HMS
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Home warranty is a complex insurance product. Unlike home insurance, it does not provide blanket coverage for all appliances. Pre-existing conditions and problems resulting from lack of maintenance of appliance are are generally not covered by home warranty companies. Home warranty sellers may not state these factors clearly, and this will create dissatisfaction among customers. Due to these factors, you will see many negative reviews here. |
Don't be intimidated by some negative reviews here. If you have maintained your appliances in good condition and go with a reputed home warranty provider, your coverage will be fine.
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This company also operates under the following alternate business names
- Total Protect
- Cross Country Home Services
- Haa Of Virginia
- HMS Home Warranty
- Home Warranty Service
- HomeSure of America Inc.
- Homesure of Virginia, Inc
- HomeSure Services, Inc.
Source: Better Business Bureau
I called up to fix my dryer vent, not only did they forget to mention it was not
covered, they sent a service person, who just came tightned the vent bolt and left.
I load the dryer it gave away, I call back, they say they put me through to this service guy who keeps giving suggestion when he has not even taken a look at the dryer. Call back HMS, now they say they need to check the report, call back the supervisor, now its a new story, they think its not covered.
Then why did u take the call I said, and she said she needs to review it.
Its a total scam, stay away, if people keep changing their story, as they go along
then its shoddy..
I have a leak under the floor which is causing standing water that I can’t stop!! These a-holes send me to a plumber who will not return my phone calls. So I contacted HMS and they contacted him. He said he would be out in 5 days!!!! What a f*(&*(*g rip-off. I see a lawyer in my future.
Re: #254 – Joyce, Columbia – MD on 04/11/13
We would like to investigate and address the specifics of your situation to prevent this from happening again. Please send me an email at [email protected] and provide your name, property address and phone number with best time to contact you. We will report back to you as soon as possible with our findings.
– eRelations Specialist, HMS National Home Warranty
Re: #256 – NW, Medford – NJ on 05/08/13
When there are delays in service, HMS investigates to understand why. We also seek feedback from our customers to help avoid future delays in our service delivery. Our goal is to retain high- quality service partners that deliver excellent service and are there when promised. We would like to investigate and address the specifics of your situation to prevent this from happening again. Please send me an email at [email protected] and provide your name, property address and phone number with best time to contact you. I will investigate the situation and report back to you as soon as possible.
– eRelations Specialist, HMS National Home Warranty
I was offered this in lieu of many of the fixes for our home as a piece of mind just in case things happened after moving in. I submitted a claim online when I realized our heating bill was INSANELY high, especially being that we had not even moved in and it was $100 for the first 2 weeks with everything in the home shut off. I would’ve appreciated them not wasting my time and $100 and just informing me upfront that they will not fix anything we find after moving in. This “warranty” is useless and I feel like we were scammed by the sellers by offering it and by HMS for accepting money for it. We should’ve made them fix anything and everything since we are now stuck with a plethora of issues that I’m not going to waste my time or money trying to use the warranty only to be denied. How am I supposed to know if these issues existed before I moved in? I DIDN’T LIVE THERE. The contractor you sent over was late, did not speak english, did not confirm the appointment (until I called multiple times) and had TERRIBLE reviews online. How am I supposed to trust these people when you’ve chosen terrible contractors? I feel bad for people expecting peace of mind when purchasing a home with this warranty.
I asked the guy to check out our AC which was not inspected during our home inspection and he said he couldn’t because it was 5 degrees too cold outside. I would have liked to have at least had that looked at in case there’s an issue. Although finding issues would have been a moot point, I would’ve just liked to have known so I could find a reputable contractor. Of course now that I have closed, I find all sorts of complaints about how useless this service is online. I will add to the complaints and hopefully spare someone from making the same mistake we did which is purchasing a home and feeling confident that if something happened, you have a “warranty”.
HMS could have something on the brochure telling people to not waste your time since you won’t cover anything anyway. I had a friend with a home warranty from a different company who had a completely different experience. I should have forced the buyers to purchase their home warranty from that company instead since they seem to legitimately stand behind their service.
I would probably not be so upset if HMS actually covered things or at least refund the $100 when you decide that things existed in a home we did not occupy prior to us living there. Even if they gave us $100 worth of service since I know the service the guy they sent out didn’t justify the $100. It’s sad, I just wish I had done more research before accepting a home warranty as some sort of reassurance that we would be taken care of if something happened.
