American Home Shield (AHS)
Home Warranty Plan Details and Reviews for American Home Shield (AHS)
Premium: $360
Deductible: $60
Effective: Immediately after payment
Web: ahswarranty.com
Deductible: $60
Effective: Immediately after payment
Web: ahswarranty.com
Customer Service 
Service Timeliness
Repair/Replacement Service
Overall Rating
Total Reviews: 626 Rate this Company!
Service Timeliness
Repair/Replacement Service
Overall Rating
Total Reviews: 626 Rate this Company!
Coverage Area: USA - All States
Offers plans to cover pre-existing conditions and lack of maintenance repairs, for an additional fee.
| Home warranty is a complex insurance product. Unlike home insurance, it does not provide blanket coverage for all appliances. Pre-existing conditions and problems resulting from lack of maintenance of appliance are are generally not covered by home warranty companies. Home warranty sellers may not state these factors clearly, and this will create dissatisfaction among customers. Due to these factors, you will see many negative reviews here. Don't be intimidated by some negative reviews here. If you have maintained your appliances in good condition and go with a reputed home warranty provider, your coverage will be fine. |
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Reviews
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Pages: « 26 … 23 22 21 20 19 [18] 17 16 15 14 13 … 1 » Show All
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I have had AHS since 2001, every year they get worse in the Customer Service Dept. I just put in a request for service to my hot water storage tank (faulty Thermostat. I requested the Exact same company that replaced the last one. AHS informs me that they do not srvice my zip code. WTFO? I called the plumber and he said yes he still does. AHS informs me that they will decide who they send based on the contract. I infromed them that I have the right to refuse all of them until they get to the company I want. For crying out loud the company I want is the one AHS sent last time YGTBSM!…Bottom line I told them that I will be dropping AHS…Good luck to them in this economy! Dumb Sh..s!
As I read other peoples comments about American Home Shield (AHS) I’m under the solid impression that this is a very bad company to do business with. I call out my AC here in Lawton, Oklahoma on August, 2009. They sent out a repairman from L-TEC who said the circuit breaker was bad. Next and electrician came out and proved it was not the circuit breaker. Next the AC repairman came back out and found out the compressor was breaking the circuit. Now I’m being told they faxed for the repair to their parts department and they haven’t received it. I was told this twice during the process of going through the 100 degree plus weather. As of this date (14 August 2009)….I’m still waiting. I might as well have the repairs done myself. It will cost but at least I’ll have a piece of mind. Bottom line, will I renew with AHS —- HECK NO.FIgure out the rest…
I have had a policy for AHS for 5 years, up until this year, I had no complaints. I called on 2 items this year:
1) clogged plumbing – the service guy came out very timely and says the item isn’t covered because the original plumbing in our 30 year old house isn’t up to code- having no choice as it was clogged for days- we paid the vendor for the service. I wasn’t pleased but felt I had no options. Now I feel like I was ripped off.
2)AC not working – on 8/3/09- the service company comes out on 8/4/09 in the evening and says we need a part that needs to be ordered, it will be a few days. 2 days later I call the service company and they haven’t gotten the part from the distributor AHS requires them to use. 8/10- still not fixed and the part delivered to service company was incorrect. A call to AHS gets us a little sympathy, I want a cool house in 95 degree weather not sympathy – they blame the service company – they hired the service company not me. 8/11 another call to AHS – they will call us back -no such call. 8/13 call to the service company – part still not in. 8/13 call to AHS – they can’t do anything, they’ll send us a check for a fan. 8/14- we called another service company out knowing we’ll have to pay it out on our own, our house has been hot for 11 days – saying I am disappointed with the AHS is an understatement.
