Comments on: Old Republic Home Warranty

By: Paul, San Francisco, CA

Paul, San Francisco, CA — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 04:09:59 +0000

I’m very disappointed with this company. I had a problem with water coming out of my airgap (connected to dishwasher). The guy they sent tried to move it to the other side of the sink where I had a hole for my soap dispenser. This was supposed to remove any possibility of kinks in the hose. It ended up not fixing the problem. Not only that, but I later realized that the air gap now leaks and sits on the sink directly above the outlet under the sink where the dishwasher plugs into – a fire hazard. So I called OR again to try to fix the leak and to move the air gap to the other side at least so there’s no fire hazard. The OR rep this time told me air gaps aren’t covered. I asked how that could be since they came out the first time to fix the air gap. I finally demanded to talk to a supervisor, who agreed to send out a repairman, but since it was over 30 days since the first visit, they had to charge me the $55 fee again! The repairman came out and didn’t know anything about air gaps. He said there wasn’t supposed to be a hole in the top of the air gap – that’s where the water was coming out from. He asked if someone punctured the hole in the top of the air gap. It was obvious to me that this was not the case as the airgap had a tube molded into it leading up to the hole. I then knew this guy didn’t know what he was doing, so I just asked him to switch the air gap back to the other side, where it originally was so it wouldn’t pose a fire hazard. He wouldn’t do it – not covered by warranty. I explained to him that the previous repair person that OR sent out moved it to the current side and it’s now a fire hazard – he refused to move it. I asked him to leave. I called up OR and told them that the repairman didn’t know what he was doing, I would not allow him back in my house, and I wanted someone else to come out. They said they couldn’t do that. I asked to speak to a supervisor again and explained the situation. The supervisor was very helpful and agreed to send out a local company this time. This company was very professional, immediately saw the problem, explained it to me, agreed that this air gap is supposed to have a hole in the top – but was told by OR that they won’t cover moving the air gap to the other side, claiming that it doesn’t pose a fire hazard (even though if a leak develops, water could drip right on top of the electrical outlet/plug).

So far, no more leak, but if one does develop and my place burns down as a result, I’m going after OR.

One more experience since then. I just had OR send out a plumber to fix a leaky pipe under the sink as well as a leaky toilet. The policy claims that it fixes leaky pipes, so I figured this was covered. When the plumber came out, he said that it’s not actually a pipe, but a “pop-up system”. To me, it’s a pvc pipe that connects to the sink drain and to the P-trap on the other end. Pop-up systems are excluded from the warranty. They did, however, agree to pay for the $10 flapper on my toilet – after I shelled out $55 on the service call thinking they’d cover my leaky sink problem. So not only did I shell out $55 for the service call when I could have installed a $10 flapper in my toilet myself, but then I got hit with a $200 bill to fix my sink because OR wouldn’t pay for it!!! I’m going to cancel my contract and I recommend anyone considering this company to look elsewhere. They have too many exceptions in the policy, their personnel are not well trained, and they hire some companies who don’t know what they’re doing.

By: QUYEN, SAN JOSE, CA

QUYEN, SAN JOSE, CA — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 06:32:20 +0000

I had a dishwasher to be looked at since I just bought the condo and test the dishwasher, it was working fine and then two days before my tenant move in, i test the dishwasher again just to make sure. the water did not drain from the dishwasher, call OR to have some one come out. OR send this local plumber which look at it and say it needs a new motor and OR would not cover since it is too old. get a new dishwasher is better. OR denied the service. so i had to pay the deductible for having a plumber telling me it needs a new motor. OR sucks. i email them to cancel the policy. it took them more than 3 wks to respond. OR SUCKS!!!!

By: Sue Marshall, Zanesville, Ohio

Sue Marshall, Zanesville, Ohio — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 23:40:14 +0000

This company is a JOKE! We had a furnace issue, followed everything they asked us to do, never returned our calls & when we called was put on hold for more than 15 minutes. Every time we would get to talk to someone, it would be a different answer as to what was going on. I personally feel like the people who paid for our home warranty at the closing of our house , should get there money back. Its unreal how unprofessional this company is. Your contract is as good as the paper its wrote on. Save yourself money do not do business with this company!!!!!!!!!

By: Tara Charlotte, NC

Tara Charlotte, NC — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 13:18:14 +0000

I would not recommend this warranty company. Many items are not covered. The contractors they use are not reputable. I have had two issues with my home. The first issue was covered and involved plumbing. Unfortunately, the contractor they sent had little experience. It took 4 visits to finally find a very simple solution. The second issue I had involved a gas fireplace which they do not cover at all. Terrible warranty. Definitely not worth the money.