This is just a total scam. We had a leak from our bathroom to the level below. A plumber comes, doesn’t know for sure the source but charges us the $100 deductible. he just said to use a different bathroom. After numerous calls to HMS, i ask for a different plumber which they say: we have to get the report back from the first plumber. I end up getting another plumber myself, spend nearly 2000 on repairs (after getting 2 additional quotes) and tell HMS this. They said send us your paperwork for reimbursement. Even if I got back #$500 I would have been happy. Nope.. they just deny everything. What a joke of a company. The contractors they use are completely useless.
HMS is awful!!! Yesterday we discoverd that our water heater was leaking and not working. We called HMS and they said that they would have someone come out to “assess” it and then he would try to replace it. The plumber they called said that he wasn’t sure he could even replace it until next week. WHAT?! I have a baby and I need hot water!! We have had nightmares trying to get service with them in the past. I had another company come out and they replaced the hot water heater same day and were out of our house by dinner time. HMS has failed us for the LAST TIME. I am soo irate that we wasted money on this company they are a complete scam in my opinion!!
To be objective as possible, I will only list the facts as they occurred.
1 Feb 13 – Company had service person come look at the heat pump. Service person mis-diagnosed the problem as compressor failure and lack of heat continued. Paid deductible of $100 and did not receive a receipt.
2 Feb 13 – Had alternate service person come to check system. He found the thermostat not working and no freon in the system. Paid $250 which was never reimbursed.
8 Mar 13 – Had original company who installed system come and check system since power bill had doubled from the previous month. Leak in air handler coil. Without freon, system runs on auxilary heat. Notified warranty company of issue and forwarded them the receipt. Paid $480.00 which was never reimbursed.
9 Mar – 20 Mar 13 – Several calls to warranty company to try to rectify the issue. We were told they would have a company come fix the system and we would pay approximately $700 or we could have our own company come fix the problem and they would pay $188.
2 Apr 13 – The company representative called to verify that we would not be reimbursed for any of the service we had to receive and would only get a maximum of $188. for any service we might have done.
Home warranty companies – not worth the money spent.
I love how on the brochures the real estate agent hands out they say “We have you covered, Unknown preexisting conditions, lack of maintenance… and so on” Then only to find out when you do have a claim on an unknown preexisting condition HMS covers NOTHING!!! They are crooks and they lie about what they will cover to tie you into a contract you cannot get out of.
STAY AWAY FROM HMS HOME WARRANTY if you are getting ready to sell your house. On the brochures they give you from your real estate agent they say “We have you covered, “unknown preexisting conditions, lack of maintenance” / I paid almost $500 to add this warranty to my contract as they say they cover the seller of the house for while it is on the market and then cover the buyer for a year. My inspector found I need a new heater installed in the house. I called the warranty company and told them that this is what was found in the inspection. They tell me my claim is denied. I spend 10 minuets asking them what they considered an “Unknown preexisting condition to be?” No one could really answer my question. I paid a $75 deductible to have them come out and look at the heater and so I asked, can I have the $75 back, since that was going to the work that would be done. She said “Well, it actually cost us $65 to have the service man out. We can refund you $10″ ARE YOU KIDDING!!! ///// If I am not having a hard enough time with everything else. It turns out the only reason I am alive is because I was so stingy and didn’t run my heater this last winter. They said the hole in the heater was sending “Deadly carbon monoxide gas into my house”… I am glad they found the problem but i would have been sitting a bit better if I would have that $575 to go toward a new heater not a SCAM warranty company that wont help out a bit. Stay away from HMS… Read the other reviews I found. It sounds like everyone has the same story. I am always so careful when I get these things, now I just feel stupid. What is one more set back this year. 2013 is not the year for me.
