AHS Class Action Lawsuit Settlement
AHS (American Home Shield) is one of the popular and the biggest among all home warranty companies. AHS provides home warranty protection services nationwide. Some of the homeowners warranty plans are criticized for lack for customer service. The problem is complicated and is partly attributed to small print contract terms that customers are not aware of until they file the claim.
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
— If you are looking to buy AHS home warranty, check out American home warranty reviews on our website.
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Every time I contact them, nothing is covered. This last time though–I am fighting back. I called them today because we are replacing a French Drain on the side of our house (which of course, isn’t covered) and found that the pipe from our house to the sewer system was basically being held together by the dirt around it. We moved the dirt and exposed a big crack. The toilet always has ran on and off and I recently noticed air bubbles when it happened…so now I know why. Also nearby and underground is a tree stump. The technician they sent said it’s “not covered” and want’s to charge us $600. The stump was just nearby. There are no roots around or in the pipe, but because it’s nearby, they are claiming it’s “root damage” and is saying that it’s not covered. I’m disputing it with them, but after reading all these comments, I’m not feeling too positive.
Crooks that’s all I can say. Had this company for 4 years and never needed anything so when I do have a leak under kitchen cabinet I called and they said I had a crack in the Garbage disposal but that it had been installed properly. So for 3 years it worked fine and now that it has a crack it was installed properly. Keep your money this company is a rip off.
AHS was great back in 2004 when I first purchased the warranty. They should be ashamed of how they are ripping people off now. A big problem is that they hire companies that are paid by the visit not by the job. My well pump went up a few years back and the local company can out , pulled and replaced it without any problems. A year later my pump went up again and they sent a company from Baltimore (now I live in Western Maryland an hour and half away). They showed up and tried to pull the pump by hand (my pump is almost 200ft down). They pulled it up 15ft and decided it was too hard to pull. They put it back, packed up and left without tell me anything. I went back out and they were gone. ASH calls me, 10 minutes later to say I owed the $60 for the service call and they won’t service my warranty until I pay. AHS also said, my well collapsed and would not cover any plumbing until I GOT A NEW WELL!
Ridiculous, I had to pay H&H well drilling to come out and pull my pump and replace it. I had to pay out of pocket to have this done. H&H Well drilling also had to write me a letter to confirm to AHS that my well had not collapsed. Weeks of fighting with AHS I got them to give $1,500.00 their max, but that did not cover the cost or my lost time from work. My Frig went up a month later and they told me they couldn’t get anyone out for a week and that the company from Baltimore would be the one’s working on the refrigerator, “what they are a plumbing company”? I told them not to bother.
I was NOT happy with American Home Shield the first year I used them. My heat went out during one of the coldest winters in North Texas. When I called in a service repair request I was told someone would contact me within 2 hours; 4 hours went by and I called back and was told my another representative that they didn’t know why I was told 2 hours because they have 24 hours to respond to the request and then went on to comment that “if I was THAT cold maybe I should go stay at a hotel”! Three days later I get a call by a contractor at 7 p.m. and I was told that if they came out that evening I would be responsible for paying an after hours service call, which I was NOT willing to do. On the 4th day when the contractor finally came out I was told they had to order a part that would take 2 weeks to get here, so basically it was going to be three weeks before I would have heat. It was not until I raised boo-coo’s of hell was I finally told they could have the part overnighted! I vowed at that point never to use AHS again. However before I knew it, it was time to renew and I didn’t feel like taking the time to research other companies, so feeling that “something was better than nothing” I reluctantly renewed — it’s been a problem ever since! This time has been with billing. Now when I renewed I had to make the first payment over the phone. Two months later I got a delinquent letter in the mail, stating that I was a month behind. Go online and check to make sure that I had made all the payments and indeed I had. When I called AHS about it the representative said something about back dating the renewal to cover the time that had elapsed and a bunch of other crap! Rather than stress myself out, I sent in two payments. Two months later I get another delinquent letter, I call and was told the same thing and they have REFUSED to bring my account current even though I have made 14 payments on 12 month contract! Today I received a call on my cell from the agent asking me if I was going to renew, I asked him “ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FREAKING MIND”? Told him about my issues of the last two years and he said “well we are the #1 home warranty company, we’ve been in business for 40 years” for which my reply was “I suggest you Google yourself…you’re #1 alright, but it’s in COMPLAINTS” and hung up! It is better to NOT have a home warranty than to spend your time, money, and energy dealing with this company.
