I purchased a home warranty from HWA last July when I purchased my home in the Phoenix area. I purchased the premium coverage with added pool coverage.
I had two claims last year, one of which was for the pool; the total bill was less than the $75 service charge, which means HWA paid nothing. I also had a water heater go out. The water heater was replaced, but the vendor charged an additional $260 for installation beyond the $75 trip charge, which is supposed to be the maximum charge on a claim. When questioned, the vendor said I must either pay it or he was to take the water heater back. When I questioned HWA, they expressed "concern" but did nothing to correct the situation. HWA paid $250 less than my premium for this claim. And I, in effect, paid more for the water heater than if I had simply purchased a new one, myself, and had it installed without a home warranty.
This year, I was 3 days late in renewing my coverage. I happened to have an issue with the pool the same day I renewed. HWA, at first, approved the claim and contacted the vendor. Then they denied it. I fixed the issue myself after calling the vendor to help diagnose the problem. It cost me a total of $10, including the price of a tool and a part.
On the next day, I requested that my coverage be cancelled immediately. I determined that the charge was still in a "pending" status with my credit card and I called to ask HWA to cancel it, since the charge had not been finalized. I was told that it would take 4-6 weeks to process the refund. I repeatedly asked to talk to the billing manager and was transferred six times before I was finally transferred to a voicemail of someone. I never got a call back and the charge has not been corrected. My guess is there will be a "service charge" of some kind for my one day of (non) coverage, if the company ever processes the refund at all.
I recommend you find a more trustworthy home warranty company, not this one.
So, this is not the first hardship HWA has put my family and I through. I should have known from day one, after purchasing our home in 2007, that HWA was trouble. After about two months in our new home we began experiencing issues with our swimming pool heater, which is a covered item under our HWA contract. HWA sent a preferred vendor to our home who proceeded to take-apart our pool heater, take the parts back to their shop, and at THAT point informed us that HWA has denied our claim. In order to have our pool heater re-assembled we were told we'd have to pay to vendor to come back to the house with our equipment. Essentially, our equipment was being held hostage by HWA and its vendors. Ultimately, I had to get an attorney to send a Demand Letter to HWA threatening legal action if they didn't fulfill the service outlined in the contract we'd paid for.
Okay, that was just the first of MANY problems to be inflicted upon us by HWA. I will not go into every incident where HWA's ineptitude has caused my family and I grief, as they are too numerous and infuriating to get into.
The issue now is that HWA has "auto-renewed" our contract with them for the upcoming year thus withdrawing nearly $700.00 out of a checking account that was allocated for other things my family needs. I never EVER use auto-renewal on ANY of my finances or accounts. In fact, I recall disabling auto-renewal last year when HWA tried this same crap on me then. I even proactively contacted HWA to ensure they wouldn't try auto-renewing my account again this year, as I was intending to adjust my contract and then pay by other means. NOPE!! HWA struck again! They took funds from the account without authorization. When I attempted to contact them I received NO response. I sent a second and third attempt...NO RESPONSE! Upon calling HWA I was told by the representative with whom I spoke that she was not authorized to reverse the transaction, and further explained that there were no supervisors or managers on duty at that time. Then she suggested that I send an email. If I wasn't so frustrated this might be humorous.
We acquired home insurance for our home appliances (two years old upper market brands), one day our microwave started to make a funny noise that we never heard before. We made our first report to call for an engineer, we explained the problem, after the appointment was rescheduled twice finally the engineer came completely unprepared, he didn’t bring insurance of his company required by most NYC buildings. As a result building manager refused to let him do any work or even touch any appliance, without any documentation. We arranged for him at least check the microwave by just listening to the noise, which was very noticeable, he said in a very poor English, (he didn't speak English nor Spanish properly): “I need a new piece that will come in few weeks, but you have to pay me now” We asked “pay you for what?” “if you haven't done anything yet” and he said “it doesn't matter you have to pay just because I came” We called the supplier company and arranged to pay when he will back with the "piece" and actually repair what’s needed. One day before the new visit (3rd) we received a call from Home Warranty saying that the Supplier informed that our Microwave didn’t have any problem based on the technician "assessment" and that we have to pay the visit fee! We complained with every person that answered the phone and all of them said it doesn't matter that the appliance hasn't been repaired you have to pay. we will send you another technician but you will also will have to pay for the visit! at this stage we were so annoyed with the lack of professionalism of the suppliers and the poor customer service of Home Warranty, that we ended paying for nothing and cancelling our insurance losing money on the way and still having the appliance with a problem.
