First American Home Warranty
Home Warranty Plan Details and Reviews for First American Home Warranty
Premium: $355
Deductible: $55
Effective: Upon payment receipt
Web: homewarranty.firstam.com
Deductible: $55
Effective: Upon payment receipt
Web: homewarranty.firstam.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. |
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
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I have been with them for 7 months and can honestly say it is a complete waste of money. This is the WORST company, they never follow up or do what the say they are going to do. If you do need to call them, you are speaking to someone in India. There are much better options–do not use this company!
The customer service is poor due to the length of time it takes to speak with a supervisor about plumbing issues I had. The customer service representatives are not familiar and knowledgeable about my plumbing concerns. Calls are routed to different places when calling regarding claims.
The contractor that was hired was not competent. He installed a gas hot water heater incorrectly. Gas was escaping and the pilot would continue to go out. The service replacement was poor and not satisfactory.
My overall rating is poor and I am not satisfied with this company and would not recommend them as a referral.
I regret having entered into a contract with this company. We had a range hood fan that was installed incorrectly. This is clearly covered in the policy. The company refused to have someone correct the defect. I’m glad that this happened early in the policy period – I cancelled the policy and am happy with that decision. I don’t know how the company can deny a claim that is specified in the policy, but I guess that’s how they make money. Stay away from them – you may be disappointed.
I have just had to call this company again about a call I placed three days ago. They did send a tech out and he replaced the first thing he could and get the fan on my air conditioner to run. Thanks to this company for that. Now, here comes the bummer. Two days later, last Friday evening, the very same air conditioner, the very same fan had the very same problem. Now, I call this company again asking for the original problem to be fixed for good. Find the cause, not a symptom. The temp out today was 90+ and it got very hot in the house. They tell me that they have no way to get in touch with this service company they called before but, if I will pay another $60.00, they will call a different company. Why should I pay another $60.00 when the problem happened again in less than two days? I said NO. The first time I called about this, I was told that the service company would call me back within 24 hours. The second time I called, I was told that I was incorrect. That I was not told that timeframe. I believe I do know what I was told since I write down everything I am told over the phone. Now, since I know it means nothing unless it is in their records, I probably will not bother to write down anything. After all, IF IT IS NOT IN THEIR RECORDS, IT DID NOT HAPPEN, no matter what the customer says. The second time I was told that First American has no way to get in touch with this company until probably Monday morning. IT LOOKS TO ME LIKE THEY COULD REQUIRE ANY COMPANY THAT THEY DO BUSINESS WITH TO HAVE ACCESSIBILITY EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR!!!!!
Had my kitchen faucet break on me. It was covered by First American. Guy shows up and I pay him $60 for the visit. He does nothing! He tells me he has to order replacement parts instead of just replacing the faucet (which I paid extra for – to be replaced with better quality faucet to boot). I call First American. They say I don’t have the replacement coverage. I tell them yes I do and I have the contract to prove it. They continue to deny me. I tell them they need to speak to thier manager because I have the coverage and proof of payment for it. It’s been 2 weeks now and I still have NO KITCHEN FAUCET. Have you ever tried functioning in a kitchen with no faucet (I have kids)! Round and round I go with different customer service reps and I still get nowhere. Finally, it’s been 4 weeks now, and they tell me that the first guy that showed up never ordered any parts! I am so upset now that I tell them that I am going to buy my own faucet and they are going to pay for it or I will sue them for not honoring the coverage I paid for. In the end, I got my problem resolved but by the time I got my money back (had to call for 3 weeks) and was finished dealing with them, it had been 2 months since it all began! This is the worst home warranty company I have ever seen and I wouldn’t take their coverage for free! STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY!!!
