Comments on: Home Buyers Warranty HBW 2-10 Terrible Service

By: Roubi

Roubi — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 20:43:34 +0000

Has anyone had issues with the structural warranty portion of this warranty? Our 8 year old house is sinking in one corner and the foundation cracking. The company has denied our claim stating that the damage hasn’t met the terms of the policy. Its states that the house has to be unsanitary, unsafe or otherwise unlivable. I guess if we do nothing it will eventually become unlivable and unsanitary, but we will not do that. I am very frustrated with the company as we have been going back and forth since August. I am currently deciding if it is worth getting a lawyer involved. In any case this warranty was a huge waste of of money and gives the homeowner a false sense of security.

By: Frustrated

Frustrated — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 18:19:18 +0000

HBW is a nightmare, these people have paid a contractor three times to replace the same part on a stove within a 6 month period and the stove still doesn’t work. HBW is now telling me that I have exhausted my money for this claim, that the contractor has determined that a different part is needed. My stove still doesn’t work and they are not going to hold him responsible for erroneous work he performed. Is there a remedy to this companies lack of fairness?

By: John Covalesky

John Covalesky — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 22:01:56 +0000

I was a contractor for 2-10 for several years. We got graded on our cost per call The warranty company would send us calls based on them paying for a basic installation.
The warranty company would pay for 30% of the call & the rest was paid by the homeowner. In most cases the homeowner could have went with their on contractor & lowered the repair cost. The more we could put off on the homeowner, the cost per call would go down to 2-10HBW. We were encouraged to decline calls, in return the lower cost per call, would result in 2-10 sending over more calls. Next beware of Susan Landing with Remax Preffered Realty, Edwardsville Ilinois.Phone #618-655-1191 ext. 109. She will tell you everything is coverd, selling you a home warranty contract. Instead of addressing problems at closing. The first 30 days of your warranty most everything does not get coverd, She knows this but miss leads you. Instead you get a home that you think things are covered & you find out they are usually pre-existing & not covered.
She uses these home warrantys to sell you a false sense of security. She has no morals & will screw you over for the sake of a dollar!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By: Lance

Lance — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 20:32:42 +0000

WOW– look at all the complaints against 2-10, surprising?? Nope– not since Jan 25th have I had consist heating- 8 service calls, 2 different contractors, and still doesn’t work correctly. Imagine waking up at 5 in the morning to 42 degrees in your house, when it is -17 below with the wind chill. Just today, I had the same contractor come out, it malfunctioned. Contractor stratches his head, “we need to replace it” called 2-10 was on hold for 45 minutes, told the contractor no we need a second opinion. Which by the way I already had a second opinion, this will be a third opinion. Unbelievable–BUYER BEWARE!!!!!

By: Joey

Joey — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 18:11:06 +0000

2-10 sucks – My water heater went out at the end of January. We contacted 2-10 and they sent a contractor that thought he fixed the problem. Nope – we called back, 2-10 approved the wrong doing, and here it is Feb 16th almost 3 weeks with no hot water, we have had 2 blizzards and it’s been in the temps outside are in the teens. I have 2 kids and a hubby who have to take cold showers, no hot water for the dishes to be cleaned or laundry, and this will probably end up messing something else in the house. It’s hard to accept that we pay a annual fee, and a upfront fee to keep our house “Healthy” and all 2-10 has done is made a major hardship on my family. Maybe we need to bring this up to one of the TV News stations – Hello channel 7

By: Paul S.

Paul S. — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 03:13:21 +0000

Like the furnace issue above, nearly a week after we called and weather in the teens, we got a HBW approved contractor out there,had something cracked too (heat exchanger) and the repairman came up with many figures $1200 to $3000.00 and that the warranty probably wouldnt pay anything because it was not up todays code, (this was installed over twenty years ago and there was no code per CABO) But sure enough after the repairman called HBW and went over with them about the codes they refused to pay. We ran him off and got a contractor to install a brand new unit for half what he wanted w/o any HBW help. After calling HBW many times we got nowhere.
Its just a rip off and something is going on with the people they use too!! Why would this guy want to have our claim thrown out the window?? SAVE YOUR MONEY!!! Play the lottery your chances are better!!

By: sheryl gabrielle

sheryl gabrielle — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 04:13:50 +0000

they are the worst .my basement wall is cracked and only 5 years young with water and soil coming through. they refuse to fix the cement wall.. they are atotal rip off.

