American Home Shield [AHS]
Reviews and Complaints

They are a scam company. Why would they care that the 3rd party they contract with charge as much as they can because American Home Shield has gotten their money. Paid for 6 years and got nothing but a headache and huge bill from the contracted company to repair by central air conditioning. American Home Shield wouldn't pay anything except for 1 item that needed repaired.

Right now I am dealing with a problem from one their contractors, Malogone Plumbing. My first service from them was great and the plumbers doing the work were good. However, the last time they were here, they did work that was covered by AHS and some that was not in the amount of $850.00. I did not realize until they were on the road that they had accidentally made a hole in the ceiling below the bathroom where they had been doing the work. I called right away and was told that AHS would cover the expense of repair since it was an "access hole" except that it wasn't an access hole. The ceiling below cracked from all the hammering they did above (it's over my dining room table). The plumbing people won't take care of it nor will AHS. Sandy, from AHS said that my only recourse is to sue the contractor. I really don't want to do that. But I just don't know what to do anymore. This was on May 28, 09. I just want someone to take care of this instead of foisting it back to me, the customer.

and what part of your CONTRACT with AHS does not inform you of this?

"additional $600 to have it fixed" I seriously doubt it. How about the $600 was for being cleaned or non-covered charges for a new replacement that would have cost you thousands of dollars?

Sounds like you demanded, per your tone, a 2nd opinion when the 1st and 2nd companies did not do as you wanted them to do. You would have only paid 1 service fee if AHS offered it to you because you disagreed with the 1st company.
With that being said, I would dismiss the rest of your claim as well.

Sounds like your issue was a MAINTENANCE issue. You never disclosed if your Evaporator Pan leaking water was just dirty or was broken(rusted or cracked). Most of the time the problem you described is caused by a dirty evap coil pan, which is due to LACK of Proper Maintenance from one of those "better" contractors.

By the way $425 is outrageous for cleaning a evap coil pan, if that was the problem.

I have a better idea than all of those suggestions::::::

READ YOUR F_____ING AHS CONTRACT, if you do not agree with the TERMS of the CONTRACT then do not get one.

On August 13th our Air Conditioning Unit failed. We called AHS to report the issue. We were told a contractor would be to us within 48 hours. Bear in mind that 3 boys sleep in this area and the thermostat has read over 90 degrees every day/night. After 3 days someone came and did not diagnose the issue but told us to add more amps to the circuit breaker. This was done and the issue occured again. Once again we called and someone was dispatched within 48 hours. 3 days later someone arrived and told us lightening hit the AC unit. We called AHS and our insurance carrier and we were told that this was not covered by AHS and our insurance carrier would have to handle. We contacted AHS and said we wanted a third opinion. We were told we would have to pay. This now September 17th, one month later and my children cannot sleep in their rooms with 90 + degree temperatures. Dave Crawford, President of AHS was contacted for help and his assistant stated he would help. My wife called again and we finally have someone coming out to replace our compressor tomorrow, 37 days after the first call! After paying our monthly fees we will still need to pay out of pocket for the replacement. The performance of AHS has been negligent and beyond unacceptable. I strongly urge anyone considering using them to stop.

I had a similar experience with AHS and now have a broken spa that has not been fixed. Any suggestions of where to take my case?

I've used AHS for over 15 years, both, as a tenant and a homeowner. There is a definite problem with the customer service department agents (each time you speak to a different representative, you get a different answer) on staff and there are, unfortunately, "crooked" service providers out to "scam" the consumer and make a quick buck! A service call was placed on Jan. 3rd for water leaks; Randy from Plumbing Unlimited (So. Cal) was dispatched to the home; I'm contacted on Jan. 5th by AHS, stating that before the repairs can be made, the water pressure regulator needs to be replaced and this is not covered under the policy - the estimate is $165.00 ; I tell AHS that I'll authorize the repair; I'm informed that the plumber will be contacted to proceed with the regulator replacement and complete the water leak repairs; Randy receives his $60 co-pay; Tenant contacts me on Jan. 12, to inform me that nothing has been done and that he's tried calling Randy to remind him that he needs a receipt for the $60; Randy does not return my tenant's calls; Randy's business card has a non-working number on it (VERY PROFESSIONAL); I, finally, find a cell number for Randy and ask him why nothing has been done; he states he has not been able to reach me for the authorization to replace the regulator; I tell him that AHS contacted me on Jan. 5th and that I gave the authorization then...if they contacted him on my behalf to authorize the repair, I have obviously been contacted! I ask him to email me the estimate and that I would reply and he would then have record of my authorization. A WEEK LATER, Jan. 20, I receive an email from Randy with the subject line that reads "second email"...this was the FIRST email I received from him - the estimate for $225! AHS had notified me it was $165. I call AHS and speak with Tony, who states that the agent I spoke with on the 5th was never able to call the plumber to authorize the repair because it was not covered under the policy. Why was I not told this on Jan. 5th? I ask Tony if I could go with an outside company to have the regulator replaced because I did not want Randy (the pro) to do the work. Tony informs me that because it is not a covered item, I can call any company I choose. I call Roto Rooter, who comes out the same day - checks the water pressure and sees that the water pressure is well within NORMAL RANGE! His read was 60 psi, normal range is between 55psi and 65 psi. He left paperwork, stating that the regulator did not need replacement. Jan. 21st, I speak to, Volanda, to inform her of Roto Rooter's findings; she says she cannot accept an outside company's findings! Here we go, round and round! The first plumber has received $60, the water leaks have not been repaired, my water regulator does not need replacement...CLEARLY, Randy "the plumber" is a 'con' and "padding" the repair request to make extra money! I am extremely disappointed with AHS. I question the manner in which plumbers are vetted to ensure that their loyal customers are not being defrauded! I am definitely leaving AHS as soon as this policy expires! I guess over 15 years of loyalty is unaccounted for at AHS.

file your complaint with bbb.com and you will get paid by AHS. I did and it was totally worth it. I got the entire cost of the repair over 2000.00. The company that came out and claimed improper installation got nothing but their deductible. I took my check from AHS and paid the honest guy that I called to give me an honest estimte.