These people will scam you. I called because I was told by a plumber that my main drain had problems because some black gunk coming out of it. I snaked it myself and the drain started to work again, but still wanted to have it checked out. They sent a plumber over, but all he did was fill my tub up a couple inches and tell me that my water was going down (which I already knew). Then he asked my to pay the $55 for the deductible because he said he couldn’t check my main drain. I told them my situation on the phone, but they sent someone over anyway. Total waste of money. They don’t want to cover anything is what it comes down to. Anything they do cover is relatively inexpensive to fix anyway. Waste of money.
I was decently impressed with FirstAm until recently. They have never refused coverage and have generally sent out contractors quickly. Our water heater was replaced with no questions asked when the bottom fell out a couple of years ago. My only complaint then was that they didn’t cover disposal costs for the water heater.
Our latest claim, however, has me reconsidering our decision to renew our policy this past year. Our refrigerator wasn’t holding its temperature, which I noticed upon opening a brand new gallon of milk for my baby only to find it rancid. A thermometer verified the temperature to be 59 degrees. A technician was sent out the next day, and, after diagnosing the problem as a frozen coil and defrost sensor/timer malfunction, he told me he’d have to order parts if they were available, which could take 7-10 days. FirstAm, he said, wouldn’t replace the fridge if parts could be found, regardless of how long it might take to get them. So basically, I have to wait over a week with no working fridge in which to store milk for my one-year old. What’s more, I called First Am the next business day (Monday… service had been on a Friday) to see what the verdict was. Were the parts available or not? When might I expect them if so? They hadn’t heard from the contractor, even though the service call had been over with at 2PM EST Friday, and it was now 1PM EST Monday (FristAm being on PST, of course). They said they’d left a message with the contractor and would call me back that day, but of course, they did not. I called again the next day to find that the contractor had called the day before to get authorization to order the parts, so they had JUST been ordered and might not be in for ANOTHER 7-10 days. Let’s see, that’s now 11-14 days I will be going without a working fridge? Are you kidding? Given all the parts that had to be replaced, it wouldn’t be that much more for First Am to just replace the fridge. They don’t seem to be concerned, though, that I can’t give my child milk without having to run to the store for a fresh quart every single day so that it doesn’t spoil. What is this, 1920? I could understand ordering replacement parts–even if it took one to two weeks– over replacement if this failed appliance was a matter of convenience, like a washer/dryer or a dishwasher, but this is a matter of health.
I am sick of having to pay nearly $500 a year (a rate which is sure to increase this year as it did last year) and $100 per service call just to have lousy turnaround time on repairs. Even with 4 service calls over the 3 years that we’ve had this policy, we haven’t even broken even on cost savings. The only reason we even kept this policy after getting the first year free from our real estate agent was to safeguard against the 20 year old HVAC system’s failure, but now I’m pretty sure they will give us the run around on repairs vs. anteing-up and replacing either the AC or the furnace when the time comes, and we’ll either sweating or freezing our asses off for one to two weeks in the mean time. Not worth it!
Filed a claim 2/21/2011 for a ‘running’ toilet in a home purchased less than a month before that. First contractor never contacted me, claimed to have called & left message but no message or caller ID from them. Warranty company had to call them out a second time. Replaced flapper, didn’t work, needed an oversized flapper but didn’t have on truck so would come back tomorrow. Oversized flapper still not working, ordered a ‘special’ flapper from manufacturer (3rd trip from this plumber) but still didn’t work. Said that replacing toilet was his only other solution and warr co would want to have a 2nd opinion. They sent out a 2nd plumber, he said it’s not the flapper but the flush valve needed replaced. He wasn’t sure how to read the numbers on the toilet to tell what model # was (shouldn’t plumbers know about toilets?) so he would have to research and order part, if not available replacing toilet only other option. Get part in and plumber installs it, he removed plumbers putty from old valve and said that toilet must have manf defect. Toilet still leaked. Now warr co says it’s a defect and won’t cover. They don’t have any other affiliated plumbers in the Denver area (really, only 2 in all of Denver) so we would need to find one and pay to have them come and diagnose problem and then they would review to see if they will cover it. They will reimburse us for the service call if they determine to pay claim. It has been 4 weeks and we still have some problem after 2 plumbers and 5 visits, now they say they won’t cover it due to manf defect. We don’t know if it’s a chip from a previous plumber or what (can’t ‘see’ it, can only ‘feel’ it). They are only going on the word of the 2nd plumber (a guy in a mini van with no advertisement, plain clothes, nothing to show he is a professional or licensed plumber, and on BBB there’s not enough info on the co to give a rating). We have been given the run around by warranty companies before and this one is no different, the best scam in the real estate business. They claim they will try and find another plumber to come out but that they don’t have anymore ‘approved’ ones in the area, we’ll see. In the meantime we have a bathroom that we can’t and haven’t been able to use pretty much since we moved in, not too reassuring.
