HomeServe Home Service USA Repair Management Corp, AMT Warranty Corp, HomeServe Fraud,no e-mail address, fax number, or physical address of said company Denver, Colorado

My 83 yr. old Mother-in-law thought the HomeServe solicitation was from our City Utilites Office. She was concerned about  not being covered. I'm guessing, but I think her name was obtained from the 65 year old homestead tax exempt address list from our county. Like so many other mail solicitations, this one is certainly aimed at the elderly and is misleading at best. I contacted HomeServe and they answered right away. They were very courteous and told me there would be no problem in removing her name from their mailing list (4-6 wks). At least they were responsive and polite. That doesn't say much about their tactics though!

In trying to find out about Homeserve (is it a member of the BBB in Las Vegas, have they had any complaints about Homeserve, if so how were they settled) to see if I would purchase the insurance.  One of my neighbors had to replace their water line between the house and the meter and it set them back $4000, so I am curious to find out if this company is legitimate.
Your reporter was very rude to the person who answered the 'phone and I would have hung up on him too.  He certainly didn't anything to the story that channel 13 did on this story.
Was the company a member of the Denver Area BBB?  Have they had complaints about this company?
Now I ask you to do a fair follow-up on this company and find out if they are indeed a scam.l
Just sign me as:
Disgusted in Reno, NV.

If you read the letter they send out it says "...we have found that your exterior water line is not covered...." They are referring to the supply line OUTSIDE of your home. I have never seen a bill to repair a broken EXTERIOR water line to run $5-7,000!

I think that when one looks at all the external breakages that occurred nationwide to policy holders in the last three years, and subtract repairs that are handled by homeowner insurance, or the water companies, as well as subtracting complaints that may have been handled by government agencies, we just might find that 250 BBB complaints may represent a pretty large percent of claims.

Furthermore, some of the "complaint resolutions" may have just been to point out that the pipe breakages in question was not covered because of the exemptions listed in the policy.

I just check the BBB website and they Do have an A rating, However if you read a bit further, they ARE NOT Accreditied with the BBB and have 237 Complaints in past three (3) years.

TURNS OUT IT IS 3 STATES SO FAR, AND THE FINES TOTAL $175k+. HOW DID THAT NOT COME OUT OF YOUR POCKET MATE? IF YOUR PRODUCT IS THAT GOOD, WHY THE NEED TO SCARE PEOPLE INTO BUYING IT? NOT SURE HOW YOU CAN SAY YOU ARE FROM THE US, WHEN YOU CALL PEOPLE MATE. WERE YOU FORCED TO MOVE? CHECK OUT INFO BELOW ABOUT FINES SO FAR:

111 COMPLAINTS IN ONLY A YEAR!

Customer Complaints Summary 207 complaints closed with BBB in last 3 years | 111 closed in last 12 monthsComplaint TypeTotal Closed ComplaintsAdvertising / Sales Issues85Billing / Collection Issues30Guarantee / Warranty Issues 10Problems with Product / Service82Delivery Issues0Total Closed Complaints 207Additional Complaint InformationBBB has received complaints, from consumers across the country, concerning this business's direct mail solicitations, specifically that the solicitations' layout may cause consumers to perceive the letters as coming from the consumers' utility companies and not an independent business selling home warranty or insurance coverage.BBB also received customer complaints concerning coverage issues, specifically that when a problem occurred, it was not covered by the policy.Complaint Details | Definitions | BBB Complaint Process | File a ComplaintGovernment ActionsThe following describes a government action that has been resolved by either a settlement or a decision by a court or administrative agency. If the matter is being appealed, it will be noted below.On February 26, 2010, HomeServe USA Corp. and HomeServe USA Repair Management Corp. entered into an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance with Jack Conway, Attorney General of the State of Kentucky.The Assurance was for settlement purposes only and should not be considered as an admission of guilt or finding of violation of law.The Assurance settles charges that the business allegedly violated Kentucky consumer protection law by designing and mailing, or directing the design and mailing of direct marketing material containing false, misleading or deceptvie representations to approximately 230,000 Kentucky consumers in or around January 2010.Under the terms of the Assurance, HomeServe USA Corp. and HomeServe USA Repair Management Corp. agreed to: 1) prepare a corrective letter clearly and conspicuously disclosing the 'water line service coverage' is an optional service that is not affiliated with the consumer's water utility company, and mail the corrective letter to all Kentucky consumers who received the initial letter and have contracted in any way, by any method with the business for 'water line service coverage' between January 1, 2010 and April 1, 2010; 2) business shall affirmatively disclose in all solicitations that its services are optional, and business shall not otherwise represent, either expressly or by implication, that they are affiliated with the utility company unless such representation is truthful; 3) business shall comply with the terms of the corrective letter regarding consumer cancellations, if any; and 4) business must pay $7,500 to the State of Kentucky for civil penalties and the cost of the State's investigation.The following describes a government action that has been resolved by either a settlement or a decision by a court or administrative agency. If the matter is being appealed, it will be noted below.

