Home Warranty - selected user comments #3

Review filed under: National Home Protection
Author: Donald Walker
HWR2Copyrighted

——————————————
On Aug 11, 2008 I contacted someone named Jeffrey at national home protection located in the city of New York City, NY: 42 West 38th Street 8th floor suite 800 New York, NY 10018. I have two properties in the State of California that I was considering home warranties for. I wanted to know if there were discounts for multiple properties. Jeffrey told me he had special pricing for multiple homes called the “realtor pack “which was 15% off quoted prices with a 45.00 Dollar service call deduction. He told me in order to receive these discounts I had to purchase a minimum three year policy. My main concern was what the policy exclusions were. I call it a policy because that’s how national home protection advertised their service on the internet as an insurance policy. I asked if I could review the policy first and Jeffrey told me that once I purchased the policy he would immediately e-mail me a copy of the policy to review and also send me a copy through the U.S. mail that I would receive in about three days, along with 300.00 Dollars in Home Depot gift cards (50.00 per property per year) that were part of a promotional link to their web site and that I had 30 days to review the policy before it went into effect and that I could cancel at any time and keep the gilt cards, and after 30 days I could cancel with a pro-rated refund .I then gave Jeffrey my credit card number over the phone to complete the purchase. On Aug 13, 2008 I checked my e-mail and had not received the policy from Jeffrey, I did receive an e-mail from someone named Victor Hakim Sales Manager at national home protection (nhp) who offered me the same so-called “realtor pack” deal (see attachment #B) that I had just purchased from jeffrey but without the requirements that I was subjected to earlier. I now realized I had been the victim of false and misleading business practices at nhp. On Aug 18, 2008 I finally received the (2) insurance policies. In the mail from nhp and after further review found that Jeffrey misrepresented the facts about their cancellation policies and promotions (I received no home Depot card nor could I cancel the policy at anytime). He clearly committed fraud over the phone. I immediately contacted nhp and spoke to someone who refused to give her name, about cancelling the policies. I was told my request was being forwarded to a manager for review and a decision would take 72 hours then someone would call me. On Aug 20, 2008 I sent two e-mails as a reply to victor hakim about dissatisfaction with nhp and demanded a full refund. I explained that Jeffrey had not explained the terms or conditions to me as stated in their policy, and that as I looked further into their company I found out that it was common for his employees to deceive the public. Further nhp does not make assurances that the public understands their cancellation policies, nor do they provide reasonable time to review or an opportunity sign their policies. My e-mails were never answered.
On Aug 20, 2008 I faxed to nhp a formal notice to cancel all policies and continued to call. All faxes were verified as received. On Aug 22, 2008 I called nhp and again spoke to someone who told me that my cancellation request was still being processed and my final call to nhp was on Aug 25, 2008 when I was told nhp will not accept my request to cancel the policies. It’s very clear based on the sampling of hundreds of complaints which I have enclosed with this letter that National home Protection engages in deceptive business practices to obtain their customers. Consider that fact that a policy that takes seven days to reach a customer via U.S. mail would be impossible to review with three day (72 hour) clause or the fact that nhp employees do not inform their customers of the importance of these conditions and assures that they fully understand them.
Nhp has an extensive history of deception and fraud and has an unsatisfactory rating with every known consumer protection agency, and was doing business under the name of United Home Warranty, and are currently under criminal investigation in the state of New Jersey for consumer fraud. They have now changed their name to National Home warranty and are currently doing business in the state of New York.
Their customers are being denied service for no reason, hundreds of customers never receiving their (Home Depot) promotions and cancellation requests denied.
I hope this information will encourage you to do what’s necessary to protect thousands of Americans from consumer fraud and deception by National home Protection as witnessed at:
1. Complaints.com 6.Abclocal.go.com
2. Scams.com 7.The squeakwheel.com
3. My3cents.com 8.Consumeraffairs.com
4. Complaintboard.com 9.thestuccocompany.com
5. Ripoffreport.com 10.viewpoint.com

Posted in Home Warranties, Home Warranty, Home Warranty Advice, Home Warranty Scam | No Comments »

Home Warranty Advice - selected user comments #2

Review filed under: HSA Home Warranty
Author: Paul Dalton

Call me a homeowner with realistic expectations. It seems that some others expect 1 hr service; but for the price we pay that is unrealistic, that speed of service would come with a steep price. Heat and cold can be uncomfortable; but they are not considered “emergency” items until they become life-threatening.

