Complain about a product or service

Nationwide Home Warranty

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Sheila of WILLIAMSTOWN, NJ June 3, 2009

In February, 2009, I filed a claim to repair a refrigerator. I was told by the technician who they assigned that the compressor on my 6 year old Maytag refrigerator was bad. I spoke with Sasha Martinez (on 3/6 and 3/19) who told me that Nationwide denied the claim saying since I didn't have maintenance records showing I maintained the unit, the claim was closed.

According to the Manufacturers users guide, all the maintenance and cleaning are things you can do yourself as part of normal care and cleaning. Ms. Martinez told me that since I could not provide proof that I maintained the refrigerator according to the manufacturer's requirements, the claim was closed. I provided information from the manufacturer about what they required but to no avail. When I asked to cancel they told me I couldn't cancel. The contract states the following: "You are responsible for providing maintenance and cleaning on covered items as specified by the manufacturer to ensure continued coverage of such items. Nationwide reserves the right to request maintenance records". If the manufacturer's 'care and cleaning' suggestions are only related to basic cleaning and replacement of the water filter, I don't know what else [they] want me to provide. [They] are asking for receipts but how to you provide proof that you cleaned your refrigerator. I have not receipts for the water filters I purchased over the last 6 years, and no where in the contract does it state that I am to provide receipts from anyone. I asked that if I could provide receipts that I purchased a water filter (which has nothing to do with a bad compressor), would that be sufficient proof and I was told no. I was also told I have the option to pay for the repair myself (700), submit the receipts to them and they would review and determine whether it should be reimbursed. Yea, right. I WANT A FULL REFUND OF MY INSURANCE PREMIUM OR REPAIR/REPLACE OF THE REFRIGERATOR ACCORDING TO THE CONTRACT. When I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and state Attorney General's Office, Nationwide lied and told them that the problem with the refrigerator was a 'pre existing issue' and was not covered. NEVER, NEVER EVER did this come up with the repair person, my conversatins with the claims rep or in my repeated communications with Nationwide. Not only is Nationwide a bunch of crooks but they are also LIARS.

Mark of TIGARD, OR June 2, 2009

The Day before Fathers day 2007. Our house flooded. The Toilet in the basement spriket shoot off the pipe and put 2 feet of water in our basement. We had a 250 Deductable. We paid over 16k to have the basement fixed. Everything had just been painted for sale and our first open house was on fathers day. They paid us just under 12k. Leaving me with the balance. Nation Wide sent us to a local subsidiary of theirs to handle the case. The Lady in charge told us what we should have done and what they would pay for. Except for the 250. She never excepted our paid the 3k+++ for the guy's who rebuilt the basement nor for any of the parts like the dry wall and the Trim. All these bills she would not pay. I called them numerous times and finally gave up. Nation Wide left us out to dry and could have cared not have cared less about us.

Margaret of Weed, CA May 21, 2009

I decided to switch home warranty companies. I emailed Kevin Moore at Nationwide and was quoted 380.00 to be made in 2 payments. First payment was on 3/18/09, second on 4/18/09. I go to check my bank account on 5/16/2009 and find that I have a credit card transaction from Nationwide in the amount of 190.00. This apparently was done on 5/15/2009 @ 3:50 am. Because of this my account funds were held up. Then I occurred 315.00 in overdraft fees.

When I spoke to R. Johnson on 5/18/09 - he stated he was sorry and would put a credit through immediately. I explained what occurred with my bank account and got upset since they were not authorized to take these additional funds. I have their email stating the terms of the agreement. He became upset with me. Then I have been corresponding back and forth with my back, disputed the charge (haven't seen the credit) and currently have the overdraft charges on my account.

Today I called again, and got R. Johnson again. He asked me to hold and then J. Ryan, the company's representatitive came on the phone. He was very rude! He stated I had 30 seconds to talk and I explained I needed longer. He advise again that I had 30 seconds. I asked what the were going to do regarding the overdraft charges I incurred because of them and he stated "You won't see a dime".