Avoid AHS. Their prices keep going up and you sometimes have to get the contract out to argue with them and show them exactly how wrong they are. Unfortunately for them, I work for a large company (10,000 + employees) and I have started spreading the word whenever we hire employees from out-of-state (average 1,000 a year), who are looking for houses and/or warranties do not use AHS. as soon as this year’s contract is up, I will definitely cancel.
We reported to AHS that our stove was not working in December of 2010. They said they would need 3 weeks to “research” it and get back to us. After 3 weeks, we were told that they would have the part in 7 weeks or we could accept $192 toward a new stove. We chose to have it repaired. After 7 weeks, it still was not repaired. We were then told it would need to be replaced. After many more calls, they finally had someone come out to deliver and install a new stove. The new stove would not fit and we were told that they do not make modifications. So I have TWO stoves in my kitchen that are worthless!!!! My kitchen counter will have to be cut/modified and paid for by me before the stove can be installed. This is utter B.S.
My fridge has not been working for 9 weeks and the company Gulf Appliance will not say it’s not repairable. I’ve had to rent a fridge paying money out of my own pocket to keep my food cold. AHS will not do anything to help my situation and continues to let Gulf come out to try and repair it. Gulf has been here 6 times and the tech admitted he can’t do anything else. He told me it can’t be repaired yet the owner/manager of Gulf (AHS choice repair service) refuses to say it’s non-repairable. After 9 weeks.. I’ve had enough. Report this to Attorney General Office for consumer protection and find an attorney who will process another class action law suit. I’m ready to call the local news to warn other consumers of AHS and the company GULF in Maryland who works for them.
I hate AHS. They have cost me money, time, headaches, stress, and lost time dealing with unreturned phone calls, empty promises, and incompetent technicians. After five weeks, I still have the same problem. Technicians didn’t show up, gave flaky reasons for why the item was broken, and I finally decided to file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau in Iowa, which routes the complaint to Tennessee. I also filed a complaint with the California Department of Insurance, sending documentation of the poor service and contract breech. ANY HOME WARRANTY COMPANY HAS TO BE BETTER THAN AHS. I’d be ashamed to work for them, and if it wasn’t for US CONSUMERS, THEY WOULDN’T HAVE A JOB! It’s time people stood up to them and hold them accountable for their poor actions!
