American Home Shield [AHS] review: Furnace replacement ( 1 comment)

We requested a service request online Wednesday, January 5th at appr. 5:30pm (12 degrees outside). When no expedite option came I up, I called AHS to request a speed up of services due to the cold temperatures. We were told to wait 4 hours for the original assigned contractor to call back, and then we would be able to find an independent contractor. They did not call back, so I called AHS again, and the 2nd rep told us we would have to wait another 4 hours for them to find another contractor who could get to our house sooner. The rep promised me she would call between 6-7am to let me know who was assigned (both of my calls to AHS required about 45 minute waiting time to speak with a rep). She never called, so I called AHS for the third time around 7am Thursday morning. They finally gave me permission to get an independent contractor with 4 rules to follow. We contacted AB MAY, who had excellent reviews and a great reputation. They came out about 5:30pm and determined that the control board was broken and the heat exchanger was cracked in two places which could cause a carbon monoxide leak into our home. They could not determine more since the control board was broken. The service lady, Robin, said that she highly recommended a new furnace due to the age of the furnace and that a more in depth diagnosis could not be made due to the broken control board. In addition, she said that repaired heat exchangers seldom last longer than 3-4 years. When Robin callled AHS, they said they could not authorize the replacement ($4500) nor the repair using authentic parts ($4200). In addition, and very importantly, when AHS asked Robin for her professional opinion as to what needed to be done, Robin said that a furnace replacement was recommended. AHS said they could not authorize the payments for being too high and required us to get a second opinion with one of their contractors.

The next day, Friday, after some going back and forth with AHS, we were assigned Everest Heating and Cooling who would be able to come out that day. AHS had originally tried to assign a contractor who couldn't help us until Saturday. We said that was unacceptable due to the cold weather (overnight lows around 9 degrees). The Everest service provider, Ray, arrived around 5pm and also recommended a furnace replacement due to the cracked heat exchanger and broken control board. He told us on Saturday that he submitted a diagnosis for a new furnace ($3225) and AHS denied the claim, so he had to submit a claim for a repair (~$1500), which they approved. However, the parts would not arrive for two weeks.

We called AHS again to file a complaint about their decision, but the conversation did not go well at all. The first AHS rep would not let us talk to a supervisor or with someone who could help more. She said that AHS never replaces when a repair can be done (this is NOT in our contract). Finally she connected us to a "supervisor" but she was not helpful either. She told us that Everest recommended a repair, but that was a lie. Someone there deleted or hid Everest's first recommendation. In the end of the unproductive conversation, they took a message for a manager to call us within 24 hours.

They never called back, so I called again on Monday. I asked the AHS rep to connect me with a manager, but she held me on the line for a while going over the same information we already went over with previous reps. She said that the heat exchanger had been ordered but the control board had not. Finally, after much conversation, she took my name down to have a manager/supervisor call me. She said it would be 3-4 hours, but I never received a call back and have not since.

So, in the end, AHS is refusing the recommendation from two contractors and is pushing for the repair, which will not occur for nearly three weeks from the initial time of request because parts take a while to get. This is the middle of winter in Kansas. We have had numerous days of single digit temps and so far, all low temps are well below the threshold of 35 degrees. AHS will no longer discuss this and will not have a manager call us back. We want to start the arbitration process but AHS gives no information to start that process.