More local families struggle to get air conditioning repair with American Home Shield

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. —

We’re following up on an issue a Triad family had with their home warranty company after their air conditioning broke.

The Martinez family called us as they suffered through a heat wave and we helped them get a new A/C unit.

Since that story aired in June, we’ve heard from several other families from across the state who say the Martinez’s experience with American Home Shield sounds all too familiar.

“It’s been pure hell,” Randleman’s Joseph Elledge said. “My wife called me and said, ‘I think our A/Cs out.’ It was probably about 76-78 degrees inside the house.”

“My stress level has been in overdrive,” said Winston-Salem’s Brenda Redd.

Several people in the Piedmont Triad spoke with WXII about their own struggles with American Home Shield.

“At one point, it was 80-85 degrees in here and that was at night,” Winston-Salem’s Sharonda Wilcox said. “It’s been miserable.”

“Me and my daughter went to stay with my girlfriend in Mocksville 40 minutes away just so we could have A/C,” Winston-Salem resident Gary Gallardo said.

Some are still living without air conditioning.

“I don’t know what to do at this point except sit, wait and suffer,” Redd said.

Some ended up footing the bill for the fix themselves.

“I went ahead and took their deal because it was 100 degrees here. I’ve got a daughter and pets here. I needed it fixed,” Gallardo said. “I took out a personal loan of $3,000 to cover the rest because I didn’t have $3,000 and now I have to make payments on it.”

Everyone who shared their story with WXII says they expected an A/C repair or replacement to be covered in their contract.

“You shouldn’t say you’re going to replace it if I’m going to still have to come out of my pocket for $4,000,” Wilcox said.

American Home Shield declined our interview request, but did provide the following statement from a company spokesperson:

“It’s important to note that our nation – and the Carolina region – is experiencing a historic heatwave and ongoing supply chain issues. Our network of service professionals are working diligently to ensure they provide timely service to homeowners.

Despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of all service requests are completed smoothly and without incident, regrettably, there are times when this is not the case. In those instances, we work to do the right thing to ensure the situation is properly resolved. Most importantly, we evaluate key learnings to better understand where breakdowns in our processes occur so that we can address the cause and reduce the likelihood of a recurrence.

In the past five years, our team has responded to more than 17 million service requests, and we take great pride in providing quality service and valuable protection to our customers.

• Customers can access their My Account portal 24/7/365. This platform allows our customers to conveniently place service requests at any time. In addition, they can access their agreement details, get updates on service requests, process payments, and other features. Other features include a detailed seasonal home maintenance calendar to help customers avoid breakdowns and the need for repairs, as well as discounts on a variety of services.
• Service agents are available 24/7 for customers who need or prefer to reach us by phone; however, for faster service, they are encouraged to call during times of lower call volume, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. CT. “

But customers say calling the service line can leave them frustrated.

“They’ll give me the runaround and say let me do this and put me on hold for 20 or 30 minutes,” said Elledge.

“I’ve been put on hold and kept on hold for as long as 46 minutes and 13 seconds,” Redd said.

The experiences have left families wondering if the premiums they’ve paid for years are worth it.

“To be honest with you, right now, I’m looking at another home warranty in case something like this does come again,” Elledge said.

“I’m kind of debating if I want to get rid of [the warranty] all together and save the pennies that go to it every month because the premiums keep going up anyways,” Wilcox said.

The Better Business Bureau says home warranties can often help with repairs, but add a middle man between the homeowner and repair company which can slow the process down. They advise customers make sure they thoroughly review a home warranty contract before signing, to know exactly what is covered and, perhaps more importantly, what is not covered.