By: Kendra, oklahoma City, OK

Kendra, oklahoma City, OK — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 04:48:08 +0000

We have had OR for 23 years on our 1960’s home. We have filed 4 claims in those years. The one that stands out for me is on our dishwasher. We had an older one that was a cleaning marvel. It started to leak and make a noise. Even though we could easily go with out a dishwasher, OR sent a worker out the next day. They worked on it to get the noise gone and would have to return the next day for the seal. They did just that. Well, after on week of use, the noise was kinda back and the leak was there too. So OR sent the same people back. They decided it to not be fixable and must be replaced. OR gave us the option of a nice comparable machine or a check to buy our own. We chose the check. All of this was done on one service payment of $65. They are quick, nice and reliable.

By: Lynn, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL

Lynn, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 19:47:23 +0000

We have just renewed with Old Republic for the 3rd year. I was not pleased with the 2-3 day response time for first few calls; had never had a home warranty before. When I complained Old republic allowed me to request a different contractor who was more responsive. We have had repairs to microwave, ac, plumbing, refrigerator. ALL were completed successfully and professionally. Sometimes the Old Republic clerk who answers the phone is less helpful than others. I’ve learned to hang up, and call back and usually get someone who is very helpful. Still, overall value for the cost can’t be beat. I wish they sold these plans direct to homeowners and not just through realtors so I could get one for my parents’ house.

By: Gerald Naus

Gerald Naus — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 01:56:07 +0000

Contractor said oven must be replaced, due to twofold risk of explosion. OR said it was to blame on “interior lining” which is of course excluded. Flames go out by themselves, oven heats to the point where it can melt aluminum on the stove. OR guy said it’s like a beaver eating the wire, they wouldn’t cover that either. I pointed out that beavers aren’t part of the oven…

By: Maribeth, Jacksonville, NC

Maribeth, Jacksonville, NC — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:08:47 +0000

I know people are more inclined to write reviews when they are angry over a bad experience, so I (like the last two) thought I should add my positive experience. I was actually searching online just now to do a price comparison to make sure that we are not overpaying for the ORHP plan (~$425 per year). After looking online, I plan to renew again (for our 3rd year). Especially now that we are renting out our house, it is really nice to have one number (or website) that we can call whenever our tenants call with a problem. Twice they have called — once when the heater was not working and once when the air conditioner was having problems (both at about 7am on a Saturday morning). ORHP had someone at our house within two hours or so. This kept our tenants happy, which has made our experience as landlords much better. It has made the $425 very worthwhile and the $75 fee was much better than having to spend $200+ to have our A/C and heat fixed.

By: jay, wichita, ks

jay, wichita, ks — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 19:58:11 +0000

I too thought that i should write a review on the company… seeing that there were so many negative reviews.

my heater went out, they had a company come out, diagnose it… and then replaced the unit within 2-3 weeks. i had to pay a charge of $400.. but in turn i received a brand new heating/AC unit.

my garbage disposal also went out, and i chose the cash out option.. because i could care less about the disposal… also was payed out fairly quickly.

now my dishwasher is another story… the tech that they have sent out is a complete joker… he comes out, tries to fix it, and ends up breaking a different part. hes been out here 4-5 times.. finally i called ORHP to tell them to send out a different tech, because this one is a joke.

they informed me that they didnt realize the tech had even been out because he hadn’t forwarded any reports and that they would immediately transfer the claim to another company.

all in all im pretty impressed with their customer service, quickness, and overall handling of my claims so far.

By: Jane Cerami, Burke, VA

Jane Cerami, Burke, VA — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:20:31 +0000

After reading so many poor reviews for OR I thought I needed to write a good review because I haven’t had any problems with this company. I have had a home warranty with Old Republic for one year. I got the warranty when I bought my home last year at the recommendation of my realtor. I have made 4 claims this year – two issues with heat pump, issue with bathtubfaucet in one bathroom and an issue with the shower head in the other bathroom. All four claims were covered and handled with no problems. With the first heat pump issue I actually had both a HVAC company come out and an electrical company come out (twice!) all for the same one co-pay and the two companies kept at it until the problem was fixed. Every time I call I talk to a live person and get the name of a contractor. The contractor is supposed to contact me but I get their contact info as well. With 3 of the 4 claims they contacted me right away and came out right away. With the most recent claim, the contractor was a little slow to come out/contact me but I think they were a small shop and it was around the new year and it wasn’t OR’s fault. I believe I actually called on New Year’s Day to OR and they were there and handled my claim even though it was a holiday. The only thing they have turned down is when I called to see if an outside faucet would be covered and they said it would not. The showerhead issue occured when I was replacing the showerhead and part of the pipe broke off inside the wall pipe-it was covered. I am reading these reviews to be a smart consumer and check to see prices/reviews for other companies since it’s renewal time…. I don’t know that OR is the cheapest company based on the prices listed on this website, but my premium and co-pay actually went down this year so I can’t complain about that too much!