BFS Home Warranty
Home Warranty Plan Details and Reviews for BFS Home Warranty
Premium: $219-299
Deductible: $55
Effective: Upon receipt of payment
Web: bfshomewarranty.com
Deductible: $55
Effective: Upon receipt of payment
Web: bfshomewarranty.com
| 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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I have had a home warranty with this company for 5 years. On each issue they had to come to the house various times to fix the problem. Each year the price goes up I am now paying 700.00 a year started at 360.00
If you are looking at this rating your are most likely looking to buy a warranty from BFS. I suggestion is do not walk away from this company run. The problem with the above scale is that is starts at 1 it should start at zero and in every area they deserve a ZERO. Biggest mistake I have made in buying a warranty.
They say the benefit is that they have their own service people. The disadvantage is they do not have enough people to take care of their customers.
I have never heard such poor customer service from anyone I have ever dealt with on the phone before. Whenever I have to call these people, I cringe. They sound bored, uninterested and downright testy if you have a problem. I wanted to renew my contract for another year and they filled out a new contract that didn’t cover the same things and didn’t tell me. Very frustrating to try and get this sorted out. I wish I could find a better company.
The service people apparently have no idea about what they are doing. from past six months they are still figuring out what is wrong with my dishwasher. Fed up by there service, I had to call some one else to fix it.
Wouldn’t recommend to anyone!
OK… maybe I’m the exception here, but they have treated me fairly. ( I can overlook “rude”, if service is done.)HVAC system stopped working on a Thursday. A Technician called Thursday afternoon to set time for Friday service call. He showed up on time and started diagnostics. There were numerous problems with the system, which required re-wiring (burnt wires and burned up blower fan, parts replacement and numerous diagnostic headaches. He worked until nearly 9:00pm the first day and was back the following morning. He eventually replaced the heat pump (outside unit) and rebuilt the air handler in the attic, re-wired the entire unit and installed a thermostat. My cost? The initial fee to purchase the warranty, 5 days without a system due to complexity of diagnosis, the $45 “deductable” and a trip to Lowes for a digital Thermostat ($42). The alternative would have been $5700 – $6300 for a new system. Now… if they’ll let me renew…
The difference between this company and other home warranties is that they have their own service technicians – they advertise this as a benefit but it is a real disadvantage compared with other companies. We had a plumbing issue with a toilet that couldn’t be fixed witha plunger and they put us on the schedule for a week from the date we called it in! Completely unsanitary and had to call Roto Rooter to do the job. Also where most companies contract out the work, you can be sure they are going to replace something if needed b/c the company doing the work gets paid from the warranty to do it. In the case of BFS, they will always want to put a bandaid on the issue to save the company money. Better to get a home warranty that contracts out their services.
I had a warranty with these people. When my kitchen sink was clogged, the surly girl who answered their phone told me it wasn’t covered. Yet the warranty says “plumbing”, so I asked her what kinds of plumbing did this mean. She said, “all kinds”. Yet she was adamant that my clog wasn’t covered. So I ended up paying over $200 to have a real plumber come and snake out the drain. As someone else said, run, do not walk, away from this “company” (unless you really, really like listening to ever more creative excuses for not doing anything.)
Call to repair my garage with 2 opener. They install new garage opener with 1 opener. Called them several times to put 2 opener as before. They refused. I bought addtional opener only to find out that the garage opener installed is low quality and will only have 1 opener (after spend $45*3 trip). Now I have a 2 Car garage with 1 opener. (I guess I park the other car outside or wait outside to give the opener to the next driver when he come home at night.)