I was sold this HWA insurance policy by one of their slick sales person promissing all this stuff they covered, I had the policy for a couple of weeks when I had a leak in my ceiling I called them and they send out a plumber I had to pay $75.00 he went into the bathroom upstairs and then wanted another $100 to cut a hole in my ceiling, he called HWA and they told him they would not pay for anything, he told me the company was a joke. I called to cancel the policy and they said I would have to email my request so I did on Dec 30th - I called them a week later and they told me it would take 6 weeks to get my refund, after almost 7 weeks I received my refund of $50.00 out of $560.00 that I paid them with no explantion I'm as mad as hell for being ripped off by this company, it cost me $510.00 for 3 weeks?? Buyer BeWare
We are now on our second claim that HWA is refusing to cover. The first was a busted water line on a 13 year old dishwasher. My husband was advised that it was likely it would just be replaced due to its age and that parts weren't generally fixed in these situations. Upon further action, my husband was advised not to pay to have a tech come out because it likely wouldn't be covered due to my husband pulling it out to remediate the flooding in the kitchen to lessen the homeowner's insurance claim. He was told it would not be covered b/c it couldn't be seen by a tech in the broken condition. We were offered the opportunity to buy one at the HWA wholesale cost which was higher than what Lowe's offers in standard pricing. So obviously, one appliance down and NO support from HWA. The second is now our air conditioning unit. We turned it on last week and after a cleared inspection in February, it barely blew any cold air. We filed a claim, the tech came out and told us there is a leak in our coil and we need a new coil. I have a copy of the report sent to HWA. HWA called an stated it wasn't covered because the technician reported the cause was rust which couldn't have possibly been from "normal wear and tear" or "current usage". First, copper doesn't rust, and upon inspection, there is no rust. Second, I called Baptist Heating and Air and they claim rust is NO WHERE on their report. Once the contractor called HWA and clarified the reporth, HWAs story changed and they are saying the hole is "massive" and that makes it a preexisting condition. Bottom line, we bought a foreclosure that has been vacant and were sold a warranty for the peace of mind that issues would be covered. It is clearly no their intent and they will go as far as to falsify information to avoid payment. Consumers beware.
We closed on our house on February 18th. The second week of March our oven stopped working so we were glad that we had included a home warranty from Home Warranty of America as part of our closing. This is exactly the type of reason that you would have a home warranty.
From there - we called them to start the claim process. As part of this process they interrogated my wife for 15 minutes or so until they got her to answer one of their questions in a way that they could deny the claim. As soon as they got this response, they were off the hook. They got her to say that she ""had not cooked in the oven"". While this was true because we had moved in slowly over a couple weeks, I had used the oven on a couple occasions and it worked perfectly up until this point.
We honestly believe that the customer service person was running down a list of questions trying to lead her into an answer that would get them off. It didn't matter that I had used the oven. It didn't matter that it had power and was working perfectly fine up until we called them. No amount of explaining would change anything, this Q&A session was the only thing that matters. This was by far the worst that I have ever been treated as a customer of anything IN MY LIFE. Both the customer service person and the ""manager"" were extremely rude.
I would never recommend this company to anyone and I would like to let any person considering their product have a fair warning that I believe this company is truly in the business of denying claims. BUYER BE WARE!!!!
