‘I felt ripped off’: Family frustrated with home warranty company after A/C broke

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — For many people, a home warranty gives them peace of mind. If something breaks or needs repair, the warranty should cover much of the cost. But recently, a Charlotte family ran into problems with their home warranty company.

Jackie Perry and her husband own a house in northeast Charlotte that they rent out. They said the air-conditioning broke last summer. Fortunately, no one was renting the house at the time.

The Perrys have a policy with Choice Home Warranty. The company sent four technicians out to fix the system, but they were unable to repair it.

Perry told Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke that Choice offered them $429 towards a new system.

“We told them that was unacceptable,” she said. “I felt ripped off.”

The company’s policy states that it will spend up to $1,500 maximum on repairs and replacements, so Perry contacted Action 9.

“And the next thing I know, they were going to offer us $1,500,” she told Stoogenke.

“Only when your team got involved is when they came up with the maximum amount that they would pay out for our central air system.”

The Perrys also realized that even with $1,500, they still have to pay thousands out of their own pockets to get a new system.

“$1,500 is really like a kick in the teeth to what we’ve paid,” Perry said.

“That’s not nearly enough to pay for an A/C HVAC system. I don’t know of one that would cost $1,500.”

A representative from Choice sent Stoogenke the following statement:

“This email is in response to a complaint you received from Ms. Jackie Perry. Choice Home Warranty is committed to providing excellent service and value to our customers. Since its founding, Choice Home Warranty has responded to more than 3.5 million service requests on behalf of our customers and covered more than 1 million homes across the country. We value our relationship with Ms. Perry, and we are disappointed that we’re unable to provide her with the positive service experience that she deserves and that we strive to provide for every customer on every claim. We had several opportunities to communicate more effectively with Ms. Perry, and we are looking into every phase of Ms. Perry’s service journey to address any process breakdowns that may have occurred along the way. In the meantime, we have reached an amicable resolution with Ms. Perry on this claim.”

Stoogenke offers this advice when considering a home warranty company:

• Read the fine print. Know exactly what is covered, how much the company will pay, and what not to do, so you don’t void the policy.
• Keep all paperwork.
• Research the contractor the home warranty company plans to use. It’s OK to tell them that you prefer them to use a different contractor.

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