We switched to AHS last year in October. We had to use them on Jan. 1st this year to replace our water heater. It took a day before someone could get to our house, but finally ARS plumbing (a huge joke)came to us. AHS would replace to hot water heater, but it couldn’t be installed until we “fixed the code violations” according to ARS, which was going to cost us almost $1000. We told them that our hot water heater was up to code, but AHS would only take the word of the ARS tech. We did not commit to anything that day. We called 3 other companies on our own and they agreed that our water heater was up to code. We were even quoted a price of $750 for the hot water heater plus installation. We called AHS back and told them that and they told us we could get the cash out price for the hot water heater if we used someone else. That sounded great to us, but no one at AHS could give us that cash-out price. After a few more days without hot water, we called and they told us the price would be competitive. We priced out the water heaters and they cost 450 – 500. We finally used the company for $750.00. Another 8 days went by before we finally got the cash out price and that was after calling everyday talking to supervisors and customer service reps. For some reason, the department that gives those prices out is “elusive” and no one can call them- not even the supervisors. Our payback was $220!!! Can you imagine our surprise? Needless to say, we are not renewing our contract with them. They are horrible and customer service isn’t empowered to do anything to help with customer issues. I got the run around for almost 2 weeks, which is completely unacceptable.
I gave customer service a 2 rating b/c a few of them seemed empathetic. One told me that the company sent to us – ARS- had so many complaints he couldn’t believe AHS was still using them. He re-imbursed our service call fee, which was nice.
I have had AHS for two years when I bought my first ever home. I wished I had read all these reviews before I purchased their policy. I have had to call AHS twice and both were for air conditioning services. Both times it took 2-3 days to get someone out to my house. The companies were cheap and unreliable. AHS would not cover the services and I could never get in touch with the company to provide service. I finally went on my own and found someone to do the work but I had to suffer one week in 95 degrees in Ga. It was awful and AHS refused to help in any way shape or form. Thank goodness it was time to renew my policy. It will not be with AHS!!!!!
I am and has always been very dissatified with ahs bandage affect when responding to service calls. I am also surprise to the see an annual warrenty price of $360 for a contract when we just receive our renewal price for $500. And they have the nerve to deduct 12.50 from that price for settlement credit for a class action lawsuit filed against them, which brought the renewal price to $487.50! I wont be renewing with ahs – THEY TRUELY DO SUCK!
AHS SUCKS!
AHS couldn’t get a single “selected” contractor in the Orlando area to service my request. They authorized me an “outside service authorization” number where I find a contractor on my own, pay them and get reimbursed by AHS eventually. They specified to send them the diagnosis and estimate before having any work done. I complied with this request. I called the AHS # to query where to send the estimate & diagnosis claim to and was told by the contractor department that this wouldn’t be covered because the diagnosing tech should have called the diagnosis in immediately while in my home. Great info had I been initially informed about this by AHS rep on first contact. All they stipulated is that they must be provided with an estimate/diagnosis before any service or work is done. Thats exactly what I did.
Bottom line, it was resolved after only after MANY phone calls and lots of my time and energy wasted because the person denying my claim in contractor department want things done a different way than I had been previously instructed on the initial call a few weeks earlier.
The Customer Service Reps were empathetic/helpful in this matter and the Supervisor (Melissa) fixed the problem for me. They were great I and have nothing but high regards for their professionalism.
All things considered, I’m not happy with AHS. I’ve always paid my annual fee’s, never filed a claim and it was if it would take an act of Congress to get their contractor department to treat me with fairness, rationality and like a valued customer in order to “authorize” me to be reimbursed the $89 I would have to pay upfront (out of pocket, first) to an outside contractor because none of their “listed” contractors are available to do the job. Ask yourself this. Why could they not find a single contractor on their “in house” list to perform the work? Do they pay their outside vendors late and expect them to “float” AHS? Don’t know the answer to this, but common sense would dictate such, just as many Medical Physicians refusal to accept certain health insurance provider coverage because they pay late and the Doctor has to fight tooth & nail to recoup their cost from some of these health care providers.
