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New home warranty is a scam!
Good luck getting anything covered under warranty. Their brochure indicates from the day your claim is submitted, everything will be evaluated and completed within 60 days! Wow! Awesome! It has now been over 6 months, and I have to constantly call to find out what is going on. Btw, basically nothing is covered under warranty. So to those of you that have pacific home warranty, good luck. To those shopping around, look elsewhere.
P. S. My floors are sinking, my siding and trim are falling apart, cracks in interior walls, electrical problems and the list goes on...
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
We have experienced similar issues, but we've been dealing with them for well over a year and half. No communication, 4 technical reviews, countless hours of our time completely wasted. Pacific Home Warranty has been set up to solely protect the builder and not the home owner - at all! They will only try to wear you down, so that you accept their sub-standard (read: cheaper) fixes. We would NOT buy a new home covered by Pacific Home Warranty ever again!
I AGREE! PACIFIC HOME WARRANTY IS CRAP!
We bought a house in North Vancouver from Golden Brick Construction. I recommend not to buy his house . We have a crooked tub. Stairs with gaps, Ceilings that are waive, nails coming through the ceiling . kitchen cabinets that are crooked. We have 26 items on our list and growing. We are dealing with home warranty . It protects the crappy builders. There is no time line on how long the repairs can take. So frustrating to deal with home warranty. What a joke. They send a person to check the complaints and take pictures. It takes 2 weeks to decide what is covered and what is not. Then we are sent a letter that says that the builder has to do the repairs by April 19th. Now we find out that because he has done small repairs it is considered that he is trying. The builder avoids the big items. We are told that because he is trying the timeline is extended. this could go on for years. if we do the repairs ourselves we are not covered. We moved in on Jan . Nothing worse than looking at all the things that are wrong with your brand new house.
Negligent and bias would accurately describe Pacific Home Warranty. Regardless of how serious the problem is, Pacific will initially either deny your claim by stating that "no defect" is detected, or, they will somehow find a way to blame you for the problem. They are the most dishonest company I have ever dealt with. I would never purchase a home that was covered by Pacific Home Warranty. We are having to get independent contractors to provide us with reports and estimates so that we can proceed with legal action against Pacific and Echelon. The estimates for our repairs exceed $20, 000.
I am so frustrated with this company. We have also got different estimates on repairs to our new home. I also will be taking legal actions. I would never buy a home with Pacific warranty again .
I am 9 months into my warranty complaint. Same story where Pacific first denied my claim then only agreed to a 3rd party evaluation after I repeatedly pressed them on this issue. In addition, there are 2 other homeowners who are on my street (covered by Pacific) and we all have Pacific telling us that our warranty start date on our NEW homes are NOT the possession date, rather, that the warranty started from the occupancy permit date! What a scam! If the houses weren't new, why are we all having to pay GST on the purchase? Either give me the correct start date to the warranty or give me back my taxes!
How about a class action law suit and a call to the local news station?
Let's call the local news station .
As the President of Pacific Home Warranty let me begin by expressing my apologies for the frustrations your are each enduring. I am proud of the company we have created and I take very seriously the matters noted here. It is always our goal to meet and exceed the expectations of our clients, and it is concerning that I am reading of these situations.
Contracts of home warranty insurance are difficult to administer. Firstly the legislation in BC dictates what "defects" in the home are covered and our role is to simply meet the terms of this legislation. Secondly, it is a key attribute of the BC warranty system that the builder be required to make the repairs (or at least pay for them) as in this way they should theoretically be more diligent in their construction. This process of requiring the builder can add time and delays to the process, but it is still the best warranty system of any jurisdiction in the world. Thirdly, it is extremely difficult to find third party repair companies committed to making quality repairs in a timely manner. This is made even worse in times when the industry is busy as it is currently.
I do not bring these points forward to shift blame, or in some way not take responsibility for the concerns noted on this page; these are simply the realities. We do need to get better as evidenced by the situations noted here. And we are doing that by redefining the time provided to home builders to make warranted repairs and holding them accountable to more stringent timelines. We are working to establish a broader list of accredited repair companies so third party repairs can be completed more quickly. Unfortunately we will still only be able to provide repair for those items deemed to be warrantable under the legislation, but we will improve in getting it done more quickly.
