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: 906 Rate this Company!
Service Timeliness
Repair/Replacement Service
Overall Rating
Total Reviews: 906 Rate this Company!
Coverage Area: USA - All States
Offers plans to cover pre-existing conditions and lack of maintenance repairs, for an additional fee.
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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. |
We do not endorse any company in particular, however you should ignore the reviews that are overly negative or positive. Such reviews are not likely to offer a balanced view and some of them could be fake reviews posted to promote or demote a company. It is always a good idea to check BBB ratings and make sure the company is licensed to do business in your State by contacting State Insurance Commission. Try to avoid paying annual premium and keep your cancellation rights
Reviews
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Pages: « 38 … 25 24 23 22 21 [20] 19 18 17 16 15 … 1 » Show All
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WOULD NOT RECOMMEND….TOTALLY RIP OFF…CONTRACTORS THEY USE THAT CAME TO MY HOUSE WERE WEIRD, HAD NO TOOLS, AND HAD TO BORROW MINE….TO BE ABLE TO “LOOK” AT MY FURNACE..NEVER TOOK FRONT OFF OF IT..THEN TOLD ME IT WAS RUINED AND NOT COVERED…BE SURE TO FILE REPORTS WITH THE BBB ON YOUR PROBLEMS WITH THIS COMPANY.
Quoted $1600 repair for water heater, of which only $60 was covered.
Much like everyone else the only time I called them they initially said they would vocer the ceiling fan and then said that they would only replace the ceiling fan with a $29 cheapie ( the original was $199 and the warranty states taht they will replace with a like product). At this point I decided to cancel the warranty – this was an impossible feat, calls, emails, submitting the request on their website – I had auto withdrawal on my credit card – finally I called the bank and complained that they would not cancel and kept charging me months after I had decided to cancel – the bank suggested that I dispute the payments that I had already made and I did so. The bank for American Home also had to agree to this before my bank would permanently refund the charges – their bank agreed and then! The turned me over to a credit collections agency for non payment! Hey wait! I paid up front and they didn’t perform according to the contract! How can this happen? Don’t trust them. It’s no wonder there was a class action suit against them – I wish I had been part of it.
This company is the worst. We called three times in five years it always took them weeks to solve a problem. The problem is solved for threee months then after 30 days of course you have to pay again the 60 dollar visit, and it has beeen like that for five years. We had problems with the air condiitoners the contract says it is covered well we paid 60 dollar visit plus 75 dollars still donot know why and the air was not fixed. So it is always another thing and more money and more money and they fix things for three months so you have to call back over and over. They never replace anything.We are still without our airconditioner the man that came said it was the compressor then after nine days , with heat stroke he appear saying that it was a braker, so we needed an electrician, and we told the company is an emergency we have been without air for nine days, I work at home. They do not care they answered well, we have 24 hours to see to it. When they came for the garage door they came twice, still the garage door after a couple of months stopped working. So if we call is another 60 dollars. Now this time with the air is an emergency I bleed at night and I am suppose to work which I can hardly do it.
It is really the worst company anyone can ever hire.Some of the companies that have come to doservice here say it is not them they could fix it inmmediately is the company american home shield that delays things looking for cheaper vendors and cheaper things. They ar ethe same owneers of that terminec and that electric thing which is suppoose to eliminate bugs which is another scam.
The first time called AHS I had a leak and they told me that washer/drier bibs were not covered. Later when reviewing my policy I found out that they should have been. The management at the company will not return my phone calls.
The next time I called them was for a water heater which I was sure was covered by the warrenty. When the plumber showed up to fix it, he told me that certain parts of my water heater were not up to code, and it would cost $1250 to bring it up to code. This was not covered by the warrenty. AHS told me that I could find another plumber to do the install, but they would only cover $400 of the repair costs. I ended up doing it myself for $500 total, which put me $750 ahead of where I would have been with the warrenty.
Every time I have called them they have routed me through different departments and come up with some excuse as to why the claim would not be covered or why I owe more money.
DO NOT PURCHASE THIS PRODCUT. IT IS A RIP OFF AND A SCAM.