I have only been with HMS for one year, but I will not be back. I have made two service calls. The first (sewage back-up in basement) claim was denied. The 2nd was for a leaking pipe. They set up an appointment with one of their plumbers for a Monday morning. The plumber doesn’t show. I ask for a different plumbing company. They refuse. They say we need to give this plumber until the end of the week to respond or I owe the $100 deductible. I relent and wait. The plumber never returns any phone calls and HMS says I should just keep trying to call him. After a week, HMS agrees to use a different plumber. Again, this plumber “no-shows.” I call HMS again asking for someone to please fix the leaking pipe which is progressively getting worse. They say it will take a few more days to find another plumber. I live in Cincinnati, OH. There are 1,000s of plumbers. HMS just denies all claims and gives customers the “run-around.” I contacted the BBB and was told the this is a common occurrence with HMS. In summary, this company will take your $495 per year and do absolutely nothing. I am amazed that Sibcy Cline Realty recommends this company for all home purchases. I have lost all respect for Sibcy Cline and HMS. For anyone interested in a home warranty, please avoid HMS at all costs.
WE TOOK OVER THE WARRANTY DUE TO PURCHASING OUR 1ST HOME IN MARCH OF 2012. WE CALLED HMS ON 3 DIFFERENT ISSUES.
OUR 1ST ISSUE IN OCT 2012 AROUND 1 AM WAS FOR PLUMBING. WE COULD NOT TURN ON THE WATER IN ANY SINK OR FLUSH EITHER TOILET WITHOUT OVERFLOWING SUMP PUMPS. HMS CUSTOMER SERVICE WAS AVAILABLE. WE FELT THIS WAS AN EMERGENCY. WE FINALLY GOT A CALL 2 WEEKS LATER FROM THE COMPANY HMS SUGGESTED. FORTUNATELY WE WERE ABLE TO CALL A PLUMBER WHO CALLED THE COUNTY TO CHECK THE OUTSIDE LINE AS IT WAS A COUNTY ISSUE.
OUR 2ND ISSUE WAS IN NOV 2012 AROUND 4 PM FOR OUR SUMP PUMP. WE CALLED HMS. THEY SUGGESTED A COMPANY THAT NEVER CALLED US. MY HUSBAND WAS ABLE TO FIX THE ISSUE HIMSELF. WE CALLED BACK TO CANCEL THE SERVICE CALL.
THE 3RD ISSUE IN DEC 2012 WAS FOR OUR HEATING. IT WAS NOT AN EMERGENCY. I SPOKE WITH HMS REP AND ASK IF I HAD TO PAY THE DEDUCTIBLE WHEN THE SERVICE REP CAME OUT AS I DID NOT HAVE THE CASH AT THE TIME. I WAS TOLD THAT THE REP WOULD COME OUT AND CHECK SYSTEM. THEN HE/SHE WOULD CALL INTO HMS TO PROVIDE DIAGNOSIS. UPON REPAIR APPROVAL I WOULD PAY THE DEDUCTIBLE. THE SERVICE REP CAME ON THE SCHEDULED DAY. HE CHECKED A COUPLE OF THINGS AND PROVIDED HIS DIAGNOSIS. HE REQUESTED THE DEDUCTIBLE. I EXPLAINED I WAS TOLD I DID NOT NEED TO PROVIDE DEDUCTIBLE AT THIS TIME. HE STATED WHAT IF I WERE ABLE TO FIX THE ISSUE ON THIS VISIT THEN THE DEDUCTIBLE WOULD BE REQUIRED. I EXPLAINED THAT IS NOT WHAT I WAS TOLD. AS IT TURNS OUT HE DID HAVE TO ORDER A PART AND COME BACK. WE TOLD HIM WE WOULD HAVE THE DEDUCTIBLE WHEN HE RETURNED. HE STATED HE WOULD REPORT IN AND HMS WOULD GET BACK TO US. A MONTH AND A HALF PASSED. AN HMS REP CALLED IN FEB 2013 TO ASK ABOUT THE REPAIR AND WHY IT WAS NOT COMPLETED. I ASKED SHOULDN’T YOU BE ASKING THE SERVICE COMPANY. THEY EXPLAINED THAT THEY LEFT HIM A MESSAGE. HE FINALLY CALLED BACK AND TOLD HMS THAT HE WAS WAITING ON US TO GIVE HIM THE DEDUCTIBLE. I EXPLAINED TO HMS WHAT WE AGREED UPON. HE FINALLY CAME OUT REPLACED THE PART AND WE PAID THE DEDUCTIBLE. HE CREATED ANOTHER PROBLEM DURING REPAIR AND DID NOT COMPLETELY CHECK THE HEATING SYSTEM AS 2 DAYS LATER THE HEAT WAS NOT WORKING. I CALLED BACK INTO HMS AND WAS TREATED RUDELY BY BOTH THE SERVICE REP AND HER MANAGER. THEY ARGUED WITH ME AND MADE ME FEEL LIKE I DID NOT KNOW WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT. THE SERVICE REP CAME BACK OUT AGAIN FOUND THAT HE MISSED SOMETHING, FIXED IT AND I DID NOT HAVE TO PAY ANOTHER DEDUCTIBLE – NOT THAT I WAS GOING TO SINCE HE MISSED SOMETHING.
