Choice Home Warranty
reviews and complaints

Bought a policy in good faith "for peace of mind" as their slogan states. A/C unit not working well. First claim, did everything by the book. Engineer found evaporator to be leaking. Claim rejected due to lack of maintenance! We purchased the property 10 months ago, they knew this but it wasn't mentioned on purchasing the policy that this might be a problem. As it happened though, while renting the property, it had been under full maintenance contract with a local specialist during the last 4 years. Even showing copies of these invoices there was no change to the decision. First of all "we needed photo's of each maintenance work" to support out claim, another time "serial numbers" were required of the A/C unit - when clearly the address was shown on each invoice, along with work carried out and when and where. Tbh I can't think of more information that I could have given to support this genuine claim. Ultimately...If I couldn't get them to pay out with ALL this information - you have ABSOLUTELY NO CHANCE! Don't waste you're money.

Purchased a home, with warranty. Paid $450 for a year. A/C part broke a month later and they agreed to pay for the work to be done. I called to check on the reimbursement check and they decided they were only going to pay a fraction of what they promised. After hours of time on the phone and repeated phone calls, they finally agreed to pay the amount. I called on 08/16/16 to check on the status and they sent me to a manager in the cancellations department. I told them I was very unsatisfied with the company and how they had been treating us from the initial claim beginning.. Andy the senior manager, said that he was going to withhold the reimbursement check until I signed a release form that stated I was going to keep my mouth shut and not leave bad reviews, or send complaints to governing bodies. This is extortion for my own money. And last I checked this is America and I have the right to freedom of speech. I also have the right to leave a bad review in good faith based on factual instances. This company refuses to pay claims and claims they aren't about making money yet they make any excuse they can to get out of paying. No one should be bullied in signing something to keep them quiet about a company who is doing wrong. The more research I do on this company, the more I see that they are a crooked company and they've already had to pay thousands and thousands in restitution..

Choice Home Warranty
June 3, 2016
claim #[removed]
Had membership for over 7 months and never filed a claim until our A/C stopped working in June. Besides the long hold time over an hour and several calls to file the claim, was denied coverage even though their motto is we will make it right. After several calls and hours/days later finally activated claim, was assigned a contractor with no work history or valid # to schedule appointment. After continuous calls and complaints, again Choice assigned another contractor, agreed to fix unit and Choice ordered a part for the repair. Service day finally arrives and Choice ordered the wrong part and tried to get contractor to just make it work by making adjustments that were illegal. I have never experienced such poor service, rude service reps, lack of knowledge, and trying to make a contract do an illegal install. Refund for out of pocket expense of $5700

Had a problem with a Bosch washing machine. company that came out had never worked on one. They then lied to CHW about the issue, even though the machine had a digital read out of what was wrong. Tried for weeks to resolve the issue with them, to no avail. Could not get anyone other than a sales person on the phone. Their administrative staff hides behind the "telephone. Then sued them in Bedford, Ohio Court (Public Record). Have a Judgement against them and waiting for payment. If not received soon, I will be filing additional complaints with New Jersey Attorney General's Office. This was actually the second claim I had with them that there was an issue of their contractor making a false representation to CHW about what the real problem was. They hire contractors that are not licensed and have no address. Stay away from this company.

Beware... Beware... Beware... Predatory company

We purchased a home warranty from choice home warranty after believing their promise of "never having to pay for covered home repairs again." in june of this year we had our air conditioning unit serviced as it was failing to cool properly. A technician from choice warranty was dispatched to do the work. He repaired a leaking valve and added freon to the unit. Choice home warranty paid the claim. 30 days later the unit stopped working and this time the technician discovered the compressor in the unit had failed. Within a few scant minutes of the technician filing a claim, choice home warranty denied it.

When asked why, we were told it was due to improper maintenance of the unit. We provided written documentation showing that it had been properly maintained and was in perfect working condition. We asked to speak to a supervisor (Regina), who told us they made a mistake. The claim wasn't denied due to lack of maintenance, it was denied because the ac unit had a "hard start" wire which proved there was a previous problem with the unit and therefore caused a pre-existing condition which voided the warranty. This was an out and out lie...