By: HBW Is A Scam

HBW Is A Scam — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 17:14:18 +0000

Bought a brand new home that came with a 2-10 HBW that was advertised by the builder and the attorney who closed on my home as a super warranty that would cover any and all construction defects, workmanship or system deficiencies based on the guidelines in the booklet. My builder also stated in front of the attorney that he would personally fix any and all issues with the home within the first year of occupancy. That was and still is not the case.

My home has several deficiencies and defects that fall within the scope of the HBW coverage yet for over a year and a half the builder and the HBW have not completed ANY of these repairs. I have been told by 2-10 HBW that arbitration is the only option as that is what you agree to when you accept the warranty at the time of home purchase.

Bottom line, if you take the 2-10 HBW your builder is NOT required by them to put the home into correct performance standards.

The 2-10 HBW will NOT enforce your warranty.

The 2-10 HBW will NOT set repair deadlines for the builder.

The 2-10 will NOT determine warranty coverage

The 2-10 HBW will ONLY act if you go to arbitration, get a judgement, AND ONLY AFTER the builder fails to uphold the terms and conditions of the binding arbitration.

No timelines are provided for the completion of repairs, so in the case of so many others, the arbitration and repair process with the 2-10 HBW could take years to resolve.

I will NEVER buy a home that has a 2-10 HBW provided warranty again. I will NEVER recommend 2-10 HBW to anyone.

Best of luck to all you you that have 2-10 HBW “warranties” just like me.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:45:27 +0000

Also, there are 2 divisions within HBW: The New Homes Division & Resale Division. The New Homes Division strictly handles newly constructed home claims that have mechanical failures for the first 2 years that a home is built and some structural issues for the first 10 years (hence the term 2-10). Usually when mechanical failures occur within the first 2 years of construction, the builder or manufacturer of the system is contacted to address the failures. The Resale Division handles mechanical failures after the homeowner renews their mechanical coverage after the first 2 years of New Home mechanical coverage expires. Also, the Resale Division provides warranties on pre-owned homes. As with most warranties out there nowadays, whether it be with Auto repairs or appliances, Home Buyers Warranty only covers failures due to normal wear and tear. I encourage current homeowners with a Home Buyers Warranty to review the Terms & Conditions of their contract to fully understand what is covered and what is not covered. If you do not have a copy of your warranty, you may call 1-800-775-4736 and request to have a copy of your specific coverage mailed to your home or emailed to you directly. Or, of course, you may speak with Customer Service who will discuss your coverage with you over the phone.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:30:47 +0000

I currently work for HBW and I happened to come across this blog while researching info for an un-related issue. As I understand the frustrations that all of you are going through, I can also understand how it may also be difficult for you to understand our company’s point-of-view.

I know this is a few years late, but I happened to look up the Work Order # that was provided in this blog, and the notes clearly show that HBW had done everything possible to try to get this issue resolved. The contractor may have given the customer some information, however the contractor failed to follow-up with HBW and give us the information we need. HBW pays the contractor parts & labor costs for covered repairs or replacements to save homeowners from spending thousands of dollars on repairs/replacements if they were not to have a warranty. Our contractors are our eyes & ears and without knowing what HBW is being billed for by the contractor, our hands our tied. Specifically in this blogger’s Work Order, after the customer called to check on the status, HBW noticed we were not given any information from the contractor so we had called the contractor several times starting Friday to obtain the cost of the parts and labor, as well as the specifications on the type of part that was needed (model #, serial #, etc) that was needed. The contractor continued to tell us they’d call us back to give us the information. Finally, on Tuesday we obtained the information we needed and proceeded with ordering the part and authorized the contractor for the repair. During issues where the contractors are non-responsive for 48 business hours, the department which hires/fires these contractors re-evaluate the working relationship we have with the contractor which could lead to terminating them. We will also assign a new contractor to service the homeowner’s problem in that instance. This is a last resort since we believe sending a new contractor right away can delay service even further since the process starts all over due to the new contractor wanting to provide their own diagnosis/estimate due to liability issues.

Those of you who feel it is necessary to obtain a lawyer, I guarantee that once the claim notes are subpoenaed and taken into court, it will show the effort that HBW makes to try to get our customer’s issues resolved. It may not seem like this is the case from the homeowner’s persepective, but “behind the scenes” we have several employees whose specific job duty is to follow-up with contractors to get information we need. I am not making an excuse for all of your situations since I know there may be times where an HBW employee may “drop the ball”, but I assure you we address those issues as soon as it is brought to our attention.