No A/C in this heat: Family caught in middle as technician, home warranty disagree

Kathia Martinez says her family’s A/C broke on Aug. 18.

“So, we’ve been without it for now more than a couple weeks,” she told Action 9 attorney Jason Stoogenke.

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She was glad they had a home warranty: American Home Shield. So, they called. A technician came out. He recommended replacing the system -- not repairing it -- because of how old it is.

“With the age of the equipment there, I would recommend replacing the system,” he wrote in the invoice.

But Martinez says the warranty company emailed her that they “will not replace an item due to age.”

“We’ve been paying for all these months and these years and we’ve been paying way more than what we would get back right now,” Martinez said.

She says the warranty gave them two choices instead:

1. They’d pay for repairs
2. They’d give her about $3,700 to use as she sees fit, a fraction of what a new unit typically costs. 

“Really upset because it is a prime time for the heat and is really just not safe for our family and our children to be in ... a house, that it’s really this warm,” she said.

They’re relying on portable units for now.

“I would like to share this with other people so that they don’t go through this,” she said.

“We take great pride in providing quality service and valuable protection to our members. If we fail to meet these expectations, we work to do the right thing and ensure the situation is properly resolved. We reached out to Mrs. Martinez and she prefers to work through legal counsel moving forward, so we cannot share details on the situation. That said, please know that our team is committed to seeing this through and will continue working toward a positive resolution,” AHS emailed Action 9.

So, what can you do if your home warranty denies your claim or refuses to pay for everything the contractor recommends?

• Obviously, push back, and appeal like Martinez did.
• If that doesn’t work, you can file a complaint with the Attorney General.  She did that too.
• You may consider legal action. After all, your warranty is a contract, and you may feel the company breached it. Of course, only you can decide if that’s worth it.

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