First American Home Warranty
LITTLE ROCK (KATV) -
Home warranties are supposed to offer peace of mind to a home owner.
Instead they are often a source of frustration.
We visited today with an 87 year-old woman who has been trying to get her heater fixed since November.
Bennie Griffin says if First American Home Warranty thinks her age has made her forgetful, compliant or confused...they are mistaken.
Ms. Griffin shows us the HVAC unit installed by a contractor provided by First American Home Warranty four years ago. In November, it stopped working. Three service companies agree it needs to be replaced.
So why hasn't it been replaced?
At first...First American Home Warranty told Ms. Griffin she would have to pay to have the lines flushed.
But that is covered by her policy.
"I told her that and she said well I'm not a plumber,” recalls Griffin. “So then she put me on hold for about five minutes before she came back to the phone. And then she said...well you'll have to pay for the duct work."
But if you read her policy...which Ms. Griffin has...you will see that under the “premier policy” that she purchased...duct work is covered.
A Pine Bluff HVAC contractor stands ready and is waiting to replace her heater. But First American Home Warranty is insisting that Ms. Griffin pay $355.00 for the duct work first.
"The duct work is $355.00."
"Yes," agrees Griffin.
"And as soon as you have that money they can put in the new unit."
"Yes but I don't have that money, you know?” replies Griffin. “It's covered."
Ms. Griffin is using an emergency heat option during cold days and nights...but that ballooned her Entergy payment to nearly $250 dollars last month.
We have reached out to First American Home Warranty in an attempt to help Ms. Griffin. We're waiting to hear back from the California company.
Air date: January 3rd, 2018
