Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/30/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I contacted HomeGard on 08/27/2024 to file a claim regarding my furnace. I am not a HVAC technician, so I took my best guess and selected blower motor issue. The day prior to HomeGard having a their vendor scheduled (Federal Elite), I informed them I had a regular maintenance scheduled with my own vendor the same day, 08/28/2024. As soon as my own vendor left, I informed HomeGard of the actual furnace issue, the heat exchanger was cracked. When Federal Elite came to our home on 08/28/2024, I informed the technician of the findings of my vendor. He attempted to use the same equipment as my vendor. After several minutes, he turned the furnace on, turned his analyzer on, and received a reading of 2 ppm of CO2 in ambient air. He said that wasnt possible and the machine must not be working. I said that sounds correct, my vendor ran the furnace for 2 minutes and had a reading of 7 ppm of CO2 in ambient air, 23 ppm in the duct work. The technician proceeded to call someone named ****** to verify if his combustion analyzer was working- Im not sure the relevance or how that would have helped him. He clearly didnt know how to use HomeGards vendor, Federal Elite, called me on 09/03/2024 at 4:30 PM from ************. ************* called to schedule an inspection of the heat exchanger that they couldnt complete when they originally came out. Due to the significant and dangerous risk, we didnt want to keep waiting. We had our vendor replace the furnace. HomeGard states we never filed a claim with them for the heat exchanger, so they cant do anything. However, why did their vendor call me to schedule an inspection for the furnace heat exchanger?There was no choice for me to replace the heat exchanger. Again, I am not a technician. I communicated with HomeGard every step of the way.

  Business Response

  Date: 10/10/2024

  At HomeGard, we have a 98% approval on all claims.
  
  A claim was processed for a no cool claim and rather than wait for HomeGard's contractor to repair the Air Conditioning unit, the Client hired their own contractor to replace the unit. 
  The Client's contractor later stated the heat exchanger in the furnace was defective, but the Client did not file a new claim as required under their contract and as requested by HomeGard. Rather than file a new claim for the Furnace, the client again hired their own contractor who replaced the furnace. The old furnace was removed from the property.
  HomeGard has denied this unfiled claim under the terms of the contract as the defective furnace heat exchanger could not be inspected confirmed by HomeGard's contractor after the old furnace was removed by the Client' contractor.
  
  Unfortunately, the Client had unrealistic expectations outside of the terms of their contract.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/14/2024

  [If you do not say why you are rejecting the company's response, BBB must close your complaint.] 
  
  Complaint: 22358248
  
  I am rejecting this response because: clearly they did not read nor comprehend the complaint. Additionally, due to their false claim of “98% approval”, I will be forwarding my complaint to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office Consumer Affairs office as well as the FTC. 
  
  Regards,
  
  Jon Gerardi

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/06/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Contacted Homegard on August 10th 2022 about our home's air conditioning unit. The air conditioning had been getting worse in my home all summer and the outside unit had started to freeze up. These were not issues last summer. I paid the $50 service fee for them to send a vendor to repair/inspect. The vendor did nothing but inspect. He used a sniffer and found NO LEAKS on the outside unit, A coil, or the line running between the two. He tested the Freon level and said it was way to low. There is some fin deterioration on the outside unit and his assessment was there was probably a leak but could not verify a leak. NO DYE TEST WAS PERFORMED. He asked where the deterioration came from. I said it has been like that when the home was purchased less than a year ago but DID NOT affect the air conditioning in the residence. The story was an animal had urinated on the coil. Could not verify. I was contacted again by the Vendor on August 15th 2022 regarding replacing the AC UNIT. I said this was a warranty claim so i was not interested in getting a quote to replace. He called HOMEGARD and then called me back the same day and told me HOMEGARD instructed him to go to my residence to measure for a new unit and give them a quote for replacement. Reminder my home warranty expiration date was almost 3 weeks away when i opened this claim and paid the service fee. i did not hear anything from either the vendor or HOMEGARD from aug 15 till the day after my warranty expired. Sept 1st. Was told it was in approvals and would be contacted right back. Took another 4 days to be told there was nothing HOMEGARD could do because a dog peed on the outdoor unit and thats what caused the issue. ********!! The vendor tested extensively the affected areas and could not identify leak. Also its quite shady that I heard nothing for almost 3 weeks so HOMEGARD could run the clock out on my warranty. Was just told nothing could be done since the warranty had expired. AC worked last summer