On April 15, 2010, HomeServe USA Corp. and HomeServe USA Repair Management Corp. entered into an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance with Richard Cordray, Attorney General of the State of Ohio.The Assurance was for settlement purposes only and should not be considered as an admission of guilt or finding of violation of law.The Assurance settles charges that the business designed and mailed multiple solicitations containing unfair or deceptive representations to hundreds of thousands of consumers in the State of Ohio. In the Assurance, the Attorney General claimed the solicitation's appearance may: 1) lead a consumer to believe the communication is from the consumer's local water utility service, when in fact the communication is from a private entity; and, 2) may lead a consumer to believe that the consumer is required to purchase "water line service coverage" when in fact the purchase is optional in nature.Under the terms of the Assurance, HomeServe USA Corp. and HomeServe USA Repair Management Corp. agreed to: 1) refrain from using unfair or misleading advertisements violating Ohio consumer protection laws; 2) prepare and mail corrective letters to all consumers in Ohio who received previous solicitations, and comply with the terms of the corrective letter regarding consumer cancellations; 3) clearly disclose in all solicitations that its service is optional and not required by the local utility company or governmental body; 4) not represent, either expressly or by implication, that it is affiliated with the utility company unless such representation is truthful; and, 5) pay Fifteen Thousand Dollars ($15,000.00) to the Office of the Ohio Attorney General for fees and investigative costs.The following describes a government action that has been resolved by either a settlement or a decision by a court or administrative agency. If the matter is being appealed, it will be noted below.On September 21, 2010, Home Service USA Corp. and Home Service USA Repair and Management Corp. entered into an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance with the State of Georgia to settle alleged violations of the state's Fair Business Practices Act. Specifically, the state's complaint alleged that a direct mail solicitation disseminated by the companies to 193,026 Georgia consumers had the tendency to mislead consumers to believe that the companies' services were offered by or on behalf of a government entity, when that was not the case.The signing of an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance is for settlement purposes only and is not an admission by the companies of any wrongdoing or violation of law.