09/08/09 6:20PM
I have a warranty with AHS for the last year. I caled once for service on a ceiling fan. The electrician who came out said the part had worn out and would be relaced. He fixed it and I paid the service call. AHS refused the claim and said it was damage from a “power surge”. When I called customer service they blew me off and said it was “my bill and not theirs”. I have spent the whold day today,10 calls at 15 minutes each in a attempt to CANCEL my warranty which is up for renewal. I still haven’t gotten through to a human being. Upon calling the other 800 number back they said just keep trying we can’t cancel your contract. Just a note to BEWARE WHEN YOU TRY TO CANCEL YOUR WARRANTY.
We have been AHS customers for the past 5 years. Like others have commented, sometimes you get a good technician, sometime you don’t. It happens. I have never once complained, always paid the service fee, whether or not the job was done well, and just went with the flow. Recently however, we had a problem and called AHS for help. Customer service assured me that it would be dealt with and that I was not to worry. When the plumber came out, it was a totally different story. He looked at the damage and made a call to AHS. They accused me of breaking the item in question and AHS would not pay for the repairs. They said that there was nothing that they could do since I was obviously to blame. The plumber left and said he would waive the service fee, since he did not do anything. I ended up calling my homeowners insurance co. who came out and took care of everything. They said that it was obvious that the item was faulty and that wear and tear was to blame, not me. What has finally led me to cancel my service was that 2 weeks later AHS charged me the service fee that the plumber waived. When I called they said there was nothing they could do. I pointed out that I have been such a loyal customer and was upset that I was being charged for him to do nothing. I also mentioned that the one thing that was keeping me with them was the fact that the plumber had done the decent thing by not charging me the service fee, but the fact that they were going to do this was the straw that broke the camels’ back. I was never happy with the service and I would not recommend this company to any friends or family.
The company does not follow through with service calls and will not return phone calls. I have been a customer with American Home Shield for the past 10 years. The company must be under new management who does not care about the customers.
Worst company that I have ever dealt with, period. I got AHS when I purchased my home. The day after I moved in, the oven broke. The next day, I called AHS and they sent someone out a few days later. A few days after that, I received word that I would be receiving a new stove. They scheduled to deliver my new stove and it was never delivered. Long story short, it took 7 months to get a new stove!! 7 months!! I also had a problem with my A/C and they sent someone out. It was “repaired,” which lasted for about a week. My A/C went out 5 times. It needed replaced and they wouldn’t do it. I finally bought a new A/C out of my pocket. The 3rd issue that I had with them: they came out in the winter to repair my thermostat (which took 3 days, I spent 3 days in Indiana in January without heat). I didn’t have any issue after that and my year was up shortly after that and, obviously, I didn’t renew it. The next summer, my A/C wouldn’t come on and I had to have a technician come out. What was the issue? The technician who fixed the thermostat didn’t hook it up to the A/C. I had to pay for that out of pocket, too. Even after I didn’t use them, they continued to screw me!!
I have had AHS for 4 years and am currently seeking another home warranty company. I used them several times each year. Sometimes I get a good technician; sometimes I get a poor one. I would expect this with any warranty company. The reason I am seeking another company is due to a recent event that I had with them in which I learned that their customer service is really poor if the repair doesn’t go well the first time. I had to file a claim with the better business bureau before they would assign a new technician after the one assigned didn’t show for two appointments and stated that they couldn’t get parts so it would be 2 months without a working dishwasher and a part for my microwave (same serv. call). I had to call AHS every day literally and each time received a different response from the agents. I attempted to speak with a supervisor and a manager but was told I should write a letter to them. The technician that they originally sent had an F rating with the BBB and AHS did not seem to care. After they finally assigned a new technician (after BBB complaint) the part was found within one day. When I asked the new tech about the part, he stated that it was a common part. Two months of fighting with AHS to assign a new technician to find out that the issue could have been resolved in a day. For this reason, I am very concerned if my AC goes and they refuse to find a qualified technician. They are good if all goes well but I don’t feel that I could count on them if I had a complicated repair.
I have had to call Home Shield on five occasions in the last year. Each visit has been a hassle. The repair authorizations have never been easy and I have had to place multiple calls for each issue. They look for any possible reason to deny the claim rather than work with you to help resolve the problem. They use poorly qualified technicians who, on two distinct occasions, have misreported their findings – knowing that the company will deny the claim and then approach me to fix the problem for a ‘cash’ price. Further investigation revealed that the technicians get paid more if the customer pays out of pocket as the reimbursement from Home Shield is much less. Will not renew for the next year.
