First American Home Warranty / First American Home Buyers Protection
Reviews and Complaints

This company is horrible. Do not do any kind of business with them. When our air conditioning went out, we ended up having to wait 9 days in horrible Texas heat to get our air conditioning fixed. The people they hired for parts and labor were also bad (Accurate Airconditioning). They failed to pick up a part when they were supposed to, and if I hadn't called to confirm the appointment we had been waiting a few days for, I wouldn't have even known that they had decided not to come because of this. First American would not let us switch the air conditioning company that was doing the service after many complaints on our end of various things. Then, months later, we were told that we hadn't paid the bill, so we had to go through all the effort of proving that we had done that. A HUGE WASTE of time and money.

Mr De Vitis, a sales representive is canavassing Southern Califorina, offering very low rate, no contract credit card processing service for business. But Beware! he is a low life, pice of ### lier. Don't fall for him, he will say anything but read the contract first. I found out the hard way, on my statement there is all kinds of additional fees, plus it is a 3 year contract. Early termination fee of $495.00. Worst of all the corporate comany First American Payment System is aware of it and will not do anything about it. This tells me that they are part of the scam. To this date Federal Trade Commission has received over 3, 500 complaints against First American. FTC also has filed a law suite in Federal Court against them. IF this has happen to you file a complaint with the FTC and Call ABC7 Los Angeles they are interested in exposing these scums.

This company is a money hungry scam service. My dryer, included in policy, is old and last two years only worked on Low Heat with the timer set to Normal. Timer wouldn't move but I could still dry clothes, just used microwave timer. Sears came out, took dryer apart, said heating element looked bad, put it back together and the dryer no longer worked at all. This was after I paid them $60 for service call. Sears had to order part (a week to ship they said) and then I had to schedule another appt. which took another week for them to come out. He installed the heating element and left. Happily, I throw load of clothes in to to dry and within 30 minutes dryer is blowing nothing but cold air! I called Sears back and the warranty company complaining. They said I could have a second contractor come look at dryer and if it couldn't be fixed it would be replaced.

I wait two days for call from second co. and then a week for him to come out. I tried periodically throughout the week to turn on dryer to no avail. I even tried hours before dude came and it didn't work. All he does is stick a thermostat inside the dryer and turn it on. Low and behold it worked! He registered heat on all settings. He said it worked fine and left. I put a load of clothes in and the DAMN thing doesn't blow hot air! Again I call warranty company with complaint. They only said they would have the guy come out again. I talked to the dude myself that same night and he said he would be there the next morning between 8am and 12pm. I miss work to wait. And wait. And wait. I call warranty company that guy is a no show. They try calling him, I try calling him, no one can get him on phone! So later that night he calls and says he has to order thermostats for dryer.

The second contractor orders new thermostats for the dryer and after two weeks of not hearing from him I call again. He has them and says will be out in a few days. I have missed work each time these guys come ( and sit around house wasting my time waiting for them). I'm not home when he comes and he comes and puts them in while son is home. I come home, do some laundry, and put them in dryer. Oh! Can you believe it? After 30 min the dryer stops blowing hot air! WTF! I play around with the dial and buttons, randomly setting temp to Low to Hight, timer to 30 min, to Permanent Press to Regular. Sometimes it would heat but then it would soon stop. Took me 3 hours to dry one load of wash!

I call warranty company again. They keep telling me that if tech can't find a problem when he is there then they can't authorize a replacement dryer. It's been two months! Now they sending another tech from same company. I asked for SEARS but they refused and said I could not use them again. So now I will have to wait two days to hear from company to call me to set up appt. which I'm sure will be a week from now! I talked to the superviser and got nowhere. I asked for the email to the corporation and she said there was none! I did get the CEO's name, and I will search the Web for way to contact him. Company's website has no real complaint section and the complaints, according to sup, only go to one dept and are sat on. Great! I told her this is the last month I am doing business with them. I am cancelling my insurance with them. If I would have just bought a new dryer from the start I would have saved money, time, and lots and lots of aggravation!

Beware this company! They are crooks. I also used them over the summer to find out why my AC wasn't cooling house. Tech said the builders put blower on side of house in attic instead of center of house and there was nothing he could do to get AC to cool back rooms! Wasted $60 there too!

Beware! Beware!

