AHS Class Action Lawsuit Settlement
AHS (American Home Shield) is one of mostly used and reputed home warranty companies around. AHS provides home warranty protection services nationwide. Some of the homeowners warranty plans are criticized for lack for customer service, but par of the blame goes to customers who fail to read the contract fine print.
AHS recently announced a class action lawsuit settlement for breech of contract. The litigation is about not making repairs and replacement per the contract. AHS is admitting no wrong doing and it denies the claims and says it is agreeing to the settlement to avoid costly legal proceedings.
You can file a claim if you purchased your home warranty between July 24, 2001 and December 31, 2008 provided you were denied service during the above period. The claims settlement website has all details here – www.edlesonclassaction.com
UPDATE: One of our readers posted another similar settlement which can be found at faughtclassaction.com
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This is AHS at it’s in North Carolina
A Triangle woman, who has been without a working air conditioner for more than a month and a half, says she is fed up.
Alexine Miller says she wants answers, as she has a home warranty that she thought would protect her, but instead she says she’s getting nothing but hot air.
“You can see I’m perspiring, water is falling off of me,” Miller said. “I lost a little weight. The heat killed my plants.”
Her plants wilted and her poor dog has been panting for weeks. Miller’s air conditioning went out the end of May and she says she called her home warranty company, American Home Shield, right away.
“Within 48 hours someone came out and fixed it,” Miller said. “Two weeks later, it was broken again and the same company came out again and said they couldn’t work on this system because it’s not made any more and the parts are hard to get.”
Miller says American Home Shield sent another HVAC company out and she says they told her they could get the part, but that was on June 16 –six weeks later Miller still has no fix.
“This is the hottest summer on record and I think I have been patient,” Miller said.
American Home Shield did tell Miller they would reimburse her up to $100 for a window air conditioning, which is in her bedroom and it has been giving her relief at night, but it doesn’t cool her whole house.
“You have to give them time to find the parts and I was trying to be fair, but they have not been fair to me,” Miller said. “I’ve been miserable and I think it’s time this comes to an end and they should replace my system.”
ABC11 Eyewitness News I-Team Troubleshooter Diane Wilson got in touch with American Home Shield and after looking into it, a representative said since the part is still on back order through the manufacturer; American Home Shield has decided to replace the entire air handling unit in order to expedite a resolution.
On Monday, the unit was installed and after a month and a half of no air, Miller says she is finally getting cooled off.
The rep with American Home Shield also said they sincerely regret the delays Miller has experienced and this is not a typical experience.
Due to the delays, the rep added, American Home Shield did agree to pay for the additional charges related to the installation that would not be typically covered under the warranty.
Don’t hold your breath chances are you will not hear back from AHS and if you do they will find some other excuse not
to replace your unit.
I am currenlty dealing with the aftermath of an AHS service call. The service call was requested to determine and correct the problem with my central air conditioning system covered under my AHS home warranty contract.
During the service call the technician sent to my home by AAC performed a very limited scope inspection of the unit and attempted to assign cause of the system issues to a dirty air filter. Only upon insistence of my wife did the technician run a check on the refrigerant level (R-22) and identified that the charge was essentially empty. The technician made no apparent attempt to locate the cause of the loss of refrigerant. The technician then claimed the loss was due to the system being overworked due to the “lack of a fusebox” for the unit. He also commented that the outer surface coils on the exterior compressor unit were “dirty”. Prior to his arrival the technical attempted to convince my wife by phone that the service call should be rescheduled claiming the “the weather was not too bad”. Based on the limited range of his inspection and his comment I feel the technician did not conduct this service call with the proper depth of investigation. According to the feedback I have received from AHS it appears that based on the report of this limited inspection AHS has not authorized the repair/replacement of my AC system.
In follow-up to the inspection conducted by AAC I have engaged the services of an independent 3rd party licensed air conditioning service firm to inspect the system and identify the causes of the system not to operate properly. The independent inspection was significantly more comprehensive and included removal of the top fan on the exterior AC compressor unit and removal of the side access panel. This technician placed a partial R-22 charge in the system and used a tracing device in an attempt to locate the site of any leaks that may provide an explanation for the R-22 loss from the system. During this more detailed inspection the independent technician identified that the leak seemed to be located in the system accumulation cylinder. Given the age of the system the housing of the accumulator just gave out.
I questioned the independent technician about the electrical installation of the system. Base on his understanding of the applicable codes there is an adequate electrical shut-off located within sight of the unit as required by article 440 of the California Electrical Code. Article 440 requires you to locate the disconnecting means within sight of, and readily accessible from, air-conditioning or refrigerating equipment. “Within sight” means visible from, and not more than 50 ft from, each other. You can install the disconnecting means on or within the air-conditioning or refrigerating equipment-but not on the access panels. The existing circuit breaker that controls the air conditioner unit and would trip upon excessive load is located within 30 inches of the exterior compressor and is in direct sight of the compressor.