I WOULD DEFINITELY NOT SUGGEST THIS WARRANTY COMPANY AS THEY DO NOT HAVE GOOD SERVICE COMPANIES NOR DO THEY HAVE GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVES
I pay $690.00 per year and have a $100 deductable. We have been denied two out of three claims for what I feel are ridiculous stretches of their claim exemption policy. One was because the pump on our washer was clogged with debris from normal washing and they denied the claim stating that the issue was due to improper use of the machine. The most recent denial was for a plastic top hook mechanism on the refridgerator door that snapped so the door won’t stay closed. I called them, was told it would be covered, and then was denied after the service company came out and filed a broken clasp report. When HMS saw it was a door latch mechanism they said it would not be covered because it fell under their gasket failure exemption. Plastic spring loaded hook mechanism = gasket to these people. Anything to get out of a claim. I am shopping for a new warranty company right now but hope this review prevents someone else from having to come out of pocket hunreds or thousands of dollars like me.
STAY AWAY!!!!!!
Placed a dishwasher claim. The service person they sent came here dressed like a video gamer / goth rock band member. I called that guy twice every week for the next 2 weeks to check on the status. He kept lying to me that he had sent the report to the warranty company immediately after the diagnosis visit. Called the warranty company after 3 weeks to be told that the guy had sent it only a week ago and that they had not authorized the claim yet. When asked why they had been sitting on it for a week, the customer service told me it was because they technician sent the report over the web and they had not noticed it. He said most technicians call it in over the phone and so we do not check for web reports regularly. He did thank me for calling them and bringing to their attention that the claim was still pending. I was dumbfounded.
HMS used to be a good warranty compnay- we have been with them 11 years. Unfortunately, over the past couple of years, their price has increased and their service and contractor competency has declined. Their coverage areas have also changed such that there are more “uncovered” parts/work. We will change warranty companies when our contract expires.
Over the past year we have had too many incompetent contractors, as well as poor service experiences: calls not returned, long periods before repairs are made, unfriendly service reps, etc.
In the past year we have had incompetent contractors whose work had to be readdressed and refixed: a plumber who came 3 times only to create new problems that were a result of his bad practices- the second plumber had to fix his mistakes, an AC/Heating provider who we hired independently to fix the work done by an HMS contractor who installed non-code and inappropriate materials, and a water heater installer who installed the 2nd of 2 water heaters and informed us that the first which was installed by HMS contractor was not in code, was missing required valves and attachments and was a “cheap” brand/unit. Regarding the original plumber mentioned- we provided HMS with the feedback and they assigend the second, but they still refer the first plumber as he was assigned to us again for the hot water tank replacement and we had to ask for another.
Needless to say, we have little faith in the contractors HMS uses. Some have been good in the past, but we have learned to check the credentials of the current ones they assign. WE also check out the product info and brands to be sure we are not being given “cheap” commercial oreinted products instead of comparable home products.
Be careful if you use HMS- they are not the company they used to be.
Unimpressed with this insurance. We had one claim on a dryer and the repair man they sent said he fixed it but the dryer had the same problem with in a week. We eventually called an appliance repair service on our own. They fixed it for about the same cost as our deductable and it has been working great since.
Now we have a pipe burst. It has been 5 hours since we called it in and they can not find someone to provide service. Looks like we will be dealing with this with out HMS help.
The customer service people are nice and polite but the companies they send out to look at the problem are useless. They don’t know what they are doing and you have to follow up. Our dryer broke and the guy came out and it took over 3 weeks to get a part (it was a broken timer for a Kenmore dryer). I had to call 2x to find out if the part came in. I wonder if I hadn’t called would they even have bothered to call me to do a follow up service call. The repair guy took over two hours to change the dial on the dryer. The refrig was broken and of course the the problem was not covered. Weichert gave us the policy when we used them to buy the house. The HMS warranty was so bad we just stopped using them. In my opinion it is a total scam.