It took 5 months to fix the washer, they want to pay $ 150 for washer and want to give lower in quality and value. They always find excuse not to come, our heater did not work for week and they do not come for more than week, there is no emergency call which can help. stay away from BFS
Very, very disappointing. This company was chosen at random by my realtor prior to closing. This my first experience with BFS and I’m sorry to say they have absolutely no sense of urgency. My hot water heater broke and was pouring out water all over my garage. I called BFS on a Thursday about 1:30pm. Upon requesting service and advising them of the leak, their first response was that someone would be out on Friday. I told them this was not acceptable because of the leak. They sent someone out that day and they did arrive as scheduled around 4:30. The tech immediately determined a new water heater was needed. He told us we would have one within 2 days. Friday morning we called and was told that because of the weekend we would not have one until Monday. In the meantime, I can either continue to have the water leak in my garage, ruining drywall, woodwork, furniture,etc. (we just moved in and have no where else to put these things), or I could just have the water to my whole house shut off for 3 days. I find it beyond belief that they could not find a water heater in all of Central Florida, and install it on Friday. Their dilema must be locating a water heater because they originally told me a tech was available on Friday. I would not recommend this company, and would advise you to review your closing papers to be sure they have not been chosen for you.
Well, if they would actually bother to show up, I could rate their service – three days straight now, they have failed to show up or call to at least let me know they wouldn’t be making it. I’m sick of waiting around my house – in Texas with a broken a/c, at that!
The first time we had to call BFS was during our first summer after moving from MD to TX. Needless to say, summers are warmer out here. It was 105 degrees and our air conditioner broke. It took BFS over a week to come for their first visit. It took 3 visits to get the air conditioner to actual working order. We recently needed their service again. The microwave, not as important as the air conditioner, but still a necessary appliance, stopped working on a Sunday night. We called for service on Monday morning. After calling them several times, we were told that we had an apt on Tuesday and they would call us back at 4pm for the time on Tuesday. On Tuesday morning I had to call back as I did not receive a call after 4 on Monday. On Tuesday’s call we were told that the work will be done on Wednesday. We should expect a call tonight to schedule the time, but I’m not holding my breath!
I had water leaking through my ceiling from the attic on Friday evening. I went up and took a look and found that my A/C unit’s bottom was rusted out. The emergency drip pan is in the same condition. I called them up and they blew me off saying that it’s probably just a clog in the draining system. They show up on Monday, while I’m at work, so they break my sink trap while removing it. They replace it with a jerry rig that leaks. I mean who would put a 2″ hose over a 1″ pipe? They didn’t even bother to look at the A/C unit in my attic! Now my sink is leaking too and I have been trying for the last two days to get them to come back out, but they are not answering their phones!!
Stay away!
A/C went out on Sunday, called Monday morning. I was told the service company would contact me within 24hrs. NO CALL. Called again Tuesday, they assured me we were on the list with the service company, they where just really busy due to the 107 degree day. It is now Wednesday, so I got the name of the “service company” and called myself. Turns out they don’t even service my side of town. Very poor, they should have know this on day one. Now I have to start all over. I say stay away!
I only had one service call to fix a hot water heater. I thought they would decline to fix it because it was old and rusted. But they replaced it with a brand new one. Service was great.
I just bought a home, and I was not sure whether or not the seller had paid for a one year home warranty. My garbage disposal stopped working so I decided to give them a call. I found some documentation with a confirmation number (I later learned it was a contract number) so I called their 800 number located in California. The person who answered was extremely rude and gave me the correct number to call to report problems. The second person was 10 times worse than the first. He was condescending and made me feel like I was inconveniencing him by having him to do his job. I told him I had a confirmation number, but he told me rudely, “Nope… That’s not going to work. I need a 150 number.” When I gave him the number, he told me angrily that when looking up my contract number, he only saw my name and address and that I didn’t pay anything and that my contract is worthless. So I told him I will call my realtor and he said, “You do that.” Then he abruptly hung up on me. I basically thought, I would ask a handyman friend of mine to fix the problem instead of having these monstrous people do anything for me. The next morning, a man unexpectedly showed up at my house to fix the garbage disposal. Turns out he only needed to loosen something on the bottom, and he was gone in about 5 minutes. I told him what happened yesterday and replied, “Yes, they can be AHs.” The cost of the home warranty was $449 (the basic coverage plus the no deductible option). If you are looking to buy a home warranty, please look somewhere else. It’s not worth your time or money to have these horrible creatures answer your calls and ruin your day. As for me, since I didn’t pay for the home warranty, I’m going to milk it for the little it’s worth.
