A Peoria woman says she spent 23 days without air conditioning during the triple-digit heat. She tells our Let ABC15 Know team she feels her home warranty company didn’t complete the repairs in a timely manner, and now she’s calling for new state protections for homeowners.
Joy, a Navy veteran from Peoria, said her AC unit stopped working on the Fourth of July. Temperatures inside her home quickly became dangerous.
"In my bedroom it was over 100 degrees and out here, it was 90," Joy said.
For more than three weeks, she says she worked with her home warranty company, First American Home Warranty, to get the unit repaired — spending hours on the phone without resolution.
"I can't even tell you how many hours I spent on the phone trying to contact the home warranty company and not getting any satisfaction, and you ask to talk to a supervisor, it doesn't help you," Joy explained.
She says First American sent multiple companies to inspect the unit, but none were able to fix the problem.
"They were sending people out, but there's two or three- or four-day delay between each vendor, and each vendor would come out, and then they would say they can't fix it," Joy said.
Her primary concern throughout the ordeal was the safety of her pets.
"I was really worried about my dogs," Joy added.
After Joy contacted Let ABC15 Know, our team reached out to First American Home Warranty.
"One day later, after 23 days, they were there with the part and they fixed it the next day," Joy said. "Thank goodness for Channel 15!"
First American Home Warranty provided us with a statement, saying:
"First American Home Warranty provides our valued customers with budget protection from unexpected repair or replacement costs due to a breakdown of covered home systems and appliances.
When a customer submits a service request for a covered item, we dispatch a qualified, independent service professional to diagnose the failure and complete the necessary repair or replacement under the terms of the customer's contract. Some repairs, particularly those involving specialized equipment or parts that must be sourced, can require more than one visit to complete correctly.
In this instance, the service our valued customer received fell short of the experience we strive to deliver. When complications arose with this repair, we took appropriate corrective action, including dispatching multiple contractors and offering temporary relief while the repair was being completed. We recognize the resulting delay was frustrating, particularly during extreme heat. Ultimately, we provided the customer with coverage that meets the terms of our contract and covered the cost of the repair. We appreciate the opportunity to resolve the claim and are glad the customer’s air conditioning is now working properly.
Since 2020, First American Home Warranty has helped its customers in Arizona with over $42 million in repair and replacement costs on covered items.”
Joy said the experience exposed a gap in protections for homeowners compared to renters. Under the Arizona Residential Landlord Tenant Act, landlords have five calendar days to fix a broken AC unit during extreme heat. No similar requirement exists for home warranty companies.
"For renters, there's laws that protect them, but for homeowners with home warranties, we don't have any laws to protect us. And you know, for that amount of days during the hottest part of the summer, for a homeowner to have to wait to have an air conditioning fixed and have to call a TV station," Joy said.
"We need to do something about that," she added.
Homeowners dealing with delayed AC repairs from a home warranty company can file a complaint with the Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions.
A department spokesperson said there is a rule requiring a 15-business-day response to the department on claims-related issues, and that the department expedites AC repair cases during extreme heat, requiring a response within 24 to 48 hours.
File a complaint with the Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions here.
Joy said she plans to write to her local representatives to push for stronger homeowner protections. We will follow up with her to see what happens.
Do you need help with a consumer problem? Let ABC15 Know! Email Consumer@abc15.com.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
