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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I have been with AHS for almost 18 years and have always had problems but this time has been the worst. I put a work order in on 6 Jan 10 and now have been without heat for nearly a month. Same as everyone else, I have been told the company that make my unit has gone out of business and that they would have to do a national search for the part before AHS would consider replacing the unit. As for someone in charge of AHS forget it the MANAGEMENT of this company are bunch of idiots they don’t return phone calls and when customer service asks if you would like to have a manager call you back it won’t happen. The CEOs or who every runs this company should be slapped just for existing on this earth. THey are useless people, my recommendation would be to get a new company as quick as you can. I do know now that I will not renew my insurance with this company when it is due in June.
This is the WORST home warranty company. My experience is as follows:
1) Customer Service reps are rude, uninformed on policy and purposely speak a canned script over and over again. Do not listen to the issue but continue to drone on and on from a canned speech.
2) They do not vet their contractors well if at all. I’ve repeatedly told AHS that the plumber and electrican they’ve sent to my home were not reliable and have done damage to my home, but they refuse to do anything about removing them from their contractor network.
3) Raise monthly premiums annually. AHS has a habit of raising premiums on an annual basis if you actually have anything replaced (which takes an act of God to prove)
I would encourage anyone researching a home warranty company to look elsewhere.
Our oven quit working 2 days before Christmas and a service repair person came in a timely manner. After inspecting the oven he informed us that it needed 2 parts to be repaired. The part order had to be obtained by AHS and we told that a national search would be conducted to find the right part. After two weeks of waiting we were informed that our oven was no longer being manufactured and parts were not available. We were told that we needed to wait to be approved for a replacement oven. AHS tried to give us a oven that was inferior to the professional model we had purchased and we declined and demanded an oven of equal value. After waiting another 10 days, we were informed that we would be allowed up to $4999 for replacement costs. We went to the dealer where we had purchased our original oven and found a comparable oven for $5400. I called AHS and requested that they cut a check to the appliance dealer and I would make up the difference. They refused and told me that the only way I could be reimbursed was if I paid for the entire oven and then they would reimburse me the $4999. I asked to speak to a manager and was told they were unavailable but someone would call be that same day to discuss the issue. No manager called as promised, which is in keeping with our previous experience with the company.
I got a bid from the dealer and headed home. On the way home as my wife drove, I used my I-Phone and entered my oven’s name into Goggle and did a search. Within a half an hour, I had contacted the manufacturer (they were in business using a different name) and was assured that the parts were available to repair my oven. I also learned that the the most expensive parts had a life-time warranty and the parts would be provided and shipped to my home at no charge. The charges for the other parts not under warranty was $190.
I called AHS and informed them that I had easily found the manufactures and arranged for the needed parts to be delivered. I requested that if they sent the service person back to my home to repair my oven and reimburse me for the parts, and I would consider the matter settled.
AHS informed me that they could not reimburse me for the parts since their contact does not allowed insured parties to get their own parts. I was told that I needed to wait for the service person to be approved by their parts and services department. I had saved AHS $4779 and they were still trying to avoid taking care of the expenses of $200.
We have not had a working oven for nearly 5 weeks, (it is now the end of January) I am not convinced that they were really sincere in their efforts to resolve this issue by the tactics they used to stonewall us from getting resolution in having the matter settled. We kept getting sent to various departments who needed to do some minor part of the process of getting the oven repaired or replaced. They promised to call back and didn’t and wouldn’t give us the full name of any person who could see this repair or replacement through.
I am still waiting to for the phone call to have the service person authorized to repair my oven. I will probably have to go to court and report them to business and regulatory agencies before I feel finished with this company. They do not appear to be honest in their dealings with people. How else do you explain that I was able to find a solution for the oven within 30 minutes after waiting for AHS for 30+ days.