I regret signing up with this company just to save some money. Now that I've researched them on the BBB - I see they have an unsatisfactory record. I don't trust them and expect that I'll need to cancel my card. I truly hope that we don't have a claim because everything that I have now read - this company is a SCAM! I incurred 315.00 in overdraft charges, please still do not have the 190.00 credit they stated they did. Went 5 days without money! I would prefer to cancel this contract but know I will not be able to.

Jeanette of Sebring, FL May 20, 2009

I signed a contract with Nationwide Home Warranty on April 21, 2009. I gave them 823.18 on one of my charge cards which is being disputed at this time. I called them on May 14, 2009 for service on a freezer. The following day I received an e-mail from Nationwide Home Warrant telling me to contact a company out of Tampa (2 Hrs. away from where I live).

I called Nationwide Home Warranty immediately after I spoke with the company in Tampa to set up another appointment for the repair of my freezer. They told me that they did not service my area and to call Nationwide Home Warranty back with this information. I called them back and was told it would take several hours for someone to call me to set up an appointment. Since that time I have been making numerouse telephone calls and e-mails to either get the freezer repaired or my money back. It is now May 20, 2009 and I have not heard back from them.

My food in the freezer has defrosted and is just being kept cool. I will be throwing hundreds of dollars of food out soon in fear of spoilage. If it had been repaired within in the 48 hours promissed on the contract this would have never happened. I have been hitting the quick freeze button several times a day to try and keep things frozen. This worked for a few days. However, it is no longer working.

Christine of Riverside, CA May 20, 2009

Nationwide Home Warranty Company is playing games with me. They state I have not signed and returned the policy contract, even though the policy has been paid in full. I have faxed it the 2 different fax numbers (I have the successfull faxed receipts) and I have certified mailed it using USPS and have the returned stub with a signature on it. Nationwide still will not acknowledge they have received the documents and will not do business with me until they recieve the signed contracts.

Unfortunately, I live in California and their office is in New York. Driving it to their office is not possible. So I paid for a home warranty policy that Nationwide refuses to acknowledge. I have all supporting documents. The consequence is I just will have to find a repairmen and pay for the repair myself, even though I have a home warranty policy from nationwide that's not worth the paper it's written on.

Tami of Winter Park, FL May 19, 2009

Bought a home warranty in March. Filed a claim for a ceiling fan, denied said they don't cover outside fans (not in contract). Then my washer went out and they required service records. I have never serviced my washer before so they denied that claim. Service records?? I have never serviced any of my appliance? I have to buy a new washer will cost me at least 500

Michael of Naperville, IL May 17, 2009

I had 3 policies with American Home Shield for several years and was looking to cut some expenses. I called Nationwide and they made a very attractive offer. Lower monthly payments and lower service call deductibles. I purchased 3 home warranty policies from Nationwide on February 3, 2009 for 3 different properties that I own. In March the water heater in one of the units began to leak. I called, they sent out a service man. He checked it out and said it needed to be replaced. he was to come back on Monday to replace it.

When he didn't come, I called to find out why and was told that Nationwide had denied the claim because there was rust on the unit. The unit had burn marks by the burner access door and a small amount of rust artound the frame of the door. The leak was from the underside of the unit. I called Nationwide, they denied the claim to me on the phone. Needing to keep my tenant in hot water, I replaced the unit at my expense to the tune of 575.

I spent the next few days on repeated calls to Nationwide disputing the denial and asking for a reversal of their decision. they continued to deny the claim. I asked to speak to a supervisor who repeated the denial and would not waver from a scripted response.

A week later the furnace in another unit was making noise. I again called Nationwide,they sent out a repairman. He determined that the motor needed to be replaced. He too had to call Nationwide for approval and would return the next day. Several days passed and I had not heard from him. I called him and he stated that he hadn't heard from Nationwide either. I asked him to give them a call which he did only to call me back and tell m=e that they denied the claim. Their reason again was the presence of rust on the unit and the fact that it had been serviced before by another company.

When I questioned the repairman, he said he told them that there was a sticker from another HVAC company that cleaned the unit and that there was a minimal but normal amount of rust on the burners. (the unit is 15 years old and was inspected and cleaned when I took over the property 2 years ago).