Home Warranty of America Reviews
I purchased a home warranty from HWA last July when I purchased my home in the Phoenix area. I purchased the premium coverage with added pool coverage.
I had two claims last year, one of which was for the pool; the total bill was less than the $75 service charge, which means HWA paid nothing. I also had a water heater go out. The water heater was replaced, but the vendor charged an additional $260 for installation beyond the $75 trip charge, which is supposed to be the maximum charge on a claim. When questioned, the vendor said I must either pay it or he was to take the water heater back. When I questioned HWA, they expressed "concern" but did nothing to correct the situation. HWA paid $250 less than my premium for this claim. And I, in effect, paid more for the water heater than if I had simply purchased a new one, myself, and had it installed without a home warranty.
This year, I was 3 days late in renewing my coverage. I happened to have an issue with the pool the same day I renewed. HWA, at first, approved the claim and contacted the vendor. Then they denied it. I fixed the issue myself after calling the vendor to help diagnose the problem. It cost me a total of $10, including the price of a tool and a part.
On the next day, I requested that my coverage be cancelled immediately. I determined that the charge was still in a "pending" status with my credit card and I called to ask HWA to cancel it, since the charge had not been finalized. I was told that it would take 4-6 weeks to process the refund. I repeatedly asked to talk to the billing manager and was transferred six times before I was finally transferred to a voicemail of someone. I never got a call back and the charge has not been corrected. My guess is there will be a "service charge" of some kind for my one day of (non) coverage, if the company ever processes the refund at all.
I recommend you find a more trustworthy home warranty company, not this one.
So, this is not the first hardship HWA has put my family and I through. I should have known from day one, after purchasing our home in 2007, that HWA was trouble. After about two months in our new home we began experiencing issues with our swimming pool heater, which is a covered item under our HWA contract. HWA sent a preferred vendor to our home who proceeded to take-apart our pool heater, take the parts back to their shop, and at THAT point informed us that HWA has denied our claim. In order to have our pool heater re-assembled we were told we'd have to pay to vendor to come back to the house with our equipment. Essentially, our equipment was being held hostage by HWA and its vendors. Ultimately, I had to get an attorney to send a Demand Letter to HWA threatening legal action if they didn't fulfill the service outlined in the contract we'd paid for.
Okay, that was just the first of MANY problems to be inflicted upon us by HWA. I will not go into every incident where HWA's ineptitude has caused my family and I grief, as they are too numerous and infuriating to get into.
The issue now is that HWA has "auto-renewed" our contract with them for the upcoming year thus withdrawing nearly $700.00 out of a checking account that was allocated for other things my family needs. I never EVER use auto-renewal on ANY of my finances or accounts. In fact, I recall disabling auto-renewal last year when HWA tried this same crap on me then. I even proactively contacted HWA to ensure they wouldn't try auto-renewing my account again this year, as I was intending to adjust my contract and then pay by other means. NOPE!! HWA struck again! They took funds from the account without authorization. When I attempted to contact them I received NO response. I sent a second and third attempt...NO RESPONSE! Upon calling HWA I was told by the representative with whom I spoke that she was not authorized to reverse the transaction, and further explained that there were no supervisors or managers on duty at that time. Then she suggested that I send an email. If I wasn't so frustrated this might be humorous.
We acquired home insurance for our home appliances (two years old upper market brands), one day our microwave started to make a funny noise that we never heard before. We made our first report to call for an engineer, we explained the problem, after the appointment was rescheduled twice finally the engineer came completely unprepared, he didn’t bring insurance of his company required by most NYC buildings. As a result building manager refused to let him do any work or even touch any appliance, without any documentation. We arranged for him at least check the microwave by just listening to the noise, which was very noticeable, he said in a very poor English, (he didn't speak English nor Spanish properly): “I need a new piece that will come in few weeks, but you have to pay me now” We asked “pay you for what?” “if you haven't done anything yet” and he said “it doesn't matter you have to pay just because I came” We called the supplier company and arranged to pay when he will back with the "piece" and actually repair what’s needed. One day before the new visit (3rd) we received a call from Home Warranty saying that the Supplier informed that our Microwave didn’t have any problem based on the technician "assessment" and that we have to pay the visit fee! We complained with every person that answered the phone and all of them said it doesn't matter that the appliance hasn't been repaired you have to pay. we will send you another technician but you will also will have to pay for the visit! at this stage we were so annoyed with the lack of professionalism of the suppliers and the poor customer service of Home Warranty, that we ended paying for nothing and cancelling our insurance losing money on the way and still having the appliance with a problem.
