over. They said a relay switch had gone out and that they would contact AHS for replacement. After a week goes by with no calls, I called the contractor and AHS. The contractor said "Oh, has AHS not called you?" The relay switch that needed to be replaced was not made any more for the heating unit. So I called AHS and of course got nowhere - just promises to call me back that never came.

After another week, I called the contractor. They said "Oh, has AHS not called you?" The contractor said that they were looking for a replacement relay that may be compatible with my unit. After another week, I called and got the same results. Finally after 4 1/2 weeks, the contractor called and said that AHS could not find a replacement and would replace the unit. "Great!” I said, but then the contractor said that there were some things not covered, and he rattled off a bunch of stuff that I could not understand until he said my part would be $1300.00.

By this time it was getting very cold at night. I called my own heating guy who said they would do the entire job for $1600. I called AHS and told them that I wanted the cash out option. A few days later, some grumpy old man from AHS' cash out department called me and rudely told me that AHS would only pay out $707.00. I called AHS a day or so later asking for a breakdown of what they were paying me for the reimbursement. Since only basic installation and cost of the heating unit was covered, I wanted to see how much was being paid for what. Karen said she would mail me the breakdown. After 2 weeks, 4 calls and 3 emails, I still had nothing. I went ahead and replaced the unit, covering the entire $1600 out of pocket.

I finally got a call from AHS regarding the breakdown I had asked for. The rep said that it was against AHS' policy to disclose what they pay for repairs to the customer. I asked them where they got the $707.00 figure from and they said it was what Neil's Heating and Air quoted them to do the repair. I called Neil's and they said that since I took the cash out option they did not have to send or tell me anything. They did say that the $707 was for their cost for the basic installation. When I was talking with the AHS rep, she said that the $707.00 was for the unit and that they did not cover the cost of basic installation when you take the cash out option.

I am still fighting with them for the breakdown and have just recently submitted the invoice for the work that I paid for, for reimbursement. I know that several weeks later, if I'm lucky, I may get the $707.00 reimbursement. I have already reported them again to the Better Business Bureau and wait patiently for their response.

Now we have been with them for 5 years in Florida, never called them except for our air conditioning, again always filling it with freon. There never was a fix, now we had someone else to take a look at it and they said we have a leak in the coil. American Home Shield refuses to fix it! Also, they have been calling and arguing with me daily. Their service providers are horrible!

It seems that we should have been experts in air conditioning, who knew? We paid to get it cleaned many times but it was not good enough for American Home Shield. It seems we are always at fault and nothing is really covered. They charge us 55 dollars a month and 60 dollars each time someone comes out, to tell us it is not covered, or tell us they will come back and fix it, then to call the company and tell them some other story; then American Home Shield calls to tell us we are not covered!

It turns out we wasted $660 a year, also thousands on calls. We could have saved money by not using them!

Needless to say, I informed my husband and he called AHS (America Home Shield), the insurance we decided to try (I was thanking God for the fact we got it). To make my story short, here's a quick... AHS called Arctic Air here in Lubbock. Arctic Air showed up perfectly on time and the man was well dressed, groomed, and very nice. He looked at our heating and air and said "Oh my gosh! It's a huge unit, kinda old." He doesn't see very much like that.

Our emergency heat didn't work, our Auxiliary heat is an air conditioner - much like emergency heat - and the Arctic Air guy said our sequencer was out and he'd have to get a new one. Lucky for us, the Arctic Air guy said we could use the heat by heating it one digit at a time. My husband stayed home that day and was able to raise the heat back to 70. It's still blowing cool air but if the heat runs constantly we can keep the house close to 68 degrees, sometimes cooler, sometimes warmer. "I feel like we're carrying the heater on our backs"...

So the heat upstairs and now downstairs is running 24/7 trying to keep the house warm (I can't wait to see the heating bill)... Arctic Air called us and said the part for the heater no longer exists. So they're having to get someone to make the part (boy, I hope that works). The highest it's been lately is 50 degrees, lows have ranged to 14 degrees.

Arctic Air says that it'll take about 8 to 10 working days to get the part in (which we hope works). We called AHS to find out what to do with the cool house, and the constant heater going. They pretty much said, "tough luck." We had an upstairs heater, we can live in our bedrooms if it gets too cold, and they couldn't help it if our electric bill shot out the window - not their problem.

So now we're waiting. We will see what happens We will see the bill later, and hopefully maybe in three weeks we will have the heat. Otherwise we're keeping our three kids bundled and hoping the weather gets warmer, not cooler during Christmas.

A month passed, the repairman came to replace the parts. I ran the dishwasher that night and it was not fixed and it leaked all over floor. AHS sent the same contractor on Sept. 9th to fix and now there was another problem in which a part is needed to be ordered. Numerous calls to AHS with each representative promising to find out and call me back and here we are on Dec. 9th with an unrepaired dishwasher. Today’s call ended with AHS rep telling me the claim had been sent to their complaint dept. and I should hear from them... blah, blah, blah. At this point, I would accept the $280 to replace, but AHS said I would have to repay for the work already done which surpasses $300. My call today ended with my explaining I was contacting the BBB and the rep said “Go ahead.” This is a nightmare! Help.

