Colonial Home Warranty

I have yet to get a confirmation as to when their selected plumber will be in to repair the one major leak. This has happened two other times. I would avoid Colonial Warranty.

I had a maintenance contract with them. My oven broke. They sent someone out to fix it. I had to pay fees. I covered all the fees. The man never came back. I called to follow up with them. They are telling me They can give me a buy out for my oven and stove, they buy out they were offering is $52.69. The money was not adding up. My contract covered up to $10,000 and they wouldn't cover me for $192. To me it seems that there company is fraud and I would not recommend them to anyone.

I've had them for more than three years and in that time I've had nothing but problems and frustrations. It's more hassle than it's worth. I have filed multiple claims for multiple different issues and every time they come out its a hassle to deal with or get anything pushed through. Their representatives on the phone are not very helpful or friendly. Many of their texts they send out are negative towards the company as well. Not only home owners but contractors too complain about not getting paid or claims getting filed.

Place claim for slow drip under toilet. Plumber responded and examined the issue. told to replace washers around the bottom of tank. Plumber overtightened. screw, cracked toilet tank. Caused major flooding.. I contacted Colonial to inform them of circumstances. Colonial refused to pay for service repair.

We have had a warranty (or so we thought) with Colonial Home Warranty out of Wilmington, DE, for nearly two years. On filing our first claim over a stove/oven problem, we paid a $45 diagnostic fee for the repairman they referred us to. He stated that the coil was bad and since the unit was an older model he doubted he would be able to find a replacement part (turns out he wasn't able to). Colonial then contacted us and offered to settle the claim for $60 -- the alleged cost of the part and labor. Only problem is the part is not available. The "customer service" rep explained that it was not their responsibility to find a replacement part, but ours, and that they had no further responsibility to either repair or replace the broken stove because it was an older model. Now, if all of our appliances were new, I doubt that we would be paying Colonial or any other warranty company nearly $400 a year for "warranty" services. The rep was not willing to provide a telephone number but invited us to write them a letter. We will instead write the BBB and as many reviews to warn as many as we can that the so-called warranty service they're providing is virtually worthless. We were with AHS before and had great experiences both times we had to file a claim in five years and will go back to them for real warranty coverage. It was only after this very unsatisfactory experience that we did our research online and found that the search engines were ablaze with literally hundreds of present and former customers of Colonial with similar stories (check out the BBB rating of C based on their 487 complaints) citing the same sort of bad faith business practices and fine-print stipulations that border on ridiculous (such as their option to rebuild a defective part). Pay them; get nothing. We feel scammed at this point, having thrown away hundreds of dollars over the past two years for coverage we don't really have. Getting $60 back as settlement on the "warranty" investment is a pretty raw deal ... and we'll have to replace the stove ourselves. I would strongly advise anyone who gets a call from one of their smooth sales reps to hang up and seek a reputable warranty company. If not, you might find that the coverage you think you have is no coverage at all.

This home warranty company offers no way to dispute a claim referral. They claimed that our original garage door opener was not the right size for our garage but the garage door opener they pointed to as off sized was actually put in by a home warranty company (American Home Shield.) When I called to complain and ask about the procedure for disputing this finding (I had statements by the garage door contractor), I was told that I couldn't dispute the finding. In fact, the very rude customer service person yelled at me (and I was very calm ) and said I could write a letter if I wanted. I asked for a manager and he wouldn't give me one. I had to call back and talk to another (totally unhelpful) person to get a manager. Even then, they sent me to the managers voice mail and I had to call back and ask for the person by name (without saying it was a complaint call) to get her to answer. I sent the letter (snail mail) and never got a response. I called, tried to email, used the company website... never a response. What a terrible experience and an unprofessional company.

We called them to have someone come out, they told us they didn't have any contractors in our area! Bunch of BS because there are a lot of HVAC companies around here, but we could get our own contractor. We got someone to come out and diagnose it, and they told us both units needed replaced. We knew they were old (20+ years) but when we got the home warranty they told us it would be covered no matter how old the units as long as the home inspection stated they were in good condition. Our home inspection stated they were in good condition, but Colonial decided they were not going to pay for the repair, the service call, or the replacement! Nobody there will give you a straight answer, "managers" kept hanging up on me, and after weeks of us sending them everything they asked for they denied our claim! When I called them to ask why, they told us that even if it had been a covered, they would have only covered about $800. We ended up spending $5,000 to get the whole unit replaced, after a full summer in the heat without A/C because Colonial refused to cover the new unit and we didn't have that much cash laying around. DO NOT DO ANY BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY!!!!!!! THEIR SALES PEOPLE WILL TELL YOU ANYTHING YOU WANT TO HEAR, AND THEN WHEN YOU HAVE A PROBLEM THEY WILL TELL YOU THE SALES PEOPLE ARE NOT "TECHS" SO THEY CAN'T DETERMINE THOSE THINGS.

