HMS
Home Warranty Plan Details and Reviews for HMS
Premium: $360-400
Deductible: $100
Effective: 30 days after enrollment
Web: www.hmsnet.com
Deductible: $100
Effective: 30 days after enrollment
Web: www.hmsnet.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
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
Reviews
Pages: « 7 6 5 4 [3] 2 1 » Show All
Pages: « 7 6 5 4 [3] 2 1 » Show All
i inherited this contract when i purchased this property when i had a problem with my heating pump is when my night-mare began it took a year for them to replace it because someone in the office stated they would replace it but some-one else stated it was over my limit i had to threaten to call a lawyer in order for them to honor what they said and still numerous phone calls waiting on hold people asking the same info over and over request being lost parts not delivered and workmen not showing up when scheduled it was a very discouraging experience i am now looking for another
Purchased home warranty. At time of purchase and during all subsequent communications I was promised that I was covered for full repair /replacement of heat/AC split unit after deductible. Paid on policy for over four years. When my unit failed recently I began an horrific effort to submit a claim. It took days of calling and hours of hold time to get a claim number and provider contact information. All reps repeated promise that I was covered for completed repair/replacement of unit. I was unable to contact the provider and had to go through more tortorus holds and e-mails before getting the number for a second service provider. The serviceman comes and related that the unit is shot and must be replaced. I pay him the deductible and ask when he will return to put in unit. He says he has to have authorization from HMS National. Today, almost a month after beginning to to file my claim I am called and told they capped my policy at $1,ooo and will only pay me $900 for the unit which will cost around $5,000 to replace. This company practices predatory sales polices and fradulently misrepresents its coverage. They blatently lied to me and I relied on their statements to my own detriment. I would never have paid $37 a month for four years if I had any idea they would only pay $900 on a $5000 claim. These people should be arrested. In addition to lousy service they will misrepresent the coverage and delay payment of what miniscule percent they will pay you! Do not use HMS National or their subsidiaries Cross Country and Total Protect! They are scam artists.
The air conditioning stopped working on 5/4/10 and we immediately called and placed a claim. Since earlier in the year i had a problem getting them to give me a response on my dryer i called every single day to check on the status where i would get told “we will expedite your claim”. on Friday 5/28 they finally called me to say that they could not replace the outside unit because they no longer made that model and that they needed to restart the claim because they would need to replace the inside unit as well. The thing about it is that the inside unit would need modifications that were costly and the warranty company would not cover this, yet no one could even give me a rough estimate of the amount of money it would cost me. Well on friday i was told that the contractor would be out on saturday early morning and he would call me friday night to let me know what time on saturday he would be out. Well no call friday and no show saturday. Finally tuesday morning 6/1 the contractor calls me to say he would be out in about 30 mins. He comes out to do the measurements for the inside unit and the idiot cant even give me an estimate of to how much this would cost me! ISNT THIS YOUR JOB, DONT YOU DO THIS EVERY DAY?? How could you not know a round about number for me to prepare for. All he would say is that the warranty company would contact me with a number once the claim went through( yeah dont expect anything quickly) Well now its been 1 month and the heat has exceeded 90 degrees on multiple occasions and no one cares! Well we call back the supervisor that we finally got a direct line to and what do we get but a voicemail every single time and a run around with 40-50 minute hold times and still NO BODY KNOWS ANYTHING expect “im really sorry about that we will put you claim into expedited”. I dont know what these people think expedited is, but it is not 1 month in the heat and humidity that is for sure. I will definately not renew my contract!
We have had our Air conditioning out for 3 Weeks now. Matt, in the office of the president is incompetent. He returns call in the evenings and never answers his phone. It took 2 weeks to get approval for a new air handler. First, they ordered the wrong one, second, they didn’t give the A.C. company the correct authorization number to pick up the air handler. We are still waiting and Matt always has his voice mail on. The amount of cash that they would give you to buy your own products would never be adequate. Therefore, you are forced to take the junk they will provide from the warranty’s warehouse. DO NOT USE!
We purchased our home in November of 2008. In January of 2009, our heat wasn’t working very well so we filed a claim. HMS sent out a tech. The technician discovered that the condensor fan and the outside disconnect were bad and the unit needed the evaporator coil replaced and the unit needed a good cleaning. HMS denied the claim, advising that it was a maintenance issue. I didn’t have have an issue with that as the home was a foreclosure.
