First American Home Warranty Reviews

So I finally get them to communicate and they figure out the part is approved and it's on its way... it's actually not here yet so couple more weeks go by. The part finally gets here, and guess what.. The technician is too busy to install it and claims he has other jobs to do, that's fine for a couple days but for weeks now, and now that our heater has been broken two months you think they would make a special circumstances. It's kind of important when you live in the Sierra ** mountains.

Our pool pump system is all-inclusive. In the contract, the pool controller was covered but it was also clearly stated that a board component in the control system was not covered. But since my pool controller is integrated with that component into one piece, then everything was not covered and I couldn’t get anything fixed. I still have some issues now that I've given up after them coming back five times for the small leak in my pool pump. There was a point in time where I felt that First American was not worth it with what I paid for a year and the amount of hassle that I had to go through to get something fixed. But for the most part, I'm happy and I keep up and redoing my home warranty with them every year.

Days later I get a call that upon review the vent is not covered and that will be a $400+ out of pocket on my end, when I call customer service I was put on hold with the call center in Costa Rica for a half an hr only to be answered with a person I could barely understand trying to read me the contract where it says they don't cover that. So here I am 2 weeks later still waiting for hot water. If you are looking to do business with a company with integrity that will do the right thing, these are not your guys. The last 3 times I have called them they have found some small print to get out of completing a claim. That's it for me.

Original Review: March 27, 2018

We have paid for 2 years of home warranty after purchasing our home in 2016. Our total amount paid is right around $1000. We have submitted 3 claims because of our refrigerator and the process has been a nightmare. I understand it's the business model of these insurance providers to NOT pay out and to string people along so we just get tired, and annoyed and frustrated. I get that you send people who can barely speak English, who are constantly late, or just don't show up. I understand that your business hours are 9-5 even though everyone in the real world lives and operates their homes outside business hours. I get it... I'm in business too and if I treated my clients the way you and your 'preferred' vendors treated us, I'd be out of business.

We were out a working refrigerator for 6 weeks. The latest guy they sent out was late, rude and couldn't communicate. He supposedly fixed the problem in about 15 minutes. He told me not to turn on the ice maker for about an hour (long enough for him to get out of there) and didn't leave us any paperwork, just the trash on the counter and none of the fridge items put back. The Ice maker makes ice, but doesn't dispense it. The next day water was pouring out our fridge because he loosened the water supply line and didn't fix it. Calling AHW yields absolutely nothing. They pretend to be interested but don't do anything. I can't get all the time back that my wife and I wasted, but I should get my money back. This company is not worth the money. Don't by a warranty, fix it yourself or pay a reputable appliance repair shop and skip the nonsense with AHW.

We had an appliance technician do the repair on the stove that took a follow-up because there were parts. However, they were very professional, they came in generally on time and got the job completed. The pool one ended up not being an issue. They were able to go when I wasn't there and they were quick about it. The electrical one was a little bit disappointing because I specifically put in the notes what the problem was. But when they got there, the electrician said that it was not covered by the warranty. I was a little disappointed that First American Home Warranty didn't stop that on the front end so I wasted 75 bucks there.

However, we had a horrible experience on our first claim. I have two boys and we use the microwave all the time, but the claim for it dragged on for about three weeks before we got a resolution. First American told me that there were no techs in the area. I live 10 miles south of Houston and I find it very hard to believe that they can't find someone to work on my microwave in a whole greater area of Houston. They told me that I needed to find a technician to come to my house. I told them it was not my problem to find a tech and they needed to figure it out. It was what I was paying them to do. I also told them that I would give them a few days then I'd call back in.

First American told me that they were going to note the problem and they'll have a manager call me back, but they didn't call me back. So when I called them the sixth time, I told them I've been waiting for three days for a manager to call me back and that I wasn’t hanging up until they get someone on the phone. Within five minutes, a manager got on the phone and the very next day, I had someone at my house. It was ridiculous that it took three weeks and six calls for that. After the third week of being without a microwave, I could've probably made a phone call and found someone.

The vendors have been fine and the technicians have been wonderful. The quality of their work was great. The technician who came for the microwave had fixed the issue within a few minutes. There was some little catch on the inside of the door but it was a minor fix. The problem that we had was with the First American side. I had one experience where everything was awful and then the last experience was fine, so it depends. I'm sure that all businesses are that way, having successes and some things that are not so successful. So, I would still recommend First American HB Protection. And we're going to keep the warranty but we don't like being treated poorly.

The plumber said he fixed it. It flushed twice okay, and then he's gone. But it still wasn't right. And then someone went into my garage and checked my water heater. He came back and told me that the pilot light is on and that is all. As far as I know, they didn't do one thing to the water heater. I feel there's not enough hot water. All in all, they didn't fix the water heater, they didn’t fix the commode, and they didn’t fix the sink. I have just been so aggravated, I didn't want to get into it with First American.

Additionally, I had trouble last summer when my air conditioner acted up and they sent this guy who had to come back three times. Sometimes, my air conditioner would be off for a day or two and then all of a sudden, it might come back on. I kept telling the technician but whenever he gets here, it would be on. He told me he can't do anything since he can't see what's wrong with it when it comes back on. The last time he was here, he said he changed some of the wirings to it. It was okay the rest of the summer.

Lastly, I had trouble with my heating system. It went out on the coldest day of the year, on New Year's Eve. I called Sunday, but they couldn't get anybody to call back and make an appointment until Tuesday because Monday was a holiday. That aggravated me so I just called the local people and I ended up having to pay $800 myself. I swore up and down that I was going to discontinue but I don’t feel I can because I might need them. Still, I would recommend First American Home Buyers even when the people they send maybe two hours away and that there aren't local contractors that work for them.

However, last year I had a guy come and fix my microwave for me. And the microwave cosmetically was chipping on the inside and some other stuff so he recommended that we get a new microwave or have somebody come out and send it down to repaint and fix it. He mentioned that although it would be a separate claim, it was definitely fixable. And so, I waited and called back. I told them what the issue was and they sent somebody out to fix it. But when the guy came out, he said that he it’s cosmetic and he can’t fix it. It cost me $65 to have somebody tell me that they couldn’t fix it when the person that made the claim for me, the claims analyst, could’ve told me that themselves.

That time, I wasn’t happy with their answer that it clearly states about claims if I look at the contract. I looked at the contract and told them, “Well, you’re 100% right. And I didn’t read the contract all the way through and nobody does. It’s not my responsibility. But on the flipside of it, your claims analyst should know the contract inside and out better than myself. When I clearly stated it’s cosmetic, why would they set up the appointment? ‘Cause that should’ve been told at that point.” And they were like, “Yeah. You’re probably right. But still, at the end of the day we don’t cover it.” I wasn’t trying to get a freebie, but they could’ve handled it a little differently. That was the only issue I ever had with them the whole time. Overall, First American Home Warranty has been good and I’d recommend them.

But, mostly their contractors would come out. When I submit a claim, I'd usually go online and First American would file it to a contractor. They'd shoot me an email and let me know if they've assigned it to a contractor to do the work. First American prefers that you submit the claims online. If you call them, they will ask you to come online. It was rare that I spoke with their reps but when I get to talk to them, the interactions have been good. The contractors would then do the job and I'd pay them and I'd pay the co-pay. But I'm not going to renew my warranty with First American and I wouldn't recommend them to anybody.

It was at this time the contractor called First American to let them know that this may not be fixed with the compressor. First American is not factoring in the amount of time the customer is without a refrigerator, food spoilage (2x) and the runaround with customer service and claims dept. First American said I did not have enough in receipts/invoices to include compressor amount that warrants a replacement offer. Come to find out First American does not follow up with the contractors they send out and it's a good thing I had receipts and a photo snapshot of an invoice to include in my email to them. The day after I sent the email w/ attachments I received two phone messages stating that the item was fixed and that the order will be closed out.

Needless to say they were many more follow-up calls to no avail. Then I receive an email offering a replacement. They are offering a refrigerator that is not comparable to what I have now. They are offering a standard fridge. I have a 3 drawers (deli, humidity control crisper, and temperature control meats) and shelves that slide out to name a few... And let's not discuss cubic feet. I had to do my own research and provided First American with the information to include the manual that has the specs. I went to SEARS to pick out a model that is comparable with mine (the item I chose is being discontinued and is on sale) and it's still not enough for First American because of the receipts which is how they do their cost comparison.

The refrigerator I am requesting is not an upgrade but is the closest to what I have now when it was in working condition. I do not have a basic First American contract. I pay additional money to have the upgrade package in my contract. First American wants your money and is not concerned about work ethic, nor are they concerned about the runaround and numerous calls made. I am still waiting for First American to review documents I sent to them. It is now going on 42 days...

Also, you have to read the fine print in your contract because even though it's your house and they say this is covered, it's such a nitpicky thing as to what they cover and what they don’t cover. For instance, I had an issue with the icemaker on my refrigerator door. I called this number and they told me, "Oh, we don’t have anybody that was contracted for, so call out First American." But what I did was I took things apart and got things working, so I didn't even have to call them.