I haven’t decided if I will renew yet, but my advice would be to shop around a little more and read more reviews before signing a contract with AHS. I plan to do this as well at my renewal time. I say this because most of these companies are mediocre at best. If an exceptional one were out there, then AHS wouldn’t be in business. Good luck!
I had 2 items needing replacement. First the water heater went out and it required replacement. It took a couple days for them to get out and then another for them to replace the heater. He had to borrow my tools because he didn’t have his own and it started leaking a few weeks later.
Second time, the heater needed replacement. The guy shines a light on the filter and says that it’s 90% impacted so it won’t be covered under warrenty. He then looks at the fan itself and it has some dust on it, less than most people have on their ceiling fans, then says that it wouldn’t be covered because the system hadn’t been maintained. Had to harass them for a second opinion and he said everything was great. Replaced the heater with a much cheaper model. didn’t realize how much cheaper until later on.
Overall, don’t use, there’s better out there.
Had mixed experience early on with AHS, but then had water heater replacement that resulted in leak that night and initial service company said work was completed. AHS initially said would require second service fee. Also refused to cover pool filter although contract specifically listed it as covered.
Poor service and even USAA military insurance company no longer maintains a relationship with them.
this company is awful. they contract with shoddy vendors that do shoddy repairs. you are on hold forever it seems trying to get to a real person. they flat out lie to you about reimbursement abouts due to their fault in not being able to complete timely repairs. Stay away at all cost!!!!!!!!
I was a customer with AHS for many years, I don’t know why I stayed. When I needed them the most, they left me high and dry. 2 times my A/C went out over a few year period at night, and each time they were unable to find someone to fix it untill over 12 hours later. It was over 100 degrees in Las Vegas and I have young children. They were unsimpathetic and although I was able to find 5 companies that would fix it within an hour they would not budge and told me I had to wait. I ended up paying for it on my own and they would not even reimburse me a portion of the expense denying my claim altogether. Stay away from this company!!!!
We have used AHS three times, once on a house we were selling, and twice on our new house.
Of the three times, AHS refused to provide service twice, but still expected us to pay the “copay.” We managed to get our copay refunded the first time, because we were misled as to what was covered.
The second service call was a complete joke. Our dishwasher developed a hole and was leaking into our kitchen. The technician said it appeared that some piece of flatware conducted heat onto the fiberglass and burned through it. He recommended replacing it. I expressed my disbelief, but he reported this to AHS and they would not cover any repairs.
The final service was on our garbage disposal. I requested service online, and was called by the service rep within 15 minutes. The company came out that afternoon and told us the disposal was burned out and would need to be replaced. They bought and installed the new disposal, but would not hook up the electrical or fix a loose discharge pipe without an extra $129 fee (we opted to do this ourselves). The tech also took the box, instructions, and warranty information with him when he left, so we have no proof of purchase or instructions if something goes wrong.
My advice–read your warranty carefully, and check with AHS when you make the call to see what could be covered.
I would not recommend the service, nor will I renew. The last tech out told us that the company is a scam, and that his company loses money on almost every AHS call.
We’ve had nothing but problems from this company. Nothing is done in a timely fashion. They use THE WORST service providers possible! The service providers don’t show up when they’re supposed to, and they don’t call to let you know they’re not coming. Half of them have no idea what they’re doing. AHS has VERY LOUSY customer service. They will not call you back, and they won’t pay for half of the work that is done. We recently renewed our policy, but we will be canceling now that we’ve gotten another runaround – this time with an A/C problem that has yet to be fixed. The service provider has already been out twice to look at the unit – the second time was yesterday to fix it and the WRONG PART had been ordered. The new part is on “back order” (which seems to be a common thing for AHS covered parts after reading other comments). I’m sure it’ll be another week or two before it’s fixed. Luckily, we’re able to still run our air somewhat – or so the service guy is telling us. If we have any “undesireable consequences” from running this air, we’ll be getting ourselves a lawyer with the money we get back from our policy cost! DO NOT PURCHASE A WARRANTY FROM THIS COMPANY!!!