I live in the Aatlanta, Georgia area, and I am a customer of AMERICAN HOME SHIELD . On June 16, 2009 my air condition went out. I called in a serivce request and was given a company's name and phone number, (Peidmont Mech INC [protected]) and was told they would be contacting me to set-up an appointment. I NEVE'R heard from them, finallyI started calling them over into the next day, just to keep getting a buzzy from their phone. I called AMERICAN SHIELD back and was given another company's name and nubmer, I waited and waited for them to call, so finally I CALLED them also.(K&W HEATING AND AIR [protected]). I was told that they might be able to come out on Sat. morning June 20, but he needed to get back to me to let me know for sure. I waited and waited and by late afternoon and temperatures in the upper 90's, I called him back, he told me that he would be here on Sat. morning. This morning June 20th, I called back to confrim he would be here, he stated to me that he had one call before me in Lithonia, GA which is about 30 min. from where I am. He stated that the appointment out there was at 10:00 and that he would be here by 10:30 or a little after. When I hang-up a flag went up, how could he go out there and do a job without knowing what was wrong and be here that quickly ? HE arrived here around 10:45. The first thing he said to me was he hope that my problems was not as bad as everybodies else were, and I said to him that I knew what was wrong because for the past two summers, I have had to call American Shield to come out and fix my air coniditon and were told both times that there was a leak in the line, but it was so small they could not locate it, so they would put the freon in the line and tell me that should last for the summer, and just call back if I needed more. One of the serviceman that came out stated, .. when asked why didn't they just take the time and fix it, because this was costing a service charge each time they came out ...said that he was going to be honest with me, so he said that American Shield did not want to pay them for those kind of jobs, because it took them a long time to track down a leak in a system like mine, because it was such a tiny leak. That they would not approve the payment for what it would cost. I called the company and reminded them of what their contact stated and promised the consumer and of course the customer service person deined that they had ever told any of their contractor anything like that and that they stood behind their contract. (but more on that later) Now back today...after the serviceman made the statement about his findings with everybody else, he wanted to check the heating unit down stairs so I went with him.(I normally leave them to their work) but because of a past problem with their contractor I wanted to see what he was going to do. I guess because I was right there he took a quick look and wanted to know where the outside unit was...I told him it was on the back of the house, which required him to go out the front and walk around the house, in the meantime I went to the window above the unit and open it (before he got around there) so that I could observe him. The first thing he did was start taking pictures I thought this odd, so I reached in the drawer next to me and got my camera and started taking pictures of him. (he never notice me watching him) ...I notice he never used his meter to check the unit at all. He got down and took the panel off the side of the unit I watched as he pulled some wires out and then took some wire cutter out of his pocket and cut it, I still didnot say anything because I thought that he was ready to replace it or hook something up to check the unit, but instead he replaced the panel and picked up his tool and started to walk back around (never checking anything on the unit) When I saw he was finish and had started to walk back around the house ... I asked him what the was the problem? He jumped because he was not aware of my present above him. He said it was the motor and that he didnot think my insurance would fix it, but his company could, ... but I would have to pay for it. I INFORMED HIM THAT I HAD SEEN EVERYTHING HE HAD AND HADNOT DONE AND THAT NOT ONLY WAS I NOT GOING TO PAY HIS COMPANY TO DO THE WORK, I WAS NOT GOING TO PAY A SERVICE FEE. Now for the reason I felt the need to watch him. Last year I had a pipe to rust out so I called, they sent a company out here and right away the serviceman tell me that the reason the pipe had rusted was due to it not being installed correctly...(Ihave a finished basement so the pipe is inside above a drop ceiling not even exposed)...I have lived in my home for over 31 years and the house is about 37 years old so just how long dose a pipe suppose to last? I was so up-set and then HE tells me that he could fix it but my insurance company probably were not going to pay for it, but he could he fix it and I pay his company $700.Plus . I told him no thanks I would be dealing with my insurance company. I called and was told that they could not fix it because their tech. said it was installed wrong. I informed the customer service of the above information, and asked her to explain normal wear and tear if this did not meet that requirement. She could not explain, ...so I asked for the head qts. phone #. She informed me she was not allowed to give me that information...so after searching on my own I was able to located the number. I called and explained what happen, at first I was told that because I refused to pay the tech. there was nothing she could do...I informed her of a another past problem I had with my refrigerator (a 2003 model) in that case a tech came out and said it was my condenser, I thought that was odd for one no older than that...however, I am not a repair person so I took his word...he (another tech sent by one of their company) SAID to me I hope they will fix this for you because they want us to find some reason to keep them from paying when it's a big ticket item...I told him that he was the second representative from a company they use to tell me that. His response was, "Oh yes mam that how they run their business". I explained to him that I needed my refrigerator really badly since at that time I was keeping my 94 year old mother and could not leave her along for long periods to run back and forth to the store...so he called the insurance company to tell them the problem...I was standing there and apparently they were trying to get him to say that it was due to something other than normal wear and tear, because he kept repeating that it was. They continue to transfer him from one department to another and he kept telling them the same thing...finally he got a go ahead to order the part and fix it. he told me that the part would be back that Wed., but someone else would be out to fix it because he really didnot know how to replace that...ODD...(this was on a Mon.) Wed. came no word, so I called the company late that afternoon and was informed that American Shield had contacted them and told they could not order the part and that they would be getting it from their part department. I CALLED the company to see why I had not been informed of this and when could I expect to get the repair done. I was placed on hold for well over 30 min...when finally she came back just to informed me that they were having a problem locating the part and that it had not even been ordered yet. I explained about having my mother here and that I had already lost all my food and that I was in a bad fix...am sorry was all I got. I have a sear's kenmore, so I called sears part store gave them the model number and the lady informed that yes they had the part and the price of it. I then called another part place here gave the same information as well... they too had the part, but I was asked if I was with a company since parts like that could only be sold to a company...I told him no but I had company to do the work...he then asked me what did I know about the company I was using because he said a condender going out on a refrigerator no older than mine was not the norm. He asked me what was it doing to make them think it was the condener? I informed him that it was not cooling and that it was making a clicking sound...His response was "I thought so...He said that he could not be 100% sure but that it sounded like all I needed was a relay switch ( a part less than ten dollars). I called another young man that works in maintence at a nursing home, who is responsible for fixing things their...he came over checked it and informed me the same that he was pretty sure it was the switch. I called American shield and informed them what I had found out and was met with we go by what our tech. tells us...I tried to explain it would cost them less and I could have my refrigerator back and what a hardship all of this was causing... it fell on deaf ears, so I asked her to check and see if they had found the part and that I had located two places that had it...the answer was no they still had not ordered it and no they could not buy from anyone else. I then asked to speak to a supervisor and explain to her, she finally agreed after, I remained her that their contract stated in a reasonable time and by now it was in the fifth day with no end in sight. She then agreed to allow me to rent one up to $100.00, so I had to leave my mother and go tracking around trying to find a rent place(something I knew nothing about because I had never rented anything) I finally got a rented one on th six day. It took another four days before I got a call saying they would be in a couple of days to finish the job. The tech came and in less than ten min. informed it was NOT the condener and that it was the relay switch. It took all but ten min. to be replaced and he too said the switch cost less than ten dollars...well back to when I made the call to the head qts. in trying to get that problem solve I shared with her what had happen with my refrigerator ...she was shocked to hear that they only put a relay switch in refrigerator since their records showed that the company had charged them for the condener. ...WOW she was upset they had been had...I wonder if they EVER THINK ABOUT HOW THEY TREAT THEIR CUSTOMERS AND HOW WE FEEL AFTER THEY HAVE TAKEN OUR MONEY WITH NO INTENTION OF DOING THE RIGHT THING...