I just tried to call them to get reimbursed for the payments during the months I have not been covered. I got transferred four times to four different departments. Nobody could answer my request and the fourth transfer, they just cut off my call. Now, I'm going to request that they simply cancel my contract and hope they will do this. The only way to cancel the contract is to email them. There is nothing on their website to cancel the contract and nobody will do this on the phone. I think they may have 3-4 people sitting on the phone just transferring calls between each other and when it comes full circle, they hang up on you. Overall, I have to say, they did a good job covering problems, but good luck trying to get out of your contract or get money back from them!

Every contractor they've sent has been great, has treated us well and hasn't taken advantage of us. Also, I've been pleased with their work. Almost every time, the contractor has resolved what was going on except for one instance when I didn't understand the issue I was having and we needed a different type of contractor from the one they sent. First American has saved me money especially during the first year we had the warranty when it was part of our house purchase and we didn't pay for it. Now, since we've renewed it, it won't save me as much money, but it's been a worthwhile thing for us.

The only thing with First American is they'd give a window of time when they're going to come out and sometimes it could be as much as four hours. I wish they had a lesser timeframe like a two-hour window because that would help me better plan my day. Other than that, I'm very satisfied with how good this company is.

I had a plumber come out four months ago to fix a leak under my sink. A few weeks later, it started leaking again at the very same spot. I called First American. The fellow that I talked to told me that I needed to talk to the contractor because it was a workmanship warranty issue. But when I called them and told them that their repair didn't work, they said, “Sorry. We only guarantee our work for three months” and I was not happy with them so I’m going to have to file a new claim and specifically request that they don’t send those clowns out again. Other than that, I’ve been recommending First American. I bought and live in an old, two-story farmhouse. It’s 95 years old and a beautiful old home. But some of the appliances and some of the things that came with it are old too, and it was a perfect candidate for this type of a service. $70 a month for the warranty is a lot. However, it was a great deal and they seem to be doing their job.

Mar. 12, we opened up fridge to check on it, it was below 20 degrees, frozen and had now fractured the water filter tank. We unplugged the fridge and had to install a water shut off valve to the water supply line. Mar. 12, we called the Tech Co., no one answered, we left a detailed message, what had happened, new damage and asked for a callback, No call, no follow up, nothing. Mar. 13, we called the Tech Co. again, talked with them, they had no parts listed as on order, no noted they were to reschedule a follow up visit to finish the repair work. I discussed details in person with them and noted that our water filter tank was now damaged due to the Tech leaving the fridge plugged in. They committed to call us back with an update, no call, no follow up, nothing.

Mar. 13, we called First American. Told them what was happening, the problems with fridge, damaged water filter tank and that we called the Tech Co. Also told them the Tech Co. had no parts, no plan to come back out and no plan to call us back, No call, No follow up, Nothing. First American put us on hold while they would call the Tech Co, no one there so First American said they would follow up and have a supervisor call me back as requested, No call, No follow up, Nothing from First American.

Mar. 14, we called First American again. Talked with another Rep, he said there was no record of our discussion with them the day prior. Told this Rep everything, more helpful, tried calling Tech Co., no one there again. This Rep said he would follow up, reschedule a visit from the Tech Co., validate they had parts on order and have this claim assigned to a claims Rep. We were offered a $75 credit to rent or purchase another fridge to use. Rep said that a claims Rep would follow up within 24 hrs., No call, No follow up, Nothing.

Mar. 15, we received two (2) emails today. First email stated they had three (3) parts on order as of this day. Second email stated that First American would review our claim and get back with us in 1-3 business days. REALLY? I called First American again, talked with another Rep and asked to speak with a Supervisor. The Supervisor reviewed our claim, I informed him of the significant amount of time that had transpired since we filed our claim. We again discussed details with the Supervisor, problem with fridge, new damage to our fridge. We were told that NO claims Rep was assigned to our claim, as such, no one would be calling up back as committed.

The supervisor said he would assign our claim to a claims Rep and stated again they would call us back. Said he could not take our word the water filter tanks was now damaged and needed the Tech Co. to come back out, verify the damage and order parts. We were again offered $75 dollars to rent or buy another fridge, really, the delivery and pick up charge for a rental would cost close to $75, not including the minimum lease of 30 days they wanted. Parts should be on order, however, no eta for parts, no eta for when the Tech Co. will come back out to verify the newly damaged part, no working fridge (using our neighbor's garage fridge for now). No call backs, No follow up from anyone, Nothing unless we call, NO END IN SIGHT! We may have overlooked some details, however, this represents the issue, ongoing frustration and total inability to resolve this issue within any reasonable amount of time.

So far, we did two claims last year and one claim this year, and when we called to submit our claims, their reps were very professional and perfect. All of the techs who came out were very good as well. They made appointments, came when they said they would come out, and introduced themselves when they arrived. They identified the problem, fixed what they could, and I’ve been pleased with all of it. As for the price, First American did what other companies do. After they got us in, we kept on paying the same rate and they gave the best price for the warranty only to the new people. I would like them to appreciate my business more since I've been hanging in there with them but they're not unique.

They also state that you are suppose to receive new information with new pricing for a contract renewal. We never received this as well. We really wanted to keep this company but they didn’t want to renew our contract. I would highly recommend that no one go with First American Home Warranty. I would also recommend that you do your research before going with a Warranty company. My husband hurt his back overseas and he can’t do anything with the way his back is. That’s part of the reason why we wanted to keep them but they didn’t want to renew our contract. This is not First American Home Warranty more like Not American Home Warranty. Don’t use this company.

There is one claim for my dryer that I have not been able to finalize with them yet. It is one of those high-end dryers from LG. Two technicians came and they didn’t really know how to fix it. They ended up calling the 800 number for LG and they went by the instruction manual. However, the issue was still happening even though they did everything that the manual said. When someone is experienced with those machines, they usually know what's going on. I ended up speaking with someone in First American. They wanted to send the first technician to my house again but I told them that I don’t want that technician because he couldn't fix it the first time. They should find a technician that is versed in my machine instead of sending the first technician.

The lady told me to find the contractor that I want and then they'll reimburse me. That was a bummer because I was expecting for First American to take care of that instead of me having to do the all leg work. I'm a busy person so I cannot do it. It seems that they have a process. Once they send Company A, if the thing doesn’t get resolved, they have to send Company A again and again until it gets fixed. However, that didn’t work for me. I don’t love First American. It's not necessarily the best experience ever, but I'm not looking to cancel.

I’ve had good service from First American over the 20 years. They did my microwave, put in a new dishwasher, and had the furnace worked on six times over the last 10 years. They put two motors in it. Then, they had the motor on and the fan that goes around that brings the air around from outside. That thing went out and within two weeks, it went out again. They had to come and replace the whole motor. And it was the fault of the manufacturer.

They also did a great job on our garbage disposal. The guy that came out did a fantastic job on it. He told us some things that we never knew. He told my wife how to grind it. He said not to put lemon down there because it gets under the blades and it causes more smell. He also said that we run hot water when we put ice in there because when we turn it on and it got ice in there and use cold water, it just makes it more hard. So, it’s been good. I've recommended First American to several people. I’ve been telling all my friends about it. I went to my marine colleague and I told my experience to about 30 guys.

But once, I had one guy and he didn't bring a ladder to go up into my attic. I said to this guy, “You came out here without a ladder?” And he said, “Well, I just didn’t think I needed one.” I had to get him a ladder, and then he got up there. However he was so fat he couldn’t get in there. So I called First American and they sent a nice guy, about 5’5” and really skinny, so I got no problem. He crawled back there and put in the new motor.

So everything has been good except for our most recent claim. We have more problems with this heater and now we’re having problems with it again. They’re coming Wednesday because they think there’s a leak now. The company they sent put a new a compressor in December and it hasn't worked well since then. I don’t think the guy who put it was very good because I’ve had problems ever since he did his job. When he scattered compressor pipes in, he didn’t get them done well and now it’s leaking Freon. They've also sent people from Rockland but they didn't come out. The guy never showed up the whole day. I called them and they told me that they have no one to send me.

So I called First American and they sent AquaPro out. Five people came out and they’re on to it. They're Hispanic. They’re all nice, professional and top-notch. They brought their own ladder. I’ve had the same guy out now three times and he put his motor around up in my attic and then down here. So he seems to know more about what’s happening.

Then, they came out and put the heater on it to keep it from defrosting. But this last week it defrosted it up and I called and they came out Saturday and they said, “Well, it’s low on Freon. We think there’s a leak in it.” So, AquaPro is coming out Wednesday to do a leak check on it. We had to order the compressor and it was Christmas and New Year's and a guy had to put it in. It also rained a couple of times and they didn’t want to be working out here since it's electrical, which I understand. I don’t want anybody gets in shock, be killed or hurt badly.