  Business Response

  Date: 09/13/2022

  From our terms and conditions, section Labeled Important: This contract covers only the items mentioned as covered and excludes all others. Any failure due to normal wear and tear which occurs prior to the start of the coverage period will not be covered, regardless of whether the problem was disclosed to or detected by the seller or buyer (policyholder). The utilities must be turned on and running to all covered appliances at least 30 days prior to the start of coverage. For appliances and fixtures to be covered by this Agreement, they must be assembled and installed according to manufacturers’ specifications, connected to all activated utilities, and in proper, safe working order (functioning as intended and expected for its age, and within the safety standards as established by the system manufacturer) at the start of coverage.  
  
  
  No service records have been provided.
  
  
  If the damage was from the previous owner, this would be a non-covered repair as it did not happen during the policy period. 
  
  
  ******
  Service Call Diagnostic Fee. Includes all time and costs associated with diagnosing and/or confirming cause of system malfunction and determining the appropriate remedy. ­Our technician found the unit is low on R22 refrigerant (which you can no longer get due to EPA regulations) and the outdoor coil is in need of replacement. Because of these 2 issues, we recommend unit replacement. Please contact our office if you would like to replace the AC unit. We will get you in contact with our Sales Team.
  ******
  I was told that the unit is damaged from dog urine,  this is not a normal wear and tear failure 
  
  From our terms and condition,  limits of liability section: Company’s liability is limited to failure of systems due to normal wear and tear. Only a failure of systems occurring after the start of the coverage period, due to normal wear and tear, will be covered, except as provided below, regardless of when the failure occurred or whether it was disclosed to or discovered by the policyholder. Failure due to normal wear and tear occurs when a system or appliance that was installed, maintained, and used as the manufacturer intended stops functioning because it wears out or malfunctions on its own without outside involvement or influence, which can include but is not limited to, improper repair or installation, lack of cleaning or maintenance, theft, accident, third-party damage, weather, or pests  

   

  Thank you,

  HomeGard

  
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/14/2022

  I am rejecting this response because: I had a working AC unit during the time of coverage. Now I do not have a working AC unit while still in coverage. Was given lack luster service in trying to find a solution to the issue which has not been identified to date. Waiting till the time runs out on a policies clock seems to be common practice. I would probly be still waiting a reply had I not reached out to Homegard. 
  
  Regards,
  
  **** *********

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/18/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On June 28, 2021 my wife and I purchased a vacation/short term rental property in ******** ********* The previous owners also used the property as a rental. The listing brokerage was H.E.R Realtors of Augusta KY. The selling brokerage ***** ***** ******** ** ******** ********. This purchase included a Homegard warranty purchased by the sellers. I understand home warranties do not cover everything but this one has covered nothing. The Sellers paid $629 for a warranty and the buyers (we) have paid $300 to open claims which have ALL been handled poorly at best. Homegard has failed to resolve in a manner that I believe is appropriate. We have have been reimbursement $0 to date for over $10,000 in expenditures for a failed dishwasher, leaking plumbing, inoperable HVAC, and a leaking water heater. I tried to provide additional details for full resolution but ran out of characters. I have emails, call logs, photo's, invoices etc.. My intention is to warn others of potential issues with Homegard and to receive fair reimbursement for ALL reasonable claims. Claim Fees paid by me to HomeGard...$300 (2 for dishwasher @ $50 each, 1 for plumbing leak @ $50, 1 for HVAC @ $50, 1 for water heater @ $100) Contractor costs paid by me to date... $10,906.73 -Plumbing Leak - $925 paid by me to ***** ****** -HVAC Replacement - $7,125 paid by me to ********* **** -Water Heater & Subfloor Repair - $2075 paid by me to ********* **** (Home warranty may or may not cover subfloor repair) -Dishwasher, delivery, installation, and haul away - $781.73

  Business Response

  Date: 08/26/2022

  The contract for the property *** ********* ****** ******* ** ***** was effective June 28, 2021 through June 28, 2022.
  