Oh yes I would also like to add that my home is well maintained, I always get yard of month and my home is always added to the home tour.

Yes, I had same experience with AHS, they will cheat on their coverage with items nothing to do with the repairs so they will pay the least. Their partner, like Airtronics (a/c repair), will conspire togehter to reduce their coverage payment. Please do no use AHS.

I purchased a home warranty through American Home Shield Corp. and paid the annual warranty fee for several years. When my pool heater froze and a pipe burst during a freeze, I had an emergency situation on my hands. Water was leaking from the heater at a rate that would have drained the pool within a day.

When I contacted American Home Shield Corp. to report the incident and file a claim, I was told that it would be two weeks before a service company would be able to investigate the problem. By then, tens of thousands of gallons of water would have been lost. Something needed to be done immediately. The company's response? You'll have to wait two weeks.

To prevent more water loss and damage to my property, I called my pool maintenance company to remove the broken heater and fix the broken pipe. It was, after all, an emergency situation. When the American Home Shield contractor finally arrived, he advised the company that my pool had heater. Well DUH! He also attempted to charge me the $45 fee simply for reporting erroneous information. American Home Shield's response? You should have waited until our contractor could examine the problem. There is nothing we can do at this point.

Think twice before buying ANYTHING from American Home Shield.

I had to go without air condition for two month. Becasue I was told what happen to my unit was not under warranty. I had to call other company to come out and check my unit. I was told by the other company due to the bad weather we had. Some happen to my unit, plus last year they came out and repair the unit and I try to get them to replace it they.

How do I sign up for the law sue again AHS

I have had AHS for about 3 to 4 years. They were good until about April of this year. I pay $45 a month. They have fixed my washing machine once and my dryer a couple of times. No major parts broken. When my refrigerator broke, they order the part twice and it was the wrong part so after about 4 weeks they gave me a brand new refrigerator. so i had no complaints. when my AC broke in April of 2009 i called them and they sent out Harkins Air & Refrigeration. they went into the attic and said he would have to go and take information back the office. I asked him to check the outside unit because the neighbor had notice that the fan wasn't blowing; something like that. [The neighbor fixes Air conditioners and knew their was a problem. He checked the outside unit and it needed a motor. They called me back and said that because the ducts in the attic was not tied up correctly they could not fix anything until the problem in the attic was corrected. I ask them to fix the outside unit and i would get someone to fix the ducts in attic that has been like that for 15 years. they called back and said they couldn't fix the outside unit because of the problem in the attic. I called Harkins to get an estimate for the duct reparis and they never called me back. i was without air for 2 days going back and forth with them. The next morning i called Calvin's maintenace they came out at 8:30 a.m. put a new motor in and completed the job by 10:30 am. The motor was under warranty so i had to pay $200 for labor. I wasn't going to complaint since we got a new refrigerator. But My In-Laws, both in their 80's; temp 90 to 100 degrees; just got the warranty about 6 months ago; AC went out Monday 7/12/2010 and on 7/14/2010 she had to call them to see what they was going do and they told her because it hadn't been cleaned in several years was the reason it had broken. She had to call Baton Rouge AC and they came out that Thursday with the part and fix the AC by 1:00 p.m. It was also under warranty. we both had to pay our $60 withstand these high temps and way 3 days before getting AC fixed. To me a Scam is going on and Harkins AC in Baton Rouge is part of the scam. BEWARE!