It's an issue for me that I always have to call them. Last week, I had to call the contractor to get an appointment then I had to call them again after the appointment window closed to tell them that they were running late. I tried talking to somebody about the issue but I haven't gotten any results. So I'm giving them my service fee and be done with what they’re actually going to cover.

One time, they sent a contractor who just came in, leaned up against my table, looked at my A/C and told me it needed to be replaced. He had also locked his keys in his car so he had to sit at my house for 20 minutes to wait for a locksmith. He left with my service fee but didn't put any claim in until weeks later. It was the middle of summer with no AC. But other than that contractor, all of the others that have come out have been all fine. But I would tell others never to call in an emergency because it would be a couple of days before they call back. Nonetheless, a warranty is still a warranty.

I had to stay in hold on several times, and go through their ridiculous prompts each time I called wasting several minutes of my day. The representatives had no clue what my issue was and I had to repeat the same information every time I called. They would also say that the issue has been escalated and they’ll take action within a day but nothing had happened the next time I called.

Once they assigned a claim specialist at least I started getting updates in late Feb and she said that the issue should be resolved within a week. But the daily updates for the next severally days were that we are still waiting for the purchasing department to make the final decision on whether they will replace or repair. On 03/09/18 they called to say that they will to repair again and I now have an appointment for end of March. Months without a refrigerator: 4! They only pay $75 for a mini fridge as temp relief and have no regard or urgency to fix customer issues. Poor service, too many delays and a complete waste of time. I will add an update on what happens next but they have already lost my trust. Stay away.

I also had a problem with the garage door and it could not go up and down. The door cost only $11 and I knew how to fix it. I called First American HB Protection and they fixed it and they charged me $75 for a five to ten-minute job. It went very good and the garage door guy, before coming, called me before 8:00. I missed the call and then I called back. He asked me what time he can come.

The recent one was for the water heater and we didn't know where the water was leaking. I told them to come the fast way because the weather was very cold. I called them Sunday and requested that somebody come on Monday. They said they can come only on Tuesday so we had to heat the water on the stove and put it in the tub. Then they came, checked the heater and changed the plastic pot. They did it promptly and sent me some refund. But if they had done the work on the first day, it would be much better and we didn't have to undergo all that stress.

When there is a small problem, they can fix it. The First American claims reps have been very nice and prompt and quick, and the technicians have been very good and knowledgeable. They fixed the job in a time limit that they've done. They were very fast and prompt. They knew what they’re doing. One guy didn’t charge me. I told him to take the payment but he said that First American will send me a bill and that I don’t have to worry. I will definitely recommend them to my friends and anybody else.

As for the technicians that they sent, some of them are sharp while some aren't. I got to know the prior plumber well because they've been here for numerous times and they were good. And although the last tech I had fixed the water heater and did a good job, he didn't seem as knowledgeable and as professional as the ones who came prior to him. Also, I wasn’t as comfortable with him as I was with the people who came before. He seemed like he was a contractor for the person or the company that has a contract with First American. Other than that, the overall quality of work performed was good.

My last experience was with bath plumbing. I had a leak under my kitchen sink and I thought the faucet was leaking because it's loose. The contractor determined that it was the disposal that was leaking and he put a new one in. I asked if I needed a new faucet and he said he doesn’t do that. There must be another guy who does faucets so he didn’t fix my faucet. But it was called plumbing and that's plumbing. I would think they would be glad to sell me a new faucet and that's really the only question that I've ever had. Still, everything has been satisfactory.

So far, except for my refrigerator, I haven't had any big problems. I thought the person who came was going to fix it but instead, he told me that that part wasn’t covered. And I gave him $75, which First American said they’re going to send a check back. I haven’t received the refund yet. I talked to one of the managers and he had me on the line for a long time. I told them that it was fair even though it was my fault for paying the person who came to my home. After all, he told me I had to pay him to come over. I have told my son about First American and he’s been on it since.

Since this problem started before the policy was in force, then this is not covered. Their technician, in the notes provided to the company indicated, that there was no service done, and no fee should be charged. The company still charged me with the fee and claimed that if I do not pay this fee, they will not do any other services on this contract. This company is a total SCAM. Most problems done occur overnight. They often take time to develop. Their excuse for denying the claims seems like it will always be a pre-existing issue. DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THEM. STAY AWAY!!!

Fast forward to December 2017 - another piece of the HVAC blew up. We called First American; they opened a new claim, sent another lousy contractor out... And another. And another. I have 5 canary colored invoices sitting on my kitchen counter, 3 of which suggest replacing the unit. FA refuses! They keep sending out new parts to repair on an old unit, which continues to burn up anything and everything they replace. It's getting ridiculous. First American cares about one thing only - their money. They don't care about the loyal customer. They don’t care that the customer is spending money every month for virtually nothing. They must not even value their outsourced contractor’s opinions, because they overrule every suggestion given to them. This is the first stop. Next complaint will be filed under BBB.

He found out that the previous guy put in the wrong charge. So I just said I should get back that money I gave the first time they came. I was told by the home warranty that they can’t do that and that I should call the place directly. I thought that is not right. I think the home warranty should guarantee if the work isn’t done right. It’s obvious they did it wrong because it didn’t work that long. I wasn’t happy with that. The gentleman I talked to is very nice, and he said that he would talk to his supervisor and see what they could do. But of course, I know I'm not going to get it back.

When we bought our house, our realtor gave us one year of First American warranty. We then renewed it after that. Submitting a claim with them has been very easy. It was very good with the claims representatives and I love being able to have somebody available on Sundays. But when I'm up for renewal, I'm looking into another place.

They are now sending out yet another technician for the same problem. The back panel was replaced 12/29, 2/8 and 2/22. I'm so tired of this runaround! This next visit will be the 8th time a technician has come out for the same problem. Each time I am taking off work, having to empty my entire fridge and of course put everything back. I can tell you right now that they will come out, fix one of the above parts (again), and we will have the same issue. I am so very frustrated.

When it came time to renew our contract, we got a letter stating that our contract would NOT be renewed. Believing it was an error, based on the fact that the sellers had purchased the contract for us on closing we questioned 1st American Home Warranty reps twice and they concurred that it was not an error and that we could not renew our contract for another year. They would not tell us why or give us any other information. Overall, was happy with the service while we had it. Question the rationale as to why our service was not renewed. Still have not been given an answer whatsoever.

I'm satisfied with First American and things could be better if there’s not much hold time on the phone and easier response when we have a problem with an existing claim. I’ve checked into American Home Shield before and it was a little bit cheaper but I didn’t really want to change. They almost have the same price but First American doesn’t offer water softener or anything like that, which AHS does, so the only reason, if I’d change, would be the additional appliances AHS offers. First American goes up every year quite a bit but for the most part, if we have problems, it's actually very worth our while.

For the Sub-zero, which is an A1 Appliance, the guy First American sent out was the absolute worst. He did not speak English and translation was very difficult. By the time I called Sub-Zero, he had done so much damage and it cost me $1,500. Sub-Zero only wanted to take a portion of that because I said I could only have $2,500 worth of work on the refrigerator and the work that the technician had done previously had already eaten up part of that money. He was not successful in fixing anything but we still had to pay him and it was not an enjoyable interaction. I would never use First American to fix anything on my refrigerator again.

When I get in touch with customer service, they are great. It is easy when I first open up a claim but afterward, when I need any follow-up and when I have questions, it is extremely difficult to get in touch with the people and that has been my displeasure. I have to wait 20 minutes, they don't call me back and I would have to call somebody and explain it all over again. It's inconvenient. Also, when I have a replacement, they don’t always replace the products with the same brand and maybe not even the same quality and that's a concern. I'm satisfied with some things and dissatisfied with others. I would tell other people to do some research before going with First American and to not just go to them. I would recommend that people compare notes and find someone that they think is suitable for their needs.

We’ve seen the representative, many times in the last 11 years and whatever is needed or whatever we have expressed the problems to be, he or his people have always verified that “Yes indeed. That is the problem.” And they fix it. There’s a solution. There’s always the same payment and we see the same person over and over. They always explain to us what's going on and talk with us about how did we get to this point or what happened beforehand so that if there's something we're doing that is causing the problem, we can look into it and make sure that it doesn't continue to be a problem.

They're always very well-educated, well-prepared and polite, and courteous. The quality of work is always good. Sometimes, it depends on what you give someone to work with and then they do the best job they can. One time we had a leak and we thought we had just a leak. It was serious, and we didn't know how serious it was. Sometimes, it is just a really easy fix and sometimes it's not easy for us. We’re not DIY people. We have other things that we have to take care of. So we depend on American Home Buyers to come in and tell us what needs to happen and do the right thing and they do. We're satisfied. It's a premium.

And if someone would ask about First American, the first thing they have to realize is their level of understanding of what needs to be taken care in their home. Diagnosing the problem is important and they should learn the basic. But if they want to rely on First American Home Buyers, they have to let First American diagnose the problem and they'll give a recommendation on what they need to do to fix whatever is wrong. And if they can't fix it, they can pass it on to the next agent so people don't pay two fees for one problem that hasn't been taken care of.

