PHOENIX — Lori says her air conditioning problems started in mid-May and Nichole says hers started in mid-June.
"We got back from vacation in California, walk into a house that's 85 degrees plus, like, what the heck just happened, you know?," said Nichole.
Both women say they did the same thing - contacted First American Home Warranty, filed a claim and began to wait.
Lori writes, "Everyone we spoke to said they were escalating our case." But nothing got fixed despite parts of their home reading over 100 degrees.
For Nichole, she says it was one technician after another, with no solution.
"[Customer support] was like, 'They never submitted no paper to us, no paperwork to get this approved,'" said Nichole.
So she got on the phone trying to call the A/C company and she couldn't even get an answer from them.
Like many people who are fed up waiting -- and with children in the house -- Nichole decided to replace her A/C unit on her own; paying $11,000 out of pocket. Meanwhile, Lori said they were still suffering from the dangerous heat.
Both of the women agree though, that First American Home Warranty should be responsible for repairs. But when they got nowhere, the Let Joe Know team got involved.
We asked why people are seeing such long wait times, especially when the heat can turn deadly, and how Lori could get the relief she needed as soon as possible.
They did not respond by our deadline.
We did learn that after our first emails to First American, Nichole was offered $5,300. An amount they say would cover what they would have paid for replacement parts, about half of what she paid for her new unit.
As for Lori, a technician was out the next morning.
A reminder when considering home warranties:
- Compare different policies
- Read reviews that are verified
- Double-check the fine print for exclusions
- Think about putting the money you would spend on a policy into a savings account to pay for repairs out of pocket
If you have a policy and you are not happy, you can cancel anytime for a prorated refund.
