American Home Shield (http://www.ahswarranty.com/) provides warranties for home appliances. The service was included in the purchase of my house a little over a year ago. I did not renew the service this year. I am now getting the run-around from American Home Shield (AHS) because the assigned repairman appears to have misdiagnosed a problem with the dishwasher and it broke again (third time, same problem). AHS’s stance so far is that a recurring problem reported past 30 days is a new call and since I am no longer a client, they cannot place a new call. My stance is that I told the repairman both the first and second time that his diagnosis did not sound complete (when a fuse blows, you ought to find out why it blew) and, of course, it takes longer than 30 days for the problem to surface.
I’ll fill in the details after I get a call from whatever AHS specialist is supposed to contact me.
- - - - - -
June 30, 2009
About two weeks ago, the repairman arrived to see if the circuit board he previously installed had gone bad. He could not analyze that because there is no power in the dish washer since the internal fuse had blown (yes, that's the same fuse he replaced twice already). He needed more guidance from AHS. I've not heard from either the repairman or AHS since then.
- - - - - -
July 7, 2009
I called the repairman again a couple days ago reminding him that I am looking for a progress update. I've still not heard back from the repairman or AHS.
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July 13, 2009
I've tried repeatedly to connect with the repairman; Marvin of Brinings Appliance in Hedgesville, WV; leaving messages on both his office phone and cell phone asking him to call me with an update. He finally answered his phone today. He told me I need to call AHS, not him. At the point when I started to tell that he should have told that to me weeks ago, he hung up on me.
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July 28, 2009
Last night, I talked with Penisha who is 2 or 3 rungs up the escalation ladder at AHS. What I found out from Penisha is that Marvin reported that he inspected the circuit board and found that it was fine. Since I was standing there when he looked at the dishwasher, I know that he did not inspect the circuit board. One has to remove the inside panel to get to the circuit board. Marvin not only did not remove the inside panel, he barely opened the dishwasher door. He said that he could not inspect the board with the internal fuse blown. So, not only did he not diagnose the problem correctly, now he is lying about what work was supposed to do... unless someone at AHS is hearing/reading one thing and logging it in as something else. Either way it is just plain wrong. I'll be talking to the next level of escalation soon.
As a side note, Marvin was also working on an issue we are having with our microwave. The microwave is an over-the-stove model. The door of the microwave fills with moisture (you can see the condensation behind the window) when steam is rising from something cooking on the stove. After Marvin replaced the inside seal, and we still had the problem, he reported to AHS that "Replacing the door or microwave would not solve the problem." It seems that Marvin thinks moisture in the door is normal.
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August 10, 2009
After escalating this up about 4 levels, AHS finally came through for me. More details later.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Monday, December 1, 2008
Chalet High Management and Alexander Properties of Basye, Virginia
This tale of woe is about our interaction with Alexander Properties of Basye, Virginia.
On September 20, 2008 my wife and I were treated to a time-share presentation in Basye, Virginia. We purchased a unit because it sounded like a great deal. The deal which was pitched to us was: 1) if we purchased immediately, we get 12 bonus weeks annually with Interval International (II), 2) if we purchase a unit we can use it as a rental (as in - actually receiving rent) instead of as a time-share trade with II, 3) we can use the bonus weeks to go anywhere and anytime we want, 4) there were other points beyond #3 but the combination of those three was the real draw.
When I got home and read every sentence of the contract we signed I noticed a few departures from the sales pitch. Such as:
So much for anywhere and anytime. My wife is a school teacher; we can only vacation during high demand and holiday weeks. We canceled the contract per the instructions in the contract. The cancellation notice was received by Jay Fulk on September 26, 2008. Again this was within the time period (7 days) stated by the contract. Since we had made the purchase with a credit card we expected to see the credit appear somewhere near the 45 days after the 26th (also part of the contract).
As you may have guessed, the credit did not appear.
I found the telephone number for Alexander Properties, Inc. (API) on the internet. API is the "party of the second part" listed on the purchase agreement. That telephone number is also the number for Chalet High Management, Inc., which is how they answer the phone.
I initially called API the week before Thanksgiving. I explained the situation (missing refund) and was told by Gina the she would tell the person who deals with that and that someone would call me back. When I called back after no one called me, Gina told me that she put my folder on the manager's desk.
When I called back again after no one called me, I was told the person who deals with that was on a conference call to the bank.
When I called back the next day, I was told the person who deals with that was out of the office in a meeting.
When I called back later that day, I was told the person who deals with that was gone for the Holiday.
After this last call I was told that the "person who deals with that" is Jay Fulk, General Manager.