It is Saturday and I just called in a claim on my downstairs heating unit, which apparently just stopped working. The customer service agent, Sarah was polite, took my claim provided me the claim#, the name of the preferred provider and a phone number to contact them if I have not received a call by 10 am on Monday. (To me, that is next day service and I can live with that)

As a policy holder for 3 years, I can recall 4 claims (3 of which were honored without problem and 1 which we disagreed upon; but the unit is functioning).

I have never had a problem with HSA customer service (other than prolonged wait time). Each agent has been polite and tried to be helpful (they didn’t always have the answer I wanted but they tried to help).

It appears some people confuse HSA service with that of the sub-contractors that showed up to provide service. For the most part the contractors HSA sent to my house were polite and knowledgeable; with one exception (after my complaint and likely others, that contractor is no longer part of the HSA network) Yes HSA tries to find the lowest cost providers to make their business model work and those tend to be one or two man businesses; but that doesn’t mean they can’t be knowledgable. The contractors that have been to my residence diagnose the problem then convince the HSA rep that the service is covered because as one guy put it; “I make more money when I have work to do and unless they approve the claim, I can’t do much work.”

Without this policy, I never would have been able to replace the compressor on my HVAC unit for $75 (+50 to the contractor for a second man to help with carrying/instalation/disposal). Yes, it is a 10 seer unit, so it is not the latest and greatest, and yes it is a lower tier brand name so it may not last as long as top-tier unit; but I have AC that works just fine for a severely discounted price.

Posted in Home Warranties, Home Warranty, Home Warranty Advice, Homeowners Warranty | No Comments »

Home Warranty Advice - selected user comments #1

Author: Ron
Posted in - HSA Home Warranty

2 service/repair issues the first year in my 13 year old home in Las Vegas, Nevada (water heater & refrigerator not cold). $55 deductible.

Customer service - contact w/HSA through their website. Not much to report on that.
Timeliness - HSA responded Monday morning when water heater broke on Sunday morning… HSA responded 3 hours after refrigerator service call made (weekday).
Repairs - Replaced water heater 2 days later after technician visit. Had to pay $325+deductible for items not covered under warranty… Refrigerator repaired same day.
Overall - only complaint was that service company had to reschedule service for refrigerator repair (1 day). I plan on renewing w/HSA. HSA is good in the Las Vegas area. (warranty companies are only as good as the service companies they use)

(I noticed the complaints about HSA as well as all the other warranty companies. I work in the a/c service industry and run into the same complaints found on this message board. Problem is that people do not read the contract throughly and thus the complaints. You have to have service done on appliances, like your a/c, pool, heater. Items over 10 yrs old will have to be replaced because of technological innovations and the discontinuation of parts for the old units. i.e. you can’t expect a car over 10 yrs old to run well if you don’t service it, plus the older it is, the harder and more $$$ the part would be.)

You can see all comments on this post here:
HSA home warranty ratings

Posted in Home Warranty Advice | No Comments »

Do I need home warranty?

Many homeowners do not need home warranty at all. With some planning and learning about your sweet and neat home, you can save some money. Get your home inspected by a reputed home inspector and obtain a detailed report. It will help you decide whether you need home warranty. Feel free to ask home inspector’s opinion about the need to buy warranty.

You definitely need home warranty-

• if any of your big ticket appliances such as air conditioner, water heater etc. are about to reach the end of their life cycle and there is a fair chance that you will need to replace them.
• if you do not want to get your hands (and mind) dirty when something breaks down.