For those of you that wish to contact me directly, I would encourage the contact. My email address can be found on our website and I will respond at my earliest possible opportunity.
Sincerely,
Mike Garritty
You are full of [censored] Mike Garritty..see you in court!
I think that it is important to note that not only are all of these frustrations very similar in that the complaints are how Pacific Home Warrenty handles their complaints. I have had very poor communication from them. They never return calls (over 9 times), and this from their "client solutions" department. They deny claims by stating "no defect is detected". They do not hold their builders accountable enough nor do they provide professional customer service. It has been over 8 months since we purchased our house and we have not had our concerns addressed. As a group, it is important to continue to let others know and warn them of their reputation. Also on the BBB website they have numerous complaints, so please go take a look.
I truly have to agree.We moved in to our brand new house in Jan 2014. We are still waiting to have our repairs done. Customer service is awful, they never return the calls.I suggest that you keep records when you called, also take videos of the work that needs to be done. I also suggest to have contractors give quotes on the repairs needed. I plan to take this to the news there is to many of us who have the same complaints and nothing is being done. I do warn everyone about this company and I also tell them to check the website of complaints. Never again shall I deal with this company.
. . They should just fix the problem and send the bill to the builder
Mike Garrity what is your email address? Cant get to it on your website.
Mike
All I say is how disappointing. How can you be proud of your company. The people you have working for you lack in customer service. You obviously have the worst builders insured by your company. You are more than welcome to take a tour of our house to see the quality of work of the builder that you insure. You should be ashamed. These builders should not be allowed to build.
Send an email to: phwclassaction@gmail.com A class action or some type of lawsuit needs to happen, and if there is sufficient people, we can seek representation.
I have contacted Mike Garritty several times. He rarely responds, but when he does, he has no sympathy for the homeowner. Even his own comments on this board are self-centered and bias, which mirrors the exact culture he has fostered at Pacific.
Pacific will DO ANYTHING to deny claims, including skewing and/or influencing inspectors technical assessment reports so that they are in Pacific's favour. It's negligent, it's bias, it's a breach of contract, and who knows, maybe even criminal.
Mike Garritty and Pacific do not care about you as the homeowner. You are not their customer. If anything, you are a pest that eats into their profits for every claim you file and Pacific will DO ANYTHING to make you go away. Stand up and fight back.
Guys, I’m getting frustrated with Pacific Home Warranty as well, not getting any response from Client Solutions.
Did Mike Garritty resolve your claims? Did Pacific Home Warranty take responsibility of all the defects? Please let me know.
Hi
Mike never got back to us, which is something this company does well. We were also dealing with katerina Bienz who is the Director of clients Solution with our home. They are great at sending you out letters with your claim #, but returning calls is truly not one of their strong points.. Katerina also came to our house and looked at the issue that needed repair . Katreina also told us that she would get back to us at the end of the week with a decision about our issue. We never heard back. . I was so frustrated that work was not being done I called John Mulcahy his number is [protected] his email is JMulcahy@egi.ca. This man helped us out . I hope he can help you also. We are 9 months and still have some issues that need to be repaired. I refuse to give up because this insurance company should not get away with not fixing your home. If they insure these bad builders then they should take responsibility . Also if you can write to Jason Davis and let him know what you think of his company . Good luck
Thanks for responding Franca.
They're ignoring my complaints against the big defect done by the bad builder.
Pacific Home Warranty is BS especially the Client Solutions Team.
Who is John Mulcahy? Did you take legal action?
Thanks.
Hi
The Homeowner Protection office gave me John Mulcahy.number .Phone up Homeowner Protection and ask them what is the next step to be done to file complaint against Pacific home warranty. The number is [protected]. They ignore your complaints because they don't want to pay and they hope that you will give up and fix it on your own. If you start to repair things than you are not covered so make sure not to touch anything. I know how frustrating to look at your new home that needs repair can be. I still have issues to be fixed and I will continue till it gets done. I am going to go to small claims court and name the builder and the Pacific home warranty.John works for Echelon Insurance. They work with Pacific Warranty.I not sure what he does but when we called him and told him what we were going through he told us that if we did not hear back from Katrina in 2 weeks he would help us. Two weeks went by and once again nothing from Katrina. He made us send in quotes for repairing our stairs. In a week a cheque was sent out to us. We are finally having our stairs repaired .I have to be honest not sure what he does but he was kind and helped us .I still think that something has to be done about this company to warn people how bad they are. I shall try Global News see if they will take the story.
