It's the third story we've aired about a home warranty company this year. Each time, the viewer tells us the company won't take care of their claim and each time 7 On Your Side gets it resolved. But we know it shouldn't take us getting involved to get a problem solved. So we sent Dianne Derby to find out which state agency really is keeping an eye on these companies.
Eighty-eight-year-old Minnie Brown isn't as thick skinned as she was back in her days as a Sergeant in the Army Medical Corp.
"I'm just cold," said Brown.
Mrs. Brown's cold nature prompted Joe and Margaret Patterson to get their furnace checked before she came to stay with them after a surgery. A few days before her arrival they realized their furnace wasn't working so they called their home warranty company Cross Country Home Services. Joe says they gave him the name of a contractor to call.
"So I called, that was on Tuesday, didn't hear anything Tuesday, didn't hear anything Wednesday," he said.
His wife Margaret was in tears.
"I actually lost it on Tuesday when they never called us back and we didn't even know if we would have a furnace," she said.
They gave up and paid $2600 for a new one.
"I had to," said Joe. "I couldn't sit and wait."
HomeSure Services, the parent company of Cross Country Home Services, told us the Patterson's violated their agreement by replacing the furnace on their own. However, they offered to pay for a portion of it as a "customer service gesture". Joe says he'll get $1300. They also pointed out they have an "A" rating from the Better Business Bureau. Well, that depends on which company name you look under on the website. If you look under the name "Homesure of America" you will see the "A" rating. If you look under HMS of the Mid-Atlantic States they do not have a rating and have 7 alternate business names names (click here to see the list). I asked HomeSure Services how many names they were doing business as but was told they didn't have time to answer all our questions based on our deadline.
It's an answer we want and an answer we feel customers like Joe deserve.
"I firmly believe if you hadn't of gotten involved I wouldn't have heard from them," said Joe.
Who watches over home warranty companies? The South Carolina Department of Insurance says if they're licensed they're watching. The SCDOI's Willie Seawright says his advice is to take the time to read your warranty and really know what's covered. Seawright says by law you have 20 days to cancel.
To file a complaint about a home warranty company contact the S.C. Department of Insurance at 800-768-3467 or click here to file a complaint online.
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