The claims reps were excellent. They listened to what problem I had, followed up on it, gave me a claim number and a contractor. I called the contractor and he was just here like it's supposed to be. He was extremely professional. He fixed it and he did the job really well. Same thing with the one we had before that. First American is good. I got friends who have First American too.

I couldn’t even get a hold of them, and even First American tried to call them back five times. In terms of my interaction with their reps, it was 50-50. When I was moving, I emailed to cancel my automatic withdrawals from my bank account and I never heard anything back. I called in the other day and they didn’t even have it in the system. They pulled the money out of the bank account and charged me for mid-February to mid-March. The guy that I ended up speaking with to resolve that was excellent and he was the first person I’ve ever spoken to that really was on it and knew what to do. I would tell a friend of mine to shop around a little bit.

When he came in, my refrigerator had been so hot to touch. It was like a burning iron on the outside. He took off the top and he said it needed to be cleaned. I told him it gets cleaned. And he said there was nothing wrong with it. It just needed to be cleaned. But I told him there was something wrong with it. He told me he could clean it up for me and he could give me a deal that day, but it was going to be $175 in cash. I thought that was odd and I've never experienced anything like that. I asked how long was it going to take to clean it and he said about 20 minutes. So I thanked him but I told him I'd keep my $175 and clean it myself. And then I let First American know and so I've got a new guy coming out on Monday. Other than that, I still push their company.

Updated on 03/05/2018: It's been 3 weeks after I filed claim. Tried to reach out many time to the (claim handling department) officer who handles my claim (Sandra **). She stopped responding me after I asked her to provide me estimation details to replace furnace. I sent emails and left messages on phone many time. No response at all. I called customer service line. They says that they cannot answer or help me as my claim is handled by claim settlement department.

I called their contracting company which is replacing the furnace (Furnace Doctor, phone 2066225018). They also not providing me any technical details like what is my current furnace, BTU, Model and what will be new furnace. Very frustrating. I am completely exhausted at this point. Don't know what to do. Thinking to go to consumer court.

They asked me no questions. They just looked at the stove, then microwave and left. Later I got a call from the representative at First American, they denied the stove claim because they said the part was missing. But it wasn't missing; it was in the laundry room. If the "technicians" would have asked me for it I would have showed it to them. They denied the claim on the microwave because they said I used excessive force. But the thing was over 20 years old!. And anyone knows that a microwave door handle only opens outward. How can you use excessive force on that? I asked the representative if there could be a second opinion and she laughed at me. Then flatly told me no.

Then I received two letters from First American telling me that the claims had been denied. So I bought a new microwave and oven. Then I received a phone call from another appliance contractor with First American telling me that they had been scheduled to come out for a second opinion. But I had already received a decline form First American and had bought new appliances. After that I received another letter from First American telling me that my claims had been declined because I had replaced the appliances without their permission. Seriously?

I also filed a claim for a broken air conditioner. That was back in October of 2017. It is now March of 2018 and nothing has happened except that I have had to argue with their contractors from Platinum Repair who are all Russian and who are the most obnoxious and rude people in the world. Don't waste your money on First American. Also, in case you do not know, they have over 700 complaints against them with the BBB!

When we called to get our dishwasher serviced, the service guy just showed up at my house and I didn’t even know and I was at work, too. I never got a phone call for an appointment. And so, I had to reschedule with the guy for later on in the afternoon. But then when I got home, my daughter got the flu and I had to take her to the emergency room and the guy came back to the house. The claim just went null and void. I need to call them again and resubmit that claim because I never got my dishwasher serviced. But, we usually have different service guys and they call and give us a heads up and ask us when is a good time for them to come. And generally, the work they've done has been great. I'd recommend First American's service.

The first two claims I had were taken care of pretty quickly; one involved a repair tech from a pest control company poking a hole in a water pipe (this kind of thing may not be covered by other home warranty companies so a good point for First American) and it (the repair) was done well. The next involved a contact switch in my a/c unit; again pretty quick service and the repair was done well and another good point for First American.

The next two not so good; refrigerator repair - took just under a month to get it fixed; seems to be working OK. Part of the problem here may be that First American seems to want to use Sears as a contractor - not prompt or responsive at all. After the refrigerator part arrived it took almost three weeks for the repair guy to come by. Perhaps First American should consider using another contractor and perhaps First American should consider finding another when the customer has to wait so long to get something fixed.

The last is one which is still unresolved; microwave died; it took a week for a contractor to come and make a diagnosis - he just read the info on the screen; I could have done that! Now two more weeks and no part; I did get an email with the part #, I looked it up on the internet and found at least two of them for sale; that took about 5 minutes and it has been two weeks and still no part. It is promised tomorrow. First American phone person will not tell me when someone will come out to fix the microwave until the part gets here; which may or may not be pretty soon. As a real estate professional I must tell clients of my experiences with this company. Those experiences are very very mixed. Perhaps other home warranty companies have faster service.

In Feb 2018 our Bradford White 50 gal hot water heater stopped working. The hot water heater would only produce 5 gallons of hot water. First contractor was the most unprofessional person I've ever met. He did say the water heater was not working to capacity and left. His report back to FAHW was that nothing was wrong with hot water heater. Had a second contractor out a day later, he also said the hot water heater was not working to capacity, yet FAHW says he reported no issues found. I spoke to contractor and he stated that his report read what we discussed. Hot water heater working at a diminished capacity. After our household was without hot water for 96 hours I had to replace it. Guess what. FAHW is denying reimbursement "because they said they didn't approve prior to replacing." I find it hard to believe that in this day & time someone can operate a business in this manner without recourse to the way they cheat the client.

When I didn't hear from him, I called back and he said he did his part and put the paperwork in. But he didn't know how the system worked and he didn't try to get me my parts on time. I had to call the company that made the parts and I found out that the parts weren't coming in for four to six weeks. I had to go back to the warranty people and said that that was not acceptable. After all that was done, I turned my heater on this winter and discovered that the tech did something wrong and didn't put the heater back in. So, I had no heater.

First American sent me another service person that I also didn't know and the repair took forever. I didn't get heat until it was already warm here. So I had a house with no heat full of kids for Christmas. But it wasn’t the fault of the service person. First American would only do business with Carrier which is out in Michigan and we were not high on their priority list. But we have people right here in Arizona who could have done it. Other than that bad service person, I also got a lady on the dishwasher who told my husband that if he knew how to load it, it wouldn't be a problem. Then she walked away and got her $75 from First American. But it turned out that I needed a whole new dishwasher.

If First American lets people choose, among the companies they've contracted with, the contractors that gave them good service, then First American would weed out the bad contractors because those companies wouldn't get any work. First American said that it would only lead to more people waiting for service which wouldn't make them happy. But I told them that if I didn't have a heater, I'd be unhappy, too. Nobody likes getting a person from out the country half the time.

So I'm not First American's biggest fan right now, but from my experience, they're still way better than anyone else as far as replacing stuff, being on time, and answering calls. I would recommend them. When I get a good person for repairing things, they give permission for the work. And if something has to be replaced, they’re the number one company for that, which is a very important thing because it took three summers for my air conditioner to completely go out. But every summer, they replaced whatever was broken at that time.

In this day and age, they have relatively good customer service, too. I call them when I have a claim and their automated system is pretty crappy. But that's just the way it is and it doesn't bother me at all since it's not as bad as others. They might have more than one call center because when I call them, sometimes I'd get someone from the United States and at other times, I wouldn't. But when I get to talk to those who aren't in the US, they speak good English. Sometimes their accent is really thick but I have found out if I told them I couldn't understand them, they'd get someone else to talk to me.

Compared with the ones that I've done business with, First American's reps try to do things for me to please me, they make things right, and they don't shut me off. One time, I called back and said that I was told I was going to get the heater money. The rep went off the line, came back, and said, "Evidently, the supervisor who looked at this does not understand the HE," which meant Personal Heater. It was a funny experience and I got my money within four days. The contractors came back, gave me $50 for a space heater, and did what they said they'd do. So, First American is set up correctly. It's just that they use bad contractors and it makes them look bad. But as far as I can tell, the first service person I got for the heater is no longer on their list.

The people I hired came to clean it took it out and they showed to me that the unit was shot. They said, "This is what's wrong with it. If he had taken anything apart, he would have seen it." But in the meantime, the guy came back after the people came and cleaned it. H told me he brought some fan and he said, "I'm not even supposed to be doing this. I'm eating this out of my own pocket. You got me in trouble with the warranty people." And I'm like, "You know what, you didn’t even look at the thing. You just kept guessing. You come in, you spend five minutes and you guessed at something. You never listen to me. I didn’t ask you to come here on your own dime or anything."