Every Contractor they send out is terrible —- the last three have not kept the service appointment, or called to reschedule —- I had to do it.
I have been without the use of my stove/oven for a month — the “Supervisor” refuses to intervene, saying that I have to give the company a chance to get the parts.
I have paid 2 service call fees, taken 2 days off, made at least 50 phone calls, and I still can’t boil water.
I WILL NOT renew this “coverage”.
I had AHS aND I dropped them like a bad habit. They refused to replace the glass in my oven when it broke. That was went i knew i had to get rid of them. Now i am with 2-10 they seam to be better for NOW.
Very timely about responding to emergency calls,
Very poor about replacing items needing replacement.
Repaired my stove twice and never replaced it even after it caught on fire (I replaced it). Would not replace the heat pump (claimed it was my fault) costing me over $5K to AC company in emergency situation in the middle of winter as my 85 yr old mother lives with me.
Would not recommend this company to anyone.
I have used AHS since 1988 in TX & MA & will continue to renew my policy. Their web site doesn’t always work (whose does), their technicians are not always the quickest and I’ve had them return to correct a problem that should have been done in the first place. BUT, every year, in several homes, I’ve had something replaced that would have cost more than the price of the warranty. My new clothes dryer was delivered last week, a new pool pump was installed in July and I’ve had work done on my air conditioner, some electrical work and some plumbing. Every time a repair is made I ask the tech what the cost would be without AHS – sometimes it is less but that’s the chance you take with any insurance. I am so far ahead of the cost of the warranty that I will continue to renew.
having had been a service provider for AHS for 5 years I understand the fustration of some customers, but what I found was that when you tried to do a good job for the customer AHS would be on you for your job cost avarage above what they say you shoulb be at. After years of fighting with them for doing a above par job for there customers they droped us as a prefered vendor because of our costs. I would suggest that you check out companys befor you sign and pay for contract.
dont use this company crooks
I absolutely hate this company. I’ve never had a service issue that didn’t cost me additional out of pocket. Over time I have started calling other contractors to get estimates and I’ve personally noticed that the typical out of pocket for me on the supposed warranty service was nearly equal (ie, within $10-$25) of what I would have paid licensed contractors for the same service outside of the warranty.
I contacted AHS and asked them how I could have warranty service that equals nearly the indentical price of paying my own contractor and their response was they “don’t have any input on other fees of the contractors outside of the warrnty”. Seems hokey, too many cases now where my out of pocket was about the same as hiring my own contractor and not having a warranty.
Enough for me, I’m done with them. Their coverage did exactly zero for me – waste of money.
I have been a AHS customer since 2004. Overall, my experience with them has been very good. My home is 20 years old with 3 A/C units, which is the main reason I chose to purchase a home warranty. I have never had a claim denied by this company and I have had my share of claims! Every year I count on at least one of the A/C units going out but AHS is always there to fix them. I change my filters religously and I truly believe that’s the key to getting a service requests approved. Once I had a circuit board go bad in my front-load washer and again, the claim was approved with no issues whatsoever. AHS even replaced one of my A/C condensors which saved my about $1500!
Oh, and for those that bash the contractors that AHS uses consider this: AHS enforces very stringent contractor liabilty insurance requirments and most of your “mom and pop” appliance shops are not up to AHS standards. I am scepticle when I read the contractors were “shady” or “con men”.
Bottom line, if you keep your covered item clean (i.e. dirt and dust free) you will have success with this company. If you don’t, you will be one of the many angry peolpe venting in this column!
I am currently looking for a new home warranty company after 4 years with AHS. I did not generally have a problem with the contractors (except one or two), but AHS’s customer service is not good. Almost every repair became an issue (taking two months to find a part for our a/c; not wanting to cover another a/c for an “improper repair”, which was repaired by one of their own contractors and paid for by AHS in the first place; refusing over and over to re-assign a repair to a new contractor when the one that was originally assigned did not call or show up on two occassions, causing the repair to take two weeks instead of two days; etc., etc., etc.) I could have dealt with these problems better if their customer service reps had been just the tiniest bit sympathetic. But, what I generally got was defensiveness, rudeness, and a general sense of “who really gives a —-” attitude. On a number of occasions, someone would say they would check into something and call back, but I would never receive a call back. Each time you called them, you would start from scratch with a new person. Managers were either not available or not more capable than their employees. It just went on an on. Dealing with them has been so stressful, that I would almost rather pay for my repairs out of pocket. If I can’t find someone else who treats their customers better, that is what I will have to do. It is just not worth it.