Maybe I’m the exception – they have treated me fairly. My AC was not cold enough, and I gave them a call Monday morning at 8AM (in DFW area office). They said they already had everything booked up all day today. But would try to fix it today, if possible, and latest by tomorrow. At about 10AM, 2 hours later, the repair man knocked at our door, and had the AC fixed in no time. I think that was a treat. I think I should submit a review and let them know.
Well, I guess people who are happy with a service never tell anyone, but, those who are unhappy tell 50 other people.
My experience is that BFS has always responded in a timely manner, even the day after the FL hurricanes, they fixed my A/C and made the service call a priority on my oceanfront condo in Daytona.
More recently, in my home in Port Orange, they replaced my A/C system with a new one after I paid for 3 service calls.
All in all, people treat you as well as you treat them, so, maybe a good attitude is almost a priceless as an excellent service tech.
In summary, I have had better luck with BFS than with American Home Shield, who found numerous reasons not to cover item(s) that should have been.
I recommend that anyone buying a property should consider a Home Warranty to lessen the chance of expensive and ongoing repairs, and BFS is a good way to accomplish that end.
O. Kheir Top Producer in Oceanfront Condos in Daytona Beach, FL http://okheir.com
I called to have my water heater fixed. 4 months later I am sill waiting for the part.
I called with problem with the a/C. Their diagnostic was wrong, I called another company an in 15 minutes the fixed the problem.
I called again for another problem with the A/C and I was told that was leak in one of the line. The tech did not do any test, and told me that the line was not cover under the gold contract. I call the manager and he did not do anything. It was a 15 minutes fix and it is working ok.
It seems that they work pretty hard not to solve your problem but to make money.
RUN FROM THIS COMPANY.
Six months ago my waterheater was leaking, so called them. they work 8 to 5 only, except for emergencies.(this was not considered an emergency). I took off of work 1/2 day when they were supposed to show up. after no shows and numerous phone calls, my water heater was replaced after 2 weeks. Friday, I called after work and left a message(they close at 5) that my AC was not working. the message said that emergency calls will be returned within an hour. it is monday afternooon now, and still waiting for the local bfs guys to call back. i guess 100 plus degrees is still not an emergency. I cant speak for other areas, but go with another warranty company if in the san antonio area.
Takes too long to get service, will not cover items that in my opinion are part of the contract, come out 2-3 times for same item, not capable to fix, after paying their deductible, I had to call specifically trained tech (for a/c), and for electrical, and for plumbing. Also almost always same person, for plumbing and electrical, lights, sinks, tubs, a/c, etc. They did call and offer to make me a deal on renewal for my disatisfaction, but I am just not comfortable with them, neither was my tenant.
BFS is a total rip off. Have been paying premium for several years. Not much use of the coverage until recently. We have a leak apparently under the floor which they said it is not covered. There also was a problem with the shower faucet which again they said it is not covered because the faucet has mixed valve or in layman word the hot and cold water is mixed and that they have it in my contract that they don’t cover this type of faucet!!ridiculous! who uses separate cold and hot water for their shower nowadays! This is obviously a trick to not cover so many claims, and who reads those fine prints or knows detail of a faucet to figure out what they are not covering! Their contractor charged $175 to change that cartridge and it took him a minute to do it. This is also a reason they don’t cover you so that their contractors rip you off as compensation from the home warranty company they are working for less payment on covered claims!
If there was a zero, I would give it to them. If you’re even thinking about using this company, may I suggest you RUN, not walk, in the other direction. The “customer service” agents are rude, talking OVER you when you try to explain a problem to them, and to make it worse, if you ask for a supervisor or manager, conveniently, there are none available. We’ve been in our home over 5 years and have had to call BFS out twice in the last TWO years for A/C repair. Apparently the unit has a pinhole leak. The first service tech came out and attempted a fix, but didn’t bother to check the rest of the unit for leaks. This was AFTER he was informed that we’d had the unit charged just a year prior (even WE, laymen we are, knew the unit was leaking). Alas, almost a year to the day, we had to call again. This time, the tech had good sense enough to put in a dye charge to mark the leak(s). Our contract expired about 10 days after the work he did. Guess what ~ NOW they won’t come out to finish the job without trying to rip us off for more money ($65 diagnostic charge ~ well DUH! We already know what’s wrong with it!). I won’t be renewing. We already paid $55 bucks the first time for them to fix it, and they can’t seem to do that, with out trying to gig us for more money. And on top of that, the dingbat they have answering the phone in Houston can’t seem to keep her mouth shut long enough to listen to her customer. Pathetic! I think it’s time to get on the horn and get my attorney involved.
