CHARLOTTE, N.C. — "We'd give the kids a bath and it would take 10 to 20 minutes to drain," Jeff Smith said.
However, Smith wasn't worried, because he had Choice Home Warranty.
"I trusted that the policy was going to give us what the policy stated, and it just has not," he said.
Smith said the company picked up part of the bill but left him with the bulk of it.
"A little over $900," Smith said.
He said the business told him it looks like someone did a shoddy repair in the past, so it doesn't have to cover the job. Smith showed Action 9 the company's paperwork, which said it does cover "improper installations-repair-modifications."
"It's just ridiculous," Smith said.
Another customer told Action 9 Choice refused to fix her air conditioning system in August.
Another said Choice refused to repair his air conditioning in July.
Joel Amick said Choice declined coverage for his A/C in May on a home he rents to another family. He said he spent about $2,000 of his own money to fix it. He said Choice blamed it on a lack of preventative maintenance. Amick said he maintained it and the compressor was just old.
"I was pretty upset, obviously. I've got a tenant in a rental house who's in sweltering heat in the middle of May in Charlotte," Amick said.
In North Carolina, the attorney general's office said it's had 23 complaints against Choice in the last six months. The Better Business Bureau said it's had more than 4,000 the last three years across the U.S.
"I've spent hours on the phone with them, trying to work through this and I can never get in touch with one person twice," Smith said.
Smith told Action 9 his policy expired, while he keeps trying to get somewhere with customer service, the sales team keeps reaching out to him to get him to renew his policy.
Action 9 emailed Choice on Sept. 6.
"We will review the consumer files and respond accordingly," the company replied in an email.
Two deadlines came and went, and the business hadn't responded by noon Monday.
No matter what home warranty you choose, be careful.
DO YOUR HOMEWORK: Research reviews, BBB ratings and attorney general complaints for the companies you're considering.
READ THE FINE PRINT: Don't assume the policy covers everything. Make sure you know what it covers and what it doesn't.
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