We got screwed. Some jerk, named, Ryan De Vitis from Orange County came into our office to sign up for merchant credit card processing. I told him we currently use PayPal and they do not charge us high fees, etc. He assured me there were no fees apart from the normal $30 per month. He wanted me to sign a document to SEE if we get approved for a certain program. Little did we know, he was signing us up for a 3 year agreement. I told him we did not want to sign up right away- since our website was under maintenance for another 6 months. He again assured this was just to see if I was approved and to get things lined up for the new website. Each month turned into a $73 fee- even when my site wasn't up! Finally, I went to cancel (after a few months) and they charged a $495 early termination fee. The company knows they screw people. I've called and emailed Ryan De Vitis a hundred times--not once have I heard from him. Ryan is a scam artist and his filthy name is all over the internet. Ryan De Vitis from Orange County, CA is a liar, cheat and ###.
Feel free to call him and see if you get a response;
[protected] (ext 201)
[protected] (cell)
[protected]@americanps.com

I bought the home warranty on July 21, 2010. My air conditioner quit cooling on August 6, 2010. They sent an a/c company out, Ameri-Aire Heating & Cooling out of Richmond, Tx (which isn't even accredited with the BBB)? why? He looked and said" looks like your evaporator coil is leaking", and then "yep, that's the problem", and he would call First American to get approval. Frist American is saying "its a pre-existing condition based on what Ameri Air is saying". This doesn't make any sense. On the work order Ameri-Aire wrote " Freon leak in Evap coil, big leak, system would not cook properly for more than a few weeks".? "recommend replacing Evap coil"..so how is this pre existing?
Both company's are apparantly working together to scam homeowners out of the warrantly price then the srv call fee. I am reporting both companies on every site I can including the BBB. I am cancelling payment on both.

BEWARE of these companies ! My air is still broken. And I paid $55 for srv.fee, and $49 for warrantly thus far.
Fresno, TX

June 8th our AC unit stopped working completely. Tempature that day was over 100 degrees outside. In fact the entire month of June with the exception of 3 days... the tempature has been over 100 degrees outside. Here we are on June 30th and I still do not have a working AC unit. 22 days we have been waiting, praying, hoping, complaining, inquiring, etc. Nothing is being done. I still do not have even an estimated date that my repair will be done. NOTHING. I have 4 small children... one who is special needs. I was told that all First American would grant us is a small window unit up to $150. Doesn't exactly cut it for a 2600 square foot home.

The contractor they are making us use is Action Air. They are crooked and shady. They kept telling us that the warranty hadn't ordered the parts when in fact they were supposed to order the parts and he FORGOT. He kept telling us that the warranty company is famous for making people wait on parts. When he finally did order our parts, he didn't get all the parts he needed and gave us an estimated waiting date of 7/1 but said that it could take as long as Christmas as these parts aren't made anymore for the 5 year old unit we have. Home warranty said that as long as there was an estimated date... even if it was for 2012 then they would not offer to replace the unit. After our realtor got involved and threatened to not sell another house with the home warranty, they agreed to replace the unit. Generous? Nah! They ordered a unit for us however after ordering it and waiting for it to come in... it was determined that the ordered unit is no longer made. How do you order something that isn't available? I know when I go online to make a purchase, it tells me its not available. I am sure this was another excuse. As of now... waiting on another new unit that was ordered. If it was ordered.

I also expressed to the home warranty that their contractor was rude, crooked, a liar, and that he was bad mouthing them. I asked to file a complaint but they insist we must use him. I plan to complain on him as well to the Texas Licensing and BBB.

I will never again buy a home warranty. I can't believe that no one cares enough in this heat or that this is acceptable.

I called the First American Home Buyers customer representatives to ask if my rusty leaky cooking top is covered in my policy. She said yes. Then I asked her to please call a service person. I know there is $60 service call. My credit score is 770. I am never willing to owe others money. I called a service for my garbage collector in kitchen sink before and the contractors fixed the garbage collector then asked me for $60. I paid them instantly.

When the service man (from Sears) came, he said he could not repair it. He said my cooking top is not covered by my policy since it belongs to a cosmetic defect. And he told me nobody will charge me anything. Then he left. After about 3 months, I got a bill from First American Home Buyers saying that I owe them $60. It is outrageous. I called them to dispute the charge and they said once the contractor came, I have to pay. I said if the customer service told me my cooking top is not covered by my contract or it depends on the service man's judgment, I would not have called a service. Also the contractor did not ask for payment and said nobody will charge me.