when i first was introduce to AHSC I like everything about the service and i signed up i had a airconditioning and heating problem when i called the company and told them what was going on they told me that my contract did not cover what i need fix the payments were comeing out and through my morgage company i cancle the contract right after that but they continue to take the payments out for a month or more i had a hard time getting my money back returned so i really dont recomend this company
just won a small claims court case against AHS…they were a no show..won default judgement..AHS sent us the court ordered payment within 30 days of judgement. Filed case on line..spent 1 hour in court..received $6,060.00…very easy to do…dont let them get away with it…file lawsuits..they never show..you win automatically…in california you can file the small claims case (up to $7,500.00) on-line…the court will also serve via certified mail the AHS california rep. in Los Angeles (the group that accepts legal processes)…it cost an additional $10.00…we argued with AHS over an A/C coil problem…they first denied the claim..then offered us 400.00..then thretened law suit..up it to 800.00..then 1400.00…then after we filed suit..$2,800.00…we went and had our own A/C company install the top of the line unit..$5,800.00…then sued…we won…it is just like the lawyers on the internet state..file a suit..they never show up..you win by default….I have the bank account numbers from AHS bank….if they do not pay..hire a marshall to attach the bank acct..they can collect that way…it only took me a total of 2 hours to get even with them…
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I tried for months and months to get them to repair my central air conditioner. they would come out and say oh its this and its that then it finally went out completely and the service guy said well since we can’t fix it we have to replace it. same thing i saw on contract. so after weeks talking to the main company they informed me that they would not be replacing my unit. its been 2 years now and i have had no air or heat. fortunately i have fans and a fireplace. this company is bull s**t. they claimed it was a pre existing condition. i had the plan for years before i called them about the heat pump. just another way to get out of paying for something. They just didn’t want to pay the 6000 to replace it. they were good about fixing the hot water heater and the busted faucet. not as much money involved. oh yeah and they didn’t think twice about taking my service call money when they came out the 10-12 times to tell me they were going to replace it but never did. I hope they get what ever they deserve. Evil gets what evil deserves.
Are there any other reputable companies out there? Because it seems AHS is a fraud. How can I join the class action suit?
Well I am not feeling much hope in getting anything replaced by AHS after reading all the negative comments. I have had a contract with AHS for years and have had some service calls in that time, mostly positive in outcome. However this latest problem is the final straw for me. A few months ago I had to apply for a new debit card because I had misplaced my major one that I use for all my expenses. I notified AHS of the new debit account number and promptly went on with my life. In late 11/10 I received a form letter from AHS saying that I no longer had a contract with them, offering to reinstate me. Well at first I thought it was a form letter sent to a million and one people but then I got concerned and a few days later I called them. The customer rep said that they were never able to update my records from several months ago and that I did NOT have an active contract with them. She gave no explanation as to why I would not have gotten a phone call, email or letter explaining that they were unable to input the new debit card number into their system. She apologized for my inconvenience, saying that the new contract number- yes, you read right, yet another new contract number as some of you have indicated they do- would be effective with that day’s date of 12/8/10. She also said that if there had been a problem with any of my household items covered by my contract would have gone out, that AHS would have honored the contract once the accounting error was corrected. So again I go on with life and on 12/20/10 I discover that my heater is not working. Now I live in the Central Valley of CA where we have recently had flooding and cold temps. I have health problems that make having no heat a major problem. So I call AHS and find out that again they were not able to make my debit card number work in their system and I do not have a valid contract with them. It is odd that only they have this problem with my card, the grocery store, Walmart and any other merchant where I use the card on a daily basis runs it through without a problem. Let me make it clear to you all that there is always plenty of money in this account for bills so that is not the issue. Of course because there is no valid contract they also would not generate a service request and told me after I gave them the card # a third time that it would take 3 to 5 days for their processing dept to run the card through and that was way faster than giving them a bank routing number. It is 12/27/10 and I am still sitting in a cold house, figuring that I might as well trot out my checkbook, pay my regular reputable service company to replace the unit because AHS is playing games with me. So beware and run away like a big dog!
I do believe that the east coast should get together and file a class action law suit against these crooks. I am in Fl and have been dealing with AHS for just 3 yrs. I have been more fortunate than those of you on this site, Call me critical/suspicious whatever – but I didn’t trust these guys from the get go. My home came with the- it is a very old place so I decided that I would keep them as I was replacing things that were old anyway – in case something BIG died off. Well last winter ( probably the coldest one in a long time in Fl) I had no heat for 3 months other than a small apce heater and thankfully another working unit in th family room. The techs that came out contradicated each other in their diagnosis of the problem. I was told by one of these guys that mu handler should be replaced. The other one made no comment when questioned. I know that thses comapnies do not get full remimbursement for their work – but if they refused to work for this type of company in the first place they would not get screwed!! And we the consumer might get better service if companies like AHS were forced to pay their service people better. It really is the trickle down effect – AHS craps on the service people they crap on us the consumer and AHS comes out only slightly stinky!! What gets me is that realtors recommend this company to begin with!!!