In June 2009, The system wasn’t cooling, so we filed another claim. HMS sent anothe company. The project manager advised that the compressor needed to be replaced because the unit hadn’t been cleaned properly which led to the compressor failing. I showed the tech the bill from the first company showing the unit was cleaned and he got a representative from HMS on the telephone. HMS denied the claim again and we paid the new company $1466.00 for a new compressor and a level 3 cleaning.
We did not renew our warranty with HMS, due to their poor service.
May 14,2010. The house is not cooling. We contact a local company. Their technician diagnoses the problem. Company number two used an aftermarket motor and the compressor was blown. The heat pump was still under the Trane warranty when company number two replaced the compressor and there was no reason to use an aftermarket part. He also advised that the amps were at 17.9 when they should have been at 15. He was surprised that we didn’t have a fire.
Now I have yet another bill of $900.00 to correct what the two previous companies caused. I’ve shelled out over $3000.
Stay away from HMS if you know what’s good for you!!
I came across this review site quite by accident; I’m in the process of looking for a new home warranty provider, and after seeing all of the negative reviews on HMS (my current provider), I felt that I had to add my “two cents” – if only to help convince someone else to stay as FAR away from HMS as possible!
Anyway, where do I begin?!? Pretty much everything basic that I’d want to say about HMS has already been said here by one person or another (horrible customer service, outrageous costs, inheriting our policy from the previous homeowners and not having a choice, etc.), so I won’t repeat it; however, I will share 2 specific cases where HMS screwed up big-time.
The first happened in February 2009 – right in the middle of winter. My husband and I suddenly lost our electricity one night (it happened to be on Super Bowl Sunday, right in the middle of the game, so I remember it vividly!), so I called HMS (from my cell phone) right away. They sent an electrician out to our house the next day (Monday), who soon discovered that we needed a new circuit breaker box. He said that the old one was fried and was actually a fire hazard (!!), and he showed us the scorched plug (which I took a picture of, just in case HMS asked for proof of the damage). HOWEVER, when the electrician called HMS to inform them of the damage and the necessary replacement, they gave him – and us – the runaround, putting him on hold, telling him to call so-and-so, hemming and hawing over whether or not they would cover the new box, etc., and my husband and I (and our 4 pets) were without electricity – more importantly, without HEAT! – for almost 4 whole days before HMS finally got its act together and approved the new box. (And let me just add that the temperature in our house got down to 50 degrees – I’d never been so cold for so long!!!) Yeah, the new box cost $1,500, but isn’t that WHY we have a home warranty policy?!? (I still can’t believe that we actually RENEWED our policy with them 3 months later in May!)
Anyway, the second incident occurred just a couple of weeks ago. The faucet in our master bathroom was leaking, and there was also a strange dripping noise inside the walls of the bathroom, so we called HMS and had them send out a plumber. The plumber came in a timely fashion and was pleasant (just like the electrician in February of ‘09), and he discovered that we actually needed a new pressure regulator and informed HMS of this. HMS flat-out refused to pay for it, though, stating that our warranty didn’t cover items which they deemed to be “unnecessary” to replace. (This very much surprised the plumber, by the way, who STRONGLY advised us that we definitely DID need a new one!) Anyway, my husband and I wound up paying for a new regulator out of our own pockets ($305, to be exact), and that whole incident put the proverbial “lid on the coffin” in regards to our ending our relationship with HMS!
Air conditioning went out in the middle of the summer. It’s been exactly one week now. No supervisors will call back when they promise to. I got several of their personal extensions and they refuse to answer their phones. And the service technician who looked at my unit called me today to tell me they claim to have lost his service order, and want him to come look at my unit again. Absolutely unbelievable. Am filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, as you all should as well.
My husband and I purchased a home last month. With that purchase we also purchased a Home Warranty through HMS. Once we moved into the house, we had a bout of unseasonably warm weather. We turned on the AC unit, and found that the upper level of the house was not cooling sufficiently. We called HMS and had a heating/AC company come to the house. Both AC units were going but also both coils in the units were bad.
HMS REFUSED TO APPROVE TO HAVE THE AC UNITS FIXED. Therefore, we could only fix the bad coils. We understood that just replacing coils and not the units may cause some issues going forward, but we agreed as we needed some relief to the heat. Unfortunately, HMS refused to cover both units. Your brochure states that HEATING AND AC SYSTEMS ARE COVERED. Apparently HMS doesn’t understand the word system. Our realtor contacted the Mid Atlantic office asking about it. She was told that if we upgraded our policy and paid an additional $100.00 that both units would be covered.
