Absolutely horrendous company. If I could give CHW a zero, I would. We bought our home 3 months ago, and the seller gave us a warranty through CHW. I called in a claim at 7:30 AM last Wednesday because the first floor bathtub had developed a scalding leak at the hot water faucet.
CHW dispatched a rooter company and said that the technician would arrive sometime between 11 AM and 3 PM. When I questioned their choice of vendor, the customer service rep said that rooter companies did some plumbing and that their business model basically broadcasted customer issues that their selected vendors then bid on. Once a vendor accepted a CHW bid, they contact the customer and send out dispatch details.
The rooter technician arrived at 3 PM smelling of cigarette smoke. Before he inspected my bathroom, he demanded that I make out the $65 deductible directly to him, personally. He would not even examine the repair site until he was paid. Once he had the check in hand, he went into the bathroom and said, "I can't fix this. I thought you had a broken toilet." I never once mentioned the word toilet when I called CHW. He immediately left -- spent less than 5 minutes in my house -- and refused to refund the deductible.
I called CHW. They found another repair technician to come out 2 days later (Friday). But they wanted ANOTHER deductible. I complained and they said I would not have to pay another deductible. The technician did not arrive on the day/time of the agreed service call. My husband had taken a day of vacation with no repair whatsoever.
We called CHW and they contacted the technician, who said that the person they were sending was hurt on the job. They rescheduled the repair for the following week. This meant my husband had to take, yet another, day of vacation. They gave me the phone number for the second repair company; however, this company does NOT answer their phone number and their voice mail is always full. The only way I was able to communicate with this second company was via text message, which often went unanswered, or SMS.
When the technician finally DID call me back, he told me to go to Home Depot and pick up a variety of supplies -- things that should have been covered by the warranty. Despite my concerns, I purchased these items as a safeguard.
When he arrived today -- one week after my initial repair claim -- the technician immediately started padding the bill. He wanted to repair things, like the sink, and other things in the bathroom and throughout the house that we had NOT asked to be serviced. These items were working properly. When I insisted that he focus entirely on the plumbing leak, he told us that we would have to pay $500 out of pocket to cover the amount of work NOT covered by the warranty. I told him to to nothing until I spoke with the CHW.
Bottom line: I phoned CHW and spoke with 2 supervisors and a manager. They said that 75% of the costs were NOT covered by the warranty -- the supplies I had purchased at Home Depot and 2/3 of the technician's cost. I informed all parties that my next call would be to my attorney. They ultimately agreed to send me a check for $250, which is the only amount they would agree to cover with the technicians in their network. I agreed to receive the check and hire my own trusted handyman. Even if my handyman's costs go above $250, I know he's not out to pad the bill. CHW said the check would arrive at my home within 30 days.
We told the second technician to go home, and that we would have someone else repair the leaky bathtub faucet. More than likely this is a simple washer and valve repair. It will not require the unnecessary repairs he had insisted on.
Ten minutes later, the claims department from CHW called me back and told me that the technician was requesting full payment for the repair. I told CHW that no repairs had been made by either of the technicians they dispatched and reiterated WHY we had refused their services. The second technician wanted the $250 CHW had promised to send me. Again, I insisted that if the check were not sent to me directly within the 30 days they had promised that I would be seeking legal action.
This company is a scam. They take premiums and deliver nothing. The repair technicians in their network know how to work the system so that they get paid for either doing nothing -- bidding on work they can't do and claiming the deductible as their own -- or by padding the bill. They should not be allowed to prey on consumers.
