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: $55
Effective: Upon payment receipt
Web: homewarranty.firstam.com
Coverage Area: USA - All States
| Home warranty is a complex insurance product. Unlike home insurance, it does not provide blanket coverage for all appliances. Pre-existing conditions and problems resulting from lack of maintenance of appliance are are generally not covered by home warranty companies. Home warranty sellers may not state these factors clearly, and this will create dissatisfaction among customers. Due to these factors, you will see many negative reviews here. Don't be intimidated by some negative reviews here. If you have maintained your appliances in good condition and go with a reputed home warranty provider, your coverage will be fine. |
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Reviews
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Pages: « 25 … 14 13 12 11 10 [9] 8 7 6 5 4 … 1 » Show All
Our water heater was broken and it took 3-4 days to inspect & send a report back to First American.
I am not sure what type of contractor they are hiring and how much they are paying them.
The contractor wants to charge 619$ non-covered cost.
I could have by 500$ water heater from home depot and replace it for additional 100 or 200$.
Do NOT buy home warranty from First American.
I purchased my home in july 2009. the seller bought a home warranty thru first american. my heat stopped working about a month ago. i had a friend who is an engineer take a look at it and it was deemed a dead unit. i called the warranty company and filed a claim. i asked them if they would replace the unit and they said if it was deemed a dead unit than yes they would replace it. they sent some guy out to my house who came in an unmarked white van and had no identification. he said the unit was not dead and he would order a new air handler and replace that. well i never heard back from him. when i called first american they gave me his phone number and told me to deal with it. well finally today he was supposed to come fix my heat. mind you this is one month later and i have had absolutely NO heat. he never showed. i called first american in tears! i can’t afford to fix this problem on my own. i told them all of my problems with this so called sontractor that they sent and the managers of this company pretty much told me there was nothing they could do for me i would have to keep calling the contractor myself. so i still have no heat and probably won’t until after i get my taxes back this spring. they refused to send another contractor and said they couldn’t help me. i just don’t know what to do. i guess i wwill go all winter with no heat. this is the worst company i have ever dealt with. please anyone who reads this do not even try to do business with them
Wow, do many of these complaints sound familiar. When I bought my home, the seller purchased the warranty for me. I wish he would have just given me the money instead.
The evening of December 29 I returned home to find my heating system cycling on and off every minute or so and not heating my home. I called First American who said they would dispatch someone. The only other time I called them for a minor non-emergency, the repairman came from Austin which is 50 miles away. When I asked where the heat repairman would be coming from the representative did not have any idea, just a phone number. I called the number and sure enough, he was in Austin and does not service my area. I called back First American and asked them to find someone closer. They said they would go through dispatch and see what they could do. After about 15 minutes they told me that they couldn’t find anybody closer and that someone would call me the next day. My response? “It’s freezing and you expect me to wait until the next day? Besides just being cold what about damage to my house?!” They said that there was nothing they could do. I asked if I could be reimbursed for calling someone in my area. I got a definite “NO.”
Well, after thinking a few choice thoughts, I hung up and called someone. What was I to do? I was able to get someone after hours who came out in nasty, cold, rainy weather and fixed my heat for an after-hours cost of $94, just $34 more than it would cost me to wait for who-knows-how-long a First American guy to come out.
After a couple of opinions and estimates, I went ahead and replaced my 16-year system rather than to keep patching it up. You think First American will pay for it? No! I asked anyway, but their question? “Is it working now? Unless it completely fails, we will not replace, just repair.” Oh yeah, like I’m going to wait to let it go out again on another freezing night when they won’t send someone!!
Someone in another review mentioned starting a class-action suit. Sign me up.
i will not recommend to do business with company i have a problem with my oven door First American sent Allen Appliance.My claim was rejected because the technician told them ,somebody seat no the oven door .BTW I’m 6.1′and 250 lbs
A nightmare! This is the fourth time this winter my heat has gone out. It is freezing! They don’t actually fix the problem. They just put on a band-aid. The heat goes out and then I have to wait up to four days for them to send someone out to fix it again. The service reps are horribly rude and inconsiderate. It is clear that First American has no intention of actually fixing or replacing my heating system, but instead to do what ever is minimally required to patch up whatever is failing in the home.