My washer was down so I contacted HMS and got a claim number. Then I disconnected the bad washer and hooked another washer to wash my clothes (so I have two washers). A technician came by and did some tests, and he told me that the motor of the washer is broken and he will contact HMS for the fixing, and I paid him $59.35 for the visit. A few days later, I contacted the technician and he told me my claim was rejected because the bad washer is not the “primary” washer and my second washer (the good one) became the “primary” washer. My second washer is covered by the insurance. I contacted the HMS several times, the HMS kept refusing my claim.
This is ridiculous and awful. The bad washer before its disconnection was the primary washer and the washer should be covered by the insurance. I don’t need the HMS cover my second washer.
Fortunately I fixed the washer by myself. I told the technician that I saw much black powder at the bottom of the washer and I was afraid the powder might be from a belt or something. The technician told me that the black powder was from a coupler because washer doesn’t use belt. I believe the coupler has problem, instead of the motor. So I googled the washer coupler and learned from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9K1KHEogf3c to replace a coupler. I ordered a coupler for $10.55 and replaced it. The washer works very well now.
The HMS is not worth to trust. Don’t use it again. Google is better than the HMS.
We received extremely poor service from HMS. Each time we called them they took the information and never followed through. After several calls they asked one of their network service members to inspect the case. These service companies are very rude and only interested in receiving the initial service fee. After receiving their service fee, even though they promised to come back and fix the problem, they never showed up. When we followed up with HMS, they never returned our phone calls.
Most importantly, we received a bill for over $640.00 for the annual premium, a service which we never received. Management of HMS is unethical, unprofessional, and NO ONE should ever have to deal with this company. Shame on them. This is the worst company we have ever dealt with.
Massive scam. Customer pays deductible, has issue serviced. The service does not address the problem, yet HMS wants customer to pay another deductible to have someone come out and look at it again?! How is it the customer’s fault that the problem was misdiagnosed by service person?
Total rip-off.
Pre-existing condition for a 10 year old HVAC system that worked fine for the first 10 months we owned the home. They say the Heat pump was improperly installed. A second contractor we hired said the system was installed correctly, and that the compressor failed. WTF? It took 10 years to fail, and worked perfectly until then? Improperly installed?
Pre-existing condition means we don’t want to pay this claim.
This will end up in court.
Do NOT buy a warranty from Weichert or HMS.
I have had 3 things break in my house in the last 8 months:
1.Fridge-HMS sent out a company 6 times to work on my fridge, 3 months later it is having the same issue and the same error code. The company HMS sent out is not qualified to work on my brand of fridge, so they not only voided my warranty but never fixed the problem. Their next excuse was that I was over my alloted $1,000 per appliance? How can that be when all the parts are under warrantly? So now I am paying $800 out of pocket for something that could have easily been fixed in 2 visits not 6.
2. AC broke in the middle of summer took them over 2 weeks to get the issue fixed horrible customer service.
3.Water heater broke-They actually fixed this problem in 2 days.
Save yourself the hassle,headache and money and DON’T get this warranty.
My heat pump stopped working in the middle of January because the heat strip within the unit went bad. The wrong part was sent to the HMS service provider so the part to give us heat again had to be reordered. I then had to call HMS 4 times and it took over 1 week for them to order the new part. In these phone calls I told them repeatedly that I have a one year old son and needed heat, but no one on the phone could give me answers as to why the part was not ordered yet. I have been without heat for almost two weeks now in the middle of January with a one year old child. HMS custmore service reps are very friendly on the phone but cannot get anything done. The service department does not care about its customers which makes this company trash. DO NOT buy a home warranty from HMS!!!!!
This is the worst service I have ever received in my life. I am almost 2 months now waiting for them to fix my dishwasher and have had every problem possible. This is from wrong parts being delivered to the contracted plummer causing a (in PSE&G words – a very bad gas leak). The only reason i didn’t give customer service the worst rating is the poor customer service people answering the phone have been very apologetic and at times very embarrassed by this service. I did the math…for all the time I have had to take off of work to deal with this I could have bought a new top of the line dishwasher. I would not recommend getting warranty