When we questioned the technician, he emphatically stated there was "not" a hard start on the unit, but it was in fact, in perfect working condition when he serviced it a month earlier. We then spoke with a different customer service supervisor (Jose), who for a 3rd time changed their story, and stated the denial was in fact due to lack of maintenance on the unit. When asked for specifics, he said the unit failed because of low freon which caused the unit to burn up. We had the technician check, and the failed compressor was in fact full of freon.

Thru research it has become very clear that choice home warranty is a predatory company which employs deceptive sales tactics to con customers with false claims of great service, when if fact, they have no intention of paying larger claims. They recently were forced to pay a huge court settlement (Almost $800, 000.00) due to deceptive sales tactics and failure to pay claims. They are still doing the same thing and needs to be put out of business

Choice Home Warranty
Buyer Beware

This company is a terrible company with a lot of small print to get them out of paying claims for almost every situation your home could have. I work as a Fireman full time and my part time business is construction. I have well over 30 years experience in construction and home repair. The last thing I want to do when I get home is work on my own stuff so I decided to look into home warranties. Knowing that my home is almost 20 years old and the AC units and some of the appliances are original to the house I thought it would be money well spent to insure these items. WRONG! I chose to go with Choice Home Warranty because they said no pre inspection and they cover items wearing out as well as offered Septic pumping for an extra fee. Last year I signed up with them on 12/22/2015 for monthly installments of $51.25/month. This is where the night mare started.

First Claim 3/12/2016 Toilet base broke

My first claim was In March 2016. We had a family event planned for March at our home where my wife’s and my family were invited. The toilet in our main bathroom serving the living room and kitchen area of the home started rocking and was not secured tightly to the floor. I chose to have it fixed before the arrival of our company. I called Choice Home Warranty and made the claim. They sent out a company called Mr. Smith’s Home Repair. Mr. Smith himself showed up to make the repair. First off he said he would have it fixed in 15 min. Since I took off work to have the repair done I kind of needed to know an approx time I could go back to work. A few min into the job Mr. Smith asked if I had a drill bit he could borrow. I assisted Mr. Smith and gave him some bits. After approx 2 hours of messing with the toilet Mr. Smith came out and said he could not fix it but would have one of his guys that is better at these type repairs come the next day to fix it. I paid my 60 dollars and he left. I went into the bathroom and looked after he was gone and the toilet was lying on its side in the middle of the floor and the pipe was open where the sewer gas was now coming into my house. The next day no one from Mr. Smith’s Home repair called to schedule a time to make the repair. I called Mr. Smith and left several voice messages over the course of several days with no returned phone calls. I then began to call Choice Home Warranty who said they would get in touch with him. So by now my event is the next day. I had the party and was so embarrassed that my main bathroom toilet was lying on its side and had to have all my guests use the other two bathrooms in the bedrooms. Finally one of Mr. Smith’s helpers called and said he was going to come out to make the repair. My wife took off work this time to meet the repair man. Around the scheduled time she called me at work and asked me to come home, the repairman got there and she did not feel safe. I came home to find a guy with dreadlocks that looked like he just got out of prison working on the toilet. After meeting the guy he was very nice and seemed knowledgeable of the problem. He apologized for Mr. Smith. He began to make the repairs. He instructed me that the wax ring under the toilet was an excluded item. REALLY WTF? How can you install toilets or repair them without a wax ring. I went to home depot to get one so he could get the thing fixed. Well the good news is the toilet does not rock any more. The bad news is every time the wind is out of the north we smell sewer gas in that bathroom and most of the tile around the toilet is chipped broke and coming up. The smell is coming from the base of the toilet verified by a gas detector I brought home from the fire station to find the smell.

Next claim. 3/12/2016 Septic pumping.