The other people put a new unit in for us because it was in the middle of summer and we were fighting with that guy. We ended up fighting with First American Home Warranty over paying for it. And the people that put in the new unit for us sent them First American a whole list of all the stuff that was wrong with the unit, and First concluded that they owed us $1,400 of the $7,000. We took it, but I have no use for them and we canceled the service. But they didn’t cancel it because we had just paid it for the year again.

We have used it since then when my ceiling fan wasn’t working and the garbage disposal has gotten something in it. The garbage disposal had to be reset and a guy came out to reset it and he was out in five minutes. As for the ceiling fan, he finally decided that some GFI had been thrown by it which didn’t make any sense to me. It was working when he left but this morning, it's not working again. I've gone and reset the breaker and the breaker was fine and it was just the fan was not working again.

First American just doesn’t listen. They send out people who wanted to get the work done in five minutes and whose job was to convince people that it was not their job if it involves anything. First American apparently doesn’t back them up if they find something was really wrong. There were a couple that does but for the most part, that was not what they send out. And to keep their contractor, that's what they have to do. When we had a leaking faucet and something else with the kitchen sink, a guy came and he was great. He stayed and took the time to fix it. There was some stuff that was not covered and we paid him the part we owed him. Other than that, I wouldn’t recommend them to anybody and I don't know that we'll redo it once it’s up this year.

Some techs were good. However, one or two folks were a little rude like one of the plumbers. He said that everything looked good but I told him that it doesn’t work. He asked me to prove it. The leakage means I could see that it is a wet floor. But he was not convinced with that as he doesn't see it on the pipe. Literally, he was arguing. He left and within a couple of hours, it started leaking again. When I called him back, he told us that he was done with the correct things and that I may have to call insurance again. That didn't look good. I explained it to First American and they sent another contact person. Overall, First American meets the requirement and I would recommend them.

But we had a plumbing claim a couple of years ago and that was terrible. There were issues around that claim and the problem wasn't fixed. They sent out the same person again and finally, I just gave up on that claim and stopped following up as fixing that problem wasn’t really a necessity. Our experience with First American has been okay so far, but their service is expensive. They've bumped the fees up to 80 bucks now for each service call. But I like it when they try to use contractors that are local to the area, within 20 miles or less.

The contractor did not provide any proof, didn't ask me anything (actually never even returned one of my phone calls), just stated his opinion and First American takes that and runs with it. Calling my claims specialist, I thought I would get somewhere with my disagreement with what the contractor said, but that was shot down repeatedly; I just got the same canned line from her about how the contractor stated it was rodent damage, therefore it's rodent damage, your policy doesn't cover that, your claim is closed, and thank you for the $75 service fee for doing absolutely nothing. The good news is, there are other home warranty companies out there and I will not be calling myself a First American customer for much longer. Very, very disappointed.

The work the techs have done has generally been good and there have been no repeat claims for the same issue. For some claims, they don’t have as much availability, so sometimes the schedule can get backed up. But they're good about following up and saying that they're going to be getting to it. They at least do a reach out call with the appointment scheduling happening a week or two out, depending on availability for the tradesmen.

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First American was recommended by a realtor. Their warranty came with the purchase of our house and we've been with them for five years. My experience with them has been okay and I saw no reason to switch. I submit claims online, so it's convenient. Usually, they call back within 24 to 48 hours, then the contractor schedules an appointment. The initial call of the technician is usually just a diagnosis. But if something is broken, it takes a very long time to get it replaced. The techs have to wait three to six weeks before First American can order the part, since they won't buy the replacement part retail.

So far, the quality of the work that the techs have done has generally been good and there have been no repeat claims for the same issue. With some claims, though, First American doesn’t have as much availability of contractors, but they're good about following up and saying that they're going to be getting to it. At least, they do a reach-out call and schedule the service appointment a week or two out, depending on the availability of the trades people.

The frustration level you will experience will require therapy. It took them two months to replace the original contractor after multiple visits, delays in parts, and multiple no shows. This contractor left the water supply on and we have water damage to our kitchen floor as a result. The second contractor was late as well and did not call. They misdiagnosed the issue. Replaced a part and honestly do not think they know what the issue was. We cannot wait another two months and repeat of the first contractor. I have requested full refund of our contract as they do not have the ability or will to comply. Please do not be another victim of this company.

We had to wait for one more week and nobody turns out. All this time we had no fridge at home. And we have two small kids. Just imagine our plight. This guys turns up and says he got a wrong part and says, he needs to order a part that will take 3 weeks to get. At this frustrated, we call the customer care and the claims administrator (who never responds - Pierre **) and the agent tells us they will talk to the technician and make sure he turns up on the next Monday. Just imagine in a modern work, no fridge, two little children, taking time off from work waiting at home for the technician to turn out.

The guys come on Monday and says he is forced to come our home but doesn't has the part yet. With patience completely lost, I had to yell at a lot of careless people who read from a script and a Sr. Technician is promised to come that Friday. These guys turns up from the same company (Accord Appliances) and says all bad things about the previous guy and claims to be an expert. He doesn't replace anything but explains to me that that the phenomenon is like a computer heat up and tell me to turn off the fridge for 15 minutes and restart it. Voila.. the fridge works. We go to the shops, buy, milk and fruit and vegetables, still suspicious about the repair and the very next day it stops working again. I restart the fridge as suggested, nothing happens.

We throw away all the stuff and I call the customer care and they coach me, that I am not the only customer that Accord Appliance have to attend and I have to wait till the following Thursday. One of the agent even told me to go buy a fridge, if I cannot wait. Probably the call center is in Mexico or India or Philippines. By any means do these guys even deserve a single star. NOT AT ALL. Third grade, cheap horrible, unethical company, who take my money and cannot fix things. Shame on you. The other horrible thing, is that a lack of ombudsman or a complaining consumer affairs person outside of the company, like government appoint, who can help people like us who are troubled by these companies.

After that, I submitted a claim with them for my furnace. It just stopped working and it was the igniter or pilot problem. Then a guy came out, cleaned it off, and the furnace started working. Later, my hot water tank went out again so a tech came out. He said that the only thing he could think off was that someone got down in there, brought the flame out, and it hit the kill switch. He had to relate it and showed me where the kill switch was. I didn’t know there was one on there because I tried to relate it and follow the instructions but it wasn’t getting any gas because the kill switch needed to be reset. The guys from the two different companies that came were very professional and were here when they said they would be here. In fact, when my daughter who doesn’t have a homeowner's warranty needed a recommendation for her hot water tank, I gave her the name of one of the companies.

The service fee could go down a bit though. It’s $75 right now. They come out and they inspect the problem, then they charge $75 service fee and then if any parts and labor besides that, then that’s covered in the policy depending on the policy. I’m useless around the house, so I call them for everything and then it turns out it’s just a little thing I could have.

The last time that a technician came out was totally useless. We have a problem with the light in the stair wall. I wasn’t home and my wife dealt with it. The tech came out, looked at it and said, “It’s too high. I’m not going to get up there. This is your problem.” So, he left and that was it. How can he possibly know what’s wrong with it without testing anything? I’ve been fighting with them trying to figure out what is going on with that. I haven't even talked to the warranty people yet to let them know what's going on. It’s been two weeks and I’ve called four times, and the lady keeps saying, “I got to text the technician, I’ll get back to you." She never calls me back. So, it’s a very poor service. First American does a great job setting up the appointments, but they should find a new service person. If people need stuff done, they’re going to end up paying for it because First American is going to say it’s not covered anyway.

The technician was also bad and he never fixed it and every time, they would say that the part was in back order or wasn't back. I even had to go to get it because they told me it was a belt. The belt cost $10 and I told the gentleman I already have the belt because they kept insisting that there's probably been a back order. And I go, "Well, since I purchased the belt, can you just install it?" He goes, "No, we don't work like that." And I had already purchased the belt and I was without a dryer for a month. Then he came back and said that he found something else wrong with the dryer, another part he had to order. So at the end, because I was complaining and calling every single day, they sent a different company that fixed it right away.

I really trusted First American in regards to my claims because I've been with them for so long and I would hate to move. But there was nobody really trying to fix the issue. I didn't want anything free because I pay my fee every month and I was willing to pay my deductible. But for nobody or upper management to give me a call and say, "Hey, this is what's going on." I never had that. I had to call every single day in my break and I never got anybody, it was just voicemail. After the experience I had, I'd tell a friend to not go with them.

The problem I had with the appliance company was I was without a refrigerator for almost four weeks. It's a little bit ridiculous. I tried to call them after First American gave me the name of the company and their phone number and that they would be contacting me and set up a time. I had a doctor’s appointment so I kept trying to call them. But not once did I ever got to talk to the lady who owns the company. It goes straight to voicemail. I left a message saying, “I would love to talk to you. I’ve got doctor’s appointment so I need to know about what day you think you might be able to be here. Could you please return my call?” Every day I was making that same call to them. They never once returned my call and First American had to fax her to get a hold of her.