AHS — depending on your area and contractor is very much improved and improving. Most the complaints I read rake the anger out on AHS when in fact you got a bad contractor or bad contracting company. If you read your contract, maintain your systems, then YES…AHS will indeed honor the claim to fix your failure with you appliance. If you use them as a Service company to try to get away from doing your required maintenance, then you deserve a DENIAL. Think of all that money you saved by not draining that water heater, not changing that filter, not having any preventative maintenance…….hey if you would have pulled that refrigerator out to clean the condenser just think of all the stuff you migt have found under it and behind it.
I been in a lot of you complainers homes and the worse “piggy stinky home” alwasy complain the loudest…….geesh get some disinfectant and soap
The following is an email I just sent to AHS’ customer service people following almost a month of getting the run around. Im disgusted with these folks…
“Maybe you can help me out since I’ve already recieved a response from this email address. I know someone checks it. I have been trying to renew my AHS contract for almost a month now. Somehow, someway, your folks either don’t want my money or business, or they have no clue of what they are supposed to be doing on your “customer service” line. Those are some of the rudest people I have ever spoken to when calling a place of business. And I don’t mean rude like Im high-falutin’ or something, I mean rude like they have ZERO people skills. Don’t believe me? Have someone call your own number like they have a problem. Anyway, after the below string of emails went back and forth, I again had to call your folks to see why my initial payment back in the last week of July never went through to renew my AHS warranty. I gave up my credit card info again, a week and a half or so ago, and the payment still hasn’t been ran…. AGAIN. The first time the payment wasn’t run by your folks caused my home warranty to lapse. Now, I have tenants sitting in my house with no A/C because I can’t get anyone out there to fix it because why? MY WARRANTY HAS LAPSED… Most of the negative reviews about your company on home warranty comparison web sites gripe about this type of thing. Amazingly, the gripes come from people who have been long time customers. I’ve personally used your company for the last three years and have never had a problem until now. Is that how this scheme works: Hold on to customers for the first few years and then drive them out just to maintain some “cost of repairs to payments recieved” ratio in your favor? That sounds kind of illegal to me if true. Maybe, just like all of the bad reviews, it’s time for me to move on too… Can someone please help me out? This is crazy!! A company that doesn’t want your money…”
I’ll post their response also… If I get one that is..
I bought a foreclosure last year and although it was in pretty good shape and five yrs old, I also purchased a home warranty. Unfortunately it was with AHS. With all the contractors in the Fredericksburg area, why did AHS see the need to contract with a company in Lorton, well over an hour away? Could it be because the closer you get to DC, the less scrupulous the people. I’m just saying. There are some very good contractors closer to me. I have had four service calls on my AC unit in the past year and three different contractors with three different diagnosis and solutions. The company I do not trust is with AHS and the company I do trust is not. Go figure. Not a surprise there is a class action lawsuit with AHS. Buyer Beware indeed.
This company is rated low but should be at the bottom. I have been with them for seven years and the service and coverage have gotten progressively worse to the point that they are useless, unless you have too much money laying around the house and want to throw it away. AHS contracts with the least competent contractors that they can and then cut deals with them such that they say the item was not properly maintained. They collect a quick 60 service fee and run for the hills. This information comes from a contractor who used to do work from them. ALERT : PREPARED TO BE RIPPED OFF! I would rather work with an HMO than deal with this company. Good luck to anyone who chooses to use this company after seeing all the horrible reviews on this website. Thank you for providing this forum to alert others.
I have three properties covered by AHS. Biggest problem was getting anything done over the weekends including fridays. I had AC repaired three times in one week because they send some one to provide bad aid service. In the end I personally made phone call to licensed service provider for that particular brand and had it fixed. Total time 14 days in sweltering florida heat!! . Go figure! I am serious about switching