I am getting ready to initiate a lawsuit against this company for failure to complete a job. This outfit is a ripoff. Spend your hard earned dollars with another company, just not this one.
My a/c unit had been slowly going downhill. The previous warrant co (AHS) never addressed the problem, not even acknowledged that there was a problem. Then the first person BHS sent out found the problem right away, called BFS who agreed to replace the unit. I ended up having to pay for upgrade costs (because my unit was so old that the line set I had would not run a new unit) and to upgrade from a lower SEER to the 13 SEER. Overall, a really good experience. Recommendation to others signing up with BFS, pay for the $45 dollar SEER upgrade extra benefit. If I had done that I would have paid $45 rather than the $780 difference between my old lower rating SEER and the 13 SEER. I am very suspicious of these warranty companies, so I was not expecting alot from BFS but they surprised me by sending out competent repairmen (who incidentially were from a private co, not BFS’s) and paying for needed repairs.
I have had a home warranty with BFS for about a year and a half. I’ve had to call them out twice for my washing machine (it’s still loud during the spin cycle), once for my water heater (they replaced it after a week and charged me $200 dollars), and three times for my A/C unit (still waiting for service). Overall, their customer service has been very poor. Today when I called for my A/C unit I was told that it had to be over 99 degrees for my repair to be considered an emergency. It happens to be overcast in Las Vegas, which is very rare in August. The technician said he would not be coming out today, and tomorrow didn’t look too promising either. For all he knows it could be in the triple digits by this time tomorrow, which is the norm this time of year. They have never responded to a call the same day. I just don’t think this type of service is worth the $500+ I paid for the warranty. I’m very dissatisfied with this service, and will be shopping for a new warranty company.
I’ve had BFS since I bought my condo 4 years ago. The AC went out several times and each time they did manage to fix it after long waits. They probably spent more in repairs to the ancient thing than it would have cost them to repair it but that is their choice, I guess.
Now, I have a leak in my kitchen faucet so I called them up and scheduled the appt for a few days later. I went home and waited, and waited, and waited. I finally called the office since it was almost 5 (I had been waiting since noon) and was told that the tech was hung up at another call and would be at least another 2 hours. I had them reschedule to the following week and got home at noon again to wait for their tech to finally show up at 3:30. He took the faucet apart and put it back together but if anything it actually leaks more now. In addition, the tech neglected to charge me the deductable and when they called and I said that it wasn’t fixed so I wasn’t paying it they were very rude. I am now waiting on a call back from the supervisor however I’m not paying for this and considering the hassle of waiting over 8 hours for their tech not to fix the problem I think I will just call a regular plumber and have the faucet replaced. Chances are they will cost me another entire afternoon and still end up charging me extra to replace the faucet.
If your realtor tells you that he/she will buy the home warranty for you, then please make sure you’re not getting a warranty with BFS. I have a house that use hot water mixer for my shower (one control valve) and all Delta faucets for my sinks. After 4 months into the warranty, I called them to ask them to fix my faucet, they came out three days later and told me that “my faucets do not meet their definition of faucet” in the contract. Same go for all the mixer showers in the house. So stay away from BFS..or make sure you know exactly what type/model of everything in the house and make sure the home warranty contract cover those before you buy.
I called because my disposal was no longer working.. They wanted to come out the day after I called, but I couldn’t get off work until Friday (2 days later). Although I waited all day on Friday for the technician to come, he get here at about 4:30. He tried to fix the disposal and took it off only to discover the motor had burned out and it needed to be replaced. I thought I was going to have to schedule another appointment for them to come replace it, but he went to his car and came back with a new disposal, and replaced my broken one right away! Forty-five minutes later, we have a new disposal and it only cost us $55! This is the second time we have had to call them out (first time was for the A/C), and the second time they have fixed our problem!
