Sounds like many of you do not read the contract in full, then you get upset when the item is not covered! Well it wouldn't happened if you read the contract, in states in black and white EXACTLY what IS and ISN"T covered. So when you get your contracts in the mail, sit down read through them and if you have any questions or concerns you do have the direct number to contact the Reps and are llowed to make changes! So instead of whinning hre on this page take the time, b/c you have time to sit here and type all this, pick up the phone and call their direct number! They are availiable 24/7, how much more convientent can they get for you? FA ROCKS!

shutup nick.
no one liked you anyways.

You can not possibly "assure" home warranty companies are a scam. if that were true how are they all still in business? you are just upset and over reacting. maybe you are a scam!

They stay in business from the thousands of homes sold every day to people who have not had any experience with home warranty companies. On the surface it seems like a good deal. If they get a raw deal on a claim they go to another home warranty company that they think will treat them more fairly, unless they've done their homework.

You sound like a very angry person. Get over it, it is just a home warranty company, they are in fact very useful and helpful. I have a warranty and I find comfort in having it and it has come in handy very often. Smile, stop wrrying so much about something you can't change. It is just a web page about home warranty!

I never said I was angry. I just stated my experiences which mirrored those of the majority of people who posted on this thread (with the obvious exception of the posts from employees of FA). The last post was in answer to the question of "how could they stay in business" if it were true. Sorry, but everything I have stated has been the truth. I'm just a little old fashioned.
You wrote, "Smile, stop wrrying so much about something you can't change". First, I'm not worried. I resolved my issue with FA. I dumped their home warranty. As far as "something I can't change", I'm hopeing that I can with these posts. If nothing else, at least someone reading these posts will take a closer look at the home warranty policy and see what is not covered. I am smiling, by the way.

If you cancelled the policy a while ago how come you still keep coming to this page? If FA was such a bad experience then why do you stay here and read all this and keep on, obvioulsy you haven't moved on man. First American Home Warranty is good company, and my wife and I have had no problems with them, I just wanted to tell everyone that it is worth it, a warranty on your home is a good idea! And First American has been really good to me, no complaints so far!!

This is some of the worst customer service I've ever experienced. When the plumbing failed in an upstairs bathroom and flooded the downstairs, the representative said they would only send rotorooter to unplug a toilet and that they would not send someone to repair the pipes that leaked and in no way would repair "secondary damage". This warranty was a complete waste of money and I will tell every real estate agent in my area and anyone planning on purchasing a home to beware of this company.

Someone had mentioned in an earlier post about a class action lawsuit against First American. Do you have the name of the law firm? I'd like to give them a call.

I am going to file a lawsuit against First American Home Buyers Protection for breach of contract and bad faith in their dealings with customers. I would like others to join with me and make this a class action lawsuit. I have a law firm that is willing to take this on. You can contact me at:

shfwilf@gmail.com

Thanks in advance.

I wish I had never wasted my money with this company. The wasted money paid is bad enough but the mental and emotional grief spent fighting with these guys is the worst. HAVE YOUR ATTORNEY EXPLAIN ALL THE FINE PRINT on their practically useless contract. I beleive they imply to cover many issues that they will, in reality, deny coverage. It seemed to me that every other sentence I heard from their rep was "It is not a covered repair".

What really angered me was how they try to "handle" you on the call. Long waits on hold with obnoxious loud music, vague answers with "I'll check on that for you and get back to you" DON'T HOLD YOUR BREATH! They didn't ever call me back as promised.

I would not recommend this company to my worst enemy! Take a clue from the posts all you potential buyers.

If anyone has information on a class action law suit against First American Home Warranty Company please let me know. I'm in!!

docpierce@rock.com

I know that all of us have bad experiences now and again, but have all your experiences been bad or does it take just one to completely turn you off? I, too, inherited a first American policy with my home and upgraded it as soon as it came due.