First, let me start by saying how sorry I am to read all of the bad experiences most of you have had with this company. I work for a heating and air conditioning company and we were a service provider for another home warranty company last year. We didn’t know much about home warranty companies, but thought it would be a great way to obtain new customers. We handled approximately 40 – 50 service calls for this company and there was not ONE SINGLE TIME that the repairs were approved. The company always stated it was either a pre-existing condition, or homeowner neglect, or customer didn’t have maintenance records (how could they when they just purchased the home???), etc. We decided that we just could not continue being associated with a company that would rip off their customers, so we contacted them and terminated our “service provider” status with their company. This evening, we received a call from a customer of First American asking us if we would come out and fix their heat (it’s 18 degrees outside) and if we could bill First American because the customer could not afford to pay for the repairs himself. The customer stated First American could not locate a service provider in our area but they “authorized” the customer to call for repairs and First American would pay the service provider. I explained to the customer that we didn’t do work for any home warranty companies, because of our past experience. So, I decided to investigate First American, and what do you know – They are operating their business just as National Home Protection was operating theirs. I have seen one or two positive remarks on this company in the above postings, and I have a sneaky suspicion that the posters are sitting behind a desk located in the headquarters (or basement) of First American. I hope that the State Attorney Generals office will begin investigating these companies and shame on the real estate agents who are out there pushing these worthless home warranties just because they get a kick-back for each warranty they sell…They should be looking out for their clients and not their pocketbooks. Good luck to everyone with getting their claims resolved.
I bought my house just one year ago and got as a part of the deal one year home warranty included in the price. So far so good. My contract told me that the roof would be covered. When it started to rain into the attic after about two months I called First American, they agreed to send someone. That happened about one week later. Within this time of course several containers in the attic had to catch the rain and had to be emptied by me regularly. Once the crew arrived it was an unmarked truck and two guys in ripped t-shirts.The didn’t bother to get up the roof to have a look. The took my $60 and had a look only from the attic side. Then they told me that this wouldn’t be covered, because its beside the chimney . When they tried to leave I was asking for a receipt for my money. Too much asked for! After I took a firm stand to get a receipt I got a handwritten paper ripped off an other sheet which had been written on before.
That was on a Saturday morning. Once they left I called a local roofer who came out within one hour, fixed the roof, cleaned up, took all the trash with him and charged me less then $250.
Now I am getting mail from First American every week to renew the contract. That will not happen in this life time.
I have already put aside a few hundred dollars this year for repairs, and I will continue to do so in the new year, so I will be covered if anything breaks.
I can only strongly suggest to avoid this company.
12-31-2009 Service Request #301084807 First service provider refused to make service call I was not notified Temps in the 20′s limited to no heat Had to purchase temp heat. Not called within 60 hours 12-31-2009 I called sears they never had request to repair I was not notified called First American They were looking for someone to do repairs. May take 2=3 days. NOw into a week with same problem If you do not want to service this area you should tell the home owners. I can find local repair within hours and have estimate But First American refused to allow me to get heat re paired even they know is cold and possible freezing. I have spent more in temp heat and fuel than the cost of policy. Just not happy feel it was a waste of effort and money Staff sorry but too late now. With new year’s and weekend will most likly be some time next week before some makes any effort. I am the looser Danny Willis Policy Holder 479-293-0065 Home 702-672-1651 If anyone cares
Been trying to resolve a heat problem since 12/8/09. They sent Sears out, who put freon in unit, then it ran cold again a few days later. because the heat was blowing warm the day this imbecile came back out, he said nothing could be done til it was running cold again. i had MY OWN HVAC people come out, who found that Sears overfilled the unit with freon and the fan motor is bad. Now First American is sending out yet another contractor for a second opinion. Idiots. Hey let’s get together and file a class action.
This is the worst company I have ever work with. The service company they sent out even lost the part they took from out faucet. Don’t buy from them.
Two weeks after purchasing our house, we found that the furnace had quit working. We contacted First American on Dec. 3 and they agreed to send out a service company. The first service company they sent out came to our house on Dec. 7, again on Dec. 11, and lastly on Dec 14. None of these service calls repaired the furnace. I called First American to complain and after talking to 3 different people and BEGGING them to help me (the inside of my house reached 38 degrees F during this time), they agreed to send out a second repair company. This company (Company #2) diagnosed an electronic board problem, but because it was $1000+, First American would not authorize the repair and instead sent out a third repair company. The 3rd repair company diagnosed yet another problem of equal cost. First American denied this repair and instead called repair Company #2 to authorize their suggestions. The furnace still did not work and it had been 20 days since I had heat while there was snow on the ground. I called First American and again had to BEG them to send someone out because the furnace still did not work. They sent Company #3 back to my house, to diagnose yet another set of problems. I spent 2 hours on the phone beggin First American to allow for these repairs. When company #3 showed up to do these repairs, they found that the part installed by Company #2 was incorrect and even another part was broken! They called First American from the house and was told that the incorrect part was not covered because it was Company #2 fault and that the newst broken part was recalled several years ago and they ordered Company #3 to take their new parts and leave because they were not going to repair a furnace that had a recalled part and an incorrect part. So, now it is the day before Christmas and I have not had heat for 22 days. I have missed 6 days of work to attend 9 service calls from 6 different technicians from 3 different service companies. My furnace (which was in one piece when we started) has parts hanging out of it and is still not working. I just don’t understand why First American has made us go 22 days without heat – you would think that after three companies couldn’t repair the furnace they would have replaced it . . . and now that they have accidently discovered a recalled part and an incorrectly installed part, they are completely removing themselves from the problem and saying that the recalled part and the incorrect part caused all the other problems and they are no longer responsible.