My aerobic maintenance company advised me that my septic tanks were full and needed to be pumped out. I made this claim on the same day as the toilet claim. Choice Home Warranty was unable to find a company to take the job but they said they would continue looking. Several weeks later I again called Choice to find out why no one had been contacted to pump my tanks. They called me back shortly and said they found a company that would take the claim. A lady from the company called me the next day and advised me it would be 2 weeks before they could work me in. She advised me to have the gate open and dogs put up and to leave a check in the amount of 60.00 for the technicians. I did as instructed on the appointment day. They showed up on time did the work and left. The next day I received a call from the same lady stating that Choice was not paying them what they charge for the pumping and I would need to pay the rest. A difference of 140.00 more. She said that when they received the contract from Choice they did not realize that they would be paid so little.(Fine Print) I respectively told her that that sounded like a problem between her company and Choice. I was never advised of the up charge prior to the doing the work nor did I authorize any other payment than the 60.00 co pay which I had already paid. I still continue to get bills in the mail for the difference.

Next Claim Plumbing leak

On 6/13/2016 I walked out into my garage to find water on the floor. I bent over to move the door mat to find the mat was soaking wet with hot water. I tracked down the leak to find it was in the wall and it was in fact hot water. I turned off the hot water the leak stopped. I and again called Choice. They said they were dispatching Mr. Smith Home Repair to my home. I immediately said OH HELL NO YOUR NOT! Been there done that. Needless to say a week later I still had the leak. They said they were unable to find a plumber in my area that would take the claim. Maybe it’s because Choice pays their contractors so little. Frustrated, I tore the wall out to find the leak was at floor level right at the concrete. I called Choice again. This time they said the repair was not covered. My policy did not cover slab leaks that if I read the policy slab leaks are excluded. I told them that it was not a slab leak it was at the slab not under the slab. Again claim was denied. I fixed it myself with an 80 cent copper coupling then repaired the wall. (fine print, wall repair is not covered even if it’s a necessary to make the repair.)

Next Claim 8/6/2016 Air Conditioner not cooling

I made the claim on Saturday when my almost 20 year old AC stopped blowing cold air. To my surprise I receive a phone call from Bock Heating and Air on Sunday morning stating they were on their way. The technician showed up as scheduled. Quickly found the problem. Locked up compressor. He stated that since my unit was a 1997 model and used R-12 refrigerant a new compressor was not available since lawmakers made R-12 illegal. He stated that I would have to have my unit replaced with a newer unit that uses R-410A. He said he would contact Choice to have the claim reviewed. Well I received a phone call today 8/8/2016 to tell me that my claim was denied. They said it was for lack of maintenance. They stated that the compressor locked up due to overheating. It’s been 104 here every day for the last week. Hell Yea its hot. This is total BS! Lack of maintenance. I have both units on my house serviced ever spring and fall. Filters changed regular a minimum of every 30 days, condenser washed every time I mow my grass. I was told by a very rude woman that sorry they made their decision there is no dispute process. I asked for the cancellation dept. After about a 15 min hold another very rude woman came on the line. I spoke my piece told her it was BS. The unit was nearly 20 years old had always been properly maintained which I have records of. I explained to her that The US Dept. Of Energy states that the life span of a Central Air unit is 16.9 years. During the 15 min on hold waiting to speak to this rude person the voice on the recording kept saying that Choice Home Warranty will be there for you when things wear out because things do wear out. I was told by the rude lady that she would send me a cancellation form. Sign it send it back then she will send me 250.00. Guess that’s to try to buy my silence or in some way make me feel better since they stiffed me on replacing my AC unit like I under stood they would. So it appears when they are looking at a $4000.00 dollar plus claim they just deny the claim for some made up BS reason and let you out of your contract with no early cancellation fee and give you $250.00 as a token of their appreciation.