I have had a very bad experience with FA and I am frustrated and considering not using them again, but I have to weigh that against all the good service and good contractors that I've met through them too. All of the contractors aren't bad, most of them will be honest with you and tell you what needs to be done to get around FA's double talk to get the job done and how to do it. Sometimes it takes them arguing FA and you might not get quite all of what you wanted but for $60-$75 per service call and nothing more, why scream, you're still out cheaper than doing it yourself? The only time it's cheaper than that is if it's a ceiling fan light kit or washers in your faucet or something. Think about it.

As far as bad contractors go, when you call in a claim, it gets a number, you get a rep, with an extension and if they don't offer, ask for it! Until your claim is complete, that person is the one who handles your claim. And yes, they have their fair share of bad reps there too, I've had mine and simply called, gotten someone else and told them I want them handling my claim, I'm not talking to that person again. The same goes for their contractors and I've done this on several occasions - called and said I do NOT want this contractor back, mark it in my file, DO NOT offer this contractor to me as an option again, he is not welcome in my home! Then, made sure that I marked the service order I was given, so next time I called in, if they offer that contractor, I can say no, he's not welcome here. I HAVE run into the situation where they say they have no one else and I have told them they will have to find someone because that contractor isn't coming back here. i might have to explain why AGAIN, but it's worth it. Make yourself heard, but it's not necessary to be harsh, just firm.

NOT TO MAKE EXCUSES: But how many of us have to do things that completely go against our grain? Get into a job and find out that something that goes with the job is completely against every fiber of our being? I have done this type of job most of my working career so I try to remember that it isn't their fault, they are following company procedure, they have someone listening in quite often,they can & are written up, & they have to follow the rules, as we all do on our jobs. That's what the reps are doing - following company procedures.

In all truth, is everything they've done that bad, or did one person screw up a good thing and frustrate you to the point that you've forgotten the good they've done before? I'm not their advocate, but as I sat here reading all the negatives, I've thought about all the good they have done for my family in the past and how much I appreciated them when my mother was dying and they were here in 20min to fix that a/c, when the commode broke the month before she died and they were here the next day and they replaced it. I just lost sight of that. You all helped me see it again.

Kitty, you're right, we do have the right to open our eyes and make sure that certain things are covered that otherwise would not be. Many first time home owners are very naive, as I am finding out that I am (smile) and learning from the experience. Some are frustrating, enlightening, and downright laughable. FA has been good to us except in one instance and I am coming to believe that it is more the rep not being on the ball that the company falling off it.

FA will do anything possible to avoid paying a claim and search for the absolute cheapest way out.3 different contractors who do work for them have also stated the same.

I work for a home warranty company (not First American) and have been in the real estate industry for about 15 years. Home warranties are very different from insurance - and so there is a lot of confusion around what they cover. Home warranty covers you for normal wear and tear, in other words, when things get old and worn out, your home warranty company will repair or replace that system or appliance. Home warranty companies do not cover secondary damage - but your homeowners insurance will and oftentimes the two will work very well together to provide you with maximum protection.

With that said, it certainly could be said that since HW's rely on their contractors to be their eyes and ears that there could be denials issued that shouldn't have been. If you have a good Realtor they oftentimes have connections to help you at the home warranty company - you might want to start there.

All home warranty companies are regulated by the Dept. of Insurance in the State of California and First American Home Warranty has been pretty consistent in ranking #2 in terms of paying their claims. That's a pretty high ranking. I personally wanted to work for the company that was paying out the most in claims dollars so I went to work for the company that ranks #1.

It DOES protect you as a seller from after sale liability and it will protect you as a buyer from costs associated with age and usuage - but as someone previously stated - your happiness with the product you purchase will probably be aligned with your expectations. Purchase a home warranty with a company that is a large one (yes home warranties have gone out of business leaving contract holders high and dry) and that your Realtor knows and has resources at. This is my best advice - and that's from the inside track. Best wishes to all!

