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
Customer Service 
Service Timeliness
Repair/Replacement Service
Overall Rating
Total Reviews: 242 Rate this Company!
Service Timeliness
Repair/Replacement Service
Overall Rating
Total Reviews: 242 Rate this Company!
Coverage Area: USA - All States
| Home warranty is a complex insurance product. Unlike home insurance, it does not provide blanket coverage for all appliances. Pre-existing conditions and problems resulting from lack of maintenance of appliance are are generally not covered by home warranty companies. Home warranty sellers may not state these factors clearly, and this will create dissatisfaction among customers. Due to these factors, you will see many negative reviews here. Don't be intimidated by some negative reviews here. If you have maintained your appliances in good condition and go with a reputed home warranty provider, your coverage will be fine. |
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Reviews
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I have been a contractor for FA for over 3 years and I have seen it all. FA is no longer using our company due to cost. Our company has an A BBB rating fully uniformed employees with minimum 3yrs experience and FA Chooses to use the lowest price contractor even if service is poor. They are currently using employees that were dismissed from my company for inability to perform job fuctions. The communication path is not open for customer or contractor and authorization agents often deny covered compenents or authorize non covered components. Look at complaint #105 That is our customer now he has to deal with Sears and you can see how happy he is with them.
Last year I bought a mid-80s custom built home and paid for a Home Warranty Plan with First American. During July, with temps averaging over 100 degrees, my outside air conditioning unit broke. To make a long (and frustrating) story short, it took 3-4 weeks before a new unit was installed. Lost paperwork, non-communication between First American and the Air Conditioning Company which they recommended, and constant follow-up phone calls from me. I hope my experience was an isolated one, but probably not.
NO THANKS TO FIRST AMERICAN HOME BUYERS “PROTECTION” CORPORATION
Here is (was!) my Policy # 5561433303589
Claim # 05813090
On September 2, 2007 while I was away on vacation I was called by a neighbor who informed me that there were huge amounts of water pouring out the front, back, and side of my house. I arrived home a few hours later to find the entire first floor of my home COMPLETELY DESTROYED. It has been determined and documented by Global Engineering Services of Tempe Az in a Failure Analysis Report (GES case # D2662 1001) that this flood was a direct result of a faulty installation of an instant hot water dispenser and hot water faucet. This appliance was installed by: General Plumbing and Rooter 2 Belshaw Street Antioch, California.
This devastating event took two full months, working with State Farm, Contractors, Service Master, Dirty Movers and the short term storage facility where all of our furniture was piled up like it was a thrift store display.
General plumbing and Rooter is (you guessed it) hired by First American Home Buyers Protection Corporation! The claim was subrogated and I recieved my $5000.00 dedictible back. I sued General Plumbing and Rooter and received another $5,000.00 Now I am sueing First American Home Buyers Protection Corporation (I am having Daniel Langston, President personally served) for the remaining $2090.44 that I believe that I am owed. I am sueing First American on the following grounds: Breach of Warranty. Installation performed by unqualified plumber hired by defendant.
In closing this nightmare , the total paid on this claim was $154,543.38. I was not compensated for the two months of working 18 hours a day as the project manager. (Which is exactly what I was!) The entire first floor of my home was ruined, three feet of drywall (baseboard up) had to be removed & replaced from all interior walls. The Kitchen was gutted- all granite, cabinets, appliances, and floor were all destroyed. All the carpet had to be replaced.
First American Home Buyers Protection Corporation never called to offer any sort of apology or any support during this horrible time. They only call and call and call and call and call when your warranty is about to expire or expires and they want you to renew.
On June 6th, 2009 we reported a gas leak to First American Home Warranty. We were assigned South County Plumbing who did inform us that the leak was coming from our furnace. First American then assigned our case to Jet Electric they visited our home on the same day June 9th, 2009. After borrowing a water bottle from us, JE seconded the opinion that we had a gas leak at the furnace and that it had been patched while we waited for the part to be ordered. Since then, JE has visited our home 2 more times in attempt to fix the furnace staying no longer then 15 minutes in each attempt. After multiple complaints to FA regarding the unprofessional language and service of JE, FA stated that they were the ones assigned to our case and therefore had to fulfill our contract. Ronald from JE informed us as of July 9th that he “quits” therefore we again contacted FA and the next step was to wait while FA tried to get Sears to fix, though we informed FA that Sears would not be able to fix. By July 13th, FA is aware that Sears won’t be able to fix floor unit furnaces and again reassigns our case to Super Air out of Gilory and currently I do not have an appointment scheduled after multiple attempts. I have cell phone documentation of the hours I have spent on the phone with FA trying to resolve this issue. For the past 6 weeks it has been back and forth with FA with false promises of tomorrow and non returned phone calls on a claim that is considered “emergency” status.