I also was completely scammed by these fools, whose customer service rep's tried to convince me that their contract contained clauses it did not. I'm pretty sure earning my PhD allowed me to learn a few things about reading and understanding documents, but AHS is so categorically fraudulent that they will say and do ANYTHING to deny service. The fraud in my case was so blatant that I was able to resolve the issue with the service company (not AHS) that was sent out to "check on" my electrical problems. They admitted, though AHS would not, that my claim was just and their service was poor, so I was given a refund (again, from the repair contractor, not from AHS). I was glad to hear AHS is getting sued, but now I see they not only delayed the settlement but have now rescinded it? The class action website is eliminated: http://www.edlesonclassaction.com/

We had similar experience. We had their service between April, 2004 and March 2005. Coe Wilson

In 2005 we contacted AHS with whom we had a contract with regarding a stoppage in our main drain in the basement. It was discovered when we had an installer trying to hook up our new washer. He said the drain was plugged and not useable in this condition. We immediately contacted AHS and explained the situation. We were given a phone number of a router rooter company and were told we had to use this particular company. The worker came out and spent less than an hour and said he was unable to clear the drain.The charge was $95.00.

AHS said that they would not cover this stoppage. I asked them to give me a situation of a stoppage that they would cover as this was a clear cut text book problem. I was told each situation is different. I talked with them at length about my policy and what advantage does anyone have with this policy. I became heated and said that I was going to contact "60 Minutes" the TV program and have AHS investigated. I was sure that other people, like my family was being given a "dog and pony show" and nothing was going to be paid.

We hired someone to come out and re-route our drain. The total cost was $300.00.

Some time later AHS phoned to see if I would like to pay to extend my AHS contract. Of course I told them that I felt I was scammed by their company and didn't care to do business with them in the future.

When I realized that others had experienced similar scams from the company, I felt that at least It is being brought to the surface and finally, maybe they will be held accountable.

Norma Kueppers, Michigan

very bad co.cc

i, helen ragland, at 4606 weehaven dr, agree 100%, ahs. are the worst ihave seen, i have bee a menber for9 years, one-half of all mycall were not fix my air condition they said was put in wrong. ihave apeer-beam, i call them about my ducts under the house they told me it was not covered it sure is on my warrenty 95% off the company, s didn, t know what they were doing, most of the time theywould leave and tell me, someone had worked on it before taktng my 55.00 deposited . this went on for 8 years, reason i am a widow thats why ikept them, iwood cry and beg, HELEN RAGLAND

I wish I had found this site before signing a contract with AHS myself. It's more my fault for not doing the research, so shame on me for that. But the real shame lies in how these people do business. I've always judged an insurance business by how they stand behind their contracts, and whether they have "certain" clauses that give them an out whenever they want. It's simply about doing the right thing or not. I own a two-story home with two A/C units in the attic, which is a walk-in attic also on the 2nd floor right above the downstairs master bedroom. My A/C units are about 25 yrs old. We purchased a contract with AHS about 14 months ago and added A/C and Heater coverage policies. Four days ago the condensation drain line to the downstairs unit got clogged up and started overflowing to the point of going through the floor and damaging the ceiling in the master bedroom. We called AHS to schedule a repairman out immediately. In the meantime, we've had to shut off the downstairs A/C unit until it can be fixed. The outside temperature is 100+ degrees right now - some of the hottest and most humid weather we've had. Also, we have a disabled son that lives downstairs; he is a paraplegic who is extremely sensitive to the heat. He now has no A/C. The repairman came out, tried to unclog the line and was unsuccessful. So a second repairman was sent out to investigate. He concluded very quickly that the lines cannot be repaired any other way than to replace them. The only difference was that these lines, which are just standard PVC, were 3/4" lines. Since 25 yrs ago, the code on the lines specifies that they must be 1 1/4" line now. No problem, right? Wrong! I stood beside the repairman as he called in the claim. The claims agent then proceeded to ask him if the lines could not just be cleared out instead of being replaced. He said they could not, and that the only solution to repair the situation is to replace them. So they denied the claim. After he got off the phone, I explained to the repairman that we purchased policies to specifically cover our A/C units. He said that they probably have a clause in the contract that gives them the ability to deny an obvious claim. I couldn't understand that, so I took a look at our policy. Under the "Air Conditioning" section of our policy, there is a list of "What's Covered" and "What's Not Covered." Under the "Covered" section, the condensation lines are listed, so one would think that they would be covered, right? Wrong, again! Upon calling to contest the denial, I was directed to a "Section H" in the back of the policy which states that no coverage would be provided for any "upgrades" made to come into compliance with codes. The scam is that they are considering our situation to be an upgrade and not a repair job; however, it was clearly explained to their claims department by their own chosen repair company as a repair job that did need to be done, and that the change in size to comply with code was incidental to the actual repair job. So the employee of AHS tried to tell me that there was nothing wrong with the lines, I suppose meaning that there was no physical damage to the PVC material. After an hour, the only other statements I could get out of them was "The contract says..." and upon asking the agent if she thought that this was ethical, "I'm not allowed to express my personal opinions about the company." I can see that there's a reason for that... At any rate, I also asked to speak to her manager. She said, "I am the manager. There is no one else you can talk to." The only other alternative was to be sent back to Customer Service.