Same story as all i have read above, heat went out it is now 4 weeks ago ( in january ) The vendor they sent wont answer his phone, wont call back and has missed a show up appointment 3 times now,( arranged through AHS ). I was so upset over missing work a 3rd time to wait for this vendor when i called AHS i raised my voice to the rep. after hearing the same old story “theres nothing more we can do” The icing on the cake was when i raised my voice the rep raised hers louder and was actually yelling at me over the phone, and told me theres no way she would go without heat for 4 weeks, she would do whatever she had to, than deal with the “consequenses” later. Her meaning was i should go ahead and pay the $1000.00 dollars extra on top of my yearly AHS premium, and service fee. Goodbye AHS. I recommend finding alternate ways to handle repairs in your home, with reputable companies.
Reading reviews are very beneficial. I would advise anyone to use any other warranty company than American Home Shield. They are the worst company I have ever used.
I have been using them for almost 5 years and they never totally fix my problems. It never fails every summer and winter I have to make numerous calls about my AC and heating unit. They only piece things together to get by. Neither unit has yet begun to work properly. I had a guy out yesterday that said he needed to do $80.00 worth of work; when he came out today he had the audacity to say it will be over $850.00.
Please search elsewhere, seriously. I am trying to save you the trouble and money…..
I am completely and totally appalled at your company and service. On one different occasion, you’ve sent contractors to my home who were absolute crooks! In essence what they try to do is stick the homeowner with enough “extras” they say are required to cover their fees for the repair. Case in point, my hot water heater blew, which is covered in my contract with you. The contractor AHS sent out tried to tell me it was in code violation and I would have to pay an additional $905.00 w/out the heater cost for the extras to bring it up to code. Earlier this week I learned I could “cash out” with AHS. What a joke, The contract tried to say that parts included and attached to the water heater needed installation, when they are already installed. Do not use this company, they are making you pay for the water heater and then additional cost. CROOKS
The following is a letter I sent to AHS on January 21, 2010
American Home Shield
To whom it may concern,
I am completely and totally appalled at your company and service. On three different occasions now, you’ve sent contractors to my home who were absolute crooks! I basically paid $60 per contractor to find this out. In essence what they try to do is stick the homeowner with enough “extras” they say are required to cover their fees for the repair. Case in point, my hot water heater blew, which is covered in my contract with you. The contractor AHS sent out tried to tell me since my hot water heater was 18 years old, it was in code violation and I would have to pay an additional $905.00 for the extras to bring it up to code. He also stated the cost of the water heater was $400 and the cost of labor was $400 to install. These amounts ($800) would be covered by AHS. For a grand total of $1,705 to install a 40 gallon water heater. I paid him the $60 and told him to leave. I found another company to install a 50 gal water heater, bring everything up to code for a grand total of $925.00.
Earlier this week I learned I could “cash out” with AHS. What a joke that is. I’m presuming you are going to pay what your contractor told me he was going to charge for the water heater and the labor, $800. Only to find out from AHS you will only pay $425.00 total because AHS buys water heaters in bulk and the contractor is under contract with AHS to only charge a certain amount. So why did your own contractor tell me $800??? I would love to see an invoice where this amount was actually paid to a contractor for this type of work (labor) and another one where you paid such a discounted rate for a comparable water heater!
To summarize, you send out contractors to shaft the homeowners with extras to cover the cost of the repair. You do absolutely nothing to replace the items, but you charge a premium to the homeowner under the pretence of insuring their mechanical and/or appliances but in reality AHS provides nothing more than a glorified referral service. To crooked contractors none the less!
I’ ll make this short and sweet. Stay away! I am with them now and I am leaving asap! They’ ve denied me twice. They don’ t want to spend any money over $200.
I think this home warranty business is a scam. Every time we put in a claim, we have a nice contractor sent out–which is all done very timely and with courtesy. But then the contractor tells us the item is not covered, or the specific part of the repair is not covered, they collect their $60 for their ten minutes of “expert” analysis, and it’s over. I am beginning to think this is a way for contractors to collect some easy money for doing no work at all. I would not renew this policy or recommend it to other homeowners. It’s not a benefit and provides no useful value.