This morning between 6:45-7:15 a.m. I left messages with the following people at FA (4 being known supervisors) whom have previously dealt with our case: Jerry X3660, Desiree X2943, Libra X3562, Max X5285, Jesse X2447, Jamila X3237, Tiffany X2983, Dina X2425 and not one was available. I have been told by FA that furnaces are covered under our home warranty and I fear that our August expiration will come before we ever feel heat again in our home. The customer service I have received from FA is unfriendly, unhelpful and filled with false promises. The routines and procedures are unclear, unorganized and not communicated in a timely manner.
I called in a repair request for my washer on 6/5. The first repairperson they sent out, took my check first, then said that there was nothing wrong without even looking at the machine. He couldn’t find the serial or model number either. I contacted another appliance repair on my own and faxed a copy of the needed mechanical repair to First American…who said that they were not responsible for a misdiagnosis. They also said that they did not authorize any one else to look at the machine.
These folks have been great. The customer service group seems polite, caring and very responsive. The only trouble is that they are not renewing policies in New York State – I would renew if they were still here. They acted fairly quickly and very responsibly to my issues.
I have had them for over four years and it has gotten worse over time and not worth the money. I never have anything covered which is a joke because in the contract it states all major appliances, i will be writing the cancellation letter today
14 plus days and counting without an A/C in the 100 plus degree TX heat for an older couple. I feel sorry that I had recommended this company to other clients in the past, 3 years ago, or perhaps the company has deteriorated since then. As a realtor they have done fine for basic appliances but when it comes to HVAC, Water Heaters unfortunately the payout and avoidance of paying for items very poor. The contractors are not paid sufficient amount of money so they have not interest in providing the appropriate service not to mention take MOST if NOT ALL the money from the customers instead.
We’ve had 1st American coverage for three years (since buying our house). Sometimes, they covered good, sometimes not. On the major $$$ items NOT.
The clincher was in the past few weeks. AC went out and surly, rude, obnoxious tech from a town 120 miles away from us came in, barely looked at the unit and said he wouldn’t fix it because the problem was caused by a DIRTY unit which had not been maintenanced every six months. At this point in 100-degree weather, we had been without AC for two days. My husband called 1st American while the tech was there and they of course went with what the tech said. So the rest of that day, my husband spent about 5 hours on the phone from one rep to another and back again, each saying they were entering our comments on the computer, BUT we had to go through the problem over and over again because no info was on the computer. Long story short, they would not honor AC coverage because we didn’t have it serviced every six months, even though the motor bearing that went out and was replaced by another company at our expense (over $500) was a natural occurence of age, per the company that relaced it. But 1st American would not and did not honor the claim, even though we protested by phone and by letter to their Dispute Resolution Department (another joke). We just received a letter from them stating the fact of no payment BUT to “Please do hesitate to contact us in the future”!!! Yeah, right!! The only contacting We will be doing is to send another letter (required) to cancel our service with these people. DO NOT GET 1ST AMERICAN!
Linda Cockrill
Called in March for A/C repair. Guy added freon, 2 weeks later, hot again, another company came out, needs more freon. Then 1st american agreed to do a leak detection test. Repair company came out, but only wanted to add more freon. We told them to leave. 1st american had no record of a leak detection test needed. So sent another company said compressor and valves bad, not pumping correctly, unit had freon. 1st american wanted to drain & recharge with freon before replacing compressor (too expensive for them). That did not work, still hot. Called to get compressor replaced. Claimed that company no longer will work for them, so I need to start over from scratch with yet another company. I called the company myself to see why they backed out. Said 1st american has not paid for any of their jobs in 2009, so they cannot afford to do business for them and not be reimbursed. So they have sent another company out, yes it is now July and extremely hot. This company came out 4 days after being recharged with all new freon. The contractor told me when I opened the door, that yes my house would be hot because it is a two story. Very rude. He checked & said there is no problem, I have freon. 1st american now wants to close claim because there is no problem according to this last company. Yes, it has now been almost 3 months. Numerous hours on the phone & time off work to meet contractors. Yet, problem unsolved. Wish I had read this earlier, stay away from this company. I wish someone knew how to sue or close this illegal business down. They DO NOT do what is paid for or promised. The consumer is being taken advantage of with no recourse.