The real customers are the real estate agents that convince sellers to purchase these warranties, not the buyers who will actually be the ones who use it.
I was a First Am customer since 1996. This used to be a good company, among the best and they got thing fixed swiftly by good craftsmen. Then around 2005 there was a dramatic change in the quality of service contractors. Seems they cut the payment per service call to the contractor while raising the amount the homeowner paid. Regretfully this formerly good company has gone downhill ever since. Last year after 3 different First Am contractors could not fix my washing machine, I called in Maytag at my own expense and an extra $360 to fix it right. This past year I had an electrical short in the electric furnace. It took 16 service calls spanning 6 months before the root problem was identified and a dozen arguments with First Am reps before a fix was agreed upon and even then they reneged on the SEER-13 replacement promise and only replaced the furnace without replacing the entire system. Then this past January, I had a refrigerator service call and was told by First Am not to pay the $50 service fee as no service was rendered. Now First Am bills me in arrears for the $50 and auto rolls over my enrollment into a new year without my approval for which I have requested immediate cancellation. If enough people leave or avoid the company maybe they will get the message to improve their quality immensely. I recommend avoiding First Am.
Oh how I wished I had read these reviews before I signed up with this outfit. They are a total scam. I reported my air con as dripping and they sent out a technician from fort myers who claimed it was a faulty installation due to the ducting. The fact that it had run for 11 years was installed to code and the home inspection some 6 months earlier had passed it as fully operational was not accepted by them. They sent a 2nd technician who reported the fault was due to low freon and that the installation was absolutely standard and thousands had been installed in Charlotte county in exactly this manner. He later said he was pressed by them to say the fault was due to ducting but he refused. He said the faults were normal for it’s age. still the insurance denied the claim. The brokers prudential are absolutely no help they take their commission and run. Please be advised you are wasting your money here if you use this company, if you read the contract carefully you will find they don’t cover any major expenditure. I am from Scotland but I will still be going to the small claims court with my case just for the satisfaction and because someone has to make a stand. Why are the media not onto this lot in the UK there would have been an investigative programme about this by now with so many hundreds of similar cases.
I have read numerous reviews about this company but decided to go with them anyway. There are a lot of bad reviews here and I was very skeptical, however, after speaking to a service rep and asking about the bad reviews she explained about the level of coverage and what will be covered and how to read the contract. I purchased a contract and placed a service call for my garage door and then a few months later for my heater system. This was the test, they came out and service the garage door with no problems. Then a few months later the heater system which needed to be changed. I have nothing but a GOOD REVIEW about this company. Ensure you read your contract and discuss beforehand what is covered and what is not covered. This is a great company and they have stood by their word when I called for service. I would definitely recommend this company to friends and family.
I placed a claim Jan. 10. Here it is March 10 and I am no closer to having a working appliance than I was 2 months ago. I have had SIX service technicians here, several parts ordered, but never installed (each new tech says the wrong parts were ordered). My oven was disconnected from all power source for an entire week because the tech said he would return in two days to finish the job. He didn’t call, didn’t show up, and I had to wait a week for somebody to at least connect power to the unit. I have called First American to complain, only to be put on hold for 1/2 hour, then be disconnected. I have left messages with supervisors, who do not return calls. I would NEVER recommend this company, and am going to call our realtor and let her know not to ever try to use this so called service. They are a company that does not care about the unfortunate people that are paying their wages and making money for the company. I am filing a complaint with the BBB as well as contacting state officials in an attempt to make their life as miserable as they have made mine.