I again called Nationwide furious at this point. I got the same scripted response. I asked to speak to a supervisor and received the same response. I then called the sales department and spoke to the salesman that signed me up for the policies. He as surprised at the response by the service department and asked me to hold on while he transfered me to someone that could take care of me. He transfered me to the same "supervisor" I had spoken to earlier.

I asked to speak to someone above her and she referred me to the admin offices but the only way I could contact them was by email. I then asked for the president of the companies name and asked to speak to him and was told the only way to reach him was by email to the admin office and that neither the admin office or the president spoke directly to customers. Finding that disturbing I attempted to cancel my pollicies and was told that I agreed to a 12 month program and that they would continue to charge my credit card each month.

I contacted my credit card company and have had to contact them every month to dispute the charges that continue to show up on my bill. Nationwide is a front for a rip off company. They have no intention of paying out on any claim and are only interested in receiving their monthly payment. I am still fighting with them to cancel my policies and stop charging my accounts. As a side note....I have returned to American Home Shield bhecause I never had a problem with any claim I made with them. It costs more, but I guess you get what you pay for.

Arthur of 2112 Gypsy Bell Ave, NV May 15, 2009

We had a water heater that leaked. We Nationwide, customer service sent out a plumber. We paid the plumber 60.00, just to verify there was a leak. The plumber called over to Nationwide Home Warranty with the findings. Nationwide requested us to provide maintainence records in which we provided 1year of 6 months maintainence warranty. They still denied the claim due to lack of maintenance records.. Sent them another years of maintenance records.

After numerous calls they said they denied claim due to lack of suffient maintaince records. I requested to speak supervisor, adjuster or someone who could help me. Customer service would not allow me to speak to anyone. Customer service said that they are update daily but could not give me a definite answer to why it was denied. They did not give me an ounce for significant justified reason to why it was denied. Yes, I do agree with all the complaints against Nationwide regarding their reputation to rip people off.. In this economy we do not have the money or the patients to be repeatedly frauded by a home warranty people. DO NOT GET WARRANTY FROM NATIONWIDE HOME WARRANTY....!! BE WARNED!! Because they said it was under review for a days, water damage on drywall increased, unable to use water heater and financial hardship due to replacing out of pocket.

Miranda of Northampton, PA May 15, 2009

I purchased and paid for a one year home warranty on May 26, 2008 in the amount of 360.39. On April 6, 2009, almost 2 months before my year contract was expired, another 360.39 charge appreared on my credit card for which i didnt authorize or agree to. I have my original contract which clearly states that it was for one year. I filed a claim with my credit card company for a charge back and when they contacted Nationwide, Mr. R sent the credit card company a letter saying my contract was for 2 years and i agreed to annual billing. I tried calling and emailing the company several times over the last month and no one will return my calls or messages. The charge is now in arbitration with the credit card company along with copies of all documentation proving that i did not authorize this charge.

Lee of Catlettsburg, KY May 14, 2009

I purchased a home warranty with Nationwide Home Warranty on November 20, 2008. My air conditioner was leaking water and I called Nationwide for a repair on May 12, 2009 . A very nice serviceman came out and diagnosed the problem as a cracked drip pan at the evaporater. I paid the 50.00 service fee. The repair man later called me to tell me that Nationwide Home Warranty had rejected my claim because this was a "pre-existing condition'.

I called them and they claimed they wouldn't pay because the unit was over a year old. Hello! Never heard of that one. I corrected them and told them it was a new unit installed on July 25, 2008 and that the warranty on the unit covered the parts but not the labor.

They still refused to pay the claim. Didn't matter that I faxed a copy of my receipt to prove that the unit was still new. This is the first time that I have made a claim on the home warranty. The total bill for the labor would be just over 200.00. Their refusal of the claim just doesn't make sense. I plan on following up on this complaint with the New York Attourney General's office, the Federal Trade Commission, New York State Insurance Dept., and the Department of Real Estate for my state. Also, I requested a refund or at least a prorated refund and was told that you have to request it within the first three days after you purchase the home warranty.

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