I placed an internet request for service on a Tues, I got no response so I called back Thurs morning. I got an ignorant person on the phone. I called back 20 mins later and spoke wiuth a very nice woman. She didnt have any different answers than the last one, she just wasnt ignorant. I called the contractor (Kevin from sovereign Plumbing)an hr later and he said he could be here the following night (fri). He was here w/in a half hour of the appointment and diagnosed that my water heater needed to be replaced. He agreed to do it the following Sat. I emailed him on Tues with no response. I called him on Thursday w no response. I called him Fri morning no answer. I called AHS and they have no report from the previous week nor a warranty claim and told me “he’s your contractorso we have to call him and give him time to get back to us.” So, it was the day b4, I have no appt time nor do i know if he’s coming. AHS calls me back and said the claim has been filed. Cool, so I call the contractor again. He said his brother was supposed to get back to me, no “sorry”, and that he’ll know 9:00 Fri night what time Saturday. I said great, thanks. I received no phone call Fri night. I got up at 7am this morning not knowing what time they start on Saturdays. I called Kevin at sovereign at 8am and left a message. I called AHS at 12:00 and spoke to an ignorant woman who told me, when I asked ho long I wait, that Sat ends when Sun begins. They didn’t care about the lack of service from their outrside contractors and when i asked to work w someone else I was told sure, then they will call you within 2 business days to schedule an appointment, you can pay another deductible, and wait for them to have a chance to install it. I will never buy a warranty from them again.
I had AHS with my home in Texas and had good service and only one problem with a service call during 4 years there. I moved to Alabama and bought a 1 year old home and in my 3 years in this home have 6 calls for heat or A/C problems. The latest being my heat went out on Dec 17, 2009, I called AHSthat same day and a repairman was sent out on Dec 18. The repairman said the circuit breaker on the heat strip (I have a heat pump) was bad they would be back that afternoon. Well that day went and the next day was Saturday then Sunday. Only after I called on Monday morning was I told someone would be there to install the breaker. Mean while its below 20 in Alabama. And how hard is it to get a circuit breaker! I could buy one at Home Depot! Anyway the heat pump was fixed or so I thought. It put out some warm air but not a lot. I was told heat pumps don’t work well in cold weather so I got what I got. On Jan 2, 2010 again the heat pump was not working. It was warmer outside in 20+ degree weather then inside the house. It was not an emergency so the repairman could not come until Monday. The company sent two repair men and a supervisor, they could find nothing wrong with the system. However, I have a zone heating system. I had the zone heating system for all 6 of the previous calls. I was told that zone systems are not covered by AHS, BUT to give me heat he(repairman) will bypass the zone system and give me heat. They gave me heat all right the system NEVER turns off. I have used over 4789kwh of electicity in 3 weeks! AHS will not send anyone out to fix the system because they donot cover “energy” zone systems. So I have constant heat with outrageous electic bills or I disconnet the system at the circuit breaker and have no heat! According to the websites for heat pumps their experts say a zone system is the best economical heating system to own. But don’t get one because AHS will not cover it!
HORRIBLE. Customer service reps are very polite — until you have a claim. Then they give you the run around and every rep you speak to seems to have a different policy. AHS’s overall policy seems to be to keep fixing things (even 20 year old water heaters) until they are completely useless and a fire hazard. They don’t send nearby companies to do the work, even if you request a contractor on their “list” who is in your same zip code and available to do the work! Today, while trying to sort through an issue, an AHS rep hung up on me. I’m done….looking for a new company.
I have been an AHS customer for 12 years and they have replaced my cooktop, built in microwav and waterheater. They have repaired my dryer, washer, refrigerator, HVAC (three times), toilet (3), pressure regulator valve, dishwasher and icemaker. I plan to renew again this year.
Keep raising their prices. Do not cover what they stated. Will keep repairing it instead of replacement the appliance.