Then several months later, I got a letter from a debt collection agency. I cannot pay something I did not get. And I am cheated twice by the customer representative and the service man. I think they will help this company to make a lot of quick and dirty money by promising something not going to happen. I will definitely dispute this debt and bring the First American Home Buyers to the court if necessary.

First American Home Buyers Protection Coporation sent a local contractor to fix my HVAC unit, which stopped working late MAy 2010. The contractor, Angel AC LLC told them that my system was not working due to a stuck valce which in turn failed because of an incorrect installation. The contractor then offered to fix the the problems, which included $800 to fix a stuck valve and installation of two liquid line driers that had not been installed by the original installer. The builder sent the installer to inpsect the system and he pointed out to me the liquid line driers and that the installation was in fact correct. First American then sent a second contractor to inspect and fix, and he told First American that the driers were there and looked new. First American then decided that I must have installed the driers in between the contractor visits (4 days) and therefore would not cover the claim. IN 28 YEARS OF MILITARY SERVICE, I HAVE NEVER SEEN SUCH INCOMPETENCE, UNWILLINGNESS TO HELP AND DISRESPECT. FIRST AMERICAN IS ABSOLUTELY THE WORST COMPANY AND GROUP OF PEOPLE I HAVE EVER WORKED WITH OR PURCHASED A SERVICE FROM. STAY AWAY FROM FIRST AMERICAN HOME BUYERS PROTECTION CORPORATION!

I have had a First American Home Warranty for 5 years, and for the last 3 have had numerous claims on an airconditioner. The contractors they sent out Accurate Air Conditioning could not seem to fix the problem correct.y and had to return numerous times - of course during the hot Texas summer. When I complained to First American that I didn't want Accurate out again, they told me that because I had gone online to schedule work they couldn't change companies. When I insisted, they cancelled the work order, then gave me to a company who couldn't come out for a week! Even though I told First American I wanted to file a complaint against Accurate, they never processed it and this year when the ac went out AGAIN, they insisted on sending out Accurate. After being left on hold for 25 minutes I got to a supervisor who basically said too bad, refused to let me speak to his manager and insisted there was no one else who would speak to me. I finally got a manager's name and number, left a message but it was never returned. At the conclusion of the call with the supervisor he told me that their vendors were judged carefully against consumer complaints, but that they didn't write my complaint down, so technically, there was no complaint. Everyone I spoke to was rude, and clearly couldn't have cared less whether I was happy or not. First American is a disaster as a home warranty company.

I believed I had a sewer leak and requested First American to send a Plumber to do a static test. The Plumbing company came out and when I told him what I needed, he stated that his company did not do static test. I do not know what 1st American told the plumber what he was coming out to do. The Plumber, while still at my residence, called First American that they needed to send out another company that did do this type of test to see if there was a leak or not. This Plumber required me to pay my fee. I did not hear from anyone for almost a week and the company that did call said he could do perform the work until later in the week due to other commitments. I waited for over a week and finally called a company on my own. Sure enough there was a leak. I called 1st American for my refund and they refused. I was a customer for 10 years with them and they scammed me out of my fee. I am telling everyone not to go with 1st American. Ihave sold my home and told the new buyers not to go with 1st American. Hooray, they didn't!

I requested a service call for two leaking tub faucets and one dripping sink faucet and one faucet dripping sink faucet with low pressure. After much time over the phone with the representative, the repair order was put in for "all". When the plumber company came, their work order shows one tub and two sink faucets. Once they called First American Home Warranty, they were told the sink faucets were not covered. I am being charged for a service fee for them coming out to my house.

This is where I stand. I don't care if I had four items needing repair, I should have been told at the beginning the sink faucets were not covered. If I were told this, a work order would not have been placed at all because I would have cancelled my policy right then. Instead, I cancelled afterwards. This is not the first incident I have had, but this is the one I am disputing.

In the past, we have had our AC unit fixed and fixed and fixed, still it doesn't work properly. We finally called a different service company, actually two. Our unit needed to be replaced. FAHB will not replace it. They said as long as it can continue to be fixed, we will not replace. All of these service calls, I paid for and it was never completely fixed, but this one, I will dispute.