I have sent a copy of the invoice and findings of the independent technician to AHS (and the AHS service provider). Based on this information and the fact that the failure appears to stem from normal use and wear of the system I am formally requesting that AHS cover the repair/replacement of the system components required to make my home air conditioning system operational. I have no idea how this will work out
We worked for AHS for a short period of time. The would tell us what dollar amount we had to average to continue to get work from them. We tried doing repairs correctly as we have for the past 30 years. Unfortunately, we were over their average ($218). They wanted us to simply add refrigreant as opposed to repairing the leak in an air conditioner for example. We gave up, not wanting to ruin our reputation in our service area.
this may piss alot of you off as ex-ahs customers, but up until the very end, i had a good relationship with them with all the repairs that i needed. i lucked out with my home as there was a pre-purchased year of maintenance included when i moved in. let me tell you, when this was discovered, it was really used. all it cost me each time was $60 dollars and most of the time the technician blew that off if he had to come back, even after several months. the beginning of the end was when we had them looking at our central air unit which was not working at all when we moved into the home, we knew it wasn’t working, we assumed that this was something they would not even look into since it was dead and not just broken. they replaced it with a completely new central air system for $60 and some freon purging fee. all total of about $200, not bad for a brand new central air system. the bad part was when the a/c guy was check the blower system out, he noticed that the furnace system had a minute crack in the heating core or exchanger, this they would not fix or replace as they said that this was a long time existing problem before we moved in and did not break while we were in the house.
we reminded them of the a/c system and for some reason this did not seem to matter to them, the heater was another story and they were not going to fix it although it was functioning but the technicians were begging them to o.k. the repair as they said it was bad. if we had to use the heat, we could kill ourselves from from leaking gas, etc.
ahs said no. mind you we got quit a bit out of them in the year that we had them to use, including a brand new 5 burner stove top. they actually sent a letter to me saying that they were not going to accept a renewal from us as we over used them in the year that we had them. i didn’t know that there was a maximum number they could be used in any stretch of time. then the class action suits started coming in . . . interesting. wouldn’t mind getting the money back from the furnace i had to buy out of pocket.
I was a contractor for AHS. No, AHS did not have a deal with us to deny your claims. To be perfectly honest, we, the contractors, are in worse shape than you, the customer. We DONT get paid what you think we get paid. We are paid a flat rate, just over $100 to come to your homes and repair or replace your single or multiple items. Does that sound like AHS is paying us off?? We are ripped far more than the customer. We do NOT get paid for your parts, we have to eat that cost. If you call in a toilet running constantly, a water heater with a pilot light out, and a garbage disposal not working, we have to repair or replace ALL of that for the flat rate (reminder–only a little over $100 that we get paid and that total is after your $60 service fee and a discount that we are REQUIRED to give AHS), and if you do the math, we are in the negative after the garbage disposal. WE ARE THE ONES THAT LOSE MONEY! AHS doesn’t care about our overhead to run our business, they just care about meeting the paper contract that they sold to you. They do not share any responsibility in the liability placed on us nor do they support their contractors. Why do you have to wait so long for service? Because AHS sends more work orders than a company can handle to meet their contractual guidelines daily and requires us to provide service in 48 business hours. How much is a common man expected to do in a day?? AHS requires them to do much more than possible. So, you tell me, how is the contractor making all of this big money?? They aren’t, they are ripped off as well!
I just cancelled my acount with AHS when the renewal came up this year. I wanted to find out when they were going to stop charging my credit card for the payments. When I called them they could pull up the contract which started in 2003 but nothing since then. I was surprized when they told me that my account number changed each year. has anybody else run into this problem with them?
I have used AHS three times for repairs on appliances. My dishwasher is out at the moment. The AHS designated contractor came to the house, late, and figured out what was wrong with it and what needed to be replaced. They will have to contact AHS to authorize the parts that need to be replaced. I asked the repairmand what the chances are of getting this 12 year old dishwasher replaced instead of repaired. He informed me that AHS will not authorize replacement unless parts are no longer available, otherwise I can pay for one out of pocket. I have been sending money to AHS for eight (8) years now and it suddenly dawned on me, I send them money to broker repairmen and I still have to pay a “deductible” for a repairman to come to the house and tell me that they have to get authorization to replace parts. I have no idea when I will see the repairman again and my dishwasher is just sitting there doing nothing. I suppose if AHS denies the parts replacement, I will have to pay for the new parts and the labor. I expect better response to my needs. I have read too many complaints to wonder why I am still paying them. I have a phone and I can find repair people on line. Is it worth $45 per month to do what I can do on my own?