They finally got somebody out here to diagnose the problem. The guy said I needed a new compressor and a new filter. He called the lady because they got her personal cell phone number so they know now how to get a hold of her. So he talked to her and he came back in and said she was ordering the parts that day. And she would email or call me at the end of the day to let me know when the parts will be here and they can come out. But then I never heard from her. After about three days, I kept trying to call. She never would return my call.

On a Monday, her guy told me the parts would be in and the latest it would be should be Thursday. Two weeks later, it still wasn’t there. First American got a hold of her and she said they were waiting on one part and when it would get to them, then they would be scheduling. I was in the third week and that was the only time that I have ever talked to that lady. She said they have the parts and they'd be here. It was on a Wednesday and she said they would be here on a Saturday, between 10 and 2 to get our refrigerator working. I told her I had been waiting for three weeks and they were going to make me wait another week before they get somebody out here. And again, she said they would be here on Saturday, between 10 and 2, and she hung the phone up. I told First American about it and they asked if I would like to make a formal complaint and I said I would.

When the guy came out to fix the refrigerator, he carried all the parts in the house, put the refrigerator out and said the only problem I had was a hole in a specific pole. He cut it for about eight to ten inches long and said they just had to replace the line. He put the new line in, pulled the vacuum on it and serviced my refrigerator. He got me going and then he carried all the new parts back to his truck. I told him I would like to have a copy of the work order and he told me to let him go to his truck. So I looked after and he got on the phone in his truck. He came back in and said he didn't have the paperwork to leave me a copy of the work order, but Sarah, the owner, told him that she will send me a copy on email that day.

It has been over two weeks ago now, and I still haven’t got a copy of it. So I called First American and told them that the reason she doesn’t want me to have a copy of the work order is that she’s going to charge them for the compressor and coils. I wasn’t dissatisfied with First American at all but I felt like every day I was calling them on the refrigerator and they were not backing me up.

Overall we had to purchase a new furnace and our family went without heat for 7 days.

I asked the technician if I could buy the replacement then he could come and install it. That way, it would be a win win situation for all of us. The technician agreed but when I found a faucet that was similar to what I had and called to setup an appointment, First American told me that all I'd be getting would be the $40 cash out. I don’t understand that because the $40 wouldn't pay for the technicians to come and install the faucet I bought. So now, we're fighting over this and I don't know where we're going to end up. In the meantime, I made multiple calls to the plumbing company but they're not calling me back. I also made multiple calls to the insurance company and they said they were going to take care of it but they aren't. So, it's a non-stop hassle with First American and I have the long laundry list of problems like that. If you're a working person like me, you'd just waste hours and hours doing this and it's really exasperating.

Original Review: Feb. 13, 2018

The handle to turn my main hot water line is broken off. Called to confirm that it was covered before requesting the service. It's located in my garage so they said it was covered. When they arrived to fix it they said it isn't covered because there isn't a handle... Exactly what I told them when I called, the handle is broken off. I explained to the plumbers why I needed to turn it off because I had a shower drip. Instead of spending an hour sitting in their van talking to First American they could have shut off the valve outside and fixed the drip. I had to pay another service call for someone to fix the drip. Just called to cancel my account and they automatically signed me up for another year a couple of months ago. So now I would have to pay a penalty for canceling and still pay for the service fee that they didn't complete. Very dissatisfied with this experience, but will pay the service fee and cancel when my contract is up and go with another company.

Our heating system has been a nightmare. Paying the deductible rather than paying for a contractor out of pocket to come out has been a lifesaver. And also with just everyday things like our appliances like dishwasher breaking and getting a brand-new dishwasher that’s just been a really big help. We also at one point had to get a brand-new condenser for our AC unit and they covered that as well which saved us quite a bit of money.

I submit the claim online and the website is very user-friendly. I’ve had no issues with it. Usually I’ll get a confirmation email within an hour submitting the claim. And then the contractors will reach out to me within 48 hours. The quality of work that’s been performed has been fantastic. I’ve actually recommended First American to quite a few people when they’ve bought home saying that it’s a really good insurance policy.

The technicians would take a really long time for them to get in touch with us. Then they wouldn't show up, so they would reschedule. And when they come out, they would just do a little patch job to get it through for a little while and then it would go out again. I told First American not to send them again but they said, "You just get whoever who comes out." It was very frustrating.

Eventually, we got a reputable company to come out who said it was not up to code. First American Home Warranty then said that they couldn't help us and would deny the claim even though it was their technicians that they've sent out that made it not up to code. I would not recommend them. And I'd tell my friends that First American doesn't use quality contractors and doesn't do anything to make sure their contractors are accountable.

So he left and then I called AHS back and they said, "He just took off. He didn’t tell us anything." And I called the agency and they said, “Well, we’re going to go ahead. He didn’t have the part. We’re going to have to order it and hopefully tomorrow at 6 o’clock in the morning, we’ll fix it. Is that fine with you?” Then I said, “Yeah. That’s fine.” And he didn’t come until 6:30 and I have to get ready at work so I ended up taking a shower in the dark. I spent the whole day without electricity. The agency didn’t even apologize and the technician didn’t even clean after himself. He left all the stuff behind. But everything's fixed now and that was only the first bad experience. Other than that First American has been okay.

About two weeks later, i called again and the person I got was very pleasant. Other than that, the techs who came out were really good and I didn't have any problems with their work. First American was supposed to look on my dishwasher and my fridge, too. But no one has come to check the fridge and it has been two weeks now.

By the way, no mention about intermittent issue in the contract. Do I have a coverage on outlets and plugs? YES. Do these GFCIs work properly? NO. So why I have to spend hours communicating with their customer service? Then they start to justify that there was an overload: many appliances plug into the line. What? No one appliance was connected! As soon as you plug one dry hair the GFCI trips! So many excuses, incredible unprofessional service, technical incompetence. 75$ fee paid for nothing as the issue was already described into the service request. Do NOT waste your money as if you have a problem you risk to be alone. My policy will end at the end of FEB. I am just starting to find out an alternative.

So we've had this house since 2001. We've been here 17 years, our pool equipment has been outside in the same spot for 17 years, as is everybody else's in the neighborhood and probably everywhere and this was the first time I've ever heard of such nonsense in my entire life. This was the first call back that I've got from First American about the situation. So, I was not told in any way, shape or form, I should be looking for a second opinion. Especially if I go through one with the company and then I get hit for another $75 charge. We're currently shopping for a new company. This is not the first instance where this has happened. Also, it is almost impossible to actually get through to a representative because the whole times are exorbitant. I've resorted to using their website interface instead. The website gives you the opportunity to put in what were the relevant information and such. But at the end of the day, it's the end result that counts. Look elsewhere.

The particular rep that I interacted with last time, I had a little difficulty understanding the name of the company she was referring me to. I had to have her repeat it several times but I couldn't get the name. She was saying 'Zeus' and I thought she was saying 'Boss' or something like that. But she had given me their phone number. The technician that came out was very personable. He did what he needed to do.

Another agent we spoke with stated that they were still waiting to obtain some information from the contractor before they could replace the microwave. No progress had been made within a week. After calling another 2-3 times and speaking with other agents, our agent called back to state that she was ordering a new microwave and that we would receive it soon. We are hopeful that we will receive it soon, but feel that the customer service was poor and that it is unreasonable to expect a customer to have to wait nearly 2 months for a microwave to be repaired/replaced. This home warranty was a waste of money as we could have purchased a microwave with the money spent on the warranty. I would not recommend this company to anyone.

And then I called First American HB Protection back and the rep tried to find somebody and then dispatched another person. That was a total and complete disaster. The technician said that First American HB Protection told them that the water was running out of the evaporative cooler and had flooded the backyard. He didn't even call and he just showed up at the house. My parents were home and they called me so I called him and said, “Why didn’t you call?” and told him the water's off. I have no idea how they got that kind of dispatch because that was never even relayed to First American HB Protection. Then, he said he would come back but they didn’t come back and then I called him to reschedule. He said he had a flat tire and then he called because he had a flu. Then they never bothered calling back. But his comment to me in there was, “Do you really even want it? Do you even use it?”

They never got that issue resolved at all. I had feedback thing come on the internet about how our service was and I said, "Terrible." It got escalated and the lady said she would find somebody that would service pump coolers or evaporative coolers. She said she would email me the information by the end of the business day. She couldn’t find anybody and then they gave me permission to dispatch my own company to get a quote on fixing it. And I manage commercial and residential properties so I have a bank of contractors. They came out and I was just waiting for their estimate to send it in.

I submit my claims on the phone because there are contractors I do not want on my property. They are horrific, rude, and accusational. If I submit online, they continue to send those contractors. I filed complaints which said, "Do not send back," but they say I’ve never submitted that. But the claims reps I spoke to was very good. She called me after I submit the ‘Not at all satisfied’ because it wasn’t completed. She called to find out what was going on and she was apologetic.