Called on 2/16 because didn’t have hot water in master bedrrom, it is now 3/8 so you figure out why they got poor, had 3 different plumbers assigned to it: First one never called, second one tried to scam me into paying him 250$ after changing 3 different parts and then said water heater needs to be replaced, and third one agrees that a new water heater is needed but has yet installed the new water heater. And oh yes, first american as a company lack customer service, I have yet to hear from them about any of this, I’ve been the one calling, and yes the uncovered costs… they tell you, get firstamerican, peace of mind, bla bla bla, all untrue, now they tell me I have uncovered costs: 300 plumber fee, 95$ anohter fee, because plumber has to change something in the setting of how the old water heater was installed, now please tell me .. I’m not the only one that hears SCAM.. I will be calling FOX news about this, and please everyone reading this, do not, I repeat, do not purchase first american, they are scammers.
Thank You
Christina
We have been using this company for 6 years. I’m not going to go into great detail about everything. I’m just going to tell you about our last experience with them. I called to have someone come out to fix the broken lever on my water and ice maker. The contractor they sent to my house just rolled his eyes at me when he saw the problem. Really did not say much to me at all. Just said the part would have to be ordered and then we’ll call to set up another time. Four days later I get a call from the insurance company saying that the claim was denied. Because the contractor told them it did not break from “normal wear and tear” these pieces don’t just break….. without fource full use. Come on, really??? I went online and found out this is a common thing with the Frigidaire water lever. That part only cost $80. I told First American that and they said sorry the contractor said different. I said “can you please send out another company for another opinion?” They said no. I’m done. I cancelled my policy today.
I do not recommend First American. Will not every use them again. They use bottom of the line contractors. I have never been impressed with the companies they send out.
Most of the service contractors sent gave less than desirable service. The company ALWAYS backed up the contractor when a dispute over the service calls came up. They sent us to a collection agency even though we had paid the contractor at the house that day.
After nine years with your company and your second rate repairmen, I cancelled my policy this year due to your botching a service call. Not only did it take 3 different service calls to get the problem resolved, you had the audacity to turn me into a collection service for nonpayment of the service call that was given to your repairman on the day of service. I did my part by paying the service call on the day or repair. What happened on your end? You apparently don’t think too much of your customers.
The worst insurance company in earth. Sending non professional contractors. never return calls, rude costumer service rep.
I used First American Home Warranty two times since I started my contract:
1) Heat pump went out – Called customer service and a tech person came out to determine the issue. Compressor went out — had to order the part, took 4 days to come in. Tech came out and repaired the unit promptly and made sure all was working correctly. After the install he found another issue with a switching part and replaced that after the heat pump was installed. My overall satisfaction was good — had to endure a few days of hot weather but overall very satisfied.
2) My washing machine went out and called for service. A tech person arrived within two days and determined the transmission was bad. The model I owned was an older model and the part was not available locally so had to be ordered. The tech put a rush on the order to be delivered to my home. He gave me a number to call when all the parts arrived. One issue, the wrong part arrived — not the issue of the home warranty company but the warehouse sending the part — received a microwave pannel instead of the transmission. I called the guy and he quickly reordered the part for over night delivery. He came the next day in the afternoon to install the transmission. The only bad thing is that I could not wash clothes for 7 days. Overall I was pleased with the service and resolution of the issue. It took longer than expected but was not the fault of the home warranty company so I didn’t ding them on service timeliness.
I have a third claim I just called in today – plumbing and will give you a report when the issue is resolved. Sink won’t drain — probably needs snaked. More to come.