Dont expect to get any money back if you cancel, This company is nothing but a bunch of THEIVES. I cancelled my contract after repeated problems with them sending unqualified, shaddy repair people to fix my a/c, which they never fixed. I called to cancel and got a letter 2 weeks later saying they wont refund a penny (I still had 7 months left on the contract) they claimed they spend more than the $508 that I paid, so I get nothing back. ANOTHER CLASS ACTION SUIT NEEDS TO BE FILED AGAINST THEM. THEY ARE CROOKS PRAYING ON INNOCENT PEOPLE.
After being with AHS for so many years my 5 year old water heater broke I ended up paying $750.00 out of pockets expenses, according to them there were a few things not covered by the contract. I got ripped off. I could buy a water heater for $400.00 for GOD SAKE! I am not going to renew my contract this year, that’s for sure.
i was denied several times throughout my time with ahs. my heater still having problems. my oven had to be replaced at my cost. i had to buy a new washer dryer. my fridge is dying a slow death they refused to fix it can’t afford a new one. my dishwasher doesn’t work cant afford a new one. my air conditioner needed part replaced they had an excuse why they couldn’t. i need a new hot water heater. i eventually got smart and canceled ahs. i sent another letter asking for help from them they said i’m sorry they can’t help me. i went to your put in a claim site it wont come up page is blank. please wont someone help me with this ahs mess. i am so over this company. oh yes imagine this they sent me an offer to sign up again. LOL
like i would actually join again, how stupid do they think i am. fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.
thanks lela
If you are even thinking about considering ahs, run, run very fast! after 15 yrs and maintaining our home properly, we just had our first real service request. a third visit by same A/C contractor said coil needed replacing but that we had to pay $1255 for non-covered items. I run a construction firm and checked with our subs who said we were being ripped off. Complaints to ahs resulted in them just saying they would pay us $380 and we could do it ourselves. we are cancelling and looking at remediation.
I’ve been dealing with ahs for the last 5 years and had nothing but problems since my funace went out about three years ago (middle of winter and they couldn’t get a new one for 2 weeks from there companies. Now my washer went out 2weeks ago, they tell me a new one will be delivered on the 16th . Well there contractor supposedly tried to contact us and got no respose so they sent the washer back and now ahs says it wont be until the 28th. The thing is I HAVE CALLER I.D. and noone tried to contact me so this is a crock on there part.. Bunch of crooks
AHS is really organized crime, I totally agree!! They’ve send someone out to look at the AC, the unit had shorted. According to the contractor AHS would not cover it, because it wasn’t regular wear and tear?! They’ve also quoted us $1,800 to fix the broken AC.
AHS obviously denied the repair and we’ve cancelled our contract immediately. We also didn’t trust the contractor obviously and got another quote from a local company — $180 for the exact same thing. Took them 10 minutes to fix it as well!
I think they have some deal with the contractors to ensure the claim is always denied and then the contractors still make a lot of money out of the us, the customer!
So glad that I did not go with them. When I told them that I would have to think about signing up, and I’d call back later in the day, the sales rep. immediately hung up on me!!
With that kind of intro to their service, I am now glad that I checked on-line.
I am trying to understand why AHS has an A+ rating by the Better Business Bureau. I cancelled my contract with these crooks after only 8 months and I am glad I got out when I did based on all of the reviews I have read. I wish I had googled them before I purchased the contract because I would have saved the money I paid out so far. To the person who asked if you had to wait until the end of your contract to cancel, the answer is no. You can cancel any time. They have horrible customer service and incompetent contractors. My AC contractor cancelled the morning of the appt with no explanation and AHS did nothing. They didn’t send out another contractor, didn’t even annotate that the contractor cancelled but had the nerve to brag about how great this contractor’s record was. I said of course he has a great record because if you never annotate any complaints against your contractors or reprimand them, you have no record of their bad service. I spoke to a supervisor to ask why was I paying them when I was having to do all of the work as far as trying to get another contractor and find out why the original one didn’t show up and she told me that their job was simply to set up the appointment and “hope” that the contractor shows up! I told her I don’t pay for hope and I can look in the yellow pages and set up my own appts if that’s all they do. I thought I was paying for a guarantee of quality service with a reputable repair company that has been bonded and verified by AHS. Does anyone know why the BBB has rated them as A+ especially if they have a class action last suit against them? Does that mean I cannot trust the BBB either?