Under the terms of settlement, the companies agreed to make every reasonable effort to act in full compliance with the Fair Business Practices Act and to refrain from representing, directly or by implication, to Georgia consumers that its advertisements originate from or are sponsored by other entities, including government entities, unless that is the case. The companies further agreed to mail letters to all prospectively eligible consumers, offering to provide a refund of the full purchase price that has been paid to either company for the provision of water line service coverage.Simultaneous with the execution of the Assurance, the companies were assessed a filing fee of $96.50, payable to "Clerk, Superior Court of Fulton County" and a fee in the amount of $19,302.60 made payable to the Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs to cover investigative costs and attorneys' fees to date and for future monitoring of compliance.The following describes a government action that has been resolved by either a settlement or a decision by a court or administrative agency. If the matter is being appealed, it will be noted below.On November 21, 2011, HomeServe USA Corp. doing business as HomeServe, HomeServe USA and Home Service USA entered into an Assurance of Discontinuance with Martha Coakley, Attorney General of the State of Massachusetts.The Assurance was for settlement purposes only and should not be considered as an admission of guilt or finding of violation of law.In August 2010, HomeServe acquired from National Grid Energy Services, an unregulated affiliate of National Grid USA, its contract and repair business which offered service contracts to National Grid consumers to repair gas, electric, heating and water lines and equipment.The settlement contains allegations that HomeServe designed and mailed solicitations and renewal notices to 946,000 National Grid customers in Massachusetts giving the impression the notices were bills from the utility itself, rather than solicitations for optional repair service contracts. The settlement also contained allegations that the solicitations gave false impressions about repair costs, as well as whether the repairs are the responsibility of the utility company, the homeowner or the homeowner's insurance company.Under the terms of the Assurance, HomeServe agreed its future advertisements must clearly and conspicuously disclose: 1) that HomeServe is not an affiliate of any utility company or governmental body, and HomeServe shall not otherwise represent expressly or by implication, or by use of any logo or name of another entity, that it is affiliated with any utility company or governmental body unless such statement is true; 2) that the services it offers are optional, and shall not otherwise represent, expressly or by implications, that a solicitation it sends is a bill for services or is otherwise required to be paid; 3) any material terms or conditions, the omission of which would have the tendency or capacity to mislead reasonable buyers or prospective buyers.For settlement purposes, HomeServe agreed to be assessed payment of one hundred twenty-five thousand dollars ($125,000) in lieu of a civil penalty, with seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000) payable to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the remaining fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) be suspended provided HomeServe complies with the terms of the Assurance. In the event a court of competent jurisdiction under the laws of the Commonwealth determines HomeServe has violated the Assurance, HomeServe shall be immediately obligated to pay the previously suspended amount of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) in the form of a civil penalty. In addition, HomeServe agreed to pay the Commonwealth of Massachusetts ten thousand dollars ($10,000) to cover costs of the investigation of this matter.

I wasn't referring to AG on those other two companies. I was strictly talking about BBB. From what I read only 3 AG's have done anything and it was a fine that was paid. However not for being fake or a scam. It was for how they wrote their letters. As for the comments about targeting people, I highly doubt that. If you have an established residential area and filter out everyone who hasn't lived there more than 5 years... most will be older.


Just some food for thoughts mate.

None of the two companies you cited, with more complaints, ever had Attorney General Injunctions;

one "A" rating in one BBB area does not make a valid and/or good company. You would need to check every BBB in which they operate within; but again I forgot "Attorney General Injections." Well I guess I'll overlook the AG when I have the BBB giving the thumps ups - NOT!

Just thought I'd point out a few other items...

BBB Rating is an A.
http://www.bbb.org/connecticut/business-reviews/home-warranty-plans/homeserve-usa-in-stamford-ct-87067998

For a company who has mailed around 100 million pieces of mail in 3 years and only has 196 complaints... that ratio is a 0.00000196 complaints per piece of mail.

Lets see....
Esurance had 214 in 3 years
Microsoft had 1338 in 3 years

I would like to point out BBB is quick to not rate or give a low rating to a company if they are not legit. So if they are fake or phony mates... why does the BBB give them an A?

Also if you want to say something to them... do so:
http://www.facebook.com/HomeServeUSA




Cheers Mate!

Reputable companies usually do not have that many people posting negative comments and attorney generals filing injunctions!

I have been a customer of HomeServe for sometime now. I would like to point out they can't cover everything that goes wrong, like acts of god. However typical reasons the line breaks they do cover.