John Mulcahy is in management at Echelon General Insurance, the parent company behind Pacific Home Warranty. I have sent him extensive details on common defects and deficiencies that our strata complex have confirmed as potential fire hazards, safety hazards. Stone walled all the way and we have asked them to at lease send someone to see for themselves, declined.
Thanks for the advise Franca!
That would be great if Global News takes the story. Someone has to expose Pacific on how CRAPPY they do business.
Fully agree. This company is asking for a class action lawsuit
Hi,
I am also in the same boat as everyone else. This company is terrible, it has been 11months since we made our first claim and no result. We have 3 claims in total including electrical which is a fire hazard. They have no urgency to get anything done. They ever return phone calls and just let you sit and wait. Class action lawsuit sounds like a plan
I thought I'm the only one having an issue with Pacific, there's so many of us here. Pacific is conniving with the bad builder to deny a claim. Pacific did not want to pay for the repair of the defects.
John Mulcahy of Echelon is the person to contact. Echelon is the underwriter for Pacific and John is the claim supervisor at Echelon. Ultimately, he can make the decision as to whether or not to pay out a claim that Pacific won't repair. John is a good guy. Pacific is horrible and is not financially liable for any repairs, but if Echelon has to pay out a claim that Pacific won't repair, then Pacific's insurance rates with Echelon go up. Therefore, Pacific has no incentive to fix anything and they will do whatever they can to protect themselves. They have no interest in complying with the warranty. They do not respond to phone calls and e-mails. They are awful, dishonest, unethical people and are the lowest of the low.
I would never recommend anyone purchase a home covered by Pacific Home Warranty (PHW). It appears that PHW insures low grade builders, who are not reputable, and cannot get insured through other warranty companies. It's my understanding that if a builder has even moderate credibility, they will get insurance through one of the other warranty companies such as Travellers. Stay away from Pacific Home Warranty and any homes insured by them.
Hi Everyone
I wrote to the media about this company. I have told them to take a look at this board and the complaints. I plan to keep writing in till they hear our story. I am hoping that some of you will be able to help me in letting the media know about this company. I shall keep you posted and pls let me know how your repairs are going and if you are still waiting or denied .
Thanks Frances
I just got to know this board and have some bad experience. Like to hear your story
Pacific home warranty has been sold! HUB international now the new owners!
I have also had a poor experience with Pacific. Basically they said the problem I have is not covered, and even if it was, the coverage had expired by the time I submitted a claim. The problem had existed since new, but the building said he was looking into how to fix it. Basically the builder delayed to beyond the point that the insurance would cover it. Stay away from this company, either way.
I have kept records of how many times we have called. I have taken video and photos of our house. this company denies all bigger items . Worst company to deal with we are now 13 months in our home and still repairing things in our house . This company insures bad builders.
I completely agree with everything regarding PHW and it's my opinion that they only insure builders such as Alyza Homes (Karim Fazal) in Vancouver that don't want to fix any deficiencies. I would advise anyone thinking of buying a home built by them or covered by PHW to stay away! No problems will ever get fixed and you'll get the run around. Just my two cents...
As a builder of high end homes. Pacific Home Warranty is the absolute worst one out there.
Extremely inexperienced. If you have a builder using them just hope nothing goes wrong.
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/business/story.html?id=452a0764-122a-4bb0-8912-5933d93a0fad
Man sold phoney leaky-condo insurance policies
A White Rock insurance agent has been handed an 18-month conditional jail sentence after he pleaded guilty to defrauding an insurance company by issuing about 100 fraudulent leaky-condo repair insurance policies.
By The Vancouver Sun . Interesting history lesson on the Garrity's..Nov 9, 2007 story in the Vancouver Sun.