I was sold this HWA insurance policy by one of their slick sales person promissing all this stuff they covered, I had the policy for a couple of weeks when I had a leak in my ceiling I called them and they send out a plumber I had to pay $75.00 he went into the bathroom upstairs and then wanted another $100 to cut a hole in my ceiling, he called HWA and they told him they would not pay for anything, he told me the company was a joke. I called to cancel the policy and they said I would have to email my request so I did on Dec 30th - I called them a week later and they told me it would take 6 weeks to get my refund, after almost 7 weeks I received my refund of $50.00 out of $560.00 that I paid them with no explantion I'm as mad as hell for being ripped off by this company, it cost me $510.00 for 3 weeks?? Buyer BeWare
We are now on our second claim that HWA is refusing to cover. The first was a busted water line on a 13 year old dishwasher. My husband was advised that it was likely it would just be replaced due to its age and that parts weren't generally fixed in these situations. Upon further action, my husband was advised not to pay to have a tech come out because it likely wouldn't be covered due to my husband pulling it out to remediate the flooding in the kitchen to lessen the homeowner's insurance claim. He was told it would not be covered b/c it couldn't be seen by a tech in the broken condition. We were offered the opportunity to buy one at the HWA wholesale cost which was higher than what Lowe's offers in standard pricing. So obviously, one appliance down and NO support from HWA. The second is now our air conditioning unit. We turned it on last week and after a cleared inspection in February, it barely blew any cold air. We filed a claim, the tech came out and told us there is a leak in our coil and we need a new coil. I have a copy of the report sent to HWA. HWA called an stated it wasn't covered because the technician reported the cause was rust which couldn't have possibly been from "normal wear and tear" or "current usage". First, copper doesn't rust, and upon inspection, there is no rust. Second, I called Baptist Heating and Air and they claim rust is NO WHERE on their report. Once the contractor called HWA and clarified the reporth, HWAs story changed and they are saying the hole is "massive" and that makes it a preexisting condition. Bottom line, we bought a foreclosure that has been vacant and were sold a warranty for the peace of mind that issues would be covered. It is clearly no their intent and they will go as far as to falsify information to avoid payment. Consumers beware.
We closed on our house on February 18th. The second week of March our oven stopped working so we were glad that we had included a home warranty from Home Warranty of America as part of our closing. This is exactly the type of reason that you would have a home warranty.
From there - we called them to start the claim process. As part of this process they interrogated my wife for 15 minutes or so until they got her to answer one of their questions in a way that they could deny the claim. As soon as they got this response, they were off the hook. They got her to say that she ""had not cooked in the oven"". While this was true because we had moved in slowly over a couple weeks, I had used the oven on a couple occasions and it worked perfectly up until this point.
We honestly believe that the customer service person was running down a list of questions trying to lead her into an answer that would get them off. It didn't matter that I had used the oven. It didn't matter that it had power and was working perfectly fine up until we called them. No amount of explaining would change anything, this Q&A session was the only thing that matters. This was by far the worst that I have ever been treated as a customer of anything IN MY LIFE. Both the customer service person and the ""manager"" were extremely rude.
I would never recommend this company to anyone and I would like to let any person considering their product have a fair warning that I believe this company is truly in the business of denying claims. BUYER BE WARE!!!!