I have had many problems with my pool pump and they have not repaired it. They finally told me the problem was mine because I went on holidays. When I asked to talk to a supervisor I was told they would not give me any different answer, when I asked to talk to a manager I was told they can not let me talk to them, when I asked to talk to the CEO they told me they did not know who he was. The shoddy job done by their contractor left me with a bill of $600. I also had a problem with a leaking toilet and the contractor came out said there was mold in the wall and so they refused to repair it. I have paid more money for people to tell me they will not fix it then if I fixed it myself. Do not spend your money with them.
While this company is better than American Home Shield, my first provider who I dropped since I had to have arguments every time a repair actually cost them money, it is not much better. Anytime I placed a repair order, it always took them at least 3-5 days to actually get a repairman to my door. They even had the nerve when it was 33 degrees outside to tell me it was not an emergency issue unless it was 32 degrees or less. I had to elevate the call a few times before I actually got someone who cared about the health of my 3 young children all under the age of 4 at the time.
However, they were quick to pay up on my Bosch dishwasher when I asked instead of replacement. Why did I want paymeny instead of replacement? Because what they consider an equivalent, was a crappy model kitchen aid machine that was hundreds less in price as well as less options and lower quality. When questioned about it, they said they will only pay $$ equivalent to their wholesale price of what they claim is an equivalent. I had to add a few hundred $$ just to get a new Bosch replacement.
To cap things off, now they are not renewing my contract because they claim they are pulling out of covering NJ.
Horrible service! They have a really bad company on their list that we heard from another contractor we hired that had put a used part in our AC that was bad. We filed a formal complaint against the company and they still keep trying to get us to use them. They are REALLY slow at reimbursing and almost tried to get out of reimbursing us for our well that was covered. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!!!!!
I had ac problems.Technicians replaced coil but removed air duct plenimun and did not replace.I called first american back,they then sent out an different ac company.The tech checked the unit and found the air duct plenium had been removed and never put back,causing air to escape in the loft.The tech.called first american to report findings,only to have claim denied.fIRST AMERICAN never fixed the problem.PLEASE STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY.
Had one sevice call but, two problems in my foreclosed new purchased home. Dishwasher, and Garbage disposal. Rep was nice when I called, the contractor was a nightmaRe. Tried charging me $55, twice. The part for the dishwasher took 2wks. The new garbage disposal took 1mo. 3wks. I called the contractor, several times. He stated “your parts have just arrived&’ll be outdays” The contractor got to my home I noticed he had a Lowes bag. He pulled out my new garbage disposal out of the bag… Go figure!! I don’t think us homeowners have too many problems with the Warranty Business themselves, but the contractors are a Joke!!!
Extremely poor service all the way. In the last 1 year I have had 2 claims rejected. The contractors have one way or the other to reject a claim. Customer service representative on phone is very unhelpful.
On of my 4 cooktop lighters was not working. The contractor came in and said the inside of the cooktop below the knobs (which we have no access to on everyday use, anyway) was filled with grime and hence lighter was not creating sparks . Paid $55 to the contractor. I opened up the top cover the next day pulling out 4 knobs, all the burners, 8 screws etc. and looked in to see no grime. I called First American and set up a second opinion. The second contractor never turned up after setting up an appointment.
My upstairs AC unit claim: Contractor comes in and says the coils in the attic were installed wrongly 8 years back and hence A/C was not cooling. I called in an independent contractor. He said there was a leak in the coil and Freon was escaping. He said it was not because it was because of poor installation. He added more Freon and said if the problem continues, we will have to replace the leaky coils. I called back First American for reimbursement. I faxed them the independent contractor’s invoice that stated the problem, the fix and the amount. First American wanted a letter from the independent contractor, which I could not provide. We are a professional working couple with 2 small kids. We do not have the time to go behind these contractors and company to follow up on these issues weeks on end. The company takes advantage of this.