They go for the lowes paid contractor but they need to screen their contractors more. We had a hot water tank issue before Christmas and that contractor was unbelievably verbally abusive. It was horrific. She told me hot water was luxury, I didn’t need it replaced for over a week, they didn’t have any in stock and the lies that just kept coming out of her were unbelievable. I was unbelievably irate with this woman and I was irate with the warranty company because they wouldn’t believe me. So, we had to get it escalated through the real estate company my husband works for. They called and said they were sending out a second opinion and these guys came out and arrived with the hot water tank and it was within less than two hours.

Also, to work with this company, you need to have knowledge of what you requested to repair on. Because with the pool company who came out, they told me I wasn’t maintaining the pool and I wasn’t looking after it but I have years of record of everything we had done and we had a pool company every week. But the guy sat there and flat out accused me of awful things and my dad came out. He told the guy he should not be on the business to come out and accuse customers and make false accusations. The same thing happened with another contractor who told me I will never ever maintained my pump cooler but they had done maintenance on it and I have the record for eight years. People get set up, they just don’t say anything and because it happens over and over again. I’m lucky I know a lot about the items that I’m getting them to service.

We also had an issue with our glass top stove and they dispatched a guy. He told me that was the way the elements were supposed to work and I said the elements didn't have to be turned on high. The elements aren’t going to work. My sister owns a bakery and she’s a chef. She has a plain stove and she does not have that problem and we were just starting to have that problem. He flat out told me there was nothing he could do and there was nothing wrong with it. I had to pay for that and I just got frustrated. Then, months later, I told another guy out and he told me everything that was wrong with it. And I told him what the repairman said and he said that that was not true. He could have fixed that. The second person who came out is the person I request when I call back.

The first contractor that comes out often is not a good one and the second one that comes out, because we’ve escalated it and complained, does an excellent job. For as long as we’ve been with them, they should know and not dispatch the people that I’ve said aren’t even allowed to set foot on my property. If I ran the company, they would have been fired a long time ago because I think having contractors like that is a deterrent to the business. It’s time-consuming to get an issue resolved. You need to be there to watch the contractor and make sure they’re doing what they’re supposed to be doing.

First American also increased their fee. It used to be 60 and not 75, but it's still decent for the stuff that they come out for. I've had A/C work done and paid only $75. Everything's good on that part. I've recommended First American but a lot of my friends are unaware of it. They didn't know that something like that existed for the home. I told them to look them up on the website.

When I submit a claim, they always get back to me within 24 hours. I've had good experiences with their reps and I've only had one that was not. It was because I couldn't understand the rep. I don't know where he is but, obviously, he was not in the United States. Other than that, it's been easy to call them and though I had to get on hold, the longest time I had to wait was 10 minutes. They would prefer that you do it online but I don't want to as I want to speak to a live human being.

Usually, the person that First American send to me would try to give me a four-hour window. But I work so I can't always do that. Their people have been nice to try to work with me and get here when I can be here or have someone here. I've had several plumbing issues and I've had two terrible plumbers that First American have sent out. Both of these companies came in and had mud on their shoes. One of them left my bathroom filthy and the other one had a hand print on the wall. He also extracted some hair from my tub and just threw it in the toilet instead of disposing of it properly. One company's guy broke something, too, and tried to say that that was what I called for. But it wasn't and First American's people could tell because they record the calls. I complained with First American and requested them not to send those companies to me again. So far, they've listened, sent me someone else, and the last company I used was good.

I had a recent repair done on my house when the tank of my water heater unfortunately went out two days before New Year’s. Up until last week we were taking a bath with boiled water on the stove so I was really irritated it took that long to get that fixed. The contractor was full of shenanigans. I called my rep and told her it needed to stop. She took care of it and got it done.

The plumber replaced that hot water heater for me and that was a $1,800 hot water heater. But the plumber said the unit has to have straps and they had to change out some piping and exhaust systems to meet the new codes. Modifications are not covered under the home warranty and I could either pay that contractor or hire my own. I wanted my water heater so I gave him the $470. But I knew perfectly well that there were no modifications required. My water heater was installed by Noritz themselves in 2005 and I knew everything was to code. It didn’t need straps either because it was bolted to the wall. The plumber was just trying to basically steal $470. I asked my rep to send me the list of modifications. But I also took pictures of the water heater before they moved it and after they put the new one in. No modifications whatsoever were done. So my rep is now out there collecting the $470 back off the contractor to give it back to me.

Two months ago one of my chlorinators went out and the contractor came out. I walked away for five minutes and when I came back, he said it was all working again. I asked what was wrong and he said it was just a loose wire. But last week, my chlorinator went out again. I opened up the panel to check if that loose wire is loose again but nothing was loose. What he had done was he pulled out the 20 amp fuse and he wrapped a piece of hairline wire around it to connect both posts and stuck it back in. The circuit board is not covered under the home warranty. Only the cell is and he was lucky he didn’t burn out my whole circuit board. He could have cost me a thousand-dollar repair out of my pocket. I’ve actually turned that fuse over to my rep to let them know that their contractor has got his head up his butt. That’s the quality of the people they’re hiring and I’m not happy about that but they're learning.

I had the same problem with their contractors for pools and my claim took three months to get fixed because their pool contractor is a plumber, not a pool contractor. They came out and replumbed a two-inch line instead of one and a half. That over-pressurized the system and blew out the filter tank and the back flow valves. I contacted my rep and they let me hire my own pool contractor. It cost them $1,100 for him to go back out and fix all the damage.

The only problem with home warranty companies is they shop and try to get the cheapest deal but they’re not getting the greatest contractors unfortunately. That pool contractor who fixed the issues used to do First American HB Protection work. That was how I met him and he was an excellent pool guy. This next guy came in and underbid him, and he lost his contract. But now First American is finding out who is going to cost them more money. They would probably go back to professional pool services because you can’t have a general plumber work on a pool. They don’t understand what all those valves do.

In the case of First American HB Protection, they pay their contractor $250 to come out and if he can determine that the issue is not covered under the home warranty, they would there 10 minutes and collect their $250 then they’re out of there. I don’t put in a claim unless it’s legitimate and if it’s not covered under the home warranty, I would understand but contractors try to find a way to say it’s not covered so they can get that $250 and be gone really quick. But they’re fighting me and I don’t back down.

The rep is the key person at First American HB Protection. If they didn’t have a good rep who would back up their policies and fight their company to get things done then they would have a major problem. I’ve heard that in other areas, the reps aren’t as good but we have a very good rep. I give him 15 home warranty plans a year through my sales. I’m a real estate broker and I've been doing this for 39 years. I use First American HB Protection for my personal home, my rentals and all my clients.

I tell people whether their home is brand new or tract-built, there would be issues with it. I sold a property a couple of years ago and the contractors never hooked the water line up to the kitchen. And when you’re buying a resale, you use appliances differently than the previous owner did and those could break tomorrow because of that. This happens quite often. I also tell all my sellers they need a home warranty because we’re liable and I don’t want them or me getting a call in the first 12 months. The clients are going to call me and they’re going to have me try to track my sellers down.

I’ve only paid for one home warranty in my life and that was in 1988 when they first came out. The seller wouldn’t pay for the warranty and the buyer wouldn’t pay for it. The buyer never lived in a cold area where it freezes and they went on a two-month vacation without winterizing the house. They were unaware they were on septic and the system froze in the attic and thawed for two weeks. The pump was running 24/7 for two weeks and it finally burned out. The house and all their personal belongings were destroyed. Back then, the home warranties didn’t have any limit and they got their house rebuilt for $35. That was the best $350 I ever spent. So when my clients say they don't want to pay for home warranty, I tell them that story. That’s the risk they would be taking and they always buy it.

Also, he messed up my toilet. I had an expensive toilet equipment inside, but he changed the pump with a cheap one. It wasn’t fitting into my toilet size and he just literally broke it off the pipe. It's not even sharp cut. I don't know what kind of equipment he used with it. After he was done, it made noise and when I cleaned them, my toilet has a crack. But he looked at the toilet and said, "It's okay. It won't leak because the crack is outside not the inside the toilet." After he left, the next day his office called me and asked me to either pay $100 to them and they will put a new toilet in for me, or I buy my own toilet and pay them $100, so they will put it in for me. I told them, "Let's forget about it." That was a bad experience for my plumbing.

I had another problem with an electrician. The exhaust fan in the bathroom was brand new. It's $15.99 in Home Depot. But my house is 20 years old, and it was never changed. The electrician came, removed it, took them to his place, and tried to fix it. It took him two weeks to fix it. Then he came back, put it in, and it didn’t work. I had to call several times to let my insurance agent know what's going on. After two to three weeks, they hired another electrical company. They bought brand new and put it in for me. So, those were my two bad experiences. Other than those, I was very happy. I used First American several other occasions. I liked my experience with them and it is valuable to have a warranty on our house.

