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Phoenix woman buys a home warranty; here's what happened when her microwave broke down

Woman charged for repairs despite warranty
Money
Posted at 5:01 AM, Jan 17, 2023
and last updated 2023-01-17 10:45:05-05

PHOENIX — If you bought a home warranty, you expect it's going to cover appliances if they break down.

"We were trying to stay proactive," Doris says.

Doris and her husband own a home in Laveen and bought a home warranty just in case there was an issue. Then their microwave broke down.

Doris says the panel wouldn't work. She called the warranty company and paid a $100 fee for a tech to come out.

She says the repair worked, for a while. But 32 days later, Doris says she had the same issue. She says she called the warranty company again and was told there was only a 30-day warranty on that repair. And she was two days beyond that.

"If you want any more service from us, another $100," Doris says she was told.

Paying $200 on a 10-year-old microwave?

"I'm paying every month a monthly fee into this service for them. Yet when I need them, they're not there," she says.

We get many home warranty coverage complaints about companies unwilling to replace something, unless you keep pushing for it. And Doris did that.

"I told my husband I'm going to ask Joe for help," she said.

Doris let me know and our Let Joe Know/Better Business Bureau volunteers got to work.

We asked the warranty business to investigate the case. In the meantime, Doris took her own action.

"I went out and purchased a new microwave and canceled my service with them," she says.

And Doris says she wanted the warranty company to reimburse her for replacing her 10-year-old microwave.

Just days after we got involved, Doris got a call.

"I was really surprised to get that quick response," she says.

Though Doris was no longer their customer, the warranty company sent her more than $400 to cover the price of her new microwave.

She says she's very glad she let me know and that the volunteer team couldn't have worked faster.

"I'm very happy with the way things worked out. I was just ecstatic that it was taken care of so rapidly," Doris says.

Before you buy a home warranty, make sure to read online reviews, amount you pay for incidents, and look for any coverage exceptions.

The Arizona Attorney General's office warns about issues involving home warranties.

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