Try doing some research, like I did, before you call wolf. Matter of fact, try calling them. Listen to what they cover. If you don't like it tell them to add you to the do not call and do not mail list. You'll never hear from them again. However, if you determine you do like it then check with your home owners insurance/local utilities/city councel to see if they cover what this company is offering. Once you find out that your home owners, local utilities and city council do not cover the repairs call them back and get protected.

Rule of thumb for insurance type policies... If you have the money to pay for a random bill that could be over 5,000 dollars and don't care to fork over money like that at once... then by all means do not get the insurance or peace of mind like they call it. If you can not pay a random bill like that at once, then see how much they cover and cost and get it.

Hate to wish bad on anyone, but wait until your sewer line breaks and it all ends up in your washer and dishwasher... see how fast you think protection like this again.

Cheers Mate!

If you read the fine print, they supposedly cover only normal wear and tear when most instances of pipe failure are from all the situations that they do not cover! They are now working the Las Vegas, NV area also with just a P. O. Box #.

HomeServe USA may be a legit company but is rotten to the core and very bad news. If you do your research you will find plenty of information that you should not do business with this company.  In my opinion, HomeServe is a company that prays on people who are older, uninformed, and less sophisticated.

HomeServe USA has multiple Attorneys General lawsuits in Kentucky, Ohio, and Massachussetts for deceptive advertising. This company has a Better Business Bureau rating of a D for using deceptive marketing practices. The terms and conditions of the coverage they offer give them the ability to deny your claims for reasons such as normal wear and tear, preexisting conditions, acts of god.  I had heard from other employees that the "repudiation" denial rate was over 40%.  The parent company in the U.K. had to shut down its entire phone sales operation because of a Deloitte and Touche audit.

If you really feel you need to get insurance for utility service lines there are much better companies out there like Utility Service Partners who have been endorsed by the National League of Cities and have a Better Business Bureau rating of a A+.

Im an employee with Homeserve, and I must say, their customer service is HORRIBLE. Customers with no heat with small children, elderly, or Ive even had customers with individuals with a coma in the home, and NO ONE matters. Today is the 28th of Oct, and we werent scheduling customers until the 3rd of November to get their heat fixed. The supervisors are horrible, and could care less about the customers. Ive had my sup tell me that the customer needs to "take a chill pill." the customer was an 80 year old man who had no heat and wanted someone out there that night, because he had to take medication that thinned out his blood. However that same sup was more then happy to get a tech out for a 50+ year old man (from what he sounded to be) a same day appt because he wanted hot water to take a shower so he could take his wife shopping that night, he got the same day because apparently to her, it was AWWW ADORABLE. Im in customer service because I genuinely care about Customers, and I want to help people, and it is SO hard to tell a 90 year old woman you cant get a tech out there until next week to fix her heat. When I try to bend over backwards, and get the customer the service I know they deserve, I cant, because I may loose my job. Honestly I could care less, because I would rather loose my job, doing my job, then keep a job where I cant help someone. I honestly believe that the ceo's do care SOMEWHAT about the customer, because we have been bitched out for misinforming a customer, or etc. But see its the SUPS that are the problem. They dont know how to do their job. They dont take sup calls because they want to take an early lunch, they just painted their nails (yes thats been an excuse) or they just dont have the time, and they put their headphones back over their ears. I plan on talking to my OM about this, and if something is not done, then I myself am going to the BBB because something needs to be done about this. 

I'm sorry you feel the way you do. I have had HomeServe coverage for
over a year now. From what I found out in my research on HomeServe
before I bought showed they have a A rating with the BBB.

As for your complaint about them not being located in your state. Well
to be honest, they are based out of Miami FL. Apparently they opened
another office in I think Chattanooga TN. They setup PO boxes in the
state of which you reside to send mail to. Like most companies, the USPS
then forwards the mail to the companies office.

I'm unsure why you feel this is a scam. However do some research next 
time. To be honest I pay less than 10 bucks a month and have a 6k+ in
coverage. Last I heard they have OVER 1.3 million co2wntracts and over
15 million world wide.