This Friday, both my A/C units are not cooling. I called up the 24/7 service desk to be told this is not an emergency and a contractor will call up on Monday!! So, we have to wait for at least 4-5 days before this will get fixed.It’s burning hot in Dallas. Temp is 102. I asked if I can get an independent contractor in an emergency and get reimbursed. The answer was a big NO!! And they are going to send the same old contractor again. I requested for a different contractor and was denied since there was no formal complaint lodged by the company. It means that if I don’t trust this contractor’s decision, first I pay him $55 and then request for a second opinion and then may be get it fixed by the second contractor. Which means an additional 6-7 days before it is fixed. Do you think I will wait until then enjoying the beautiful burning Dallas summer?! I know what I am going to do.
Horrible customer service.
Poor timeliness
Incomplete or shoddy repairs
I requested an exterminator service like I do every year for ants and spiders. Last year I signed up on the Preferred Plan $39.00 month to add refrigerator etc. I was told that it was the same contact and I was not going to lose any benefits, but gain the added benefits. To my surprise ( I requested exterminator service) I was informed that I did not have this service anymore (exterminator) since I did this upgraded, even when I was told I didn’t lose any benefits. I would not recommend this company to anyone…
It seems the repairs being done on my A/C unit are just a patch. Nothing really repaired. My uinit has failed every year since I purchased this home warranty. (6yrs) A different company comes out every time and twice they have not showed up. I am still waiting for repair on my unit (5th day) Our temperatures are 99-100+, not including the heat index. Per their customer service this does not constitute an emergency.
Refrigerator repair\replacement took a month for First American to resolve the problem.
I would not recommend this company simply because of customer service.
1st problem: Refrigerator ice maker not working – not covered by warranty.
2nd problem: Garage door not opening in January. First available technician would not be coming until one week later. Found someone else to fix it.
3rd problem: Intermittent furnace. Someone came the next day to fix.
4th problem: Leaking shower valve. Someone came the next day and replaced the valve body.
5th problem: A/C not working. Scheduled a technician who was supposed to contact me within 2 business days. Still haven’t heard from him yet, but looked up his business on the BBB. Went into business in 2003 and had several claims on BBB that went unresolved or were not responded to. Changed the name of their company four months ago and have already received two unresolved complaints on the BBB. Called the home warranty people back and they said I must allow this tech to look at the job. Decided to go with a higher rated contractor and get the job done right.
Bottom line: Technicians that did show up, even though they were quite competent, were from companies that had poor ratings by the Better Business Bureau. I would not recommend purchase of a home warranty from this company.
I’ve turned in two “covered” claims and both times I was told that AHS didn’t cover THAT particular piece/or what was wrong. The technicians sent out were rude and simply wanted their “checks”.
Continued w/warranty which realtor provided when I bought the house. Their customer service is non-existent. When I couldn’t be available in the middle of the day during the middle of the week, they refused to provide another service technician for an electrical problem. They said it was my responsibility to make myself available to them. This is what I’m paying for?? The supervisor was 10 times worse. A rip off company who has no business being in a service providing field.
They are scam artist. They take your money but will never repair. My central air has stoped working and without even coming out they said it is not covered because its not from normal wear and tear. How do they know that without coming out? Im paying out of pocket to fix this so my pregnant wife does not have to be in the South Texas heat. Fist American does not care once they have your money. Buyer Beware!!
I am in my second claim. First claim it took almost tow weeks to get heat fixed. It looks like it is going to be that long on the AC. A four ton compressor does not take a week to acquire. They blame the contractor whot then blames them and my family suffers. Looking at the reviews, this seems to be a theme with them. Find some one else to warrant your home.
Crooks all the way sround They will take your money and not pay there contractors I am a former F/A Contractor in DFW and they will back charge you for work that they approved and then 6 months later decide they should not have covered and try to back charge there contractors. I have worked for almost all of the warranty companys and Old republic is the best company out there the only ones you can trust….
Some one please regulate this crooked Business