I have used AHS for several years, except for 2009. Other than AHS sending a low-quality and rude plumber to my home, my experience with them was alright.
When my Heating/Cooling system went out 5 years ago, they kept sending techs to piece-patch the system after the original tech advised to replace the entire unit. Well, after the 4th visit my house caught on fire-minimal damage,though I ran from my house in nothing but a bath towel.
but AHS then decided I needed a new system. (Go Figure!) The AHS customer service during this ordeal was not good at all. You shouldn’t have to argue, (literally-with a very rude associate, with a company to get them to do what they are supposed to do per their contract.
The serivice on my refrigerator was good, pool plumbing service was good, and the dishwasher replacement service was good. All were handled in a timely manner.
This company is beyond HORRIBLE. I have had another home warranty company, and had break downs with my hvac, microwave, garage door opener, and dishwasher. I never had a single problem, until I made the great mistake of changing to this company to save a little bit of money. I am currently trying to get my refrigerator fixed, and it has been 12 days since I called for emergency service. We have been without a refrigerator for the entire time. We are now a family of four functioning with a little dorm frige. Between my husband and I we have called to find out what is going on 9 times, each time the agent said they would call us back within the hour, and they have not called or had any information that was useful. Today I had the worst converstion thus far with an attendant who, when challenged about the situation began to berrate me and tell me that they aren’t to call back everyday. When I had informed him that no one had EVER called back, all I got was a raised voice and a quick blow off. This situation we find ourselves in SUCKS, and is just getting worse. Do yourself a favor and stay as far away from this company as you can.
I got AHS for free as a part of my house’s closing costs that the seller paid. I had one repair within the past 12 months and it was the main water pipe coming into my house. AHS took 3 days to send a plumber all the while water was pouring out the side of the pipe; and he fixed the leak, however he said that my AHS warranty did not actually cover the repair.
Even though AHS says plumbing is included since this pipe was outside the house and both ends were not anchored in the foundation of the house there was some sort of escape clause in my contract stating it is not covered. Fortunately the plumber felt sorry for me and told AHS that both ends were indeed anchored to the house’s foundation. If it weren’t for that the repair would not have been covered. Needless to say I did not renew the contract. Since when does plumbing coverage not include water running through a copper pipe on my property?
I gave a 5 rating for the repair / replacement service itself because the plumber was awesome, did a great job, and helped me save over $300.00. But none of this was because of anything AHS did.
im not sure if ahs researches the companies that represent them in my area, but if they dont, they are doomed. for example, the cactus garage company, is one company that i had to deal with during my 4 year relationship with ahs. cactus co. came to my residence to fix my garage motor but failed to mention that there was another problem with the pulley system that assists the garage door in opening. since this was not covered by ahs, cactus failed to mention the problem resulting in another garage breakdown only 1 month later.
AHS has been an awful experience for us. We had a repair that was not repaired correctly and we can’t get anyone from AHS to call us back after repeated calls. I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND this company to anyone. Additionally, they often deny claims and say that maintenance wasn’t performed properly.
[...] 41% market share, American Home Shield leads the pack followed by First American (11%), Old Republic (8.3%), CCHS (6%), 2-10 HBW (5.3%), [...]
Bought AHS Because the warranty coverage and price looked reasonable when compared to coverage for other home warrenty Co’s for the same or similar price (At least here in GA. anyway)- The nighmare started when our AC decided to stop working the Friday before Memorial day weekend. (Temps went up into the high 80’s for the first time of the season and stayed there for weeks)
called AHS and they “couldn’t get anyone out until Wed the following week!!” “because it was peak cooling season and their service companies were all busy with similar calls”.
I called a few local HVAC Co’s within 10 miles of my house and ALL said they could come get someone out right away. Go figure!
AHS claims to use “LOCAL” service Co’s but the guy who came out ( and subsequent Service Co. ) were all from other side of the state.