I do believe that the east coast should get together and file a class action law suit against these crooks. I am in Fl and have been dealing with AHS for just 3 yrs. I have been more fortunate than those of you on this site, Call me critical/suspicious whatever – but I didn’t trust these guys from the get go. My home came with the- it is a very old place so I decided that I would keep them as I was replacing things that were old anyway – in case something BIG died off. Well last winter ( probably the coldest one in a long time in Fl) I had no heat for 3 months other than a small apce heater and thankfully another working unit in th family room. The techs that came out contradicated each other in their diagnosis of the problem. I was told by one of these guys that mu handler should be replaced. The other one made no comment when questioned. I know that thses comapnies do not get full remimbursement for their work – but if they refused to work for this type of company in the first place they would not get screwed!! And we the consumer might get better service if companies like AHS were forced to pay their service people better. It really is the trickle down effect – AHS craps on the service people they crap on us the consumer and AHS comes out only slightly stinky!! What gets me is that realtors recommend this company to begin with!!!
I purchased AHS for my home ac unit went out after paying premiums and charging 60.00 for for call they would not fix in 102 plus degree weather. Not happy with this company at all. Still Hot
I wish I could sue American Home Shield for negligence. They sent out an incompetent dryer repair person who said nothing was wrong with dryer and I needed to have the dryer vent in my wall cleaned. I did that and reconnected dryer. 3 days later I had a dryer fire and it burned through 150 worth of new Kohls clothes. THey they sent out another repairman who said I should have known that dryer was full of lint too if the wall was full of it. I told them why didn’t the first technician tell me this. He told me nothing wrong with dryer. Now American Home Shield refusing to cover dryer saying lint is a maintenance item. I told them I would have not had dryer fire if first technician they sent out did their job.
I agree with these letters of fraud !! I too was a victim of double house calls , overcharging , refusing service to me. I called them for a problem and they told me they did not receive payment for house call ( $55.00 and also the water heater co. which came down on their price of $360.00 to $250.00 , total $305.00 , two checks ) I faxed them copies three times before they finally accepted their mistake !!Also the water heater com. said the employee never turned in the two checks .It took me 10 days to prove I gave him the checks, and they cashed them !I pay ins. and it still cost me $305.00 for a $179.00 water heater. also A/C Two $55.00 visits in a week for a minor two minute fix I showed him , yet he only fixed one so he could come back and fix the plugged p.v.c. pipe ( time, two min. ) first time loose wire, I showed him the drain pipe and the stain . There are two pipes ( one under the roof line and one at ground level, if the top is plugged the condensation comes out the bottom pipe ,I showed him this ) It was a neighbor who told me this ,He should have fixed it the first time .He used a blow dryer reverse action to unplug the pipe, two minutes ,thus another $55.00 trip charge to A.H.S.Plus more stories on dish washer and range . They give you no choice in who does the work and extra charges above the monthly payment..
The faught classaction lawsuit is still working on the appeals I hope it does not take too much longer I also
will take great pleasure in cashing my check.
Does AHS not have an obligation to inspect what they are insuring. I have been told now that my HV/AC units were improperly installed and not covered on a home we purchased 4 years ago (and have been paying for the coverage ever since). I think it should be their responsibility of due dilligence to inspect prior to insuring instead of taking our money for years and then telling us something is not covered. We now have to spend over 4k out of pocket to replace the units. We had AHS service one of the units last year and were never made aware of the installation problem.
Any great ideas???
Not a lot of action on this page or the official Faught Class Action websie lately… Does anyone know anything? I imagine it must be being appealed or something. I still check this page and the offical page everyday. I can’t wait to cash that check from AHS. It will be one of the highlights of my year (whatever year it is).
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.