Toilet running and possible leak. Got “additude from Customer Service, told not covered and if they come out $55.00 charge even if they do nothing. Asked for Supervisor, got “Dean”, who immediatly told me same thing and even though my contract said both bathrooms covered I was told to read the small print on the back of the contract. We have used this warranty for years, even for out lake house but now they seem to have totally changed their service and customer service also. Overall rude and we will be looking for a new company at renewal time this year.
I called on Tuesday morning 5/25 to report that the Condenser Fan Motor in my AC Unit was squealing loudly and was told that someone would call me to schedule a time for a service call.
That afternoon at approximately 4:00 PM a technician called and stated they’d be out the next day (5/26) between 12 and 5 PM.
I took Wednesday off work and waited all day. Nobody called, nobody came to the house. Finally at 7:00 PM I went out to get some dinner and just my luck the technician came at 7:15 PM and left a “Sorry we missed you” note on the door.
I immediately called the next morning Thursday 5/27 and was told if they couldn’t come out that day then definitely on Friday 5/28. I called again Friday morning 5/28 to confirm and the receptionist told me she’d call me back within the next 10 or 15 minutes to confirm.
I waited several hours and finally called them back and was told I’d been rescheduled for next Tuesday 6/1.
There isn’t much I can do about it, I either break down and call another company for a service call and eat the cost ($170.00 + for the motor in addition to the service call) or go 8 days in 93 degree heat without Air Conditioning.
Here’s the kicker… when I was researching all the various Home Warranty company choices provided by my Realtor when I purchased my home, BFS had the fewest number of reports on RipoffReport.com – it appears that they really aren’t any better than the others.
I was told by the receptionist that the supervisor’s name is Russell Griffor but he doesn’t have voice mail and that I would have to leave a message. He has not returned my call.
My Recommendation: Choose another Home Warranty Company. BFS Home Warranty has an extremely poor service facility in Dallas TX and is unresponsive to repeated requests for service.
I’ve had BFS for my home warranty company for the past 4 years and have used them many times. When I got my first contract, I called for a repair the very next day after signing up and they immediately sent someone out and replaced my ice maker on the refrigerator. My house had 2 very old A/C units and both have needed repair. Both times, we asked BFS if we could replace the units instead of having them repaired and to our delight we were told yes. We were allowed to choose the HVAC system of our choice as well as the HVAC company we wanted to use (I’m very picky). BFS reimbursed us the amount of what the repair would have cost ($1500 for one unit and $2100 for the other unit). I received my checks from them within a week of the repair. Also, if you read reviews about delayed service technicians, you can’t blame that on BFS since they contract the work to local contractors in your area. I was so upset because their HVAC contractor couldn’t come to my house right away and BFS told me I was free to find my own HVAC company to come immediately and they would reimburse the service call up to $90 which is what most HVAC companies charge. I took them up on this offer as well and had no problems getting reimbursed. I highly recommend them and think they are a superior value (I paid $275/yr for my recent contract).
My refrigerator stopped cooling a few days back and I scheduled a service call for Friday, May 28th. I was told that a service technician would arrive between 9 -12 PM. I took the morning off and stayed home from work because as you can imagine having no refrigerator at home is very bad. I wait till 11:30 AM and still nobody shows up. I decide to call the local service number that I was given and I was told that they would be there at 12 or shortly after. At 1:00 pm I called again and they said the technician would be there within the hour. At 1:30 pm, a service technician shows up. I greeted him with a “hello”. To which he replied, ” why does everyone think they are priority and think they are the most important people” He started complain about how he has been busy and I have no right to complain about anything, even if he was late. He had a very bad attitude and I did not let him in the house. I did complain to the service call number I was given and was told that a manager would give me a call back. I called 2 hours later and asked if I was going to get a callback still from a manager because I have 2 kids 4 and 6 months in the house and I need my refrigerator fixed. She replied, she’s not sure when the manager would call back. I asked if she can please tell her manager that this was urgent. The response was “ahuh”.
Bottom line is my refrigerator is still not working and have no ETA on a technician. I have called the emergency service line with no ETA.