I was also informed that our contract had automatically been renewed in May, which was totally without our consent or permission whatsoever. It just adds insult to injury because we'll have to continue paying for the contract for about 8 more months or have our credit damaged by getting out of a contract early.

I'm sorry to have to write such a long and detailed account, but I'm really trying to present this situation from all sides. Apparently, their practices show that AHS is not a reputable company with which to do business. They will "trick" you into purchasing a policy which will clearly show you what is covered and what is not covered under your policy. However, they will have a vague clause in the back of your policy that gives them a way to deny covering the very things listed under the "What's Covered" section of your plan if a replacement must be done, and a part changed due to changes that have occurred in residential building codes. The clause is construed so that the work can be either looked at as a repair, or it can be construed as an upgrade and therefore denied. I can't consider this company anything but a "sorry" company that will rip you off at any chance they get. They had very "slick" underwriters, so if you have a policy, and especially if you have purchased any of the additional coverages, you might want to examine your policy very carefully.

Please be ware of this scam, and please let others you care about know also, so that they can make a truly informed decision before getting caught up in this scam.

HOW DID THEY GET MY BANK ACCOUNT INFORMATION? I cancelled AHS back in june 09. I received a bill for $520.00 in Oct 09, and threatening to send me to a collection agency if i didn't resolve it in 14 days. My question to everyone out there. When I initially signed up they stated they had all my account information yet I did not give it to them. Why is Wells Fargo giving out account numbers to people like this? This is the second solicitor that had my account information and started off the conversation "we are not affiliated with Wells Fargo". I am having identity theft problems and am wondering what and who all is involved. I think it is time for a class-action lawsuit against someone. Again, has anyone else had this problem of personal information being handed out to solicitors? luvinit0007@yahoo.com

[censor]. AHS and RR are Owned By ServiceMaster.
They have been Ripping off the Poor People for years

I worked for AHS for several years and I sympathize with you. There are many good people that work there that would have questioned Rescue Rooter more because that diagnosis sounds like a bunch of bull. Unfortunately Rescue Rooter is their sister company so they're stuck working with them and Servicemaster doesn't seem to care that Rescue Rooter/ARS is horrible and there are some not-so-smart people working at AHS. I don't know why I still feel responsible for some of the things that happen there but it's hard to completely lose that loyalty, I guess.

It seems their business model is to collect premiums and then deny coverage. Ive had so many of their contractors come out, make false claims about the repair so that AHS denies the coverage. Then after denied the contractor puts in an obscenely high bid for the repair on their own. AHS has an appeals process, but it too seems to be a farce as they have you jump through hoops and then never respond to the appeal.

Lately as bad as customer service was, it got way worse, now plan on sitting on hold for between 60 and 90 minutes to get one of their terrible agents on the phone. As I sit here writing this I was on hold for 78 minutes on hold about them denying yet another repair and then placed back into the on hold cue by a supervisor after finding out they are charging me the service fee even though the work was never done.

Ive been with AHS for 10 years now... so why havent I left this horrible company yet? well because they are the only ones who cover multiple units and sometimes they actually do the repairs. Today was the last straw, Im back on hold waiting to cancel my account.

I have filed report with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and my local department of Consumer Affairs on AHS. This company is committing consumer fraud.

My hot water heater and furnace are both 16 years old. Recently they both went on the blink. AHS sent a technician to look at the furnace. He 'fixed' the auxiliary limit and told me my furance was in its 'senior year.' A few days later it is 18 degrees outside and my heat still was not working. AHS sends the technician back and he then says my evaporator coil is dirty and that is a maintenance issue. AHS refused service. I had an independent, well respected, accredited BBB company come out and look at my furnace. They said I need a new furnace.

I called AHS and they said they would send someone for a second opinion. I had to call back twice to see what happened. The first time, they said they canceled the request, and the second time they said the company didn't get my fax. Stall tactics, because they did not expect me to get a second outside opinion. Christmas is tomorrow. This company that is so 'caring' doesn't give a hoot about denying me heat. AHS says if the technician finds that it is a maintenance issue again, I have to pay another service fee. Over my dead body. I am not giving them a dime, and if they try to take it from my bank account they will be in big trouble.

With regard to my hot water heater, I contacted AOSmith the company that makes the heater. They said the life span of my heater is 7-13 years. At 16 mine has done its job. Why would I be maintaining something beyond its service life?

AHS hires low grade service companies. Their MO is to say it is a maintenance issue, and even if your item has been maintained, they say your service company was incompetent or did the work wrong. Anything to get out of replacing the item.

i signed up with ahs in may 2011 . I have had 9 service calls since then and finally convinced them to replace my air conditioning unit. They replaced it with a much cheaper unit and it has stopped cooling already in 5days. they have been out here almost every wk and nothing has been resolved.
I have put in a request 5 times today and noone has called yet.Thhe hold time is 1 1/2-2hrs long to speak to a service rep.
I would never recommend them to anyone.
DWilliams

AHS does not CARE about customer Service!
I have been with them for over 11 years and I have learned - throught experience - a lot of how they operate.

As I just said -THEY DON'T CARE!

Not only do they NOT want to replace anythiong - when they repair something - guess where the vendor gets the parts that they need for the repair?
AHS supplies the vendor with the part! I have had the dish washer repairman out three times. The first time they vendor did not know anything about repairing a dishwaqsher! So, I had to get another vendor - at my expense. AHS's policy is to give the 'rotten' vendor another chance to screw it up again. That is a very, very poor policy and not 'customer friendly'.