Is there anyone out there that can help us?
They could not have cared less about me….until it was time to renew my contract..AS IF! I called Customer service once to have the rep speak only Spanish. Also, the companies they use have never come in any type of uniforn or a marked vehicle. One time a couple of guys in ripped t-shirts and nose rings came to repair my air conditioner in a truck with moving boxes in the back. I live alone, am female and the last thing I want is two bums in an umarked truck wanting access to my home. then the they placed very inferior parts in my unit which required another company one month later to come and repair it. When I called to complain to FAHS they acted as if they were completely unconcerned, and never followed up with me on their investigation into the matter. PS: It was Houston , Texas during the height of summer and I had to suffer for 5 days in the horrid heat that reached 100 degrees because of this error.
Then another time in 100 degree weather the service company they assigned my to would not come out for 4 days. I called FAHS and asked if they could find me another service provider that could possibly arrive earlier than 4 days. I told there was no way that they would change my provider. I explained the extreme heat but they refused to help.
but now that my indentured servitude to them is finally over they have called my husband a number of times looking for money to continue our contract. No way.
You will pay the $55.00 fee for First American to send someone out. Period. It doesn’t matter if they do anything. It doesn’t matter what you told the person who took your claim or what they told you. If they send somebody out, you pay the $55.00.
We had just moved in in Oct. ’09 and didn’t have a copy of the contract yet. I called about a heating duct that looked like an animal had torn it up. The furnace didn’t work because the duct was destroyed. The contractor came, checked with First American and said it was not covered because the damage was done by a “pest”. The case notes only showed that the duct was damaged. Nothing about an animal. So pay the $55.00 for something I already knew.
A few weeks later I check the contract. It says doorbells are covered, intercoms are not covered. I call to get the doorbell fixed. It’s part of the intercom, so I ask, can they fix the doorbell and leave the intercom alone? Sure, they say. So the guy comes out and says he can’t work on it at all because the doorbell is part of the intercom and intercoms are not covered. I said leave the intercom alone, just make the doorbell work. I don’t care if the intercom works (it does) just fix the doorbell. They say, sorry, can’t work on intercoms. But pay the $55.00 because they came out.
I figured it was time to cut my losses. I cancelled the policy and took the pro rata refund. Like many insurance companies I guess, this company is into finding ways that your claim is not covered. If you run the name on the internet you see a lot of similar complaints. So the lesson to be learned is always run the company on the Net before you spend the money. The Better Business Bureau website has this company rated waaaay down on the list.
DO NOT RECOMMEND – Heater has been out for 20 days with no resolution. They only allow the HVAC company to get parts from one Company.
We have had a heater out, during the freezing cold, since December 4 and it looks like it will still not be fixed for Christmas – and it is just a $150 blower. The first technician tried to fight my husband!!! No one is calling us back, we’ve scheduled to have them come out twice now, they have not shown, and we have had to track them down for them to tell us it will be another week.
Have had this warranty since 2002. While they’ve replaced hvac (with the lowerst energy rating) and other items, they refused to replace my COVERED home breaker box as the buss bar burned. They claim that the electrical panel & breakers are not up to code. I explained that home was built in 1977 so of course it isn’t up to code (2009). They will now not return phone calls or emails. They sent out one electrical contractor to do the call. That contractor, after we were declined, gave me a quote of over $2,700 to replace the box. I called a local service company and got the same replacement quoted for just under $900. Makes you wonder!!
Could never really get through to them on the phone, long wait times.
