American Home Shield Unreliable, ripoff, fraud Internet www.ahsservice.com

I am extremely unhappy with the service provided by American Home Shield Warranty. The insurance company has denied my claim to replace the air conditioner/gas heater unit because the unit was not properly maintained. This reason just does not make sense to me, as the homeowner for only two years. First of all, the home inspection prior to purchasing the property said the unit in question was in working order. The warranty under American Home Shield also only covers appliances in working order as advertised on your web site. Therefore, if there is negligence on any party involved it would be the previous homeowner who did not maintain the unit in working order, unknown to the new home owner.

As records indicate, a work order for the heater was order soon after purchasing the property, of last year Dec 2003. Now since the air conditioner is not working, I have asked once again for an inspection of the unit. As advertised on your website once again, the warranty is used to replace expensive appliance costs at a minimum cost to the insurer. The contractor wrote the entire unit had to be replaced due to the poor condition of the unit and the age of the unit of almost 30 plus years. If the unit was in working order previously then could the unit not just have died due to old age or regular wear and tear? Then why has the claim been denied to me? The reasons for having the insurance is to replace and fix any appliance under coverage without the worry of expensive bills from other sources. An independent contractor was also called to check the unit, and also ordered a replacement of the entire unit at the cost of $6000. The insurance contractor quoted $4000, which is considerably less han the previous quote as mentioned above for the same replacement. Both quotes are extremely costly to the home owner and such, not easily affordable, thus purchasing the home insurance warranty to help with the costs.

I have spoken with the supervisor in charge, regarding this matter, but she was not helpful at all in terms of understanding the needs of the insurer (Monday August 8, 2005 around 7:00am).

These actions do not coincide with the objectives of the company "pursue excellence" or "grow profitably."

So basically, all appliances in my house which are orginal to the house won't be covered since they are old and have not been maintained?

In the meantime, I am still getting mailer to renew the membership since covering basic appliances like the AC is so expensive to replace. Are they just full of BS?

This is a warning for everyone! If you have or plan to get AHS service, call for service every year regardless of need so that it is on your record that you made attempt to "maintain" it.

Ken
Woodland Hills, California
U.S.A.