The vendors that they choose -= for you - are not trustworth! They hire them because they are cheap.
AND, you have NO say-so with them. Because if they rule in your favor AHS will terminate the contract with them! ANOTHER GREAT SERVICE POLICY.

I had three different policies with AHS. I have already cancelled two of them. My last on expires this month - and they are out of here!

I don't know how they stay in business. But, I applaud all of you that take the time to file a complaint with the FTC or the BBB. That's what you have to do - take them to court. AND, good luck!

And, don't worry about them reading any of these comments - they won't!

I bought my first place three months ago. Pretty much all of the major appliances were new with the exception of the furnace (18 years old). I tried to get the seller to replace, but they refused, so we compromised with a 1 year homeowners warranty.

Luckily or unluckily last Tuesday I came home to a 40 degree home. The furnace had blown. Everything I read in AHS's warranty said they would service within normal business hours - I was worried I would not get my heat turned on that night, so I called the company that the seller had used to service the unit prior to me moving in. He came that evening and told me I needed a new furnace, which would cost $2400. He reset my furnace, and said that would give me heat temporarily, but it was only a matter of time before it stopped working again. (It shut-off within the hour).

I then called AHS, they said I should have called them first and they needed one of their vendors to come look at it. The next day was Christmas Eve - so I set up the appointment for Friday (3 days later). Their vendor showed up, did the same thing the initial company had done (reset the furnace), and said the internal temperature was 20 degrees to high and that's what was causing the problem. Well, surprise, surprise, the furnace stopped working again shortly after he left.

I was given a 30 day warranty on his work, so the same guy came back the next day. He looked at my furnace for 30 mins. before telling me that now he thought the problem was that all of the units in my building were sharing the same chimney - and it wasn't big enough and that was causing a backdraft.

First of all, why hasn't that been an issue for 18 years? Second of all, I live on the first floor, warm air rises, wouldn't that create the biggest problem for the top floor unit? He said he couldn't verify if that in fact was the cause, so he would need a service manager with more experience to come out and verify.

This was Saturday afternoon, his service manager couldn't come out until Monday afternoon. (Keep in mind I still don't have heat in December in Chicago). I made the service tech stay with me while I called AHS customer service and had them attempt to explain to me why it was acceptable to go 48 more hours without heat and even the potential for a proper diagnosis. They gave me the run around about the vendor needing to report it to authorization before anyone could move forward. Finally, I let the service guy go.

Immediately after he left I returned a call I had from the previous day (800.469.0892) where AHS had asked me to answer a satisfaction survey for my service call. I spoke with someone else who I notified that I was extremely dissatisfied with their service thus far. A. I already had a technician tell me I needed a new furnace. B. They were making me wait 48 more hours before they would diagnose, etc. etc. I asked if I could be transferred to a different vendor since I was clearly making no progress with the current one. Ultimately she asked to put me on hold while she spoke with her manager. Her manager agreed to allow my service request to be transferred to a new vendor, that would come see me that night!

He arrived, and after less than 5 mins. said 'well the good news is you're getting a new furnace'. But he told me not to get too excited b/c it still needed to be authorized from AHS. His boss came out the next morning, confirmed what the other guy had found, and said he would do his best to get AHS to authorize.

Luckily I got a call later that day that authorized replacing my furnace. the owner of the heating company said he was surprised it was authorized so quickly. I told him I had been very persistent with AHS on my side. And he said sometimes it helps to have people coming at them from both sides. As of right now it is supposed to be installed tomorrow morning. I will let you know how that goes.

Honestly, I trust AHS 0% - Given all I have read I think it was a case of me getting lucky, persistence, the squeaky wheel getting the grease, and the fact that I already had a second opinion saying I needed a new furnace.

I'm sure the furnace AHS will give me tomorrow is a piece of crap, but it will be better than no heat, and hopefully last me a few years. My advice to anyone out there that is already stuck with an AHS warranty is get all of your transactions in writing, call AHS frequently, I've probably called them 15 times since this started, and if your claim is ultimately denied contact a lawyer.

I totally agree with a scam from this company. I dealt with them also back in 2004. My husband and I had just purchased a house and the hot water tank blew up like a pressure cooker. He was over in the desert serving in the military at the time and AHS along with the plumber was refusing to cover the hot water tank under warranty. Needless to say it also took at least 5 days for them to fix the claim. I complained like a banshee and called the mortgage broker I purchased the house from. They ended up replacing the tank but was not happy about it.

I have a dishwasher that was not working properly. The contractor said the dishwasher needed a new motor, but he refused to write it down on the report. He said he needed to talk to American Home Shield first. The repairman told American Home Shields that my dishwasher was working properly. He lied. Don't use this company because the repairman and American Home Shield are working together to denied claims at the homeowner expense.

Would not coverage AC replacement.
I also have had a bad experience with AHS. My AC compressor unit stopped working. Called AHS and they sent out a repair man who took less than 5 min to look at my unit. He informed me the compressor was fired. When I called AHS to follow up with my claim they informed me my claim was declined do to "the coils were dirty" from lack of maintenance and therefore declined my claim. Told me I had to get a second opinion and pay for it out of pocket and pay to replace the unit and then ask for reimbursement. I contacted another air conditioner repair company who came and examined my unit and told me that the compressor failed due to normal wear and tear and for no other reason. AHS still refused to reimburse me. This is definitely a scam company. DO NOT USE THEM..