We have had 4 service calls with AHS. The first call was for our A/C. The technician got our A/C running the very day he came out, but the patch job he did was only temporary. To be fair, we had considered replacing the A/C before it went out and this breakdown just confirmed it. However, we were going to replace in Ocotber. Then it went out again 3 weeks after the service call. The same technician came back, extremely rude this time, and said “Well whoever you had work on it wired it all wrong and the motor is gone.” My husband told him, “you worked on it” The tech rudely said “we don’t have any record of us ever being here, and we don’t do this kind of crappy work.” 10 minutes later his office called and had found the work order, listing him as the tech. His attitude changed to “Oh, oh haha. Silly me.” Anyway – he fixed it again and left. Next day, our other A/C unit goes out after he allegedly “checks it to just be sure”. I asked AHS not to send the same guy. When I opened my door, lo and behold, same tech. He “discovers” a new problem saying the wrong part has been replaced and he can quickly fix it. After he leaves, 3 hours later, we have no A/C again. Then he reports to AHS that the unit has not been professionally serviced every year. (True – we had it serviced every other year.) Anyway, after that nightmare, we ended up buying a new $9000 system. Our second call was regarding a leak in our bathroom. The plumbing tech showed up, looked at our bathroom, decided it was our shower door, (never measured, never unscrewed a shower head, or looked at the actual plumbinng at all. He was guessing.)took our check for $60 and left. We foolishly trusted his judgement because he is supposed to be the expert. 3 weeks later, we were dismayed to find he had lied and we were the victims of his deception as we watched our office ceiling fall in. Several calls to AHS later, we got another tech out who fixed the leak and told us he would report the hole caused by the first plumber’s negligence. He did so 4 days later. We finally got AHS to agree to fix the hole, but now it looks very rough and not at all like the rest of the ceiling. They said they are only obliged to patch the hole and not restore us to our previous state, regardless of whether their plumber’s negligence had caused the damage.
AHS needs to more carefully screen their providers. The next service call was for pool service and remarkably, the tech came, checked the problem, fixed the issue, honestly earned his service fee and provided information on how to prevent future problems. So, far AHS has not been very good, but not a total disaster. The customer service reps are polite enough , but many of the field techs are a nightmare and could be much better.
As a former Realtor I used to recommend AHS to every customer I came in contact with. This was in the 90’s. Their service level was impeccable. Fast forward to 2008-2009, to my personal home warranty. I have made 3 service requests during a one year period. Each time, their customer service department has failed to impress. In one instance, an emergency sewage backup, I was promised call backs multiple times in a 48 hour period and never once received a phone call. I was stupid enough to renew the contract and pay my bill on time for 3 months in a row. Each month I received a collections notice because I wanted to pay by bill pay through my bank (which I was told I could do), but later told their policy was to not offer monthly payments unless they had my credit/debit card on file and initiated the payment themselves. I am now attempting to cancel my contract, because I do not intend to pay another penny to a company with poor customer service, that could care less about honoring their word to a customer.
Have had AHS since 1997. Ok at first, decent premiums and co-pays, then the premiums started going up, deductible went up, and coverage slowly began to disappear. Ice maker went out on fridge…called for service, tech came out, showed me the problem and said he would file the claim. When I asked if the motor, etc., was covered, he said, ‘probably’. Claim was denied. When I went behind fridge, I noticed that he had not put the back on the fridge and had left the bolts holding the backing, in a well BY THE FAN…when I called to find out what it would cost for him to fix the hose (that had broken)…he said $190. I had already paid him $60 to look at it. Went out on my own to Menards. Bought two new hoses and clamps and fixed it myself: total cost: $12.75. After 12 years, I will not be renewing the contract.
No one EVER calls you back. Customer service reps are rude and could care less if you stay with AHS or not.