I strongly recommend against this company. They were quick to answer the phone and tell me that one of their contractors would respond soon, etc. But, twice I had contractors of theirs call, say they were coming, and then just not show up. On two different occasions, for two different matters, I ended up just calling a responsible and reliabel contractor and paying for it myself. Of course, this is just what they want you to do! But, get this: one of those times, First American sent me a letter and then called me to tell me I had to pay the $75 fee for having their contractor come out and then me not using them! I explained, about three times, that their contractor had never showed up and that I darned sure wasn’t going to pay a call fee PLUS pay for the repair myself! I urge you to stay away from these folks.
We have had a contract with first american home warranty for about 1 1/2 years & have had to submit 4 minor claims – 2 of the 4 claims were just a major hassle & we do not plan on renewing our contract next year. we thought a home warranty sounded great since my husband & I are young, new home owners who do not have much experience with DIY home repair.
The first claim we made was for a leaking 2nd floor toilet – First American claims that if you purchase their warranty you will never have to look through the yellow pages again – they will find a contractor. Needless to say, they claimed they could not find a plumber so we had to find our own licensed & bonded plumber & before the plumber could complete the work we had to call 1st american to obtain approval. we explained this to the plumber, who soon came downstairs to tell us he had replaced the wax seal on the toilet & did not wait for us to obtain authorization because it had to be done. we called 1st american & they were not at all sympathetic, stating they would not pay for anything b/c we should have called them before the plumber even removed the toilet to find out what was wrong. By the way, we found out they would not authorize any repairs after holding on the line either with a person or on hold for at least 30-40 minutes – plumber waiting for us.
The 2nd toilet repair & 3rd claim for a furnace that would not start were handled in a timely manner b/c first american found & sent technicians for the jobs – my only complaint is that we still had to spend too much time on the phone with operators to submit the claim.
Finally, the 4th claim was for a malfunctioning well pump – a part that we pay extra for as optional coverage on our contract with First American. I submitted a claim online to save time & was called back about 6 hours later & told by the operator that again they could not find a contractor for me (they could not find a plumber?) & that i would have to locate my own. i easily located a licensed & bonded plumber (on the first try via google). the plumber came out & told me that for our indoor well pump to function the pressure switch that is a part of the pump itself had to be replaced. he waited patiently while i spoke to an operator with first american for at least 30 minutes giving them all of the many pieces of info they asked for – they then said i had to call the contractor’s company for their license# & that would be all i would need to call back & receive authorization. i got the license# & called them back within 2 minutes, only to wait on hold for 7 minutes, explain everything to an operator for another 5 minutes, & then be placed on hold for another 5 minutes while they tried to enter the license# into their computers. the operator came back on the line & told me their computers were not working & i would have to call back in 20 minutes. i explained that i could not make the plumber wait any longer to start the work as he had other appointments for the day – i was placed on hold again for the operator to get approval from his manager for the repairs to start while i was waiting for their computers to spit out an authorization# for me. when the operator returned on the line, he said that first american would not be covering the repair because a pressure switch is not covered. he could not explain why i had been on the phone for almost an hour only to be told they would not help & when i asked for a manager, he gave me a ph# for their claims resolution department. I have since looked at the contract & it states that the pressure or storage *tank* is not covered. i will be calling the claims department for an explanation.
When I signed up for a home warranty i thought I was paying (quite a substantial amount of money) for peace of mind & to remove the stress associated with repairs in the home. As it turns out, this is too much to expect.
I placed a claim with the company’s automated system as a human representative does not take the claim information. There is no option on the pre-populated menu to add additional information about your warranty claim. The claim was accepted by the system and a contractor was assigned to my claim. When the assigned technician called to schedule a service appointment, I explained to her in more detail about the plumbing problem that we were experiencing.
Today when the assigned plumber came to our house, he diagnosed the problem as a “freeze break.” The plumber, obviously familiar with the policies of First American, stated that he did not think that the freeze break would be covered but he would call and verify the coverage.