Then lo and behold, only five weeks later on 12/8/09 did an installation person come. I will not be renewing the contract with AHS. They are dreadful to work with. Lowe's would have had a new 2009 GE microwave delivered and installed on 11/6 for a mere $320. That only validates the obvious, you are throwing your money away at $500 annually to AHS plus the gall of the $60 fee to the I-don't-know-a-thing and parts order that never work, that ultimately end up with the d-r-a-w-n out affair for the approval, order, delivery and install sham.

The real complaint was my refrigerator. The door would not close unless you pushed it shut. I called AHS and they send out a repairman. He looked at the door, made some adjustments, but could not fix the problem. He said my floor was uneven. I knew he was lying, because I had just had my kitchen remodeled. I called AHS and they sent out another guy. He looked at the refrigerator and took the door off. He made some adjustments and the same excuse - the floor was uneven. I called AHS again. They sent out another guy, and if he had said the same thing, they could not do anything - it was my floor.

The third guy came out, removed the door, adjusted some screws, and said he could not fix it. By that time, I had discovered that it was the wheel at the bottom of the frig that needed to be adjusted. After the technician put the door back on, I said, “Why don't you look at the bottom?” He did and then adjusted the part. The door now closes. If I had not told him what to do, I would have paid the $59.00 service call and my door would still not close. They seem to send out people that do not know what they are doing or are told to do very little.

I bought the house over a year ago and used it almost every day. It has a copper tube line that comes from another area and the dishwasher is like new. I found out it is shy 20 years. It has been hooked up for 20 years and now something is wrong with the hook up. Every time I call AHS, they have an excuse. I will write to the Better Business Bureau and try to get some of my future money back. I hired a plumber and buying a new dishwasher, installed $200.00. It's not the money. It is how they treat you and don't care for you as a customer. They are a ripoff. Has anyone got their money back?

The next year our washing machine stopped working and it was determined that our model was a lemon (thank you Whirlpool), which required a new electronics module. After numerous discussions with AHS, we were informed that they would pay for the replacement of the module, give us a new low end GE model or give us the cash equivalent of the cost to repair our old unit. We elected to take the cash and purchased a more expensive front-loading model, which we are very happy with. What we have learned is that they will not necessarily replace with a comparable model, but we understand that. We have also made other calls to AHS for service on various problems in our house and have been very pleased with the quality, promptness and level of service that we have received from them and the company’s technicians, who they have sent.

The dishwasher claim was a whole other issue. The service company came to service my dishwasher three times. First, to access the problem and order part. Second, to replace part (which wasn't needed as it wasn't the source of the problem) third time, pick up dishwasher, and take back to shop to determine the problem. When the technician picked up our dishwasher, he stated someone from his company would contact me and let me know the problem. I had to call everyday and never received an answer as to what the problem was with my dishwasher. Finally, after three weeks I received a call from the service company and their representative said they would be out in my area on Thursday to repair my dishwasher (three weeks after picking up my dishwasher). She was the same representative I had left numerous messages with asking for a technician to call regarding the repairs to my dishwasher. (Very obvious she had no clue what was going on.) I explained to her that they were in possession of my dishwasher and her response was, "Oh!".

When the tech arrived to install my dishwasher, he was unable to secure the dishwasher properly under my sink because the previous tech had broken the brackets. He said he would raise the legs on the dishwasher so it would be secure and not lean forward every time the door was opened. Approximately a month later, the dishwasher started leaning every time we pulled the top basket out. November 30th, I called regarding a stoppage in my kitchen sink. The lady I spoke with was rude. I explained my plight and she said, "Not an emergency, you will be seen when the plumber has a no emergency appointment available today unless you pay $60 plus $75 emergency charge". That was the last straw. I failed to mention prior to placing the claim for the stoppage in my kitchen sink and other drains in the home that were slow to drain, I had to pay $60 for the past service call which I was told I would not need to pay!

After all the run around and waiting on hold for over one hour, I spoke to a floor supervisor who wouldn't identify herself, other than to say she was the floor supervisor and she didn't have a supervisor over her. I explained my plight and she wasn't helpful at all. I let her know I wanted to cancel my contract for all the above reasons and as a licensed real estate professional, I will never refer another client to AHS Warranty (As of date, I referred 6 clients), no more! I just checked my email and they placed a claim for the dishwasher company to come out and collect another $60 to repair the bracket which they broke. As I said, last straw! I've now read all the complaints against this company and felt compelled to document my results to other consumers. If you're looking for a company that holds true to their word, focuses on customer satisfaction, and doesn't charge more than stated, stay clear of AHS Warranty. The employees they hire are rude and cannot articulate a sentence much less help you with a service claim. As consumers, we do have a choice of vendors and I'm writing this so to warn other consumers to stay clear of AHS warranty co.