6/13/16 purchased warranty* 7/19 submitted a/c claim #----3385 not cooling* ans questions about the unit/explained had annual check 8/15 all was well* 1st. tech never came*resubmitted claim 7/25 [during all the calls/emails to cs 5+ times about this claim no one ever mentioned/alluded this may b pre-existing nor posed the scenario used by the sup. as listed below] *7/27/16 tech said it 2 gal. low of freon & due to unit age seemingly a slow leak. He was told not to service unit[policy to new and preexisting issue]. After 20+ min. holding, I spoke with sup. after receiving and email & call while tech was still here. Supervisor said claim was to new to have a problem that soon and thus it is considered pre-existing since a leak couldn't have happened within the time span of the time the policy was valid [according her it became valid 7/13/16 and for it to have a leak within 2weeks of my claim 7/19 is the result of a pre-existing issue. So I guess their reps are all psyche. Regardless of how old the unit is you still can't tell me nor can I determine when a leak happened especially when I had it checked with clear bill of properly operating 8/15/16 by Home Depot [of which I'm always satisfied with their contractors that have worked on our properties]. I stated how am I suppose to have known it was leaking or when it started to leak and that you'll never know something is wrong until you check it. She stated their policy doesn't cover pre-existing. Went back/forth a couple of times my trying to understand when a claim is submitted how would a person know something was a problem before calling that caused the malfunction. The best consolation the tech could give was they are assuming the leak was there before due to the age 15.5 yrs. which lasts upto 18yrs. Well what's the point if they claim pre-existing of something of which I would have not known. We are cancelling. You can't KNOW every problem b4 it exists you can have issues with new purchases. Heed the Reviews

What ever you do, DO NOT get a Choice Home Warranty! These people will do anything and everything to get out of paying their claims.

After a very aggressive sales pitch where they promise to make your home "worry free", I've had their warranty over a year now and they have denied almost all of the claims. The couple of haven't been denied all have had a limited payout. For example, my dishwasher went out and all they would pay was $184 - not nearly enough to replace it.

This summer I've had a pool pump and an air conditioning unit go out - both denied. They didn't pay the AC claim because they said the filter was backwards.

On top of that, they don't contact you when there is an issue. You have to call them - and when you call them, you are placed on hold usually for at least 10 minutes and normally longer. Horrible customer service.

If you're looking for a home warranty company, trust me and all these other reviewers, do not go with them.

There is really nothing good about this company. Horrible experience.

If you're planning to have a home warranty policy be very careful and shop around.I choose chores home warranty company and that was nothing but a huge disappointment.this company just taking your money sending you never heard professionals with unmarked car, and later I find out everybody has a horrible customer report online . Finally a company declared my AC compressor has to be changed.my unit was always maintenance well maintenanced, but of course they denied the coverage due to the lack of maintenance. I am assume all the positive feedback from customer are fake. Do not hire this company. If you're calling them about your claim take 30-40 minutes to get through to them. After you talk to them they most of the time will decline your claim and when you canceling them they will charge a cancellation fee for each months you still have The coverage with them. I made a big mistake because I didn't search deep enough into their history.

I recently had a leak in one of the cold water pipes running across the ceiling in my main bathroom. Called Choice Home Warranty and 24 hours later I was contacted by a service man. He removed a 2' X 2' section of sheetrock (soggy through and through), located the pin hole leak in the copper tubing, cut out a section and used a "shark" connector to connect the two pieces. Problem fixed. The next day, I received a call from Choice Home Warranty telling me the leak was not covered as it was behind an obstructed ceiling (i.e. sheetrock). Their warranty says, "Note: HWA will provide access to plumbing systems through unobstructed walls, ceilings or floors, only and will return the access opening to rough finish condition."
I read them the warranty and asked how this wasn't covered. The first person I talked to said they don't cover obstructed walls or ceilings. I stated that the ceiling was not obstructed, the pipe was behind sheetrock. An obstructed wall would be like, for example, a bookcase in front of the sheetrock, and that in excess of 99% of all plumbing is behind sheetrock in any home. She said there would have to be a hole there first for it to be covered.n Obviously, I was incredulous about that answer. I then asked her why they would cover the repair to the sheetrock 'access' opening to a rough finish condition if it was already open? She didn't have an answer for that. I then asked for a supervisor and was connected to "Arkim" (first name only). He basically repeated what the first woman had said, and that I "wasn't reading the warranty correct(ly)." I then asked to speak to his supervisor and his response was "There is no one above me you can talk with." I would WARN anyone interested in using Choice Home Warranty about this experience. The warranty says what it says, not what the Choice employees (in their infinite wisdom) choose to interpret it saying. An "unobstructed wall" is NOT the same thing as an "unobstructed water pipe".