I am pretty sure you are not aware of this situation about the service of your local office. Your prompt attention is required. I have your highest price premium service and would like my refrigerator fixed ASAP. The local office number I had been given to contact was 214.654.9510.
As you can imagine I am very dissatisfied and will be writing to the BBB so you can atleast fix your local office.
Technician came out on Saturday, May 30. Said I have a bad compressor and he will order a new one. I asked if I need to call back and verify anything. He said he will call and schedule a replacement time once the part is in. He said it takes 2 to 3 days. Its been 7 days and no status.
I called on Friday May 4th to check on the status, and the receptionist asked for my address to verify status. She looked it up and said there is no pending activity and mention of any part being ordered. I asked her to have the tech call me back. Obviously noone has called back yet.
I called on Monday May 7th. The receptionist said the computer system is down. I again asked can you call the technician that came to my house and verify the status and or have him call me back. You can imagine the result of this.
I am now going on over 6 weeks without a working refrigerator in over 100+ degree Texas heat.
At this point, I would simply like my money back since you have failed to deliver on the ONLY service call I had where an action was required. I did pay for the highest tiered plan, $650.00 to getter a better service level. Obviously not the case.
Please refund my money and cancel my contract !
Called for plumbing problem and a technician was to be out from 12 to 5, which I thought was a large time window. I took off work and waited. No one ever came.
I was not happy with the service provided by this company. They were to fix something in my house for over ten months they told me they were “waiting for the part” TEN MONTHS!! I have simply replaced the item myself. I have also replaced them as my warranty company. Their fee is paid all at once for the year so I paid them for nothing and was stuck like Chuck. Not the way to do business.
Called BFS on Saturday when my A/C unit stopped cooling. The tech called back and said he would be over the next day between 12-1pm. The Tech called at 1255 got some final directions and said he was on his way…one our later the problem was diagnosed as a bad capacitor and he replaced it then and there. So far Very satisfied!
Just wanted to give the company their props, the guy came when he said he was gonna come which was asap and had the ac working again in about 25 min. there was no 2 day wait unlike my previous experience with other company’s. Thanks again
I HAVE HAD AN ICEMAKER PROBLEM FOR A MONTH. THE FIRST SERVICE MAN CAME OUT ORDERED THE PART CAME BACK PUT IN THE PART DIDN’T WORK, SAID HE HAD TO ORDER ANOTHER ONE. HE WAS VERY NICE BUT THE DALLAS OFFICE IS HORRIBLE DOES NOT RESPOND TO FIND OUT WHEN HE CAN COME BACK THEN CALLS AND SCHEDULES A TIME WHEN I WON’T BE HERE THEN WHEN I GET A 12-5 SCHEDULE HE NEVER SHOWS UP. IF I WERE THE SERVICE MAN I WOULD NOT WORK FOR THIS COMPANY.. I’VE ASKED FOR A CALL FROM A SUPERVISOR AND HAVE NOT HEARD FROM ANYONE. I HAD GREAT FAITH IN THIS COMPANY FOR 2 YEARS BUT SOMETHING HAS HAPPENED WITH MANAGEMENT. THEY ARE DOING AN INJUSTICE TO THE COMPANY. IT WOULD BE WISE TO JUST RETURN ALL DALLAS CONTRACTS WITH A REFUND
In the middle of summer in Phoenix, the temps can reach over 112 very easliy. When your AC goes out, it is considered an emergency, except with BFS. Our AC went out on Tuesday and we called BFS that night. They sent a tech out the next day to look at the unit, who confirmed the unit was broken and parts needed to be ordered. We were told paperwork had to be submitted, approvals had to be obtained, etc., etc., then parts could be ordered. In our daily calls, the customer service reps told us the order was sitting with purchasing. On day 8, we finally learned that they were not waiting on purchasing or parts to come in, but that they were trying to find a certified dealer for our unit that could work on it. When that certified dealer finally came out, amazingly the same day we started calling and demanding to escalate and speak to a manager, they told us the same thing the first company said. This time though, they could complete the work, but they had to order parts, etc. That will take another 5 days! Why did they send the first company to begin with and why did we have to wait to get the appropriate company out? What a waste of time!