(side note: Just for fun, look up "Jay Fulk Basye" on the internet.
I called the week after Thanksgiving… and called and called and called. Each time he was either "out on the property", "on a conference call", or "gone for the day".
On December 3, I had to be home for an appliance repairman visit so I took the opportunity to call when I normally did not call - 10:00ish AM. Mr. Fulk was on a conference call with the bank but I was promised that Mr. Fulk would call me back at 11:30. At 11:45, when I called back,I was told he was out on the property. (snide note: With the bankers???)
Finally, later that day, Mr. Fulk returned my call… an hour after he promised to call me back. He assured me that I would get my refund (Side note… I forgot to ask him "when"… my fault.) but he would need his assistant Gina to get my folder. I told him it was on his desk (read back a few lines) but he told me that there was too much stuff on his desk for him to find it. At a point when you recognize that you are being stonewalled by someone who has lied to you in the past, you get to make a decision. I politely said "thank you" and
1) hung up the telephone,
2) mailed my grievance letter to Visa, and
3) sent my grievance letter to the Attorney General's Office of Virginia
As of today (12/04/08), I have not heard back from Mr. Fulk nor any of his staff.
My next steps…
1) create a Blog so that the whole world may be warned,
2) notify the Chamber of Commerce of Basye, Virginia,
3) notify the Better Business Bureau covering the Basye, Virginia area,
4) notify the Better Business Bureau of Virginia,
5) notify Interval International of API's misrepresentation,
6) notify RCI (still a Chalet High affiliate) of API's misrepresentation, and finally
7) notify the US Treasury since obviously (in my opinion) API is broke since they spend so much time on conference calls to banks and still cannot cover my refund and therefore needs an infusion of money just like the banking industry and the U.S. auto industry.
If you actually get to read this on the internet, that means that #1 of "next steps" has been completed.
You have been warned.
Oh, and then there's this: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g57489-i10028-k383581-Rate_Chalet_high_Basye_Va-Basye_Virginia.html
On an even more side note…
We were promised several things just for showing up for the "tour".
1) 3-day, 2-night stay in… well, many places
2) free flights to anywhere in the "Continental US".
3) $100 for gas.
Both the free motel stay and free flights cost us a confirmation fee. I sent in the fees (money order) and received confirmation of that. Two weeks ago (today is 12/04/08), I sent in a note to Gas Up America asking about my initial request for $100 worth of coupons for gasoline. They have not responded to either my first or my second note. Therefore, one may conclude that the "$100 for gas" that they promise you is bogus. I'll keep you posted on the Gas Up America issue.
- - - - - -
December 8, 2008...
Noon. Still no credit from Alexander Properties and still no word from Gas Up America.
My 1:00 call - Mr. Fulk just gone to lunch.
My 3:30 call - Mr. Fulk had already left for the day.
- - - - - - - -
December 9, 2008...
My 10:30 call - I spoke with someone who said that Mr. Fulk will call me back at 1:00.
It's 2:30, Mr. Fulk has not called me.
My 3:30 call - Mr. Fulk is in a meeting. I was told that he called and left a message on my machine. He did not call the number I left. He had called my home phone and left a message. His message was that they had found my folder and that I would be receiving a refund.
- - - - - - - -
December 10, 2008...
My 10:15 call - Mr. Fulk was already on a lengthy telephone conversation. I did not get to speak to him.
My 4:40 call - Mr. Fulk had gone for the day.
No refund yet.
- - - - - - - - - -
December 11, 2008
My 11:00 call - Mr. Fulk finally took my call. He said that they batch all their refunds together and issue them in at one time. That is scheduled for Monday.
When I asked him about Gas Up America, I was told that that is a marketing department issue and that he would have them call me today.
By Noon, Marketing had called and left a message. I returned the call. Heather is going to contact Gas Up America and e-mail me their response.
- - - - - - - - - - -
December 16, 2008
It's Tuesday, the day after Mr Fulk said they would process the refund. As of 6:30 AM, we have still not received our refund. The refund is now 36 days past-due. I wonder how long this is going to drag on.
I have not heard from Marketing about the Gas Up America issue either.
It's 1:30. I've called Mr. Fulk twice in the past 45 minutes and was told each time that he should be back within the next half hour.
Marketing is not answering their phone.
It's 2:30 and he's not there *again*.
- - - - - - - - - - -
December 18, 2008
As of 11:30 AM the refund has not been credited.
I called a couple times this morning but Mr. Fulk was already on the phone. In that 2 1/2 hour window when I was home this morning, he did not return my call.