I will find a reputable company, or just start paying my own way. Over 12 years, on average, I have spent $6,000 and I have had 5 claims and one that was denied over the phone. The last two were denied. I have spent $195 on deductibles.
If you never have a claim, or you need something simple, like a sump pump, that you can repair yourself for $100, then go with AHS. Anything greater, your claim will be denied.
We have had AHS since 1996. In the beginning they were fast, efficient and cost effective. Mostly, this applied to small problems, such as attic fans and wiring repair on a porch light.
After a few years we saw our premiums go up and our deductable rise from $35 to $60.
A few years ago our AC/heat pump condenser went out. The condenser was replaced with a brand I had never heard of, but all seemed to be working fine.
The very next year, during a 105+ degree heat wave, the condenser went out again. This time it took two days before someone could come out to look at the problem. 2 slovenly “repairmen” came out and diagnosed the problem as I initially reported. This was a Friday afternoon and they informed me they would have to wait until Monday before they could get proper authorization to replace a part. I called AHS and told them this was unacceptable. I was told I would have to wait anyway. I called a company on my own and had them come out the next morning. They told me the condenser I had may have been new, but, judging by the serial and model numbers, the unit was probably sitting in a warehouse so long that the oil had settled, which was probably why the unit went out after just a year or so of operation. They told me the part I was waiting for would not fix the problem and the entire unit should be replaced. I decided to upgrade the unit with one that had a 10 year warranty. I told AHS I was happy to pay the difference between a new like unit and the upgrade, but they said they would only cover the cost of the part. They also told me the upgrade would not be covered, unless I paid them more money on my annual premium. I figured it was better to have the upgrade and ate the extra costs.
Last year our water heater went out and they sent a company who replaced the unit. Of course I had to pay extra for work that needed to be done to bring things up to new code. I expected this and that was fine. Again, it appears they replaced the water heater with an inferior product. The thermostat broke after just one year. I called them and was only advised that someone would be out and I needed to pay that repairman the deductable. The guy comes out the next day and calls for authorization. AHS says the part is under warranty and I must deal with the warranty company directly. I asked them why they couldn’t tell me this in the first place and save me the deductable and the time to get it fixed. They would not budge. I finally had the repairman fix the unit while he was there, so I didn’t have to wait a week to have the warranty company fix it.
AHS has deteriorated into a company that tries so hard not to pay on claims that they have lost all credibility with me.
I have come to this site in hopes of finding a better home warranty plan. Thank you.
We’ve had American Home Shield for a year on our 11 year old home. Our upstairs A/C unit went out on Saturday. I called AHS on Sunday morning and they scheduled a contractor to come look at the unit on Monday. The contractor stated the compressor was shot and needed to be replaced. The part was in on Tuesday and the repair contractor came out that afternoon to replace the compressor. A few hours later we had cold air to cool our home. This was my first interaction with AHS and I was completed satisfied with the experience.
Ive tried for over four weeks to have American Home Shield repair my a/c unit. They just keep giving me the run around and not responding to my phone calls or inquiries
So I get this letter in the mail today, a demand letter that threatens to take me to the national collection agency and to pay them a full 416.00 bucks because of one payment missed. And the only reason it was missed was because of an online purchase I made. The bank tried to contact me about it and I was not at home. So they held up my card.
It was about 3 weeks before I even noticed it and took care of it quickly.
So I called AHS tonight and that idiot said they could send these letters because they have the “RIGHT” to.
What about picking up the damn phone and calling me? Customer service, remember that?
I told him the card is fixed and to get the 41 bucks I owe now since the bank had the matter cleared up and that busta went on to tell me that AHS deleted all of my payment information. Then he said, “why should they keep it if they could not charge to it?”
To AHS things don’t happen in the online world. Either they get their payment or kick rocks.
Man, am I steamed. And they are fired!!
I am very familiar with the AHS warranty; I am a Realtor that always suggested to my clients that they have a home warranty. I see the reviews and unfortunately when people have a “good” experience they do not tend to write a review, it is only when the experience was “bad”.