I report the air conditioning on the 15th September at 8:00 am the person who served me told me that someone would come to repair the air between 12:00pm and 4:00pm at this time that is 8:00 pm no one has come. I did not go to work because the technician would arrive between 12 and 4pm. The technician arrived at 8:30pm and said I’m very sick, he check the a/c unit and said I don’t have the piece I back tomorrow. another day without a/c. BFS Home Warranty very poor service.
I’ve been using BFS for over 3 years. In that time, I’ve had both A/C units breakdown (in the middle of a Phoenix summer). BFS contracts with local service companies for their repairs. I understand this and so when they couldn’t get an HVAC company to my house within 24 hours due to high customer volume during the middle of summer I asked if I could have a company of my choosing come out ASAP. BFS told me to go ahead, hire a company that I want and they would reimburse me up to $125 for the service call. Once my HVAC company came out and diagnosed the problem (broken condensor that cost $1800)I then called BFS and they told me I can have my company fix it and they would reimburse me the $2200. I decided to replace my entire HVAC system for $6500 and submitted my receipt (I wanted to replace my entire system due to it being 15 yrs old). I received reimbursement for the agreed upon $2200 within a week! When my 2nd A/C unit needed a new air handler, again they allowed me to use my favorite HVAC company and get reimbursement for the part. This time they limited the reimbursement to $1500 per the contract limitations and I received my check within a week again. I’ve only been paying $250-$275/yr for this home warranty and I’ve more than made back my money on just these 2 repairs. On another note, when I first started using them, they replaced my ice maker after I had just purchased the warranty 2 days prior!
Within a month of moving into my house the refrigerator was warm and the freezer was not defrosting. Although my warranty was supposed to cover my “whole house” it didn’t cover the refrigerator. I called again for service when my bathtub hot water was leaking (drop…..drop…. drop…) and the washing machine was losing water out of the bottom. I called in the morning and they advised they’d call me at 4 to tell me when the service man would come out for the leaking faucet and that this appliance wasn’t covered either. ( Calling me back immediately before they close, and at the end of my workday is not a customer friendly process. Not knowing when my appointment will be the next day prohibits me from advising my manager when I will be at work, or if I can attend mandatory meetings. I was advised the plumber would come the next day during a 4 hour window and that they would call me 30 minutes ahead so I could go home to meet him instead of sitting at home not earning money. This worked very well. I rushed home, and he showed up. The problem was we had a language barrier. He had no idea what I was saying so I did a lot of pointing and miming. He then said, “No parts. Monday.” He took tons of pictures with his phone of the spout. He never took anything apart to determine what parts he would need, but it seems like something a plumber would need to do if he didn’t have his xray glasses on. Irritated that he didn’t have a rubber washer, I showed him other things that were messing up. (The loud faucet that squeals when its on, the water heat knob that I noticed after seeing the leak.) He repaired the water heater, and called someone so they could explain in English that I needed a cartridge that was $60 if I wanted to fix the kitchen faucets noise problem. I said I wasn’t that concerned about the noise and didn’t want to pay for a cartridge. He left and I returned to work, but no one called to tell me when he would be back on Monday. My water kept dripping. (Drip.. Drip… stream…. drip… drip….stream…) It dripped all weekend. Monday no one called and no one came to fix the leak. I called the company to see when they would be out and was advised my service order was closed. I assured the representative that the issue wasn’t handled. She said she’d call the plumber the NEXT morning and let me know what was going on. Tuesday I got no call again, and when I tried to reach them of course their office was closed. I got home to hear water running at full blast. Like someone was filling up the tub. I had the city turn off the water for my house. Frustrated I called Wednesday and found out the “plumbing” rider in the service contract only meant he would replace that little seal, and not the stem if that was needed. Disappointed that my contract has been pretty useless, I contacted a real plumber who told me exactly when he would be at my house. Seven hours later, the BFS rep left me a voicemail providing the 4 hour window when the rubber seal replacement guy (after all he can’t be a real plumber if he can’t really fix the problem) would be at my house. I called her the next morning to cancel his appearance. I had the real plumber fix the leak. He replaced the seal, and discovered the stem was defective and needed replacement. He replaced both and I had water again starting Thursday afternoon. WoOHOO!
