We purchased a new home in late May. Three weeks later, the air conditioning suddenly stopped working. We placed a claim with HWA. Before hanging up the phone, the rep reminded me that we would not be covered for corrosion or rust. Right then I knew they were paving the way to deny the claim for corrosion or rust. Good thing our unit was well-maintained and showed virtually no rust.
We live in New Jersey, but HWA assigned a contractor in Yonkers, NY. When the contractor didn't contact us in the promised 24-hour period, we contacted him. He said he had received the request to call us, but that HWA subsequently sent a cancellation. We set up a time between 6 and 7 pm. He finally showed up around 10:20 pm. He carefully examined the A/C unit outside and told me that the compressor had blown out (this was a 23-year-old unit) and needed to be replaced. He wryly noted that HWA would probably attempt to repair the unit instead, but that it would just be a waste of everyone's time, because it needed replacement.
HWA called me the next day to inform me my claim was denied.
I asked her why. She said the unit had failed due to corrosion. I asked her how that could be when there was no rust. She "explained" that there was no electrical short, so that meant the parts had worn down, and that wearing down meant corrosion. I found this so illogical as to be amusing. They claimed this was what the technician told them.
I told the rep that what she was telling me was in direct contradiction to what the tech told me and to what I had seen him write on his report. I demanded information in writing. I had to argue with her quite a bit, during two phone calls, while she insisted there was nothing in writing she could send me. I told her a letter would suffice, but that I wanted them to put their findings in writing. Finally I asked "Do we have to take this to arbitration? I simply want something in writing?"
A few minutes later, a supervisor called me back and informed me - no joke - that they had "misinterpreted" the technicians report and would approve the replacement of the compressor. I felt quite proud of myself.
Within the next day or so, I received another notice that a different contractor would be contacting me. A call to HWA revealed that this contractor was not going to repair my unit; he'd been called for a second opinion. This contractor was also located out of state.
After nearly two weeks of trying to get this guy to schedule an appointment, including him standing me up once and rescheduling one or two other attempted appointments (he was trying to coordinate my visit with taking his cat to the vet, since he didn't really want to make the trip to New Jersey just for me), I'd had enough. We wrote to our realtor, who'd been the person who basically sold us the HWA policy (indirectly - he referred us to them). He expressed indignance and contacted his salesperson at HWA. She was all apologies, and within a few days we had an approval.
After nearly TWO MONTHS OF SUMMER HEAT, we finally had an approval to fix our A/C. Of course, having borne witness to the astonishing incompetence and lack of scruples at HWA, and reasoning that the contractors they employed were probably the bottom of the barrel, I told them I wanted a buyout. I did not want their incompetents to take another month to complete the job, and all the aggravation of having it done poorly.
It took another few days and several phone calls to finally ascertain the amount we were approved for: only $900.
We had already gotten quotes for $2600 and $3200, and these scammers wanted us to accept $900 as full payment for replacing an A/C unit. However, after two months of phone calls and aggravation, even $900 seemed like a small victory. We were tired of fighting and accepted the money. We had to pay for the repairs ourselves, of course, since the check wasn't due to arrive for 4-6 weeks.
We survived the summer only because we have a well-insulated home and we happened to own 2 window units from our old apartment that we hadn't gotten rid of yet. How is someone supposed to spend 7 humid weeks in June, July, and August without air conditioning with three-digit heat waves? We had the wherewithal to hold out, but clearly HWA was intentionally taking their time in order to avoid fulfilling their duty. Why else would they use out-of-state contractors, when we have hundreds of HVAC professionals within just a few miles?
I wish no one else had to deal with this unethical company.
0 comments