I am in the middle of a claim on my A/C unit. I would love to have some advice on how to resolve this problem. On may 17, 2007 I turned a claim in that my A/C was out, they sent someone to look at the unit that day, the blower motor is bad and needs replaced (the unit is a Lennox). Here we are 28 days later, still no air. FA does not want to spend the $$$ to fix the unit. Other that legal how do I go about getting them to do what they should to fix the unit?

I am a worker at First American Home Warranty. I will state that like all warranties they are limited. First American has a policy that stated the contract. when people hear the word protection based off there assumptions they can create an idea of what will cover and not cover by there own choice. The one thing i will say ive worked in a Resolutions area to consistant problems for awhile now.

One thing about warranties:
If i have a cell phone and i throw it in the river. The Insurance would cover it but the warranty would not. Realize that the Warranty is a lot of money for the year depending on the plan. Most warranties have differnt policies for every state.

Summer and air conditioner:
But ive seen many issues in the summer especially this year. Our call volume rises to about 40 min wait holds due to the fact everyone is calling in Regarding Air conditioners. This is the reason why many workers at first american hate the summer. it causes most stress. Personally when im on the phone with our customers i see honestly what they are going to do. Some people are however a bit obstruct. When i will try to assist them they get personal and make direct insults that have nothing to do with the problem. they enjoy being upset. Ive had the most interesting threats. Ive had someone threaten to bomb me and shoot us all down.

Customer service: people tend to assume that we do not really care. Trust me the people who watch our customer service really are strict. Ive worked in other call centers and i will state First Americans Customer service guidelines are really tough. Cingular wireless allows you to hang up if you warn the person just for raising there tone. However First Americans you can never hang up except in certain circumstances. Ive had the longest call for for almost an hour and a half. This was a person who got denied over there washer for rodent issues. They found the electircal plug had chewed marks. He demanded First american send a 2nd opinion and this also the same day which was on a saturday at 5pm.
This home owner was one of the most interesting persons. but on his contract it stated (We only cover normal wear and tear..... damage from pests is not covered).

I will state we have had instances but also there are many areas and levels. When you get into a car accident and its not covered then people probably will use the internet to make the most propaganda one sided information pages about it. However when you purchase a policy whether its insurance or a service. you must accept the details of what it comes with. we are not forcing you to use it. and you automaticly agree to all the details.

Here let me give you one of my experiences with a cell phone company. I bought 3 cell phone lines with Cingular wireless and had several people on the account. I had my sister and my brother. However i didnt read the details for the internet kb data charges. After a while my line was cut off because my sister has gone ahead and charged up my bill to over $700.00 and guess what. then i didnt have enouhg to pay it since my tuition was due. eventually i went ahead and got it turned off. and had to pay for another month of service that i was not using. they canceled the plan and then charged me 3 cancelation fees of $175.00 each. be honest i didnt have the money to pay it off so this caused me to end up going to collections. after all the charges for the collections i ended up had to pay the darn company $2400.00 total.

IS it past the 30 day re-call period. Or was it denied? And so for what.

If the claim was denied meaning not covered get your own 2nd opinion and have them go ahead and diagnose the unit. if the 2nd opinion is a licenced and bonded contractor (they should have a lic#) and they state differntly get a clear invoice with an attached letter. Call first American and then request they need submit it for review. they will go ahead and do that.

If this is a deal with a replacement of the unit. and you do not want to pay the non covered costs. you can go ahead and read your contract. any modifications to the unit such as the plenum or the disposal which is required usually by city law will not be covered. any freon recovery such as disposal and such or any air handler transitions which is also a modification is not covered. the limits of liability explains this.

If you are not happy with the amount try to call the contractor and ask the details. remeber that first american works with independant contractors and they do not have control over what they charge. Infact if we did it would make our job so much easier. If you feel and refuse the pay these amounts then go ahead and then take the cash out. The cash out however is not retail price. its what we pay to have the unit replaced and we have agreements with suppliers. Take the cash out and get your own company. these are the only 2 options. Based off of the policy the modificiations are a decision i do not make. they are part of your contract which is how it will work.