BALTIMORE — These Baltimore homeowners aren't asking for much.
"We just want a service done that we paid for, and to be able to live comfortably in our own home."
T.J. Sagen and his girlfriend live in Highlandtown, and have a home warranty through American Home Shield. On November 26th, their heat stopped working.
"As of December 20th, we have no heat. It's been 26 days, still have no idea when someone will come out here, and when the situation will be rectified."
American Home Shield contracts with a company called Climate Master. Someone from Climate Master came to check out the problem on November 28th, and decided the furnace needed a part replaced.
A week later, the day the part was supposed to get installed, no one showed up. No one answered the phone either, despite several attempts. Another week later, a new appointment. Again, no one showed. That happened once more - the most recent time on December 18th.
"At night, it gets down to about 52 to 55. We have a little heater, we try to make do with it, but it's a lot of sleepless nights. A lot of laying there wondering when this problem's gonna be solved, and who's gonna help us."
Sagen has been keeping a detailed timeline of the situation, noting every time he contacts either company and when, or if, they ever respond.
Climate Master has been in touch three times to reschedule appointments, but nobody has ever shown up.
He last heard back from AHS today. The company said there's no record of climate master ever ordering the needed part, and AHS needs more time to get in touch with the contractor and figure out what's going on. AHS said it would escalate the call.
"We found out that Friday - both companies shut down for the holidays and they don't return until after Christmas so we're looking at another long weekend of no heat, watching the news hoping the temperatures stay somewhat warm, and praying that none of the pipes in our house freeze and we have an even bigger issue on our hands."
Reviews of Climate Master online show this is not an isolated incident. Plenty of people have complained about similar issues - no-show appointments, not being able to get a hold of the company, and living without heat or A/C for weeks.
"Hopefully this gets rectified and at some point we have heat before spring. And if that's the case, all can be forgiven and we can move on with our lives, but at the same time i think it's important people understand what you're getting into when you partner with a home warranty company."
In an update sent to WMAR on Thursday, Frontdoor, which owns American Home Shield, says that the unit has been repaired and is heating properly. They also state that they are reimbursing both Segan and his girlfriend for a hotel stay and their service fee.
“We take great pride in providing quality service and valuable protection to our customers. If we fail to meet these expectations, we work to do the right thing and ensure the situation is properly resolved. We sincerely apologize for the delay and frustration T.G. and Nicole experienced. Our customer care team and local, qualified contractor worked closely with them and we confirmed today that the unit was repaired and is heating properly. We will make sure they have a direct line of contact if they need us. We are also reimbursing them for a hotel stay and their service fee.
We remain committed to serving our customers and are always striving to provide quality service.”