When the AC repair service attempted to order the 2 sets of coils, HMS once again rejected the claim and stated that they would not cover the second unit because ‘it was a pre existing’ condition and the upgrade to the policy happened after we reported our issue. HMS just took the extra $100.00 from us and did nothing.
I will tell everyone I know, including several realtors how bad this company is.
Absolutely the worst company to do business that I have ever used.
I am currently on hold waiting to speak with someone…40mins now.
The first time I used them, the plumber had no clue what he was doing. In fact I now have a 12×18″ hole in my ceiling that I have to repair now.
I can go on about other issues with HMS but read the other reviews, they say it well.
Very frustrated customer, (soon to be former).
Well, I’m hanging up now as I’m still listening to their recording to “please stay on the line….”..(45mins. now). Very poor Customer Service.
I was told by this company that plumbing systems were covered, I even have it in writing, I had a blockage in my pipes and they dont cover blockages, my dishwasher went down and they dont cover that either. I have not had anything fixed with HMS since we bought the house. I have paid many deductables though. I have filed a class action lawsuit with HMS at Classaction.com, I suggest everyone follow suit and lets hold this company accountable. If they can continue doing this then im in the wrong business.
HMS sent out a plumber to replace our water heater. The plumber they sent caused damage which neither the plumbing company “C&P Plumbing” nor HMS would cover to fix. HMS said their promise that “covered repairs are protected for 180 days.” only covers the parts repaired and not the work performed by the plumber. Since the plumber through his work cause another problem HMS would not cover it. The plumbing company also denies causing the problem, even though it occurred after they finished their work and a home inspector months before cleared everything as working correctly when we bought the house. I contacted HMS numerous times, each time they said they would call me back after reviewing the claim but they would fail to call me back. After asking to talk to a manager they refused and told me I had to contact their Complaints Department in writing.
Admittedly this review is of a situation that started over a year ago. The ‘thing’ that you flip to turn on the shower broke. The “from the hood” plumbers HMS sent checked it out and called it in. Good news! Its covered. Bad news: they do not have the part. Getting one to match the existing faucet knobs would require a special order. No biggy I thought. Well weeks went by and I called HMS. All they do is offer to call the plumber and get back with you. I was told the part was still on order. This back and forth went on for over a MONTH. I even called the plumber directly and I always got his wife on the phone. Sometimes she would say “call back we are having dinner”. WTF? This is on their business line! When I did manage to speak w/ them, they told me the same thing: “parts on order.” BTW, my shower does not work during all of this. After a few more weeks go by I call HMS really steamed asking to talk to God if necessary. Turns out the part was never ordered. No wait, turns out the plumber really never got an authorization! I was furious! I told HMS to send a different plumber and they refused. The same guy eventually came back and installed a new shower-flipper-thing that did not match. At least I could use the shower. I was told that NOW the part really is on order. Its been a year. No matching flipper.
The same plumber came out about 9 months ago to fix my leaking water heater. It was covered, but he came out w/ some kid apprentice. I realize the kid gotta learn, but on my water heater? It took them three trips to get it fixed right and stop leaking.
If you have a choice in Home Warranty Provider I would stay away from this company. The customer service you call into is rude, unprofessional, and not very helpful. They recommended a contractor in our area that had serveral issues reported to the BBB and they would not allow us to choose a different contractor. We had to call for hours to with little to no response from HMS until I got fed up and contacted their corporate office in Ft. Lauderdale who quickly resolved the issue but I am still not renewing with them. Their front line support Carrie, Gwen Shellman, Shenequia, James are all NOOBS and should be fired. Believe you me I expressed this to the corporate office too.
BEWARE this company also goes by other names such as Cross Country Home Services … you can google them so you don’t choose another name they are doing business as.
BEWARE and take your business else where.
Unbelieveable!The lost the paperwork and had to send the work order to a plumbing company twice before I could get an appointment. That took half a day to get resolved. The plumbing company “Right Away Service” a joke only available is from 9am-1pm window, who sits at home for four hours, they only service my area in the morning! Called Total Home Protect Home Warranty and they only have this company listed and unable to refer anyone else. PLEASE! I ask to speak to a Supervisor/Manager and no one is available to speak with me. I was assured a return call by end of day. Cassandra, Customer Service Rep. tells me that their contract guarantees service within three business days. This company is not reative, customer serive oriented and I can’t believe they only have one plumber in their rolodex to refer to in the Chula Vista area. Very poor service, I see why they are rated as one of the poorest in the area of customer service and timeliness. I will be seeking out another company.