  Our Contract states: This contract covers only the items mentioned as covered and excludes all others. Any failure due to normal wear and tear which occurs prior to the start of the coverage period will not be covered, regardless of whether the problem was disclosed to or detected by the seller or buyer (policyholder). The section labeled Important: The Company will not reimburse you for  services performed without approval and reserves the right to choose contractors. Coverage is strictly limited by this warranty contract and does not include any additional representations made by the real estate agents, service providers, or any other professionals involved in the transaction.
  
  No approvals were asked for nor granted outside of the dishwasher as far as I am aware. 
  
  The Dishwasher had a failure prior to the close of the home and was still leaking after the close of the property.  We did attempt to have the same servicer go back out on the dishwasher.   No mechanical failure was reported, therefore not for us to repair. However because of the ongoing issues, it was agreed upon that we would replace the unit.   The amount that we agreed to reimburse for the dishwasher is a total of $381.65 for the dishwasher.  There is nothing else due for this claim. 
  
  From the limits of liability section:  The Company will replace with equipment of similar features, efficiency, and capacity but is not responsible for matching brand, dimensions, or color, installation or delivery.
  
  Our Contract Covers only normal wear and tear failures-  LIMITS OF LIABILITY Normal Wear and Tear Limitations: The Company’s liability is limited to failure of systems due to normal wear and tear. Only a failure of systems occurring after the start of the coverage period, due to normal wear and tear, will be covered, except as provided below, regardless of when the failure occurred or whether it was disclosed to or discovered by the policyholder. Failure due to normal wear and tear occurs when a system or appliance that was installed, maintained, and used as the manufacturer intended stops functioning because it wears out or malfunctions on its own without outside involvement or influence, which can include, but is not limited to, improper repair or installation, lack of cleaning or maintenance, theft, accident, third-party damage, weather, or pests.  
  
  The Plumbing leaks were not normal wear and tear as documented by Mr. ***** in an e-mail to the real estate agents on both the sellers and buyers sides *** ***** & ***** * *****, on June 9, 2022
  Excerpt from that e-mail: Plumbing Leak -  Water was leaking from the shower/tub and the sink drains through the living room ceiling and onto the living room floor. Apparently, the previous owner hired a "plumber" who used plastic bags and silicon to "attach" drain pipes for the sink and shower/tub in the upstairs bathroom.  All of this was between the bathroom floor and the downstairs living room ceiling which required parts of the living room ceiling to be cut out to identify and fix the problem. The previous owner's repair worked just long enough to get the property sold and was sufficient until the bathroom was used with more frequency. Homegard says they will not cover this because repairs to plumbing prior to my purchase were not completed properly. ***** ****** made repairs and I paid him $925 directly. I also paid Homegard a $50 fee to open this claim.   - This would be a non covered repair.
  
  As for any secondary damage, there is no coverage for this under the HomeGard contract. 
  From the Terms and Conditions, Limits of liability section -  The Company is not liable for incidental, consequential or secondary damage. Cosmetic defects are not covered. Condensation produced by any system or appliance is excluded
  
  HVAC Replacement and water heater claim, Again, nothing was approved.  No diagnostic information was provided to ensure this was a normal wear and tear failure and therefore not eligible for any approval. 
  
  The Furnace at this property is dated 1973 and the Air Conditioning is from 1991 
  
  At no time did we receive a diagnosis on the water heater so no approval for replacement or repair was granted.
  
  From the Terms and Conditions, Limits of liability section -  If no component or part is available of the appliance that is affected, the Company will not replace the appliance. Instead, the Company reserves the right to determine the value of the malfunctioning part and contribute the cash value toward the replacement up to 20 years past the manufacturer date.
  
  When a home inspection was requested Mr. ***** stated that he inspected the home himself.
  
  Per the important section of the Contract: For appliances and fixtures to be covered by this Agreement, they must be assembled and installed according to manufacturers’ specifications, connected to all activated utilities, and in proper, safe working order (functioning as intended and expected for its age, and within the safety standards as established by the system manufacturer) at the start of coverage. HomeGard (Company) may rely upon documentation in the form of, but not limited to, home inspection reports and service records, to confirm the condition of the item at the start of coverage.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/28/2022

  I am rejecting this response because: 
  
  

  We have read the response from Homegard and are not satisfied.

  Based on several inaccuracies in the response our overall experience with Homegard, other similar reviews, and our conversation with Better Business Bureau, we are engaging the Ohio Attorney General Consumer Protection Practice.

  
  Regards,
  *** *****
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