Shortly after, a representative from First American called to inform me that this repair would not be covered under our service contract. I explained that since the automated system had accepted my claim and assigned a technician, and I wanted to have the $55 service fee refunded. I was told that it was my responsibility to know what is and is not covered.
In the past, I had called to place a claim for another problem. The automated claim filing system REJECTED my claim at that time. I explained the prior rejection to the representative, who stuck to the company position of “it is the customer’s responsibility.” I spoke to a supervisor at First American who informed me that the company would not refund the $55 technician call fee despite the fact that their system accepted my claim. I was told that the only information provided was “plumbing.” True, because there is no option to add commentary or clarity to your claim. I maintain that it is the company’s responsibility in a position of not enough information to either deny based on lack of information or contact the client for clarity. It is an irresponsible and a shady business practice to send a technician and charge a fee of $55.
My contract is up for renewal in less than a month. It goes without saying that I will not renew my contract with First American and will encourage others to select another home warranty provider. I seriously question the value of the First American Home Warranty product, and I am very dissatisfied with the level of service provided by the representatives. I plan to escalate this issue to the BBB.
I wish I had read these reviews before choosing First Am as home warranty for the property i purchased. The contractors they used are generally unreliable and unprofessional. the four they sent so far for two of my claims had terrible reviews, and those reviews dated from at least two or three years ago so First Am knows they have bad contractor but just don’t care… then, first american’s primary goal will be to deny the coverage by any means, using the wrong contract, making up exclusions, anything to discourage you. A threat to make a claim to the department of insurance makes things move a little and makes (false) exclusions disappear, but what a watse of time and energy !! in a nutshell you want peace of mind avoid at all costs First Am.. but frankly are there any reliable home warranties out there…
I had a drain pipe leakage underneath my raised foundation home. I have already had 3 diffrent techs come out to diagnose and repair the leaking pipe and clogged drain lines from the kitchen/laundry area. The first tech from home warranty plumbing did not even have a flash light and would not look under the house. He said it was caused by the recent heavy rains. The next tech from A+ plumbing think his name was Dave tried to clear my line with my water hose and said it wasnt clogged. Didnt ever bother to use a camera or snake to try to diagnose and clear line. When it came to crawl underneath the house to look at the leaking line he wouldnt even attempt saying he would of gone under there when he was younger but not now he is too old and tired. The 3rd guy from ALCO plumbing and refridge(what does the name tell you?) Was also a mickey mouse/jack of all trades operation. He was not only 3.5 hours late but when he tried to snake the clogged drain line his equipment broke(supposedly) then when it came to crawl underneath the house he said he wouldnt fit and he doesnt have the proper equipment.
Service, Value and Integrity……………all our vendors are thoroughly screened (this is the crap you listen to on a recording when you are on hold with theses clowns. yeah right does this company have any or do any of these things.
Far from it. I will be cancelling my service with this company and spending my dollars elsewhere with a company that has those values that this company so falsely advertises.
I hope this review helps those that our out there shopping for a home warranty.
EKO
DO NOT CONTRACT WITH THIS COMPANY!! the last two service calls i have put in after 4 years of paying my Premium faithfully, I was told on both “NOT COVERED”!! So in addition of paying thousands of dollars for coverage i had to pay 60 dollars for a service call in with i got NOTHING. These people are CROOKS!!!
HORRIBLE! We had an overflowing tub which was leaking into our bathroom, ruining the floors and walls. I called the warranty company and they sent out two plumbers, neither of which was “authorized” to do the work. Over a week passed and we had no resolution of our problem. We couldn’t use the only tub in our home.
I spent over 3 hours on the phone with First American representatives pleading with them to try to help resolve my claim, one of which informed me that she was not there to “babysit” my claim. ?!?! Um, I just want this problem resolved! When I asked to speak to a manager, I was placed on hold for over 30 minutes.
THIS COMPANY SUCKS. Do not waste your money.