CENTENNIAL, Colo. — The week before Thanksgiving is a terrible time to lose your dishwasher, but Jennifer Ouellette will tell you hand washing dishes was nothing compared to the fight she’s had to wage to get the broken dishwasher replaced.
Ouellette bought into a home warranty plan months before the dishwasher broke. But when it came time to repair the dishwasher, the company’s technician tried two replacement parts then deemed the dishwasher replaceable. But the home warranty company only cut Ouellette a check for $75.
“Your entire shtick is save money - we will repair it or replace it,” she said. “And I'm like that's not replacing anything or saving me money.”
Ouellette said she chose a plan from Select Home Warranty that cost about $47 per month.
“Our appliances were starting to get old,” she said. “It seemed like a good way to budget out the large expense if something catastrophic happened.”
The plan required Ouellette pay an $80 service fee for the technician to visit. But it included a provision that it would replace appliances if they couldn’t be repaired. The fine print of the policy said Select Home Warranty would only pay up to $500 to replace appliances.
Ouellette admits she hadn’t read the part about the $500 cap.
What isn’t in the fine print is what Select Home Warranty told Ouellette next - that because a technician replaced two parts, the cost of those parts would be deducted from the total replacement reimbursement. Even though those two replacement parts didn’t work.
“Nowhere does it say the cost of the repairs will be deducted from the amount they're going to give you to replace it,” she said.
Steve On Your Side tried to contact Select Home Warranty for clarification about Ouellette’s claim. But an e-mail instructed us to call a hotline and a customer service representative said she couldn’t provide any information about the claim.
Are home warranties worth it?
Meghan Compton with the Better Business Bureau said consumers need to be smart and do their research before buying one of these plans.
“A lot of times the company will be the one to pick the professional to come and do the work or they might pick the replacement parts that are needed,” Compton said. “But then that kind of gives them all of the power. I think the most important thing is to really understand the fine print and understand exactly what it covers.”
Compton said many home warranty companies are accredited by the Better Business Bureau. Select Home Warranty is not, though it carries a B rating. Compton said some companies can improve their rating with the BBB by responding to complaints. The BBB has received nearly 2,000 complaints about Select Home Warranty in the last 12 months.
“A really important piece is to do your research,” Compton said. “The BBB's website is a great place to look because you can see full complaint histories.”
Our partners at Consumer Reports said consumers should consider a lot of factors before buying into a home warranty policy. They said in a lot of cases, consumers may be better off self insuring – putting whatever they would to a home warranty monthly into a savings account and paying for appliance repair and replacement as it comes.
This story is the result of a tip to Steve On Your Side. Send your tip to Consumer Investigator Steve Staeger.
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Latest from 9NEWS