We first called to report a problem, and they had no contractors in my area to do the work. They told use to find out own contractor. None of the contractors we called were willing to work with CHW because they have had some many problems with them before. We finally found someone who came out, diagnosed the problem and called CHW for authorization to do the work. No one answered the phone at CHW. The contractor left a message and no one called back for three days. This is an ongoing issue -- no one will EVERY call you back. It took three weeks of playing phone tag with them before we ever got an authorization to do the work. So, three weeks without reliable hot water. Meanwhile, I called them dozens of times, and no one was available, no one would answer the phone, no one would call back. Several times I got messages that their phone systems were down and to call back later. I filed comments and requests online several times, and never got a response to any of those requests, either. When the work was finally done, the total price was $183. CHW said they would only pay $100 as that what they thought it should cost, minus my $50 fee for the contractor's visit, so they would pay $50. After three weeks of fighting with them, trying to get them to do their job, they only were going to pay less than 1/3 of the total cost. I was livid. My contractor was livid. I told them to cancel my account and give me a full refund. I had just purchased new year-long contract, and the new contract went into effect while we were having all these problems. I told them to cancel it and refund my full contact amount. They argued with me and told me that would withhold a $50 processing fee, and prorate the contract costs to the date they got around to cancelling my contract. I was told they would not cancel it until 3 -5 days after I called, because it takes them that long to process paperwork. I argued that the contract had only been in effect for 17 days, and there should be almost nothing prorated out. Ten days later, I still had not recieved my refund. Called them again, and got nothing but excuses and referring to "their policies" about how long it would take. I finally fot the refund and it was only in the amount of $270. I had paid $403 for the contact, that was only in effect for 17 days! Where is my money? Called yet again -- was told they prorated three months worth of coverage?!?!? I was livid -- again. There is not explanation, no reasoning, no logic to this. I feel that they are just stealing from me. I asked to talk to a supervisor, and was told none was available. I left a message, and of course , no one has called me back. What a surprise! This is by far the worst company I have EVER had the misforture of dealing with. They are incompetent, unresponsive and I believe their whole scam is to steal money from people. Avoid this company at all costs!

Drain line in basement was leaking. First, I was assigned a contractor that never called, so I called them and they said they never got an order from Colonial and not sure why they were assigned the job, whatever that meant...either way, he took on the job. The contractor was prompt and professional, but in the end, Colonial said the leaking pipe is due to "improper installation" since there were no hangers around the pipe and is not due to "normal wear and tear". Meanwhile, the pipe that is leaking is a cast iron drain line that has been there with no issues since the house was built in 1957...over 50 years! I'd say that's normal wear and tear. Sent an email...no response. Sending a letter today.

The first electrician assigned hardly spoke English and when he found out where the job was (approx 40 miles away) he then claimed he was out of town and wasn't sure if he could do it!!! After numerous calls to warranty service they assigned another one, after 24 hours on this one I called them and they had issue with distance! They put in a request to colonial for a service fee for traveling and we had to call and hound colonial for a answer, which of course was no. At this point they could not give me a answer to when or if they could assign me a contractor. This was 5 days later! With a electrical problem of surging thru out the house! Not minor. And it's not like the house was located in the middle of no where, it's in town in the city of Hanford! I will cancel my plan and go else where.

THIS IS A HORRIBLE COMPANY!!!!!! Colonial Home Warranty denied my claim to fix standing water in my dishwasher. A technician from the appliances company came out and said that the drain pump needed replacing. I received a call from a Colonial representative stating that they would not honor the claim because it?s a maintenance issue due to food clogging the drain. Interesting, that Colonial would cover a clogged shower drain and not consider that maintenance!? Anyways, I called the appliance?s technician who reported that it was not a maintenance issue due to food clogging the dishwasher. Instead it?s due to the drain pump needing to be replaced. After Iinformed Colonial that the dishwasher is operable in the sense when there is standing water it can be drained if I turn the dishwasher on and off; therefore it?s not due to a clogged drain. If the drain/pipe was clogged due to food the water would not be able to drain at all. I informed the representative from Colonial that the dishwasher needed to be fixed because this is not a normal function of the dishwasher. Needless to say Colonial wasn?t hearing anything I or the appliance technician had to say. Instead Colonial was adamant that they would not approve the claim. I might as well not have a home warranty insurance.