I decided to call a plumber to come and repair the stoppage on the day requested. I had to pay $225 out of my pocket to get the stoppage repaired, so I could go out of town on business as scheduled and not worry my home would flood. I will not pay another $60 for the appliance company to repair something they damaged in the first place. I will call Whirlpool directly and order the brackets and replace myself. My reputation as a real estate professional is on the line when I refer clients to a company that is less than professional and isn't customer focused. In this business, if you don't have a good reputation and partner with honest ethical vendors you're finished. As for a dollar value, priceless!.

So on 9/22/09, AHS reassigned it to Airwise who has replaced almost every part (compressor twice, hard start relay, 2 contractors and now the brain/circuit board unit) and the unit is still not running. Every time they have to order a part, it takes another 2-3 weeks to get it, and they are ordering parts one piece at a time. AHS has done very little in trying to get this expedited and get this repair done. At one point, Airwise had requested AHS to replace the unit because the unit was so old and they weren't sure it could be repaired and AHS refused the request - so here we sit 3 months later, still trying to get it repaired.

We have renters in the house who have been hugely inconvenienced and we are hoping we don't lose them. We have had to constantly make calls to find out what was going on because the communication has been very poor. They recently assigned a Gilda ** to work it, but she really can't make any decisions and I can't reach her by phone even though that was supposed to be the whole point behind assigning her to the problem. Today, 11/17/09, I tried calling her 5 times in the afternoon (because she was supposed to call me back and didn't) and I could not reach her. I left a message and still didn't get an answer back.

My advice to anybody whose home is not brand new, don't buy American Home Shield. They are no different from the Snake Oil salesman on the street. My contract is going to expire in 3 weeks and this is the only time I called for services and they refused because my home was old and not up to their building standard.

When I talked with the lady with American Home Shield, I told her that the trolley should be covered. She said, "yes, the trolley was covered but the board that pulled away from the wall was what caused the problem and that was not covered." When I called to complain about this service, you could tell that the person on the other end of the line dealt with complaints all day and was not interested in mine. Do not use this company. I wish I would have done my research better.

Even AHS's own contractor--who had gotten it working for a short time--put on his invoice the same thing that other contractors had told me for several years: "Heat exchanger is very rusty. There are a lot of rust particles in bottom of burners. I would be afraid to clean." Numerous contractors told me previously and now that there was nothing that could be done to stop the rust inside the furnace, and they would not be allowed to (or would not, if they were independent contractors) clean the rusty burners (which would require removing the rusty heat exchanger to do so), or the rusty heat exchanger, because it might poke a hole in the heat exchanger or cause it to crack, thus allowing carbon monoxide leakage, and creating potential liability for them for causing it.

One previous AHS contractor had warned that AHS would not cover the furnace for lack of maintenance if it was rusty, and wanted over $400 to clean it, but warned me that he would not be responsible if that caused it to fail immediately (which was several years ago), and that he would have to tell AHS that it was rusty and it would not be covered if his cleaning caused it to fail, and he couldn't guarantee that he could clear all of the rust out. I had then contacted several heating/ air companies, who all said what I had previously been told, that rust couldn't be cleaned out, and trying would likely to cause it to fail right away, whereas leaving it alone might let it run for several more years, and they would not clean out rust for fear of potential liability for causing carbon monoxide leakage. As is was, it ran for at least eight years from the first time I was told that it was rusty and failing, but would probably last about 2 to 5 more years if left alone.

This is not the first time that American Home Shield's crooked contractors have tried to rip me off to make extra money, or that AHS has refused to honor its contract (besides performing late or incompetent service). My water heater failed a year or two ago, and their contractor refused to replace it unless I paid him an extra $4,000 to disassemble and re-assemble the furnace in the same upstairs closet), so I had to pay Home Depot nearly $1200 to replace it (without touching the furnace), but AHS reimbursed me $127 for the "replacement cost." I had also provided maintenance records for the normal maintenance that had been done prior to the time the systems got so old and rusted nothing further could be done. Prior to that, I had already had the motor inside and air conditioner coil on top of the furnace replaced as part of the normal, routine maintenance.

On October 6th, I called you requesting emergency service. The service man you sent from Air Zone also indicated the accumulator was leaking and put in another 4 lbs. of Freon just to keep us somewhat cool. If we had lost that amount or more in a week's time, there was a serious leak.

On October 8th, when I contacted your offices for status, I was advised that you were looking for a Lennox dealer to come take a look which could take another several days. So much for "emergency" service. If your representative had bothered to ask me when I called in the request for service, I could have told her the type and size of unit and saved some time. Perhaps you should add this to your "script" for customer service reps.

It was 93 degrees that day in Florida with 84% humidity giving us a heat index of 100+. I have a 95 ½ year old mother (the reason for the request for emergency service) who lives with us and I was concerned about her going into cardiac arrest or suffer from heat prostration should the unit give out entirely while you got your act together. I contacted Senica and had a new 4-ton compressor and an air handler installed that day. Senica is holding the old Lennox compressor (S/N 5894B56139) for your inspection since I believe we are entitled to some remuneration for this claim.

Finally, on Nov. 5th, it was determined they could give me $27.50 for repair costs. So much for their "emergency service" and "replacement" promise. I will NOT be renewing my contract in Dec. and as a real estate agent, will be informing my fellow agents and clients of my experience with this firm.