All the ways KPRC 2 readers say they have had problems with home warranties

Home warranties: Do you consider them a scam or a prudent investment?

One Houston homeowner says they’re a scam.

Jena Goetz’s air conditioner went out last summer and she said things got even hotter when the repairman selected by her warranty company showed up at the front door.

“In order to replace (the) coil that is covered under your home warranty, we have to do all this extra work adding up to $1,800,” she said.

Fed up, Goetz hired her own repairman who exposed the unnecessary charges and told her she didn’t need any of the extra work completed.

We took to Facebook to ask KPRC 2 viewers to share their experiences with home warranties. It turns out, they had a lot to stay on the matter.

KPRC 2 readers shared their experiences with home warranties:

• “I had a home warranty after I bought a house, the washing machine went out,” wrote Julia Tamm. “The warranty company “fixed” it but then it stopped working again 2 days later. They diagnosed that another part was needed and it would take a week or more to get it. I called around and the part was available in Houston that day. With a family of 5, I can’t wait a week to get a washing machine fixed. I call them a scam.”
• “I had a home warranty for two years,” wrote Marie Eyler Wilkerson. “Nothing ever seemed to be covered, and, ended up paying out of my pocket. Definitely not worth it.”
• “I would have to agree with this woman,” wrote Ashley Ann. “Every company that my home warranty has sent out has been horrible and they have never been able to fix anything. I just ended up spending 1800 out of pocket because home warranty couldn’t and wouldn’t do anything.”
• “Our experience at my aging mother’s home was beyond horrific,” wrote Donna Pryor. “I threatened one AC guy if he left without agreeing to replace a unit they had Fixed 12 times”
• “I was in business for 35 years and was approached many times by home warranty companies to do their work,” Dave Green wrote. “I refused because their pay scale was so low that I couldn’t send a technician out and break even. Remember you get the quality you pay for.”
• “It’s all horrible,” wrote John Kaufman. “When I bought my current house, the A/C died sometime in the month between the inspection and closing. The house was unoccupied, so there was no one to notice until the day I got the keys after closing (a separate horror story) and started moving in. The home warranty company refused to pay for anything because the problem occurred before I took possession.In the end it worked out better anyway, since the system hadn’t had any maintenance for its then-10-year lifespan and needed a complete replacement. Since the warranty wasn’t paying, I was able to pick a company on my own and got a much better deal overall (including the effect on my utility bills) than a constant stream of warranty patch repairs.”
• “I had one of these plans and when my washing machine broke they would not replace it because the damage was caused by water! Quickly cancelled,” Diane Deaton wrote.
• “I had one with my last house (came with it),” wrote Susanne Wooton Gaal. “My dishwasher started making weird noises so I called them. They sent out a guy who ran it said he heard nothing but “normal” sounds and never looked inside the machine’s mechanism basically he all but told me I was stupid. 2 months later the whole thing just up and stopped working. I called them back and they sent the same guy who refused to come because there was nothing wrong the last time even though the new order said if wasnt working. The warrenty company let me get someone in and would reimburse the charges...the guy who came in and looked at the machine discovered that a wire cap was off and wires were touching which had cause a short and was why it wasnt working ..and making loud noises...it was actually an easy fix...but it could have caused a fire or electrocuted me....when the repair guy told the warrenty company that little fact they cut a check for the service call and repair so fast I got it the next day. If the first guy had just looked in the machine he would have found this issue.”

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