Today, I bring to you the conclusion of my exasperating journey with First American Home Warranty, a saga filled with frustration and disappointment, beginning just after I closed on my new house. If you haven’t had a chance, I recommend reading my previous post about this experience.
But to summarize, it all started less than a month into my new home when my refrigerator began to malfunction, showing an error code and a non-functional ice maker. I filed a claim with First American Home Warranty, expecting a quick resolution. Keep in mind when you submit a service request through First American Home Warranty they pick the company who will handle the repair and it can be anyone or any company. In this case Sears was sent out and diagnosed the error code, ordered the parts, and a subsequent service call was performed to “fix” the issue, but it only worsened, leaving me with a fridge that couldn’t keep food safely cold or foods frozen in the freezer.
My efforts to reschedule an appointment only added to the complications. Initially, First American’s automated system instructed me to contact Sears directly since the work order was still open. However, this direct contact led to confusion; the repair technician encountered issues, and First American was puzzled as to why I had reached out to Sears in the first place. Eventually, they managed to set me up for another appointment at the end of October. Yet, I proactively called back checking several times for an earlier appointment and was successfully arranged for an earlier date. This proactive step, unfortunately, backfired due to a paperwork error at First American’s end, which almost led to me being incorrectly charged for the service. Consequently, this appointment had to be canceled. Adding to the frustration, despite my clear communication about when I was available, they still scheduled the appointment on a weekday, which was not feasible for me. Amidst this chaos, I contemplated canceling my contract with them. During a phone call to discuss this, we got disconnected. Surprisingly, without my confirmation, First American went ahead and canceled the contract anyway.
What really struck me was the lack of empathy from First American. When my refrigerator issue stretched beyond a month, they offered a paltry $75 stipend to rent another fridge, which felt almost spiteful considering the space constraints and the extended inconvenience I was experiencing. In the end, they kept $389.47 from my contract payment, refunding only $305.53 due to their fees and prorated calculations – this, just a little over a month since the contract’s inception and amidst ongoing refrigerator issues.
After all the frustration and ultimately needing to buy a new refrigerator, which in itself had its own disastrous consequences, I opted to try opening a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. I did not go in seeking the cash out of my old fridge but a full refund of the contract I never used and never will use.
In their responses to my BBB complaint, First American Home Warranty focused heavily on contractual technicalities, ignoring the initial issue of the broken ice maker and the emotional toll of the saga. It felt like their responses lacked basic empathy, focusing on defending their contract – a contract I never even had the chance to review.
They admitted to the service errors but remained rigid on their cancellation policy, refunding only the service call fee. Throughout this ordeal, their actions felt not just uncaring but at times, borderline vindictive. The $87 service fee refund felt like a token gesture, completely out of touch with the reality of my situation.
This experience has been more than just an inconvenience; it’s been a journey through a system that seemed to lack basic understanding and empathy for its customers. It’s a story I share in the hope that it provides insight and caution for others dealing with home warranty companies. Always remember, the fine print matters, but so does the human element in customer service.
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