American Home Shield
Took my money for a warranty but refuses to provide coverage

I bought a house in Aug. 2008 along with a home warranty from American Home Shield. Their contract and website says they cover the following appliances and systems:

"Our Basic coverage includes:

Heating Systems Plumbing Systems Electrical Systems
Water Heater Oven/Range/Cooktop Dishwasher
Built-in-Microwave Garbage Disposal Exhaust Fan
Ceiling Fans Plumbing Stoppages Ductwork

Or you can expand your coverage to include:

Central A/C Refrigerator Clothes Washer
Clothes Dryer Garage Door Opener Well Pump
Pool Spa"

When the cold weather came, we realized that one of the furnaces wasn't working so I contacted AHS. They sent out a service technition from Phil-American HVAC. The service tech charged me a $65 deductable at the time. He looked at the furnace, identified the broken part, and said he would be back in a couple of days to fix the furnace.

After a few days I had not heard back so I called the service tech, he told me the part was oredred and that it would be in Friday when he would come over and install the part.

After he didn't show up on Friday I called several times the following Monday and Tuesday but was not able to reach him, nor did he return my calls. I called AHS and was notified that they were denying coverage on the furnace, however nobody ever called me to tell me this, we just assumed that the delay was because the part hadn't come in.

In the meantime, the weather became much colder, with nightime temperatures dipping into the 20's. I am a single parent with three daughters and I also take care of my 87 year old mother who just recently had heart surgery. There is no heat in any of their bedrooms, and my Mother almost froze to death one night.

I called a supervisor at AHS to explain the situation and find out why they are denying coverage on the furnace, they said because the manufacturer told them it was a commercial unit. Well I can assure you it is a residential unit because it is on top of my house. I got about half way through my explaination of the situation to the supervisor, when he hung up on me.

I believe that this is a scam and am very angry that
1) They took my money under the auspice of providing a warranty on our furnace
2) When I tried to get them to fix it under the warranty their service tech took more money from me
3) They then refused to provide the warranty service
4) Nobody notified us of their decision
5) We have been freezing expecting the furnace to be fixed any day.

This is a RIP OFF!!!

Company: American Home Shield
Country: USA
State: Iowa
City: Carroll
Address: P.O. Box 849
Phone: 8008274636

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