Then they read you the one part of the contract that states, if they send someone out to your house, you will pay them, even when it is under false pretences. That is very underhanded.

Very, very disatisfied customer

Their salesman came to my barber shop and asking me to try their credit card device service and I make it clear that my business is cash only. There is no need their credit card service. Their salesman keep convincing me that their service will give me more sales. I told him again that I do not need their services. He says "you can try for one month and if it does not give you more sales, just call me to pick it up." I ask him is there any contract or fee on trying their service. He says "No contract and no monthly, but First American Payment Systems will charge me on the sales sent through the credit card device." I said well since you insist me to try, I'll try it for one month. When he came to setup the service, he ask to sign the paper that they will get fee on sales through their credit card transactions only. I signed the paper. Their credit card device is an old one and is not working at all. No printing receipt for me or customer. I sent two sales but not work. I call the salesman to fix that and that never work. I call the salesman again to pickup his credit card device I no longer interest it. He never come to pickup the device and have First American Payment systems call me and say there is a two year contract and I'll be charge $546.39 and if I don't pay them they will ask third party to collect and I'll pay for any fees. I think First American Payment Systems should not be allowed to service!

I called first american home buyers protection to arrange a service appointment for a problem in my ac (it is not cooling) last november. First american home buyers dispatched the request to jet a service company who called me to schedule an appointment on november 10th 8-10am.

I had a meeting at noon and needed to leave my home around 11:00am. By 10:00am, the service technician still hasn't showed up. I called jet plumbing heating and electric and told them that if the technician couldn't show up by 10:30am we would need to schedule. I was told that the technician was on his way and would be there shortly. At 10:40am, I called again and requested a schedule because I didn't think the ac issue could be resolved within such a short time.

The service technician called around 11:00am. I told him he didn't need to come because I was about to go to work. The service technician showed up in front of my door ten minutes later, when I was about to leave home. I said I needed to go, but the technician insisted and said he would only need to take a quick look.in less than 5 minutes, the technician concluded that it's the air filter problem. I told him it wasn't because I tried it with a new air filter but it didn't work. I told him if he had a new air filter which could prove it working then I would be convinced. He said he didn't have one but insisted that I should install one myself and try it again. He then asked me to pay for the service fee. I told him that I was not going to pay because there was no service done.

I called first american home buyers protection the next day and complained about the incident. They said they would follow up with the service company and call me back. I later decided not to renew the protection plan with first american home buyers protection. The only time they called me back was from their sales department to ask why I didn't renew. I brought up the incident and the sales agent said it wasn't her area but she could follow up for me. I didn't receive any other call from first american home buyers so I thought the case was settled.

I recently received a service fee invoice in the amount of $55 from first american home buyers protection (I actually didn’t realize there was a bill sent to me in feb until apr because first american home buyers kept sending me renewal letters so I accidentally denied that bill). I called them on april 12, 2010 and asked why I was billed for no service. They told me that it is on the service agreement that the customer needs to pay for the service fee as long as the service technician shows up.

I called on april 13, 2010 again and this time I was able to speak with a supervisor. She appeared to be helpful at the beginning and informed me that the service company was not responsive and they’re no longer on their list. However, after putting me on hold for a couple of minutes, she came back and told me that because first american home buyers protection had already issued the payment after they received the invoice, I had to pay for the amount due. She went on to deny my request of follow up on november 11th and told me that I was the one who was supposed to call them back according to their system record. She denied my request for a company email where I could write formal complaint letter. She would only give me a fax or a physical mailing address. But what are the uses of these? They’ll just end up like the phone complaints I made which I had no proof of filing.

I think the whole incident is ridiculous. It's very unfair to the customer because my ac is still not working as of today. First american home buyers protection committed to follow up the dispute when I first complained on november 11th.in fact, all they did was to send me a bill.

Filed claim with First American only to be denied as it seems to be their standard practice.
Drain pipe broken inside wall under sink and they seem to think that the pipe can be
broken in two places behind the wall by excessive force without damaging the trap,
connection to the sink, or the drywall that the pipe goes through. But what the heck we all have to learn our lessons the hard way. Hopefully when you think of buying a home protection warranty
you will read this first along with all the other complaints and choose not to get ripped off
by this company.