First American Home Warranty will not replace your equipment with "like" equipment. They will shop it around and install the least expensive piece of equipment they can find. First American Home Warranty sent me a check for 50% of what it cost me to get a new a/c installed. They debited my account for over $7200 dollars during the 12 years I did business with them. I would have been better off putting $50 per month in the bank during those 12 years. I would have come out in much better shape. Review any company you plan to buy a Home Warranty with BEFORE you sign on the dotted line. Do not rely on your Real Estate Agent either, do your homework and research all warranty firms. I canceled my contract with First American Home Warranty after this experience.

They were very helpful especially when called in recently because my washing machine stopped. My husband has Alzheimer’s and I take care of him and we need the washer every day to do the bedding. I explained that to the gentleman who I was talking to and he gave me this one company. I waited for an hour and then called them back because I always do that so I can hopefully set something up quickly. They said they hadn’t gotten the order yet and so I called First American HB back. The guy said they were going to see what was going on and he said it’d take a few minutes. He called them back and said that they couldn’t come until the following Thursday. I told him we couldn’t afford to wait and he found me somebody who can come sooner which was wonderful. It’s such a big help so I’m very pleased.

Also, I've never had any problems with the technicians and they seem to know what they were doing. I had just one guy who was maybe a new plumber and kind of new in the business. He didn’t quite know what to look for and I was not satisfied with him. I called the company back and they sent somebody else out and he discovered right away what the problem was and got someone do the fix-up. Other than that, they’ve all been good and it’s very easy for me because they just take the payment out of my account. They helped me tremendously and I have saved a lot of money on things that go wrong. I have never heard them say they can't do something and I'd recommend them to anybody who might need their kind of service.

Agent arrived at 4 PM and assessed the situation. He decided that the proper equipment -to clear drain- would be Hydro-Jet and he stated that he would have someone out by Saturday with proper Equipment. I waited but no response from contractor. FAHW was called and I was informed to contact the contractor. Called Contractor and was told they needed a new work order. Thus, I called FAWH and reported about new work order. They responded that they had issued one and the Contractor had two days to respond. I am still waiting to hear from a contractor. Please respond ASAP. How much longer should I have to be without the use of a kitchen sink?

I spent over 3 hours on the phone with First American. Over 14 days later I have no water heater. Both plumbers they sent out were not honest. I asked First American for a check so I can have my own plumber do the work. They said they will give me $450 which won't cover the cost of a water heater. I still don't have a water heater for 18 days. This company is the worst!

We also had a plumbing drain issue. Because the shower could not drain the way it was constructed, the fitting sampler was fairly tight. The technician that was sent out to do it couldn't unclog the drain without going underneath the house. It'd a big waste of money if they were not going to clear the drains because of the thickness. I also wish the delivery time would be better.

My last claim, the people they sent out the last couple of times out for my pool has been the same company, Backyard Pools, and they're really good. I would recommend that company to other people if they didn't have First American. They have done good except a couple of times. They sent me a plumber and I didn't like him. I had a leak with the water heater last summer, and the plumber they sent out said "We could fix the leak if it was in the wall, but we don't move water heaters". I went like, "What the heck!? You guys are plumbers right?" and he said "Yeah", but they wouldn't move the water heater to get to the leak. That's the only problem I had with them. All the other companies I dealt with have been pretty good, but I looked up this plumbing company and they have a half- star rating. I told those people to leave and I end up calling my own plumber and paying for it myself.

Years ago, I had trouble with my air conditioning, and they sent out technicians. The only thing I really don't like is that they came out here just to fix the problem right then, even though the problem is bigger. It took me about four or five years for a guy to come out and say, "This whole thing needs to be replaced" on my air conditioning heater. First American approved it and they changed it out, but I just don't see why they didn't do that in the very first place. I guess they have to go through their steps too. I have a daughter who is going to be looking for a home pretty soon, and I would recommend First American. My daughter had a company in a different state and that company didn't seem to want to help her out.

The interactions with the claims reps have been in a professional manner, but there have been mixed feelings about submitting a claim. There have been a couple of things which seem to be complicated. There's something short of communication in what needs to be fixed or understanding what the problem is. It could be because I'm Australian and I'm talking to somebody who doesn’t understand what I'm talking about.

There was an electrical problem on my well pump, but they wanted to send a plumber out. And, I said, "I don't need a plumber. I need a well person, someone that will work with electrical as well as the well. It's not a plumbing problem." So, I went for a day or so waiting for a plumber to come, and then I finally rang a well person myself. But because the warranty didn't deal with people who are local to me, I had to wait for them to get someone from miles away to visit me. In the end, they sent that guy to me. We could have gotten the job done quicker by ringing the person myself and getting him to come to do the job.

There was one time a plumber came out, and it was the same story. They sent a plumber instead of sending the septic people. At that point, the plumber just said, "No, you need a septic guy," so First American had to send out two contractors instead of just one. The negative thing about that is that contractor went on and had to do some extra work that needed to be done. The warranty wasn’t going to pay for that and when I got the bill, it was more than what they quoted. Having this insurance has saved me money and probably not.

A few of those negative things made me think about looking at some other companies to see how they're run. There were a couple of times I got a bit annoyed with what was going on. My family had to shower and go to the bathroom with a bucket in the backyard because when the well didn't work, we couldn't use water. We couldn't flush the toilet, we couldn't have a shower, we couldn't do anything. We were lucky we had a rent house that was open at that time. We could shower there. But it took a long time for that well and septic person to get to their job.

Other people that have come to do the job have all been knowledgeable and have done the work to satisfactory requirements. First American could get a few more contractors on board so they could have more of reliability for them to get somebody to the job. I had to wait for a few days for Sears to come and fix the fridge. But when they got there, they couldn’t fix the fridge. First American had to get someone else, and he turned up the next day.

The next thing I had to have done was my oven as it was not keeping the right temperature. I called First American and then they sent somebody out. He started taking pictures and said he had to order a part and that I should think about replacing the oven. I said there was nothing wrong with it other than it was not keeping temperature, which just started recently. He came back two days later with a tiny, little piece that he screwed in. Then he said it was all fixed.

At the beginning when I had First American, it was a $60 service fee. Strangely enough, once my year was up in August, it went to $75. I asked the rep and she said they had to hire a lot of people. That shouldn’t be my problem. The other company did the exact same thing. The first year, they got me in a fixed $60, and then the second year was $75. They’re all in cahoots with each other.

Last August, I went to the Premier package. I have a hot tub in the back and the motor went, and I called First American up. I asked if they would replace the motor, and they answered that I didn’t take the pool/sauna package, which again I didn't know about. So, whoever’s going to get these home warranties better ask what the packages are so that they’re not surprised later on when something goes.

I’m also a little disappointed right now. They couldn’t find the dishwasher to fit on my counters with my previous claim. I would have had to do some arrangements for my counters before they can put anything there but I didn’t have the money to do those repairs. They gave the option to cash-out and there was nothing I could do so I did that. But then I also wanted to upgrade the coverage and they told me I could until the end of the year. When I opened that this year with them they told me I could pay the whole year and save a little bit of money. If I decide to cancel the coverage, they would give me the months that I didn’t use and I could cancel it. When I wanted to cancel, they asked me why and told me that they needed the cancellation on writing. I did that and they said they received it. I spoke with Joseph and he said I would receive my check for the difference in 7 to 10 days.

That was more than a month ago so I called to see what was going on and they said they couldn’t cancel it because I did a cash-out. They didn’t even tell me that in the beginning. But what I’m mad about is that they didn’t call or email me. They didn’t get back to me to say they were not going to do this. They waited a month until I called back and it takes them forever on the phone. They wasted my time. Putting a claim in is easy but when you call to find out about existing claims or things like that, you always stay on the phone for more than an hour. It’s been very frustrating that I’m thinking of cancelling the other insurance that I have with them for my other house too.

First American Home Warranty refused to give me a invoice with the uncovered charges. I asked to speak with a supervisor and never got a phone call. We then found out that because the AC unit was "not broken" just not working because the heater was broken it would not be covered for replacement. So we would have to replace the AC unit if they replaced our heater. We have been without heat for almost two months now and they refuse to budge on sending us a contract as well as a invoice for the uncovered costs.

They have called and emailed daily to ask us to cash out, which we obviously did not want to do. The original contractor quoted 10-13k in uncovered costs and First American Home Warranty is trying to cut a check for 660 because they get everything at cost. I wish I never picked this home warranty company. They do not care about their customers and are unprofessional in every way. STAY AWAY.

First, they tried to fix something and it wasn’t the issue and then they came back another week after and then finally another week. So, it took four weeks to fix whatever the problem was and it went to malfunction to non-function to no pump at all and then they replaced it at the end, but I had to pay a high-rate bill and then had my water clean all. And I wasn’t happy that every time that they didn’t fix something, they had to give me a new schedule based on their availability, but it wasn’t my fault. And we are non-priority. I even called First American and I wanted to be with another provider and they said it will backtrack everything because they would give it to somebody new. First American also increased the monthly prices and the service fee. But I will still recommend them. And hopefully, they don’t call the same people that we complained about.