On a Sunday our washing machine starting making a loud squealing noise during the spin cycle. Hoping it was just a loose belt, I removed the front panel and found the belt was fine. I went out to the HMS website and filed a claim. The next morning I received an email with a name and phone number of a local appliance repair company. I called the company and the earliest they could schedule for for that Wednesday. This is the first claim I’ve filed with HMS since joining in May. In the couple of days between filing the claim and the scheduled service appointment I found this site. I’ll have to admit after reading some of the reviews about HMS I was a little leary on how my claim was going to be handled. Although I would’ve liked to have someone come out a little sooner, I was still happy with the service from HMS thus far.
That Wednesday the serviceman arrived at my home promptly at the scheduled time. The guy was great, he was very friendly and willing to answer any of my questions. The problem ended up bieng the transmission bearing and he said that it should warrant a full replacement. He told me that he would submit the repair information to HMS that day and I should hear back from HMS by that Friday or Monday at the latest.
Not hearing anything by Friday morning I called HMS to inquire. The hold time was only a few minutes and once the rep came on the line, she was very friendly pulled up my claim info right away. She told me that they have received the repair information and the claim has been submitted for approval. She said I should hear back from someone by the following Monday or Tuesday.
The following Tuesday evening I received a call from a gentleman at HMS giving me an option of a full replacement washer or they would give me a cash out option if I wanted to purchase one on my own. The replacement offered was a Whirlpool model (which was recommended to me by the service guy). He gave me the model number over the phone so I quickly went online and checked for any reviews. The model recieved good reviews and the value of the replacement outweighed what they were willing to give me for the cash out option, so I decided to go with their recommendation. The guy from HMS told me someone from Whirlpool would contact me in a couple days to schedule a delivery time.
The next day I recieved a call from a Whirpool rep asking to schedule a time for delivery that Friday. We were going to be out of town for the weekend so I asked they deliver on the following Monday. That Monday, the delivery guys arrived promptly at the scheduled window. They explained they do not hook up the new washer but it wasn’t a big deal. Just a matter of hooking up a couple hoses and plugging it in. Tested the washer last nigth and it works great!
So, the span was 2 weeks between the time I filed the claim and when I recieved the new washer. Actually it was 11 days as they were willng to deliver the washer on a Friday but we were out of town. Overall my experience with HMS was very good. I would’ve like to have had the washer delivered sooner, but it was still acceptable. I’m happy and I plan on sticking with HMS in the future.
My washer broke down and HMS would not pay to repair or replace it. They said that it had mechanical defects which is not covered. The Pakistani man who came out was very disorganized and hostile, he was speaking in his native language and raising his voice several times to the point I had to leave the room. After 2 hours he said they will not cover it. I spoke with HMS and they refused to cover my washer. The man who came to my house was very unprofessional and HMS was not in any ways helpful. I will not renew my coverage with HMS. I advise people to stay away from this company its among the WORST in the industry.
This warranty was purchased during closing on our home and we had no choice in the matter. Contacted their office during first month of home ownership to repair/replace existing (15 year old) dishwasher. They would not cover repair, so my wife and I shopped and located replacement.
Their purchasing dept boasted savings of 30% over manufacturer, but quoted a price only $18 dollars lower than local retailer. I had to contact customer service to find this out, as purchasing dept never called with quote.
We are leaving HSM for another home warranty company, after one month, asking for refund and sending it to the sellers. This “service” is not worth the $395.00 they paid.
Worst company I have ever dealt with. My hot water heater was leaking into my downstairs neighbors home and it took them 8 days to replace the water heater. My water had to be shut off completely. The plumber they sent out was arrogant and evasive.It would have taken much longer than the 8 days if I had not had demanded to speak to a supervisor. I eventually got ahold of the supervisor in the President of the company’s office. Everytime I talked to someone in customer service they would tell me that it would take 24 hours for this and 24 hours for that. I was getting the run around and will never do business with them again. Because of their negligence, the damage to my neighbors ceiling got worse and she could not have her home repaired until my water heater was replaced.