- - - - - - - - - - -
December 23, 2008
As of 10:00 AM the refund has not been credited. This is more than a week past the day Jay Fulk said they would process the refund.
I just received paperwork from the Virgina Office of Consumer Affairs via the Attorney General's office. It looks like I get to let one more agency know about this.
- - - - - - - - - - -
January 3, 2009
The refund has not been credited.
- - - - - - - - - - -
January 10, 2009
We received a letter from Visa today. It says the dispute has been resolved and that my account has been credited.
I still have not heard from Marketing about the Gas Up America issue.
- - - - - - - - - - -
January 22, 2009
I still have not heard from Marketing about the Gas Up America issue. No one even answers the phone when I call.
- - - - - - - - - - -
January 30, 2009
I still have not heard from Marketing about the Gas Up America issue. I called and discovered that the 800 number no longer works. I called the "local" number and got someone. I asked to have Heather - my initial contact - call me back. She did not.
- - - - - - - - - - -
March 4, 2009
After calling the marketing department several times and not getting a call back, I left a message saying that since Gas Up America was not going to send me my coupons, I expect the marketing department to send me the $100 they promised. I got a call back saying they would send a check. I'll update this post when I actually receive that check.
- - - - - - - - - - -
March 7, 2009
The check has been received. As long as it does not bounce, that puts an end to this ordeal.
- - - - - - - - - - -
Counter as of 4:45 PM 12/16/2008
On September 20, 2008 my wife and I were treated to a time-share presentation in Basye, Virginia. We purchased a unit because it sounded like a great deal. The deal which was pitched to us was: 1) if we purchased immediately, we get 12 bonus weeks annually with Interval International (II), 2) if we purchase a unit we can use it as a rental (as in - actually receiving rent) instead of as a time-share trade with II, 3) we can use the bonus weeks to go anywhere and anytime we want, 4) there were other points beyond #3 but the combination of those three was the real draw.
When I got home and read every sentence of the contract we signed I noticed a few departures from the sales pitch. Such as:
Some members may be restricted from utilizing the getaway program into resorts located within the same geographical area as the home resort.
Holiday weeks and other highly demanded weeks are generally not available under
this program.
So much for anywhere and anytime. My wife is a school teacher; we can only vacation during high demand and holiday weeks. We canceled the contract per the instructions in the contract. The cancellation notice was received by Jay Fulk on September 26, 2008. Again this was within the time period (7 days) stated by the contract. Since we had made the purchase with a credit card we expected to see the credit appear somewhere near the 45 days after the 26th (also part of the contract).
As you may have guessed, the credit did not appear.
I found the telephone number for Alexander Properties, Inc. (API) on the internet. API is the "party of the second part" listed on the purchase agreement. That telephone number is also the number for Chalet High Management, Inc., which is how they answer the phone.
I initially called API the week before Thanksgiving. I explained the situation (missing refund) and was told by Gina the she would tell the person who deals with that and that someone would call me back. When I called back after no one called me, Gina told me that she put my folder on the manager's desk.
When I called back again after no one called me, I was told the person who deals with that was on a conference call to the bank.
When I called back the next day, I was told the person who deals with that was out of the office in a meeting.
When I called back later that day, I was told the person who deals with that was gone for the Holiday.
After this last call I was told that the "person who deals with that" is Jay Fulk, General Manager.
(side note: Just for fun, look up "Jay Fulk Basye" on the internet.
I called the week after Thanksgiving… and called and called and called. Each time he was either "out on the property", "on a conference call", or "gone for the day".
On December 3, I had to be home for an appliance repairman visit so I took the opportunity to call when I normally did not call - 10:00ish AM. Mr. Fulk was on a conference call with the bank but I was promised that Mr. Fulk would call me back at 11:30. At 11:45, when I called back,I was told he was out on the property. (snide note: With the bankers???)
Finally, later that day, Mr. Fulk returned my call… an hour after he promised to call me back. He assured me that I would get my refund (Side note… I forgot to ask him "when"… my fault.) but he would need his assistant Gina to get my folder. I told him it was on his desk (read back a few lines) but he told me that there was too much stuff on his desk for him to find it. At a point when you recognize that you are being stonewalled by someone who has lied to you in the past, you get to make a decision. I politely said "thank you" and
1) hung up the telephone,
2) mailed my grievance letter to Visa, and
3) sent my grievance letter to the Attorney General's Office of Virginia
As of today (12/04/08), I have not heard back from Mr. Fulk nor any of his staff.