I bought a policy for my house and for my condo a year ago. I bought a 3 year policy for my condo and a one year policy on my house. In the past I've used insurance companies for this same purpose and never had an issue. The one I usually use, came in 20.00 more expensive so I went with this one this year...huge mistake. I had never submitted a claim until a month ago when the A/C unit in my condo died. When I called on a Friday night (when my tenant alerted me that the machine was making a loud squealing sound and could not be used), I called Colonial and reached an after hours line (5pm) and was told that it would take 24-48 hours to get my ticket into the system but it might be Monday. I ended up calling back on Saturday hoping to speak to someone about the issue and was elevated to a manager who gave me the name of the company that I would be assigned to. I was told that I could contact the contractor before Monday and go ahead and set-up an appointment is one was available. I quickly got off the phone and called the contractor to find that he was booked for 2 weeks solid. I called back the company and was told I had to wait until Monday to get another company assigned. Monday came and I called back and got another company name. I called the second company and they told me they no longer worked on A/C units for this company anymore and were not sure why I was instructed to call them. I called Colonial back and they pretty much called me a liar and said that was not the case. I asked to be re-assigned once again to another contractor and was assured that it would not be one of the two I had already been assigned because "we have so many in our system." The next day I called back and was told that I was re-assigned to the first contractor (the one that was busy for 2 weeks). With an elderly tenant, I can't tell her to wait 2 weeks just for the issue to be diagnosed, forget about the time that it would take to fix the issue. I went ahead and asked what would happen if I found my own contractor and had the issue diagnosed and repaired. They told me that I would have to pay for the diagnosis out of pocket (whatever that would cost and would not be reimbursable) but that I could send the invoice of the diagnosis to them and they would approve the work provided it was part of my plan. So, with that I called my own technician I found on the internet in my area and paid a 99.00 diagnosis fee. It was the condenser, which was part of my coverage. I sent the 600.00 invoice to the insurance company and waited for them to provide an approval. When one didn't come for 2 days, I called them. I was told that they only felt this kind of work should cost 150-200.00 and that's all that would be covered and not the full 600. If I wanted, I could wait an additional 2 weeks until their contractor was available (at my 75.00 additional cost) to run his own diagnosis (even though I already had one) and then fix what they felt appropriate. I was told that part of the reason they were rejecting this claim is because a generic part wasn't used as part of the install. My contractor told me that if a generic part was used it would "work for a little while" but in the end, in about 6 months I'd be sitting in the same place I am now and I might as well spend the extra bit and get the correct part. The insurance company wouldn't hear of it and continued to suggest that I wait the 2 weeks to have their contractor come out, again, at an additional cost for diagnosis. Nope, not a solution for me. I went ahead and had the issue fixed at my 600.00 price tag and had a happy tenant. After that I went back and tried to claim at least some part of the 600.00 (they had said they would pay 150-200 at least of the 700), remember I paid 100 just for the diagnosis? I also informed them that I wanted to cancel this insurance as it was a joke, there was no customer service, no one ever "helped" with my claim, every time I asked to speak to a manager I was told, "I am the manager," and that person didn't have the best attitude. I was told that it was fine, I could cancel my insurance but if I submitted this claim it would be DEDUCTED from the total amount that I was getting reimbursed (forget that I had already paid 1 year for my house and never submitted a claim and a year on my condo and they wanted to deduct from the TOTAL AMOUNT because I had a 3 year policy on the condo and a one year on the house. Oh, did I also mention that I had to pay a 50.00 cancellation fee?? Are you kidding me, for lack available contractors, a lack of customer service, and the lack of willingness to pay, now I have to pay a cancellation fee of 50.00. These people are con-artists that are out to take your money. I promised I'd post about them on Angie's List and send a strongly worded letter to the Better Business Bureau about them. They didn't much seem to care, if that's who you want to insure your house, go for it. But I'm never giving them another cent and I hope you don't either.