Before you rate this warranty company, please consider that AHS currently provides 1.3 million home warranties nationwide, and spent over $318 million in service claim just in 2008. At the time of this posting there were only a little over 400 reviews, which were the most reviews of any warranty company with a rating below 2. I would challenge to ask the warranty company that has the highest rating on the list with only 16 reviews, just how many warranties are they currently providing and how much money did they pay in claims last year?
As a professional Realtor, I must say that a Home Warranty is a must when buying a home and AHS has been in the business longer than any other warranty company around and it is the only warranty that I have confidence in for my clients.
Last summer we had to wait three weeks for a new a/c handler to be put in to fix the a/c.
This summer, the person we had come and see it said it was the breaker and to just keep turning it on. hmm, when the breaker keeps going out it generally means there is something wrong that needs to be fixed not overlooked. So then we called them again. They found the problem in a timely manner but what good is that if you don’t fix it? The whole compressor needs to be replaced. The contractor had me on the schedule, when they called AHS the part wasn’t ready and they didn’t know when it would be. It was “backordered”, same thing they told us about the handler last summer. I made a phone call to AHS to which they told me it would be in Monday. I got upset and told them that wasn’t good enough. 15 minutes later the part was in the warehouse ready to be picked up. I called the contract agency myself b/c AHS doesn’t know anything and will not pick up a phone to communicate to us. Now that they have the part they can’t get to us until Monday. The way they explained it is that parts come in earlier than expected. Then why didn’t they call us or better yet the contract company?
I have been an AHS customer for over 10 years. We have had very few claims. Of the few claims we have had, this last one is our 3rd to be denied.I called on our pool/spa heater not heating. The first tech came out, told me he would file a report with AHS. The report said switch was missing and we had loose wires. Well he must have broke the switch and did something with it and maybe cut the wires to get a denial from AHS because that was not the way we had our heater.AHS told me we had to have it repaired and in working ordered to be covered by the policy and proof from a licensed repair person. The one that had been out called me to get the business and was going to charge $450. I choose to hire my own who charged me $65 to get it in “working order” so it would be covered. I sent the proof of repair as requested by AHS and waited for the approval. Once they advised of receipt of the proof, they allowed me to file another claim. I did and requested another company since I did not trust the previous one. They sent another who also filed a report. It stated the heater had been improperly repaired and was “hot wired”. The call came from AHS….denied again for improper repair. This is ridiculous and unbelieveable. I have spent so much time on hold and automated phone calls and no customer service from them. They have been rude over and over again. It cost me two service calls of $60 each and $65 for my repair. I pay $53 dollars a month for the coverage. Apparantly I pay this to be denied and deal with a group of scam artist in AHS and their affiliates. No more will they get a cent of mine and I will tell evryone how they cheat the consumer and especially “loyal customer”. My biggest mistake was keeping them for so many years. Don’t go with this company unless you want to be scammed.
I have American Home Shield on my home and a vacation home. I live in Arizona where the temps have been between 110 and 115 for the better part of the month and I have had no air conditioning since July 15th. American Home Shield has repeatedly sent service technicians that are not trained on Lennox air conditioners, and therefore, they have declined doing the work. Finally, on July 29th they told me to find my own contractor and gave me a referral code. After diagnosing the problem the contractor was to then call AHS for approval to repair or replace the unit. A service company came today and recommended replacing the 11 year old 13 SER unit because both the condenser and the compressor were worn out. AHS refused to approve the repair or replacement. Now I’m waiting for another company that they found to come “look” at the situation and make their recommendation. I’ve already been warned that replacement parts will take at least a week.
I’m absolutely furious. It’s over 100 degrees in my house and American Home Shield has been completely unresponsive. I’ve had to call them repeatedly. They do not follow through. With tomorrow being a Friday, I’m fairly certain that I’ll still be sitting here sweltering next week at this time. I’m cancelling my policies.