In summary: the plumbing warranty doesn’t cover much and none of the appliances that are used constantly are covered. If I have better luck in the future I will definitely leave a positive review.
I am currently going through my second disappointing experience with BFS. The first one came during record heat waves last summer when my air conditioning was out for 3 days because they do not offer emergency services on air conditioning over the weekend.
This time around, I have no heater in record cold temperatures and there is absolutely no customer service offered by BFS right now. The local office has been closed in Dallas for 2 days now and they are forwarding their phones to Hollywood, CA where they take phone numbers to forward on to the Dallas location with no idea of when they will be back in the office or when the call will be returned. Apparently, the icy roads have caused local BFS staff to stay home where they can be safe and warm.
I, on the other hand, had to leave my freezing house to brave the icy roads to find warmth for me and my 2 small children.
I am disgusted that they do not have a contingency plan for these types of situations. For instance, why are they forwarding phones to Hollywood? I worked from home today. Is there some reason why a local staff member at BFS is not doing the same and having the calls transferred to their home where they can schedule service visits for emergency situations?
I left a cat and 2 fish at the house because I couldn’t take them with me. It is possible that they will be dead and my pipes will be frozen by the time BFS gets around to calling me back to schedule a service visit.
It was even more frustrating when on my way to a warm place to stay, I noticed several operating establishments like McDonalds staffed with employees that felt like providing service to customers was important enough to brave the roads, but BFS left vulnerable populations in the cold.
I am about to renew my contract with BFS for another year, which will be my third. The main reasons why I recommend this company are listed below.
1. The price is reasonable 2. They do their own work, so you dont have to hassel dealing with another company or companies to handle what is needed to be repaired. We had to do this with AHS, it sucked 3. Customer Service is great! They usually get out to me the same day if not the next day and fix the problem on site
If you are considering this company, I give it two thumbs up
Broken a/c air handler part ordered and time scheduled at the beginning of April here it is the middle of June still no repair because they are sorry. They schedule appointment then do not show or call when I call they say oh Im sorry we dont know what happen the best we can do is set up another appointment for a week later; same thing over and over.
We called for service on our heat exchange and finally got an appointment for a week later. They showed up after the scheduled time so no one was home. They called and we gave them permission to go ahead to the back yard to do their work. A few days later we go to use the heat exchange and it doesn’t work. We call to schedule another appointment. They were supposed to come between 12-4. Again they did not come during this time. They showed up at 730. They didn’t try to knock very much because I came around the corner from back yard to find a card on my door at 732 saying they were sorry they missed us and we need to call back to reschedule (again). And of course this was not during their regular business hours so we could not contact anyone. The next day when we called it in they were not apologetic at all about ANY of their mistakes. And we have to wait yet again for them to come back out…. Horrible customer service, horrible timeliness, horrible service repair, hence the poorest rating possible. Find someone else to get your home warranty from
they will not honor their own service warranty. I have had them for 6 years and 6 years they have been worthless. even the customer support are rude. my AC went out again during the 102 weather. the lady told me “I will have to wait in line we have no more people to send to you. The next opening will be Thursday. (4 days). I asked her i am paying all of this money to you each year, and i have to wait in line. she told me there are more endangered people that are needing priority. i told her that i will have to get someone else, the only reply we will not reimbursed. these are very hatful people” if you hire these people,,, get a lawyer also…..would love to sue these people. For breach of contract
The only good thing I got from BFS was they repaired my cooling unit (AC) right after 1st week of me purchasing this warranty other than that they are really horrible. My microwave also broke down. The tech came out to see it, without opening it he noted down what parts he guessed would need be replaced. 8 months later we are still going back and forth.
The microwave we have is a combination microwave oven. The contract does not say it is NOT covered but their people keep telling me that my microwave/oven is NOT covered. They are offering me upto $600 towards purchase of next microwave/oven combo as they will not replace the whole thing.
They can decline whatever they want it is upto you to stay away from these guys and that is EXACTLY what I plan to do i.e. no contract renewal.