AHS is a complete scame! As we all know and have expressed in detail. The $60 check is always cashed and every repair person we have had does nothing! Funny my car runs great, my house is spotless, I have the date on every air filter so we know when to change them, but AHS says we have mistreated our home so they can deny my claims! I told my husband when we first got together to cancel them because we could save the monthly fee ourselves for any future issues-he know agrees with me!
donna, thanks for pointing that out. I skimmed through the brief. Please note that I am not a lawyer and this is not legal adice… qualifier, qualifier, qualifier… OK. Looks like the court approved the settlement. Also, during this process (in mediation, perhpas), the Faughts declined getting a bigger payout for themselves at the expense of the rest of us. Very cool. The only thing they got beyond their repair bill is $5,000 each. Very small amount in my opinion for their troubles. Maybe if we get reimbursed, we can figure out a way to send them $20 each or something. I would do that in a heatbeat. The Faughts still have to submit their claim like the rest of us though. Their attorneys tried to get them their $8,000 repair bill money up front (without submitting a claim). I could not find anything on the schedule of when we can start making claims, but I will keep checking the website every day. Also, be aware. I have noticed a slew of e-mails from AHS in my junk mail inbox in the last few months (even before I started posteing on this site). I use a seperate e-mail address for to post on things like this because I suspect they sell the e-mail addresses. Anyway, AHS in true form to their company values and morals appears to have resorted to spamming to drum up more business for their failed business model that is going to have to pay through the nose, thanks to this lawsuit. I almost shed a tear for them until I remembered the hell they put me thorough when I had been 1 month into owning my first home.
I checked the Faught website this morning and there is an update go to the bottom of the page click on Final Approval Order & Opinions it is dated 4/27/10 there is 60 pages of legal wording but what I could make of it has been
OK’d. Please take a look at it and post what you get out of the update.
Don’t Even Think About These Crooks!
We were told not to refi on the house by a financial adviser. Our Heat Pump (a/c unit) went down. We called AHS, they sent a no-name person who probably did a/c work on the side. He came out, left, and AHS called us saying that we had mistreated our unit.
We faught them on the phone, still nothing. We had to refi on the house to pay for the $9,000.00 unit out of pocket, and we had been with them for over 15 years!!
AHS are almost organized crime! I’m not kidding one freaking bit! From reading all of the other posts, We all can tell, they train their employee’s to give all of their customers the same line of crap.
This is how they make money, it’s an “Organized” way of business! They did all of us the same way, so I call AHS “Organized Crime!”
Spread the word on youtube, and to all of your family and friends, EVEN STRANGERS!
Look on youtube for all the other stories.
AHS = ORGANIZED CRIME!
wow!!!wish i knew all this 5-6 years ago.ahs has been sending useless companies out to fix my air unit sence 2005 and once again like every year 2times a year i had to call them for my air.they sent out acompany called( air comfort)which came and did a test but said they had to come back and of course they didnt!no one colud contact them (air comfort)not even ahs,not untill they called me back because i didnt leave sugh a nice message!@#$%^&* oh they cash the 60 dollar check!
We’ve been AHS customers for too long, and am currently researching alternatives. We’re currently having an AC unit replaced. I was on the phone many times with AHS, talked to three different supervisors and five phone jockeys. I got different responses to the same questions, if I got answers at all. I could write thousands of words here with the problems we’ve had with AHS over the years. AHS is the most daunting company I have ever dealt with. EXTREMELY poor customer service. Few straight answers to questions. And most repairs require multiple calls, follow-ups and occasionally arguments to get it done. Seems the only thing they have somewhat squared away is the billing department. Save yourself some grief and aggravation – don’t even consider AHS!!
If you are thinking about using AHS – DON’T!!!! I agree that the BBB report in combination with the class action lawsuit speaks volumes.
To attempt to keep this short, I’ll say we’ve called them three times and had issues with each time. The first time I was naive enough to just pay the plumber for the claim denied and move on. The second time, was another plumbing issue in which they tried to deny the claim based on how our floor tile was installed. The part needing replacement was the flange on the toilet and was simply rusted out – nowhere near the floor tile. After a week of fighting hard with them – hours lost on the phone – they finally covered it.
Now our are AC is out and we live in a very hot part of the country. It is 86 degrees in our home and they can’t seem to get a contractor out here for half a week.
If you are buying a home and the seller is offering AHS – here’s my recommendation: ask for cash in lieu of the warranty and stick it in a savings account for an emergency issue. Then at least you KNOW you can get it fixed up to that cash amount. Worst case scenario – have them go with someone besides AHS. But don’t give these guys a chance to stay in business – they are thieves!!!
I have checked the Faught class action website every day since March 10. No update. I never include myself in class action lawsuits, but I have made an exception on this one. I have never been more screwed over in my life than I was by AHS. I have everything documented and sitting there waiting for instructions on the next step.
Please does anyone have an update on the class action lawsuits? The Edleson website is not working and the Faught website hasn’t been updated. Thank you