I also had a difficult time getting a hot water tank replaced. Even though my contract states it was covered. AHS sent out a plumber who quoted me 1085.00 to replace heater tank. AHS would only cover (according to the service man) 300.00 of this.
We thought the price was outrageous and contacted A.HS. wanting a second opinion . they refused to send out anyone else, we than contacted no less than 3 different sources for a replacement. Their cost no higher than 675.00. AHS than stated it was all the saftey extras we needed before they could install. We had just had the house earthquake checked and had passed. I questioned the coverage, they informed me they would not pay 300.00 but only 200.00 out of that amount they would deduct the 55.00 for the service call my cash out 184.00 . I couldn't replace a bracket for the Tank at that price. A new tank alone( cheapest quote 575.00) that was just the tank! when I questioned them on why my contract said I was covered the only explanation they kept giving me was. That was the price their service contractors gave them. I asked what source they had to purchase a 675.00 water tank for 184.00 installed. They turned nasty and said the cash out was my only option or pay the outrageous price there service man had presented. I just don't know how they get away with this fraud? Isn't there any agency who can protect the comsumer to fraud like this? We are senior citizens and have taken out this insurance to protect us in case of a big expensive repair on out home. Looks like we were takne again! I now have a dishwasher that is not operating, but even though it states in my contract it is covered, I hesitate to call AHS and pay a service man 55.00 only to be told the problem is not covered! Unfortunately, we would only find that out by having them send out a repairman!
By the way, we ended up replacing the Hot Water Tank at our own expense. With the help of a very generous member (plumber) from our church who installed it for us free of charge. Cost of the Tank 671.00 Cash out from AHS. 184.00 which we have yet to receive!

I called American Home Shield for service. They told me I would receive a call within 4 hours. After three hours I called the name of the technician to see when he might come out. He did not even kn0w about it. John from NB acted astounded. He said the furnace had no major problem but needed a cleaning. Someone from American Home Shield called and gave me the same information. I had the furnace cleaned last year in December so it is not quite a full year. I was planning on calling in the month of December to get the cleaning done. I did not use the contract for anything this year. So after approximately $500.00 for the contract and the $60.00 I had to pay for the call, I still need to find someone to fix the furnace. Take my name off your list and do NOT call me for a renewal. They had no problem calling me when they wanted me to sign the contract. I have been scammed and I do not want to hear from them again. Find some other sucker. I am done!

I have a ceramic glass top electric stove. I smelled a funny smell one night before going to bed chemical or something. In the morning I awoke to a broken stove top.

The Warranty Company American Home Shield decided that a broke the stove top by dropping something on it (which I did not ) and refused to pay for replacing it. My stove is only 2 years old and I have had Home Warranty service for 3 years. Not only did they decide not to pay for a new stove top I ended up paying a $55.0o service fee to boot.

I got in touch with the manufacturer of the stove, they replaced the glass top no charge. But, I do have to pay installation. They felt I was telling the truth and that the glass tops are sometimes defective.

So, having a Warranty company for the ease and convenience is not what they claim, they want to fight you on everything that breaks. I am right now trying to get my $55.00 back from them. I have had many friends tell me they also had trouble getting them to fix things or replace items.

I hope this saves someone else from having a nightmare experience!

I recently cancelled my American Home Shield Warranty and went with a different company that had better rates and service fees and I just got a call from AHS stating that since I am cancelling the service two months prior to the end of the coverage, they were going to charge me penalties and administrative fees. I hung up on them. I had been with AHS since 1996 and they had the gall to try and hit me up with that. I was told a long time ago that there was never any penalties if I cancelled. I call out their BS and will go the extra step in hiring an attorney if I have to. Now my daughter and sister are both canceling their AHS contracts as well. Yay, let's get on the band wagon and squash this company!

Took multiple trips to fix garage door and wash machine. Customer service is extremely rude and non helpful. Do not buy this service under any condition. When you have problems, don't bother calling the regular number as it will only give you more problem. Call and ask for Rene Golwitzer corporate headquarters at [protected]. Again don't bother talking to anyone but her. Also demand to speak to Mark Barry -President. He can be reached directly at [protected].

The pressure regulator under our house broke and has been sprayining approximately one gallon a minute of water on the underside of our floorboards since last Thursday morning. It is Monday night.
The plumber sent by American Home Shield arried on Friday at 4:00 pm. He didn't have the right part and said he'd be back on Monday morning. He called us on Monday to say that AHS wanted a second estimate on the cost. A call to AHS confirmed this. The second company arrived at 7:00 pm on Monday night (tonight) and said he couldn't turn off the water to work on the problem because he wasn't allowed to turn off the water at the street. We called local water officials who said this was not true. I calculate that 5, 760 gallons of water have now been sprayed under my house. No action yet. I'm worried about mold, not to mention the water bill.

AHS is very unreliable, unprofessional and incompetent. I lost more in wages than the cost of repairs because on 5 occasions the contractor would not show up on the scheduled date and time. It took me more than 6 months to fix my heat pump after 3 changes of vendor last year. This year the problem repeated because the previous contractor left the work incomplete and it took a month and half to get it fixed again after change of 2 vendors. AHS keeps assigning incompetent contractors who never maintain schedules with little care for quality service. This business is all about collecting fees and delivering nothing aka PONZI scheme !STAY AWAY FROM AHS.

AHS is worthless...they use providers that don't care if they fix something or if they show up in a timely manner. I had to buy a dishwasher b/c they couldn't get someone to repair mine in a timely manner...now i'm have been waiting three weeks to get my dryer fixed...will probably have to buy a dryer now...you pay for a service but they don't care when it gets fixed...what is really the purpose of this warranty if i have to replace the product myself b/c they choose service providers that cant or wont work in a timely manner.