This Home warranty company never pays for its customer repairs. They have a way to avoid payments or take more back from the customers. With my recent experince, here is the way it works:
If any appliance breaks down, a technician (approved by them) will come and inspect the appliance and then he will send the company a report. In the report, they always include few things, which they consider modifications or not covered items. They charge about $400 to $500 for these "modifications" or "not covered items" and this we have to pay from our pocket and not covered by First American. So when we contact
First American, they will say that they will repair the appliance but you have to pay $400 to $500 for these "modifications" or "not covered items" for their approved repair company. Iy you go directly to any other local appliance repair company, they may charge about $250 to $300 for the complete repair.
So now you have no other choice but to go for a cash-out option with First American. Now the company will say that we will pay to $100 (if you are lucky) and nothing more because they have a contract price with their vendor and that is $100 only. So you end up paying the other $200 from your pocket for the repair from a local company.
I have been with this company for more than 3 years but this is my first experience and will be my last year with them...

First american home warranty is a complete scam! Last month I canceled my policy after they refused a repair that was clearly covered, in black and white, according to the contract. They basically let my mother freeze until I could get a contractor out there to fix her heat - at my expense. I won't go into details to save myself the aggravation of reliving it, but I am now with another home warranty company and am much happier. Not only is their service number available 24 hours, but their monthly fees are lower for better coverage!

Point is, first american is a scam. You pay your fees every month, but when you actually need something repaired, they leave you high and dry.

I am the owner of a computer repair shop in Veneta, Oregon. A little over a month ago, a representative of this company came into my office and promised me a positive experience with this company in helping me to process credit cards in my shop. Since that time, I have had nothing but headaches, and unanswered questions. I was told that I would only be charged around $50 per month, and I would be told ahead of time, what date I would be charged, so that I knew to have the funds available. That failed to happen. I was hit with charges right away into my account, resulting in several overdraft and insufficient funds fees. I made only one transaction into the account, using the machine, which funds I never got to use, because it was never available because of all the charges made by the processor, and all the subsequent over draft fee’s that were generated as a result of these charges. Then the account continued to be hit by further charges that were unexplained to me. The representative refunded me $100 in cash out of his pocket to offset this issue, but that did not even come close to reversing the large negative balance, nor put it into the positive close to $200 where it should have been. I have called and left messages with this guy, and most of the other companies involved with this company that I no longer wish to try to work with any of these institutions in order to process credit cards. As of yet, no one has returned any of my calls. I want this policy canceled and I feel that they have breached the contract, not me. On top of everything else, our account was just hit again today for the ridiculous amount of $667.15, putting us into the negative -$404, before further overdraft charges and insufficient funds fees! This is after receiving a letter that they are going to charge me $769.25 with absolutely no explanation as to why I am being charged! We have gone to our Bank, and challenged all of the charges and instructed them not to allow any more charges to go through. Please tell me how to return the equipment and end this nightmare. If someone does not make this right, I am going to contact the Better Business Bureau, and any other authoritative agencies that I can find, as well as take legal action.

Filed a complaint with First American Home for heater; technician from Solaris, found problem electrical. When heater was found not to be the problem on 12/16/09, First American Home sent electrician from Southern California Electrical Service Inc., on 12/24/09.

Who found electrical problems with common wall of electrical junction box in attic, but could not find exact problem. Solution was to bypass existing electrical problem, in attic, and common wall by creating a circuit breaker for heater.

While waiting for claim to be approved or denied, we had no heat and electrical outages and surges in common wall effecting refrigerator and other electrical outlets.

FAH denied claim due to dedicated circuit breaker for heater would be considered an upgrade. Requested second opinion due to not requesting upgrade and did not want problem bypassed but fixed--denied request.

Cancelled policy, requested refund on 12/30/09, and since hired an electrician, from Ryan Electric, who found burnt wires in junction box in attic, and burnt wires in junction box in kitchen; rewired junction boxes in attic, and in kitchen.

Problem solved without bypassing real problem and no dedicated circuit breaker for heater was required to fix problem. We now have heat again and electricity is working properly throughout whole house, no thanks to First American Home.

FAH was quick to deny claim, and sent out an electrician that did not try to find and fix the problem, just collected service fee.

