Greetings from the bayou,
I was very unhappy with the level of service provided by HWA on a recent claim on our broken air conditioner here in southeast Louisiana. Our air conditioner was broken for nearly two weeks while waiting on repairs, and that's hard to tolerate when the high temperatures during that time reached 90 to 95 humid degrees every day except one.
We purchased our house 11 months ago, and it came with a 12-month homeowners warranty with UA Durr. UA Durr went out of business a few months later, and HWA took over.
The a/c went out Sunday evening June 8. I called HWA on June 9 and received an e-mail for my claim on June 9 stating You will be responsible for $65 ($200 for Subterranean Termite Treatment) or the actual cost of service, whichever is less for this claim. If you have any questions...
The a/c technician was overbooked and he couldn't come to our house until two days later. When he did, he recommended that the external unit be replaced because it was too small. The compressor could be replaced, but that would only be a short term fix. He would call HWA and submit his recommendation.
I called HWA the next day. HWA said they would only authorize replacing the compressor. They had no record of the technician's recommendation to replace the unit - perhaps this was conveniently forgotten? I mentioned that the replacement was recommended, the HWA rep gave the 'pre-existing condition' excuse.
It took a couple of days for the compressor to arrive, and the technician installed it the next day. But the compressor didn't fit nicely into the unit — some re-piping had to be done.By this time nearly two weeks had passed.
To make matters worse, I had to pay $160 for the re-piping and disposal. This was in direct conflict with the $65 max charge that I received from HWA in writing. When I spoke about this with the HWA rep, he said that the e-mail should have contained additional verbage explaining that I would be responsible for retrofits and other miscellaneous matters. I told him that no such verbage existed. I could either protest this and continue living in discomfort, or I could give in. I gave in.
HWA's phone reps were pleasant and polite but firm. "This is our policy. This is all we can authorize." They were answering my questions as best they could, but there was no urgency or enthusiasm to help me. I sensed they were more interested in (and/or had marching orders for) keeping costs down.
The a/c technician and his assistant were very good, too.
I see no reason why the HWA executives can sit in plush limousines while my family can't be comfortable. The repair that HWA authorized was nowhere near my satisfaction. The repair was too slow and was the cheapest fix possible. And I had to pay $225 after HWA wrote that I would only have to pay $65. Our home warranty insurance is up for renewal next month, and I'm seriously considering not renewing with HWA.
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