Do not buy choice home warranty! Choice home warranty is a poorly run company and doesn't deliver on its promises. Our air conditioner quit working and they assigned a service provider to come out to our house. When we called to make an appointment, the service provider hadn't heard of choice. When we did get a technician out, he diagnosed the problem, it took some time to get approved by choice, then he repaired the motor.in checking the motor once it was installed, the compressor burned out. Choice won't pay for that because it was not diagnosed on the first call. When we have called choice to try and get clarity, or try and get responses for approvals, we had to wait on the phone for hours. During the time on hold, you listen to a running conversation about how choice provides a quality customer experience. Yesterday I timed my wait time; when I initially called, the recording said I had to wait 36 minutes (Quality customer service?). I actually talked to someone 1 hour, 3 minutes & 13 seconds later. At which time, my claim was denied. They had sent me an email asking to call about my claim - they couldn't say in an email that the claim was denied? Also, you cannot talk to anyone to complain unless you are put back into the phone tree and wait up to an hour to talk to someone who can't help anyway. They do not provide any customer service! The company obviously doesn't want to hear complaints.

I purchased a home warranty policy for a year in July, 2015. My air conditioning unit was not cooling the house. I was told I had a leak and needed coolant. Technician had to get approval to inject coolant. I had to pay myself for the die pack test to trace the leak. Technician reported the coil needed replacing and as that part is no longer manufactured, recommendation was made to replace the entire coil section. This is an older unit but has been well maintained for the 3 years I have owned the home and was found in good condition 3 years ago when I had the home inspected. Choice is denying any responsibility for this claim due to rust and corrosion. That is not what the technician reported - the unit is from 1995. However the company claims in their advertising "peace of mind" coverage and age of appliance is not a factor. Until you try to get them to cover something that breaks down due to normal wear and tear!

Had no AC called Tuesday and repairman wouldn't arrive til Friday. I asked if there was another company we could call as I have asthma, no other name was given to me. On Friday he diagnosed problem and put in claim. I called company and asked what was covered for AC problems. The reason I called was they had never sent me a policy despite 5 phone calls requesting one. I was told Coil, Condenser, and Freon is covered. According to repairman it was a Coil and Freon problem. Needed authorization which would be given to repairman to do job as per one of my lengthy, useless phone calls to this company. I wasn't informed what was happening so I then called Saturday and was told the claim was denied, when were they gonna let me know? Mind you I had already been told that what was wrong was covered but another previous call. So I asked to speak to a supervisor and was told there wasn't one, after much discussion I was given to the super. Bottom line they were useless as well and must call Monday. At this point the temp in my home is 89 degrees . I call Monday and speak with the claims manager who said she would get the coil and would let me know. Called 2 more times before she told me 14 minutes before repair was to be done that yet again I was lied to and they would only be giving me $300(coil is $750). Mind you temp in house is now 92 degrees. And accept it or not that's all she's offering despite what she told me in AM call cause this is an uncovered claim and she's only doing this as a gesture of good faith?Meanwhile in my countless hours on hold I had to keep hearing how all things breakdown and let CHW give you peace of mind HAAHAHA. I felt lied to and ripped off and when I tried to cancel policy was told they don't owe me anything for the 6 weeks left cause there's a$50
cancellation fee!By the way have you received the policy in the mail cause I haven't but then again they only had ten months to mail it!
I can only assume the chemical plants in NJ are affecting the way this company pretends to do business. Very toxic!

I had another home warranty with 2-10. I was happy with them, but my year was about up and I found cheaper rate with CHW. On 7/1 my dishwasher began to pour water out of the bottom. I immediately called CHW. A repairman did not come out till 7/7. He said the water intake valve had gone bad. "It just happens sometimes", he said. Said he'd be back Monday 7 / 11 to fix. Monday came with no repairman or calls. After many hour long on holds, I was told problem was "preexisting". Really? The entire sales pitch is how you don't need a home inspection... doesn't matter how old your home or appliances are... bullcrap. I have had no lapse in coverage and a leaking dishwasher should definitely be covered. This company is a scam. Any appliance that goes bad could be lumped into a "preexisting " category.