My next steps…
1) create a Blog so that the whole world may be warned,
2) notify the Chamber of Commerce of Basye, Virginia,
3) notify the Better Business Bureau covering the Basye, Virginia area,
4) notify the Better Business Bureau of Virginia,
5) notify Interval International of API's misrepresentation,
6) notify RCI (still a Chalet High affiliate) of API's misrepresentation, and finally
7) notify the US Treasury since obviously (in my opinion) API is broke since they spend so much time on conference calls to banks and still cannot cover my refund and therefore needs an infusion of money just like the banking industry and the U.S. auto industry.
If you actually get to read this on the internet, that means that #1 of "next steps" has been completed.
You have been warned.
Oh, and then there's this: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g57489-i10028-k383581-Rate_Chalet_high_Basye_Va-Basye_Virginia.html
On an even more side note…
We were promised several things just for showing up for the "tour".
1) 3-day, 2-night stay in… well, many places
2) free flights to anywhere in the "Continental US".
3) $100 for gas.
Both the free motel stay and free flights cost us a confirmation fee. I sent in the fees (money order) and received confirmation of that. Two weeks ago (today is 12/04/08), I sent in a note to Gas Up America asking about my initial request for $100 worth of coupons for gasoline. They have not responded to either my first or my second note. Therefore, one may conclude that the "$100 for gas" that they promise you is bogus. I'll keep you posted on the Gas Up America issue.
- - - - - -
December 8, 2008...
Noon. Still no credit from Alexander Properties and still no word from Gas Up America.
My 1:00 call - Mr. Fulk just gone to lunch.
My 3:30 call - Mr. Fulk had already left for the day.
- - - - - - - -
December 9, 2008...
My 10:30 call - I spoke with someone who said that Mr. Fulk will call me back at 1:00.
It's 2:30, Mr. Fulk has not called me.
My 3:30 call - Mr. Fulk is in a meeting. I was told that he called and left a message on my machine. He did not call the number I left. He had called my home phone and left a message. His message was that they had found my folder and that I would be receiving a refund.
- - - - - - - -
December 10, 2008...
My 10:15 call - Mr. Fulk was already on a lengthy telephone conversation. I did not get to speak to him.
My 4:40 call - Mr. Fulk had gone for the day.
No refund yet.
- - - - - - - - - -
December 11, 2008
My 11:00 call - Mr. Fulk finally took my call. He said that they batch all their refunds together and issue them in at one time. That is scheduled for Monday.
When I asked him about Gas Up America, I was told that that is a marketing department issue and that he would have them call me today.
By Noon, Marketing had called and left a message. I returned the call. Heather is going to contact Gas Up America and e-mail me their response.
- - - - - - - - - - -
December 16, 2008
It's Tuesday, the day after Mr Fulk said they would process the refund. As of 6:30 AM, we have still not received our refund. The refund is now 36 days past-due. I wonder how long this is going to drag on.
I have not heard from Marketing about the Gas Up America issue either.
It's 1:30. I've called Mr. Fulk twice in the past 45 minutes and was told each time that he should be back within the next half hour.
Marketing is not answering their phone.
It's 2:30 and he's not there *again*.
- - - - - - - - - - -
December 18, 2008
As of 11:30 AM the refund has not been credited.
I called a couple times this morning but Mr. Fulk was already on the phone. In that 2 1/2 hour window when I was home this morning, he did not return my call.
- - - - - - - - - - -
December 23, 2008
As of 10:00 AM the refund has not been credited. This is more than a week past the day Jay Fulk said they would process the refund.
I just received paperwork from the Virgina Office of Consumer Affairs via the Attorney General's office. It looks like I get to let one more agency know about this.
- - - - - - - - - - -
January 3, 2009
The refund has not been credited.
- - - - - - - - - - -
January 10, 2009
We received a letter from Visa today. It says the dispute has been resolved and that my account has been credited.
I still have not heard from Marketing about the Gas Up America issue.
- - - - - - - - - - -
January 22, 2009
I still have not heard from Marketing about the Gas Up America issue. No one even answers the phone when I call.
- - - - - - - - - - -
January 30, 2009
I still have not heard from Marketing about the Gas Up America issue. I called and discovered that the 800 number no longer works. I called the "local" number and got someone. I asked to have Heather - my initial contact - call me back. She did not.
- - - - - - - - - - -
March 4, 2009
After calling the marketing department several times and not getting a call back, I left a message saying that since Gas Up America was not going to send me my coupons, I expect the marketing department to send me the $100 they promised. I got a call back saying they would send a check. I'll update this post when I actually receive that check.
- - - - - - - - - - -
March 7, 2009
The check has been received. As long as it does not bounce, that puts an end to this ordeal.
- - - - - - - - - - -
Counter as of 4:45 PM 12/16/2008
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