Choice Home Warranty Reviews

Here's the rub. Everything was completed on the first visit. I got three separate communications re a return appointment with three different dates and times. I finally communicated with choice advising that job was done on first visit and to please close the service request. Normally I would not have gone to this length but last spring, I requested a service visit because water in house was not hot. The vendor sent an inexperienced plumber or sorts and he tried many things including replacing fittings on water heater and shower but still no longer had hot water. After 5 visits, I reminded him that on the first visit I indicated there was a valve under bathroom sink that probably controlled the tub water via mixing valve and he refused to look at it. On the last visit he did agree to look under the sink and indeed there was a mixing valve that controlled the adjacent tub and replaced it.

I was then asked to pay an additional service visit charge which was disputed and also showed that I had two separate claims for the same problem which will be taken into consideration when they premium rate me for next year's renewal if I choose to stay with Choice. It seems every contact including a manager at Choice had a different opinion re two service charge for the same problem but in the end when you report no hot water any longer the ticket should be left open until the issue is resolved.

My appointment was scheduled for Friday, and this guy showed up, unannounced with no phone call or text message, asking if he could collect payment while he was on the phone with someone else so I could barely hear him in the first place. He had no company shirt, I had no idea who he was...and I couldn't even hear him through him blaring his speakerphone call while talking to me. I told him to put it on mute actually and keep to the appointment before having him exit my home. With that said, this is my home, my domain, and I fired him through Choice Home Warranty and requested a new contractor. I cannot have someone just think they can show up as per their convenience like people don't have lives or work remotely.

Choice Home Warranty was great about the feedback and offers the option to their customer to provide it and escalate if need be so they can voice their concerns and problems. This is a great tool. I would say that I should not have a stranger who at first didn't even identify who he was, who wanted payment 2 days before the appointment and to just "check it out", showing up 2 days early, who just thought it would be convenient for him to knock on my door and ask for payment before our even scheduled day because he had "another house in the area." During this time, I was also on a conference call for work and was interrupted and I quickly ushered him out of the door saying to "stick to the appointment." I did submit this complaint to Choice Home Warranty and they did take care of this issue with tact, understanding, and precision and I am so grateful for that.

Giving customers an avenue to voice their concerns and provide feedback is very important, especially when a contractor is unprofessional, intrusive, oversteps my domain boundaries, is rude, and unrealistic. I wanted to thank Choice Home Warranty for taking care of this situation appropriately and I am still very, VERY happy with them. Please monitor your contractors for this type of intrusiveness more closely and thank you for providing such great service.

When he finally came back the second time, he went to the unit in our upstairs, took pictures of rust on the overflow pan, and left. There was no checking for a Freon leak which is what we thought he was coming back to do. That night I received a message from him saying that the warranty company had approved a whole new AC system. We were going to have to pay $1300 out of pocket. That’s when we requested a second opinion and another company come check it. Columbus Heating and Air then contacted me, asked if we had requested someone else, and then said all we needed was a new evaporator coil and not a unit. That was clearly another lie. Nothing had been discussed with us.

Hughs Heating and Air came out, thoroughly checked everything, discussed everything with my husband and came to the conclusion that our thermostat had just gone bad. That was what we had troubleshooter and fixed waiting on the other guy. The unit was and is back to working normally. The technician from Hughs stated that he had been out to multiple customers home within the last couple weeks that Columbus Heating and Air had been at and was hearing the same stories. The units are working as they should but that guy wants to replace everything. Columbus Heating and Air is doing nothing but ripping customers of Choice Home Warranty and the Warranty company themselves off. He’s a fraud. He will never step foot on my property again. Hughs Heating and Air is fantastic though.

He pointed out & warned me to replace or cover the gas boiler metal box that attaches to the flume that takes away the carbon monoxide since there was an apparent drip from one of the pipes above it. It is quite rusted & corroded to the point that any nonsignificant pressure could rupture & open up any time opening which would be dangerous. He mentioned it's likely such a small leak that it is a drip here & there perhaps during the winter time when the boiler is on, but it adds up over the years. He highly recommended I place another Carbon Monoxide detector in that room even though I had one at the basement stairway 1/2 way to the ground floor.

Mike discussed getting a water heater w/ me that met the exact specs of the one I had which was a gas 40 gallon 40k BTU model w/ a 12 year warranty. He made sure to replace the one w/ the same exact specs & also recommend the A. O. Smith water heater which was American made & top notch quality for residential water heaters which one of the local Lowes carried so no wait for delivery. He was adamant about replacing like for like since he didn't want to replace it w/ one that only had a 6 year warranty as mine was 12 years. Of course the warranty had just expired the year before.

Jose was the actual heating specialist who replaced my corroded, leaking water heater tank w/ the new one. He went way above & beyond just replacing it while also cleaning up after himself. He was patient w/ my questions regarding many of the steps, tools, & parts that he was using. He double/tripled checked for gas leaks not just from the water heater, but also from my nearby gas boiler & dryer. He did provide & wrapped a support strap for some of the overhead pipes to prevent potential rattling from incoming cold water pressure into the water heater.

He particularly helped me checked the various drain pipes that had backed up in my basement bathroom which was in an adjacent room to the laundry/boiler/water heater room. He helped me finally determine the different pipe(s) that connected to the bathroom sink which would back up just in the past week or so every time we ran the kitchen sink or dishwasher from the floor just above it. It was happening around the time the hot water heater broke down so wasn't sure if because we were turning on/off the main to slow down the water heater leak & then washing down the little bits that we were toweling off from the floor that it was or wasn't the root or main cause for the backup we were experiencing.

He helped me flush out the water from the laundry sink which fed directly to the main line towards the front of the house & we watched it flow more smoothly at the main drain line there. He helped me determine that bathroom standing shower connected to the toilet adjacent to it which also connected to the laundry room sink that he flushed & noticed no backward flow so knew that there were no issues w/ those drain pipes.

We then totally focused on the bathroom drain pipe which somehow did not connect to the standing bathroom drain pipe even though we saw the pipe running into & alongside it which I had assumed as I was snaking it that it would eventually go through that very same standing shower drain pipe but did not. He was able to snake out as much as he could the gunk build up. He was about to help me replace my bathroom faucet line, but unfortunately, he discovered the small crack in the sink so there was no point.

I now know that I should get a longer electric snake from Home Depot & clear out more gunk since his only was able to go 8 feet as he swapped out his 80' electric roto rooter type snake to fit the water heater into his van. I am way more confident about the flow & condition of my drain pipes in the basements towards the front water main access that leads to the street sewers. I will also be replacing the entire vanity & sink along w/ a new faucet, supply lines & couplings to the drain pipe. He showed me the steps including putting the small pieces of the faucet together when I'm ready to install the new sink. If I have any issues I am more than sure they will be able to advise &/or come & help. Again top notch from both Mike & Jose & can't recommend them enough!!!!

Pro Comfort were wonderful. Professionalism at its best. Call to verify appointment, called to give estimate time of arrival. They understand that the people they service have jobs as well. Excellent! Only thing was I was told the 75 service fee would be paid by Choice bc of me missing work to accommodate the first 2 technician. I would recommend Pro Heat & Cooling as excellent & recommend to everyone!! I intend to have them do my seasonal check of heat & air. But as far as recommending I’m still unsure. I’m not sure if the reviews I based my decision on were selective. I’ve had home warranty for many years. And was satisfied. The saying you “you get what you pay for” might be the case with Choice. We will see if the customer service gets better. By the way, Resolution Manager Joshua was excellent & gave me his extension but on your automatic system- it would say “transfer failed” & immediately hang up. All 5 times!

Vicci