AHS defines “LOCAL” by the Service Co’s “Service Area” or Zip codes the guy is willing to drive out to. sorry AHS but that is not “LOCAL”.
when the guy finally came out 5 days later, He drove up in a beat up 10 yr old pickup truck with no company name or any identifying information. He looked at my system for about 5 minutes and told me I was “2 lbs over” on Freon and it damaged the compressor and AHS wont cover it because of “Faulty Maintenance”. Hmmm That’s odd.. The guy who serviced the system last spring said everything was fine.
I called a Local HVAC Co. to get a quote to fix the system and they said “theres no way he could tell there was too much freon if the compressor was broken and you better get a second opinion”
Called AHS and told them what the Local HVAC Co. said and demanded a second opinion. wouldn’t you know they “couldn’t get anyone out until Wed the following week” I pleaded with them to find someone else to no avail – did I mention we were in a spring time heat wave of 85+ temps?
WEEK 2 – Second “LOCAL” company came out and found a blockage in the lines and causing the compressor to shutdown. AHS did agree to fix but the service Co. couldn’t do the repair until the following week – of course… what else???
WEEK 3 – they replaced my air handler with a new one which required all new duct work – Not covered by AHS for $800.00
Between the repair cost and the AHS Warranty cost and 2 $60 dollar service calls, I could have had the repair done faster (less than 4 days), with less agravation for about the same $$.
Scew Home warrantes!!Pay for the fix yourself (you will anyway). put the $300 a year in a money market acount for a repair fund and get the interest on the money!
if your repair fund isn’t enough yet, and it’s a big ticket item just do the “NO interest, NO Payments for 1 year” that everyone offers today and pay it off over the 12 months.
Trust me… You’ll sleep better and have less agravation in your life.
Homeowners: Be afraid…be very afraid. AHS sends out rude,arrogant unqualified repair people. All problems take weeks or more to resolve. Then, the issues are NOT resolved, but, rather, you, the policy holder, are left holding the bag. No air conditioning in the summer, no hot water, no heat in the winter, no “repairs or replacements” as a policyholder would hope for. The solution is to cancel your policy and pay no more. The aggravation will never be worth using AHS.
my line from the well pump to the house broke new years eve day, I called AHS and placed a service call. Well later that day it got worse to the point you could not take a shower or barley use the toilets. I called again and got upgraded to “emergency” I put it in quotes because to them emergency means 24 to 48 hours, despite the fact that I had 8 children and 6 adults visiting me! I kept calling back and the rep were pretty nice and helpful (for the most part) but by the next morning I was starting to get frustrated and called again (7th or so call) and finally
they agreed that Iif I could find a plumber that could come out they would cover the costs. I found one and when I called back to verify I was told that they would not cover the cost since they had up to 48 hours to get someone out there on ‘emergency”.
I finally got to talk to “bonnie” a supervisor who was full of the “giggles” while I was trying to explain the situation, for me that was the last straw, as soon as I get this fixed I am canceling my plan. To be honest they are good except when you have an emergency and I must admit trying to find someone on a new years eve/day is probably not easy BUT it took me about 5 minutes looking in the yellow pages …….
dougc
I have used the service for 2 years, customer service is horrible. I pay $500 for my policy and $60 deductible and the bathroom they have repaired numerous times still does not work properly.
The previous owner of our home purchased the policy for our 3 fla. Our hot water heater went out within 6 months of purchasing the home. AHS told us to arrange to have the hot water heater looked at by one of their approved vendors. The guy came out after 2 days (he couldn’t come sooner)and told me he couldn’t figure out which one was ours. The second guy (another day without hot water)came out and told me which one was ours and replaced our old one (I had to wait another 2 days for him to get it)with a new one – not the same quality. This caused me 1 1/2 days off work. He also charged us $250. I refused to pay the first $150 since I had paid the first guy that for the first visit where nothing happened. AHS only covered the water heater. I found out later that I could have had a better quality hot water heater installed (labor included) for $400. AHS was not worth the money. It’s a rip off.