Cancellation Department Manager,
My wife and I recently purchased a new home and the Mortgage Company automatically purchased a home warranty policy from First American. This was done without our knowledge or consent. They were unaware of our previous experience with First American, which to put it politely, was a royal disaster. However, since we had changed mortgages companies and were rapidly moving through the closing procedures. The personnel at the new company missed our written instructions that if any home warranty plan was purchased it must not be from First American.
Three major factors had contributed to the selling our previous home, one of which was the incredibly unsatisfactory service provided by First American. So you can imagine my dismay when I received the policy information from your company.
Fortunately, our realtor happened to call to check on us and she informed me that I could cancel the policy because we were not required by law to have it. I immediately called to see how I needed to go about cancelling this policy and I was informed that I must write a letter to the Cancellation Department.
Several thoughts went through my mind when I heard this, but what stuck out was most was something that I feel is right in keeping with what I have experienced with First American. That a company like yours would actually have a Cancellation Department is not comforting. It truly shows just what level of service and satisfaction First American provides.
The representative that I talked to also said that I needed to write the reason I wanted to cancel the policy. I have several. These are based on the previous experience of having a home warranty from First American.
The following is a basic account of that experience:
1. On July 07 after having only lived in our new house for six months the air conditioning unit in our home failed. After several calls to First American Service Department we were told that a technician would be there within 24 hours. Three days and many phone calls later we were still waiting.By this time my wife and I had moved into a hotel because the temperature inside the house was well over 110 degrees. This highly elevated temperature inside the house also caused the deaths of four prize fish because we could not just pick up a thousand pounds of water and walk out with it. And since we had no place to put them and no way to keep them cool the heat eventually killed them.
2. On July 10 a technician was finally dispatched to the house. We arranged to meet him at the house at 6:30 PM. I was getting sick from the heat and at 9:30 PM the technician had still not arrived so we went back to the hotel. At 10:15 PM the technician called and was very rude. He demanded to know why we were not at the house waiting to meet him.By this time I had an extreme migraine headache from frustration and the heat, so my wife said she would go back to the house and let the service man in. When she got there the man had somehow already found his way into the house even though the house was securely locked when we left. My wife described him as very offensive in demeanor, filthy and extremely unprofessional. Needless to say she was very upset and says she almost called the police. I really wish she had. This technician then proceeded to disassemble the air conditioner. A more accurate term would be destroy, since he broke the door to the A/C closet door off its hinges and punched a whole in the wall. He cut the wires leading to the A/C so in such a way that we had to have an electrician come in and rewire the unit. He left the gas line for the heater uncapped and the gas on so we had to have the Gas Company come out in the middle of the night and turn the gas off. After working on the unit for less than an hour he proclaimed that this A/C unit should have never been warranted to begin with and I have better things to be doing. Despite the fact that we had had four separate home inspections before we purchased the house. All of which noted that the A/C unit was new and in good working order. He then left the disassembled A/C lying in the middle of the garage floor and left. We made many attempts to find this person and the company he worked for but First American refused to give any information or assistance in the matter. All anyone would tell us was that they have a pool of on call personnel and they didnt have any record of who was actually there.
3. On July 15 First American had still not sent any service technicians to repair the A/C or the damage to our home. They kept telling us they were waiting for the original technicians report before they could process our claim. Our frustration was only made worse by the complete attitude of indifference we received from our First American sales person MaryAnn. I never could get anyone to tell me her last name. It was more than obvious that she was going out of her way to avoid any contact with us and she absolutely refused to talk to me directly.
4. On July 19 my Mother in law, who was also our realtor, stepped in and loaned us the money to get the A/C repaired. As it turned out we had to have the entire unit replaced because of the way your technician had removed the unit and because of the damage he had caused. Because she was a realtor and had dealt with problem companies like yours before she also kindly volunteered to attempt to resolve the issue.
5. On July 20 I called First American customer service number and asked for the phone number and address of the corporate office so that could file a formal complaint. Later that day I sent a letter to the address I was given. No one from First American has ever responded to this letter.
6. On August 23 we finally got a check from First American for $381.00. This was only a small fraction of the actual repairs. Apparently the only reason we got this was because my Mother in law made a deal with MaryAnn. Of course MaryAnn claimed to my Mother in Law that no one in her office had told her anything about how much trouble we were having getting some one to repair our A/C unit. She even made the claim that she was so sorry about all of this that she would reimburse us for the hotel personally. Which of course we never received. The deal apparently made was that if First American didnt pay off then the Mother in laws realty office would never refer or use First American for home warranties again. So we received a cash out check prorated of course. This was also sent with a notice of contract termination. Essentially stating that First American had fulfilled its obligation and that we were no longer covered by a home warranty.
7. On September 15 we received a renewal notice from First American stating that our home warranty policy was about to expire.
8. On October 09 we received a notice from First American that our home warranty had expired and we should act fast to get it renewed.
9. On October 10 I dispatched a letter to First American explaining our dissatisfaction and detailing why we had no intention of renewing the home warranty. I requested that we be removed from all mailing lists and that all requests for renewal be stopped immediately.
10. On December 18 we received a letter from First American thanking us for renewing our home warranty and allowing First American to service us with all of our home protection needs. At this point I called First American to verify that we had not somehow unknowingly renewed this policy. I was extremely relieved to find out that we had not. It was just something that didnt get updated in the computer. Another mark of incompetence on First Americans part.
11. On January 15 we received a letter from First American informing us once again that we had another chance to renew our home warranty.
To sum it all up, we have no desire to have any dealings with First American in any way, shape or form. The policies and procedures of First American are a disgrace to the companies own name. A home warranty from First American is one of the most horrible wastes of money we have ever seen.
You make people feel secure and when the time comes when the warranty is needed you do not honor your obligations or contracts and you have no regard for the damage and hardships you cause to peoples lives.
Even after repeated calls and letters no one from First American has ever contacted my wife or me to find out what went wrong in our situation. This confirms to us that this was not an isolated case where things didnt work and that First American is just another rip off organization that cares for nothing more than the almighty dollar.
Here is a sample of what our First American home warranty cost us:
Initial cost of home warrant - $403.00
Thirteen days in a hotel in the middle of tourist season - $685.00
Cat in kennel for thirteen days - $275.00
Electrician to repair damage caused - $160.00
New door for A/C closet - $100.00
Repairs to damaged wall - $200.00
Emergency gas shut off - $150.00
Gas turned back on - $35.00
Four dead prize fish - $200.00
New A/C unit - $2000.00
Two weeks worth of groceries - $300.00
Miscellaneous costs and associated expenditures - $500.00
That means that our First American home warranty only cost us $5008.00. Now thats peace of mind for you! So, I dont think any one would blame me for saying, I want this new policy cancelled and any funds repaid to me immediately. I did not ask for it and I will be damned if I am going to pay for it.
Under no circumstances would I ever even attempt to utilize this home warranty because I know before hand what a waste of time it would end up being. I found out from first hand experience that its far less expensive to just fix it myself. I also have no intention what so ever of going through the living hell that First American put me through a year ago.
Stuart
Krum, Texas
U.S.A.
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