HOUSTON – A home warranty is like buying insurance for the appliances in your home. Something breaks, the warranty company should fix it, right? But that’s not always the case. Our KPRC 2 Investigates team has what you need to know about home warranties and why right now, it may be harder than ever to get things repaired.
The ongoing supply chain issues we have been hearing about are impacting the home warranty business as well. Vendors can’t get parts and there’s a shortage of workers. But that’s not an excuse for the issues a lot of people are facing.
“This is completely rotted away and that aluminum is just disintegrating,” said homeowner Leif Syversen, showing us his rusted-out air-conditioning unit.
From an A/C unit that is literally falling apart to a broken water heater that flooded his kitchen Leif Syversen says he has spent years fighting with his home warranty company to cover basic repairs.
“They do everything they can to not replace the stuff that needs to be replaced. All they do is throw a band-aid on it. And every time I’ve got to call somebody out it’s a $75 service fee,” said Syversen.
Syversen has been using Home Warranty of America for eleven years. He says it’s a nightmare anytime something needs to be fixed.
“It’s very inconvenient and very costly,” he explains.
With this latest problem, he went without hot water for weeks.
“So I started calling daily. I started calling three or four times a day, couldn’t get any answers,” he explains. “And it’s ridiculous that it takes that long.”
Syversen eventually took a small cash payout.
“Which didn’t even cover the cost of the water heater,” he said.
Home warranty consumer complaints
President of the Better Business Bureau for Houston and South Texas, Dan Parsons tells us there have been about 2,400 complaints about Home Warranty of America over the past three years.
The main issues include long customer service wait times, arguments over claims, and vendors that don’t do the work.
“Let’s be honest, on who a lot of these third-party repair companies are not the cream of the crop,” said Parsons. “They may be coming in saying, ‘If we pick and do this and this, this, this will break later. And we can be brought back and get another (job)’ They may be more methodical in their thinking.”
Vendors, home warranty companies, and customers often complicate the process.
“So you have a built-in with a minimum of three parties involved, you have a built-in communication problem. And just add us right here today. Now we have forums, and we’re still trying to figure out why it’s the way it is,” said Parsons.
How the supply issues are impacting home warranties
Parsons says more people need repairs right now because they can’t buy new.
“This supply chain problem, the labor problem, the trucking problem, the microchip, and processor. It is real, it’s out there,” he said.
But this long-time customer says it’s not just right now it’s years of issues that have cost him big.
“I added it all up, I’d be over $20,000 easy, because every time you call out at $75, every time my A/C part goes out, I’ve got to pay for certain parts of it. So I’m way over that. It’s just not the right way to do business,” said Syversen.
We tried for days to get ahold of someone from Home Warranty of America and after being directed to different people several times, never got a response to our story. We will update this if we hear back!
If you have an issue with your home warranty, you can complain to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation or call them at 512-463-6599. You should also complain to the BBB.
Shopping for a home warranty
When shopping for a home warranty, first check the BBB for reviews and complaints. Parsons says to read the fine print on any contracts, especially any that use the word, “Evergreen.”
“The renewal comes up and it may be an auto-renewal, they have a credit card, and they have a credit card from service call or you may have provided,” explains Parsons. “So watch out. We see people who get into these who didn’t realize they’re still in it.”
Any company should let you know before they charge an auto-renewal fee.
You can also check the list of home warranty companies licensed to sell in Texas.
Another helpful shopping resource: MarketWatch surveyed homeowners to find out what they think are the best home warranty companies of 2022.
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