You may need to consider buying home warranty-

• if your house is older than 10 years and you have been spending some money on maintenance
• if you are financially not prepared to handle major expenses when a system break down
• if you do not have a trusted service contractor and do not want to go through the pains of calling contractors from Yellow Pages
• if the appliances are not maintained properly

I don’t want to buy home warranty. What next?
Okay, if you decide not to buy home warranty, then follow these steps

1. Look around, get references and settle with a good plumber in case of emergency. Shop around and negotiate the rates if you can. Have a backup plumber contact.
2. Learn a little more about major appliances and pay attention to their maintenance needs. Regular maintenance is a must if you want to live without home warranty. Visit the Maintenance Tips section of our website to learn more.
3. t is a good idea to get your major appliances such as heating/cooling systems inspected by a professional every 2-3 years, if those systems are old.
4. At the beginning of each year, re-assess your home warranty needs and you may decide to go with a home warranty policy if necessary
5. Every year, save what would have been your home warranty premium costs in a reserve fund, so that you don’t have to scramble when you need a major repair/replacement. This advice is for those who do not have adequate emergency cash reserves. Others, invest your hard-saved money elsewhere for better returns.

If you have decided to buy home warranty, we recommend that you get a price quote from Home Warranty Experts below -

Home Warranty Plans - Protect Your Home Appl. & Avoid Costly Repairs. Get Covered Today!

Posted in Home Warranties, Home Warranty, Home Warranty Advice, Home Warranty Plans, Homeowners Warranty | 2 Comments »

Home warranty buyers guide

When you are ready to buy home warranty insurance, follow these steps that are intended to help you chose a better service. The important step is to find a reputed company in your area. However, that is also the most difficult part because most buyers do not have great opinion about any one company in particular. We have started collecting provider ratings from our website visitors, but most of the ratings given fall below 3 (out of 5) for all warranty companies. That means, along with rating, buyers will also have to consider other factors such as annual premium, deductible costs, appliances coverage and of course small prints in the contract. Read on…

Very first step is to decide if you need home warranty. Check this article that explains is there a need for home warranty on this site and review the checklist. It is a good idea to get a detailed home inspection report on your existing house from a third party inspector. This report will help you understand the potential and existing problems with your appliances and will also help you decide if you need home warranty. If some appliances are aging and need special attention, be sure to check if the warranty company provides sufficient coverage for those appliances.

Make a short list of 3-5 companies that match with your needs. You can use home warranty price comparison section to identify few providers based on premium, deductible, coverage effective dates etc. (Please note that our list covers most of companies that have nationwide coverage and it may have missed local warranty providers.)

Check with your friends and colleagues as to which providers do they use. Be sure to ask about their satisfaction levels with service and claims processing. The may some comments about customer service, contractor turnaround, quality of work etc.
It is important to choose a company that has a decent track record in this industry. Many consumers are dissatisfied with the services offered by many home warranty companies and it is indeed difficult to deal with some companies when it comes to claims processing. It is not easy to find a perfect home warranty company, but you can always chose a company with least number of complaints. There are several ways to research.

1. Use home warranty insurance ratings to learn the ratings given by our users.
2. Check company’s track record using trade organizations such as Better Business Bureau.
3. Research the company over the Internet for any negative reviews. Insurance discussion board in scam.com has the list of complaints against many home warranty companies. www.ripoffreport.com is another website for lodging complaints.
4. Your real estate agent will also be able to provide the name of few reliable warranty companies in the area

Determine if you need extra coverage. Most basic plans do not cover clothes washer/drier, second set of equipments (second refrigerator), pool/spa equipments, computers etc. And some plans also exclude air conditioning, roof, etc.

Now, start calling the companies and make notes of their offerings. Be sure to collect information such as -

• Annual premium

• Deductible per incident (Trade service call fee)

• Average turnaround time for repair handling

• If you have determined that you need extra coverage mentioned above, check how much extra would it cost

• If you have any aging equipments reported in your Home Inspection report mentioned earlier, be sure to check if the warranty company provides adequate coverage for those equipments

• Is coverage effective immediately upon buying the policy? (only matters if you need immediate coverage)

• Ask for clarifications and contractual obligations. Observe how they are treating you, which is a good indicator of how the company treats its customers after sale.

Finally, glance over the contract terms when you are ready to buy the coverage to make sure which appliances are NOT covered. Request a reliability report from your local BBB to make sure there are not too many complaints.

Now you have completed your due diligence part. If you have decided to buy home warranty, we recommend that you get a home warranty quote from Home Warranty Experts below -

Home Warranty Plans - Protect Your Home Appl. & Avoid Costly Repairs. Get Covered Today!

Posted in Home Warranty, Home Warranty Advice, Home Warranty Companies, Home Warranty Plans, Homeowners Warranty | 2 Comments »