I recently bought a home in october 09. Had problems with a clogged drain. called First American only to be subjected to some SCAM ARTISTS being sent to my home try and extort me for thousands of dollars for repairs that were not needed. Ended up paying out of pocket for needed repairs. DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THESE PEOPLE is all that i can say as they are not very nice people. Hermine von Sonnleithner
We had a refrigerator which was about 10 years old that suddently stopped cooling. Unplugged and put in call to First American. Service rep was there the next day. It was the compressor which was shot. They determined it was cheaper to replace the refrigerator. I asked what they would pay me for the refrigerator vs my taking their replacement. It was a fair amount and I chose to take the cash and replace it. There were a number of calls and it took a while to get the check but paperwork takes time. I have no hesitation recommending them is this area.
I purchased this warranty when I bought my first home a few years ago. A few months in, my dishwasher broke. I called for service and someone came out the next day. They said it was the water pump, it was an in stock part and they would be able to get it the next day. That was the last I heard from any of them for seven weeks. I was calling my customer service rep every day at one point. I left dozens of voicemails and not a single one was returned. Finally, the part came in and the techs came back to replace it. What a suprise when it broke again two weeks later. More trouble, more unreturned calls. Never again.
I would highly recommend you not select this company. They do not care about servicing the customer in the slightest. You will regret doing business with these people.
Save your money, put away a few hundred every year and replace your appliances when they get old. I paid into this policy since I purchased my house. Then when things got bad, I was at their mercy. My oven broke in May of 2009 and it is December of 2009 and it is broken. There is a one month rule! If you do not call them and let them know your appliance is still not working right within one month, you get to pay for another service call. It was working in September but when we tried to use it for Thanksgiving, it was broken. The technician came out and said it was the same part that was replaced in September! I’ve paid the annual fees for years and now I am paying $60 service call fees AND ON THE SAME REPAIR!!! Put some money in the bank for your own “Home Warranty Plan”! You will save more in the long run.
I am surprised to see all the negative reviews for this company. We have had them for three years and in the last year or so we had to have our pool pump replaced and had a plumber and electrician come out for service calls. Customer service was helpful, the service was timely. We paid the $55 deductible for all three services. There were no problems. I am looking for a new company only because First American is no longer available in New Jersey.
We had attempted to get our refridgerator repaired for the past three months and have had three repairmen out. Each time they came up with something different that could be wrong, this last time the guy finally found out what was wrong with the unit and attemped to repair it. In doing so he broke the unit beyond repair and First American say that since the part he broke is not covered under the plan they won’t do anything to fix it. NEVER buy a plan from these guys its not worth the paper its printed on.
Horrible company. I have called for service on my heater, 2 days ago and they still tell me that they are trying to search for a tech. I have RA, my home is very cold, I am physically in more pain because they are slow to find someone to even come and look at my heater. My contract is about up with them and I will not be renewing with them.
I also asked them if they could contact me as to why I should stay with their company, this was BEFORE my heater went out and I still have not heard back from them.
Save you money, this place is not worth your time or effort.
I have been with First American for 5 years and have had minimal claims (3) over this time period. My most recent request for service has driven my submittal to this website and has solidified my position, immediate cancellation with this company. I placed a call for service due to no heat on November 23, 2009. On November 24, 2009 the service contractor, Allstar Mechanical came out to identify and correct the issue. The service contractor identified a fan unit and a pilot assembly as the issues for the no heat problem. The service technician indicated he would be back in an hour to correct the problem as he was going to get the parts. When he did not return in 2 hours, we called to find out where he was. The service contractor indicated we misunderstood, the service technician had tro clear this with First American before he could get parts. I spoke with FIrst American right after the conversation with the service contractor and they indicated the only time they need to call is they were going to replace the entire heating unit. I called back the service contractor and they confirmed they ordered the parts and would have them over nighted and installed on Wednesday. Wednesday came and no call from the service contractor. I called First American and they attempted to contact the service contractor and did not succeed either. Monday November 30, 2009 rolls around and still no service contractor or call. I contacted First American again and they basically said that is the service contractor we use and tough luck. I spoke with a supervisor who promised to look into it and call me back the next day, she never did. I called today and found the cancellation procedure and will be doing so immediately. The company has poor communication, lack of control over their chosen service contractors and genrally poor customer service. The ad on the on hold music said they thoroughly screen all service contractors; however, the service contractor sent to my house had 11 BBB compalints in 3 years and 6 this year alone. They had many negative comments on internet searches. So to top it all off they do not even follow their own procedures. I believe this company tries to appear professional; however, they fall short of that lofty goal.
I have this home warranty in a package when I bought my house. I will not recommend this home warranty to anyone. I had a problem with my water pipe and the whole garage was flooded. I called them, I waited for a whole day, but the technician never came. What do I need to do with a home warranty that will not even get me service in one day? No more First American after the one year contract. :’(