I have two homes covered under the Choice Home Warranty Agreements. They have been running me around in circles regarding a roof coverage issue for over two months. I have called them practically everyday for two months experiencing long hold times for up to an hour and a half. Average hold time has been from 30 to 45 minutes. I have filed other claims where every claim has been denied. I would not recommend anyone to take out the home warranty coverage with this company. My experience has been they are a scam. Feel free to contact me if you would like additional information. My existing roof claim is still in process for going on two months. [protected]@att.net

I paid two years due without calling for any service. Last month (June, 2016), my air conditioning is not cooling down the house, instead the temperature is rising on the thermostat. I filed a claim to Choice Home. 3 days later they send an email notify me to call the specific technician. The technician checked and found out the Freon is low and the coil freezes. Choice Home consider that as maintenance and so was not cover. Ok, that's fine. I paid out of my own pocket and refilled the Freon and put the leak stop. A week later, I noticed the outside compressor never stop running even though the fan is off when it reached the set temperature. I filed another claim, and they requested to see the repair which I email to them. Meanwhile I waited and waited and hear nothing back from them. So I called and much waiting later, I talked to a supervisor. She said she will send a work order out and an email to me to call the company they picked. 2 days later, still no email. Meanwhile, the air conditioner had been running non stop for the last 2 weeks! Today is Friday, tomorrow is fourth of July long weekend. So I decided to call them. To talk to the supervisor the first wait time was 113 mins! I turned on phone speaker and let it on while doing my chaos. Guess what! After almost an hour of waiting. The line just went dead! I called the second time, waited 10 minutes to speak to a rep. I have ran out of patience by now, I requested to speak to supervisor. She connected me but it said the wait time is 103 mins! Again, over an hour! Really? This is the worst Home Warranty company! I hope consumer read all the reviews here before making their decision to choose Choice Home!

My heat pump stopped working on Father's day 2016. I called CHW to file a claim as heat pumps are covered in their policy. After many denials I got fed up. Not only did they find ridiculous reasons for denial (I had semi-annual service performed regularly) but the last call the lady told me the HVAC person they sent said the failure was due to over heating and excessive amperage. I called the HVAC guy and he said he never said that and they were "throwing him under the bus". Now I have to pay $6900 to replace the heat pump out of my pocket. I just canceled my policy with CHW

I live in Texas where it is very hot. My a/c went out and it took them 3 days to send someone out. The repair guy said it was my compressor and compositor and I will need a new unit. After calling several times begging them and I was even told by a rude customer service rep that they are a warranty company not a emergency company. I told her I have a new born baby and a 6 year old at home and the director of escalations told me not his problem claim denied due to my error that it was my fault and I would have to submit 3 years of maintenance records to prove it was not my fault even after there on repair man said it was not my fault nothing I did caused this. I am complaining to everyone and try to get enough people together for a class action law suit they cannot do this to anyone else...I am still without air...begging this heartless company to honor there promise to cover my a/c.

I am selling my house and my home inspection showed many mostly minor things. I called them and get a very rude and hard to understand woman on the phone. They will send someone out to check out the AC but they said no on every other thing I mentioned. They asked if I had looked at my book but I don't remember ever getting a book. I unfortunately paid for a five year plan. I won't be recommending them to anyone for sure. I tend to trust the people that I know to fix things in my house but thought this would be financially helpful but I was wrong, wrong, wrong.

And, now, to make things worse, the number I called that they sent me for AC repair got someone who had nothing to do with air conditioning repair.

Run, don't walk away. If you are looking for a Home Warranty, go elsewhere. I gave them a 1 because negative numbers weren't available. A/C unit broke. They won't repair due to "lack of maintenance." The company that THEY sent out said that lack of maintenance wasn't a problem. I do maintain my unit just don't have documentation. There was a $780, 000 judgement against them for these same unsavory business practices. It's a common theme with them. It would be a great company to go with if you have extra money you don't want and don't file a claim for a big ticket item. It's what they do. Look at the judgement at New Jersey Division of Consumer of affairs.