AHS LIED ABOUT SERVICE TOOK A WEEK TO GET MY HEATER FIXED(MAYBE) WEEK NOT UP YET, I WOULD NOT RECOMEND THIS COMPANY TO ANYONE

This site is pathetic! " By the people and for the people". Wrong!

You have Google Ad words at the top of the page titled:
American Home Shield Complaints for poor service. I thought this was a legitamate site. The Google ad word read as follows:

American Home Shield
Protect your Home's Heating, AC,
Plumbing and Appliances with AHS
AmericanHomeShield.com/homewarranty

American Home Shield - How to beat home warranty companies at their own game

I have discovered how aggrieved homeowners can turn the tables on home warranty companies and beat them at their own game. Please share this with everyone you know.

I’m an attorney and after having a problem with my home warranty company, American Home Shield, I decided to investigate whether other homeowners had experienced the same or a similar problem. What I found were web sites devoted to consumer complaints on which numerous homeowners had recounted incidents of fraud, deception, and rip-offs by their home warranty company. I also found a blog written by a former American Home Shield employee and another written by a former plumber for a home warranty company. Both recounted situations that would not pass the “smell test” in a court of law.

I also investigated lawsuits that had been filed against American Home Shield in Georgia, which is where I live. I found about 15 cases. The majority of cases had been filed in small claims court. As I reviewed the cases, I discovered that none of the cases had been litigated. In every instance, the case had been settled to the Plaintiff’s satisfaction although the details of each settlement were not part of the case file. With the knowledge that all cases had been settled to the homeowners’ satisfaction, I realized that American Home Shield would settle with an aggrieved homeowner before allowing a case to go to trial. My conclusion is that the only thing aggrieved homeowners need to do to beat home warranty companies at their own game is to file suit. The last thing American Home Shield wants to do is litigate a homeowner’s claim and the reasons are obvious to me.

The most obvious reason American Home Shield would not want to litigate a claim is that in most instances, the cost to American Home Shield to settle a claim would be less than the cost to litigate. The average amount of a claim in the cases I found was $3, 800.00. Two were for less than $1, 000.00 and only one was for more than $10, 000.00. I’m sure far more than the 15 homeowners who have filed lawsuits in Georgia have had their claims denied. American Home Shield wins when a claim is denied and the homeowner does not sue, which is exactly what American Home Shield is counting on homeowners not doing.

Another reason American Home Shield does not want to litigate is because the company does not want to have to defend its craftily drafted contract or its questionable business practices, which is exactly what it would have to do if a case went to trial. American Home Shield also does not want such information to become public knowledge, which is also likely to happen. Additionally, a judge or a jury would also be hard pressed to return a verdict favorable to a company that engages in questionable business practices.

The final reason American Home Shield does not want to litigate is because a lawsuit actually places American Home Shield in a precarious situation. American Home Shield would have a difficult time defending any claim by a homeowner because the company has no first hand knowledge about the claim; it would need the testimony of the service contractor who, for its own reasons, may be less than eager to testify. The only knowledge American Home Shield has is what the company has been told by the service contractor. And any testimony from American Home Shield about what it was told by the service contractor is hearsay and not admissible in court.

To defend a claim, American Home Shield would need to subpoena the service contractor who actually made the diagnosis to testify about the claim. If the homeowner has done his/her homework, he/she would subpoena witnesses who could dispute the witnesses for American Home Shield. The homeowner should subpoena one or more service companies who had been called either for a second opinion or to make the actual repairs to dispute the testimony of the American Home Shield service contractor. The homeowner might also consider locating one or more other aggrieved homeowners to testify about their problem with American Home Shield. Another good witnesses for the homeowner to subpoena would be a former service contractor for the home warranty company or a former employee of a service contractor.

Since American Home Shield has at least three significant reasons why it does not want to litigate, the best and easiest way an aggrieved homeowner can beat American Home Shield at their own game (and most likely any other home warranty company) is to file suit. The one thing for an aggrieved homeowner to keep in mind is that if he/she does not sue, the home warranty company will win. But if he/she sues, the homeowner will most likely win. And that is how an aggrieved homeowner can beat American Home Shield at their own game.

My advice to aggrieved homeowners is not to stress over a denied claim, the denial of a situation as an emergency, repeated “band-aid repairs, ” or a delay in authorization or in the repair of an item. I would also advise a homeowner not to waste time arguing with American Home Shield but to set a reasonable deadline for the appropriate action. Upon expiration of the deadline without receiving satisfaction from American Home Shield, the homeowner should then proceed as if they did not have a home warranty and then sue American Home Shield for reimbursement. The homeowner should also remember to document every action or inaction by both himself/herself and American Home Shield. Although the disadvantage to the homeowner is initially having to pay for the repairs, the advantage is that the homeowner can choose the service contractor and the brands and quality of products. I won’t guarantee all aggrieved homeowners will prevail every time but I have good reason to believe most aggrieved homeowners will prevail the majority of time.

For aggrieved homeowners whose claims were denied at sometime in the past, you may still be able to sue for reimbursement. To make that determination, the homeowner needs to research the statute of limitation for suing on a contract in their state. In any event, a homeowner should be safe filing suit for a claim that was denied during the past twelve (12) months.

Within the next six months, instead of reading homeowner’s stories about being scammed and ripped off by their home warranty company, I want to read stories about how homeowners turned the tables and beat their home warranty company at their own game.

If anyone has any questions, I can be contacted at LegalCohen@aol.com.

Good luck.