This company did NOTHING to help us, they had made up an excuse after excuse and I still have no help. This company had taken my money for three years and now that we need them they turn there back on us. This will be followed up with the Nevada ATTY General and the BBB. this company would not keep there end of the deal and now I have to pay for all of this small fix. I am a VET and that is how they called me, so all VETS please beware because they will not help you EVER... DO not use this company...

Website claimed that the kitchen refrigerator was covered under the level policy we purchased. Colonial refused to cover the repair (evaporator coil) stating that the sealed system is not covered. For the price that we paid for the policy, practically NOTHING is actually covered by the warranty. Overall a very frustrating and negative experience with this warranty. We will not be using them ever again!

Website claimed that the kitchen refrigerator was covered under the level policy we purchased. Colonial refused to cover the repair (evaporator coil) stating that the sealed system is not covered. For the price that we paid for the policy, practically NOTHING is actually covered by the warranty. Overall a very frustrating and negative experience with this warranty. We will not be using them ever again!

Website claimed that the kitchen refrigerator was covered under the level policy we purchased. Colonial refused to cover the repair (evaporator coil) stating that the sealed system is not covered. For the price that we paid for the policy, practically NOTHING is actually covered by the warranty. Overall a very frustrating and negative experience with this warranty. We will not be using them ever again!

I had an oven with a motherboard go out, and they claimed they only covered $250 a year in any repair for it. So they wouldn't cover the repairs on it. They are terrible.

They refused to pay their portion of labor to repair my AC since the parts where covered by the manufacturer.

Colonial Home Warranty took care of the problem. Of course, it was a simple repair.

I only used them once in 2 years, so they got enough money from us. They no long serve Virgina and did not notify us of this.

After weeks of dealing with Colonial for weeks we found out the water heater was under warranty. They disregard our calls while we suffer without hot water.

Both service calls were a disaster from start to finish.

I have had A/C issues, garage door issues, water heater issues and in all cases they found a way to not cover the claim. I read the fine print, and realize few things fall into the "covered" category, but even when it is not listed as an "exception" they denied. The business is a fraud, they take you money and will do nothing in return. I have heard people have success with other companies, but based on my experience with this one I finally broke my contract (for which they charge a fee). I would rather pay a true professional (which you will end up doing anyway) than deal with this company any longer.

I had been with this company for a couple of years. The repairman said he had to order some parts and that they would be delivered to me. I waited a few weeks and no parts. I called the company and was told they would come any day. I called the repairman who told me the parts should have arrived and that he would check on it for me. A few days later l received a phone call from the warranty company and then after all this time a couple of months I was told that my 10 year old dishwasher was under warranty by Whirpool. I called Whirpool and was told the door was the only thing under warranty against something creating hole in door and there was no reason why Colonial could not replace heating unit. I called Colonial and told the customer service manager and was told that they could not work on my unit. I could have bought 3 dishwashers for what I paid them.

Colonial has decided not to fix the dishwasher b/c they claim it is still under manufacturer?s warranty. The drum alone is under warranty for leaks. Nothing else....but according to policy line item # 17. Colonial will not cover any repair, replacement, installation, or modification of any covered system or appliance arising from a manufacturer?s recall or defect of said covered items, nor any covered system or appliance while still under any existing manufacturer?s, distributor?s, or in-home warranty. SO BEWARE. This little clause gives them an out to repair absolutely anything that might have so much as a screw under any type of warranty. I was told repeatedly that they would send a measly $120 as a courtesy towards replacement. Which is a joke. $120 on a $700 dishwasher. $120 won't even buy the gasket/hose kit on a new bottom of the line dishwasher. Unfortunately I am tied into them for 3 more years as I purchased a 5 year contract. Please note....and really take is seriously....if you have something, anything at all, that is supposed to be covered by Colonial and it has any type of warranty (the kind that are so popular now-a-days - where the manufacturer says a particular item 'has a lifetime warranty' as a selling tactic on some nut or bolt that will never break), that so called warranty with exclude your entire item from coverage by Colonial. For example, if one knob is covered on your stove - with a replacement or manufacturer warranty....if your stove breaks, you are screwed. Colonial has an out b/c that one single knob has some sort of trivial coverage. Oh and if you want to talk to corporate about this, or management.....dream on, you are not given any sort of information or number to call to go further up the line.....the less than helpful, script reading operator that you speak too will patronizingly tell you this. Run like h*** from this company, as I will do as soon as my good for nothing contract comes to an end.