I received two years of HMS when I bought my home, one bought by the seller and one bought by my real estate agent. I was not presented with options, HMS was the only company presented to me. The reason for the warranty was the old water heater, furnace, and air conditioning which we knew was sure to go in a short period of time. I filed a claim with HMS when my water heater was leaking (slightly), someone came out in a very timely fashion but then told me that they couldn’t do the work until they got the approval from HMS. Well a day after they came to my home, the water heater flooded my basement and continued to gush water until I turned off the entire water supply to the home. I contacted HMS numerous times in two days and have still not gotten my claim approved. I am now having to go on my own and pay for the repairs myself. I would never recommend this company and have heard from other home warranty program policy holders who say they have never had to deal with anything like this. I plan to cancel both this year and next of my policy (without caring if I am reimbursed) and go with another company.
I just got the new HMS plan, and was excited to see that if i didnt place a claim in the first 9 months they would pay for a cleaning of my AC!!
As a former plumber with this company I have to admit they are at least very disorganized, slow, irresponsible, lack knowledgeable information when calling in claims, low balls claims, evasive, cheap, and the list is endless.
After three years with this company as a plumber, finally said no thanks and refuse to do work for this company. If your looking for quality home owners warranty programs look else where.
There customer service reps are deceptive, misleading and outright negative. Their authorizers are simply lost and clueless for understanding repairs. Many have no concept of plumbing, or what is required for a plumbing job.
There main focus now is to low ball claims and find the lowest costs per item, lowest cost of labor, regardless of he consequences.
If you renew your current plan, it’s at your risk.
I had a similar experience to S. Cohen, except I renewed as soon as I discovered my policy had lapsed in March 09. At the time HMS told me I would have to wait 30 days before my policiy was effective. Imagine my surprise when I tried to place a claim a few days ago and was told I did not have a policy. I called corporate today and was told that records showed I renewed my policiy in Mar 09, but the payment was never processed. Well……. So I talked with HMS today and Randolph said they could back date the policy and place the claim. I told him NO, and that they can start a new policy from today. He said they would and that the policy would be effective today and then I could place the claim. Okay, sounds like a good resolution. NOT!!! I got a call an hour later from Ann stumbling all over herself saying they could back date the policy, but couldn’t start a policy from today and have it be effective immediately; basically reneging on everything Randolph had promised. I asked her why would I want to pay $409.00 today and then have to pay another $409.00 when my policy comes up for renewal in 30 days? I told her to cancel the whole thing and I would find another company. That was pretty low for them to go back on their word. I never even got an explanation as to why the payment wasn’t processed.
[...] launch of its new Claim-No-Claim Home Protection Plan. This home protection plan, provided through HMS Home Warranty, now includes coverage for unknown pre-existing conditions, lack of maintenance and jetted bathtubs [...]
I moved into my home the end of November and my microwave went out in December. I called HMS and told them about the situation. They called a Service company Best Solutions to check it out. They said the motor and other parts were burned out and it needed some parts. After two weeks went by I called them and asked, what is up with my repair because I had not heard from either. I called HMS and they said they didn’t get any paper work from Best Solutions and Best Solution said they called it in. After a month, they still going back and forth with this. ( no parts ) so now February 3rd I get a call after calling them yesterday after being left in the dark, the telling me they can give me a countertop microwave and mine was over the range 1100w very nice and they want to replace with a countertop that doesn’t have vents or $156.00- where can you find an over the range for that?
I am so frustrated. do not use this company. Loise in Jacksonville, AR
Nearly a month ago, my furnace went out. HMS sent a service technician who only changed the air filters. I awoke to an electrical fire coming from our unit. HMS sent another company who condemned the unit. That company would not submit a report for nearly a month even though I was calling HMS on a near daily basis to get them to acquire the report. Finally, yesterday they finalized the report over the phone and sent another service company to work on it. The technician arrived this morning and told me he won’t work on it because of its location on my house. Basically, he told me HMS wasn’t going to cover it and that I should take out a loan to fix it myself. This was told to me after a month of frustrating phone calls to HMS and living in a house during a winter in which I can see the steam of my breath in my own home. I understand this is part of home ownership but I should have been told this on the first visit before the electrical fire. Their customer service personnel are as nice as you could expect but are completely powerless to do anything to help the situation. In the end, HMS denied my claim anyway which I actually assume is standard operating procedure on all claims if you own a house that is more than a decade old. Basically, this home warranty is a waste of time and money. I would suggest to anyone that they should take the money they would put towards the warranty and put it in savings towards fixing any future possible problems.