The home warranty from this company is a waste of money, time, and hours spent on the phone trying to get the service you paid for. Frustration, disappointment, and dissatisfaction are all I received.

This company is cold and indifferent. Do not buy a home protection warranty from First American Home Buyers Protection Corporation.

In August 2009, I called First American Home Warranty regarding my air conditioner, which had gone out. That is when this nightmare began.

Every time you call First American Home Warranty, you are on hold for awhile and you listen to how First American "screens their vendors", selects only the vendors that meet their "Strict" requirements, how the "vendors are put on probation", and how First Am "calls the homeowner to ensure that the homeowner is satisfied with the vendor they send". Unfortunately for me, I actually believed all this. But nothing could be further from the truth.

First American sent a company named "Authorized Service Center" to my home. "Authorized Service Center" said the air conditioner needed replacing and told me that First American would authorize around $800 toward the cost. I needed a new Central heat/air, so since I knew FirstAm only did business with vendors who were "screened, on probation and approved by homeowners", I paid "Authorized Service Center" over $5, 000 to replace my central air/heat. The new a/c stopped working after a week or so. We called “Authorized Service Center”, they came out to fix it, it would work for an hour or two, go out again, we'd call again, etc., for a total of 6 times they came out to my home. "Authorized Service Center" let us swelter for an entire weekend and several days and evenings and were not at all concerned that I had paid them $5200 and had no a/c. I simply had to wait my turn. During all this, I also placed several calls to First American appealing to them for their help with this but each time, I was told there was nothing they would do. They did not care that their "approved" vendor was giving me a royal rip off. It was finally fixed in the 3rd week of September.

Unfortunately, the nightmare has reoccurred. Now that it's getting cold in Texas, I turn on my supposedly brand new heater, and we have no heat. I call FirstAm and they want to send this "Authorized Service Center" out AGAIN! And they want me to pay another $60 to the company that could care less that I had no a/c after they received $5000+ of my hard-earned money and had to come out 6 times to finally get the a/c working. To the company that should have installed it correctly back in August/September.

It goes without saying...I do not want to do business with "Authorized Service Center". I am not now nor have I ever been satisfied with anything they have done. In August, when I asked to speak to the owner, I was told he was not there on more than one occasion. I cannot understand why First American is doing business with a company like this. I am filing separate complaints on "Authorized Service Center". Is it that hard to get vendors for home warranty?

I told First American Home Warranty that I do not want "Authorized Service Center" to come back out to my home. First Am Home Warranty tells me that since I have not "filed a formal complaint" against that company, that is who they are sending. I guess many many phone calls to them informing them of the fact that I have paid $5200 for no air conditioning and asking for their help with their vendor does not count as a formal complaint? (Each time I called I had to suffer through that recording that says how much they CARE about their customers.) So I asked to speak to a supervisor and I spoke to Kathy Cotton in Van Nuys, California. I explained the situation and told her I have complained about this "company" numerous times back in August and September and asked her "What does it take to "file a formal complaint" against a company you have already complained about numerous times? I was not informed by anyone at FirstAm to do that or that I even could do that. She said that she would send another company and that I would need to pay $60 for the service call. This is what I object to. I do not feel I should have to pay for something that should have been done correctly back in August by a vendor sent to my home by First American.

So now I take it to the corporate level. I just finished speaking with someone named Nahun in Dan Langston's office. A more cold and unfeeling and unbudging person I have never spoken with. He was even worse than the others. Does it surprise anyone that Dan Langston does not call? Even if he did, he's probably just as unsympathetic. I have explained this situation yet again, and still I am being told how wrong I am, and that I must pay the $60.

FirstAm, their "vendor screening/probation program" is bunk and at least one of their vendors is unscrupulous. Is American Home Shield any better? I see now that First American has loads of consumer complaints about this company. I will be contacting the local news stations about this as well.

As far as this awful company "Authorized Service Center", a street address for them cannot be located, but I believe they are in Garland. I live in Fort Worth. It would seem that if FirstAm had this huge network of vendors, a company a little closer could be found!

I am sooooo done with FirstAm. Everyone in the org is cold and unfeeling -- not one ounce of human compassion anywhere in the company. I would hate to work at a company whose corporate culture is to be cold and unfeeling towards their customers and tells their customers if you don't like it, cancel your contract. Which is what I have done. Pitiful. Just pitiful.