John Mulcahy is also in cahoots with Pacific..he will call you showing sympathy, he bated me, telling me they would fix and item, then he found out I am suing Pacific Warranty, and how much damage I have and I haven't heard from him since! I've heard from THEIR lawyer though...strange, and all I did was buy a house? So..do NOT TRUST John Mulcahy either, he is just feeling you out to see where you stand.
My realtor is now telling everyone she knows about Pacific Warranty and how they operate. She has posted a warning bulletin to her board at the real estate office. The Realtors are getting together, and finding out who the warranty company is on the house their purchasers want to buy. If it is Pacific Home Warranty, they WILL NOT sell them that house. The realtors are in fact hunting down the "good" builders because they refuse to sell their buyers the "crappy builders houses with the crappy/scam of a warranty company" on as the warranty company. They are having their buyers purchase a lot, and sending them to the "GOOD REPUTIBLE BUILDERS" ! My realtor received phone calls daily about what has happened to me, "having" to deal with this warranty company, and she warns them all. I am currently up to approx. 70, 000 worth of damage to my house, inc. water, mould, leaking roof..and they have fixed NOTHING!
We dealt with Pacific Warranty when we were alerted by our tenant that the floor in the suite had a huge hump in it by the outer wall. The hump had pushed up so high that it was starting to crack the tiles in the entryway. We live in the Okanagan and the winter was very cold with lots of ice and we wondered if ice or ? was pushing the floor up underneath the concrete slab. By the time the company sent out someone the hump had subsided but not before cracking all the tiles in a line by the front door. The guy who came was very good and said he had seen something like this before and said that they might need to see under the concrete slab by using a camera or something like that, to see if water/ice was present. As we waited and waited for further action (ie someone to actually look further into the problem) we received a letter from the insurance company denying our claim saying it was not a structural defect. The tile setter did not apply an anti-fracture membrane they said. We tired to explain that the hump came first and gradually caused the tiles to crack but we got no response. Pacific Warranty is a joke and should not be selling insurance.
Has anyone here considered the fact that, in my case anyway, that the builder arranged the warranty for the house? In other words, the builder selects the warranty provider and in doing so becomes " a customer" of that provider. If I'm in the business of selling insurance, I would make sure that I'm making my customers happy.
I think this system is flawed in this way as I had no say in selecting the provider.
Would love to hear thoughts on this.
If I could go on forever I would. To make it short (haha) I fought with Pacific Home Warranty for a year and half, phone calls, e-mails, more phone calls, more e-mails. I was persistent. I am in the construction industry and have a vast knowledge of construction. I did not put up with their crap and or bull@#$&
Mike Garrity? The silent president whom I copied every e-mail to? DID YOU EVER ANSWER ME? NO.
DID YOU GET A GOOD PAYOUT WHEN YOUR COMPANY WAS BOUTH OUT BY HUB INTERNATIONAL?
I finally got resolution to my house issues. It was tough, but the greasy wheel gets the grease folks. Hound, shadow, call/e-mail every day, do not let up the pursuit to have your home exactly the way you want it to be.
Make a complete list before you let the builder leave your "walk through", make the sign it. Take the time to go over every square inch of your home, bring in friends of yours that are in the construction field with you, carpenters, electricians, plumbers.If you are spending and making payments from your life savings protect yourselves from this company.
You need to ask yourself a question, If I buy this home, will I be protected by any home warranty company? The answer is simple...Probably not.
I agree with Kramstad, you have to keep on the Pac Home Warranty Rep, ask to see a copy of the technical report, in my case even the report stated it should be fixed the warranty company denied it. you have to be extremely persistent, keep in mind that Pacific Home Warranty is only the administrator, Echelon or Hub may be the underwriter so that is another option. Final point is yes absolutely the system is flawed, the builder is the customer not the home owner, the Warranty company is only interested in selling more policies and they do this by keeping the builder happy. You have to call, email and make a claim, report the builder to the BBB, take them to small claims court, it's only $160 to make a claim and your time, it's well worth it!
We're experiencing the same issues with Pacific Home Warranty. It's been four months since a claim has been submitted and two months since a technical assessment was done. The builders were provided with a letter and deadline which passed a month ago but home warranty decided to extend this deadline without notifying us. We've called multiple times and there is not resolution. PHW keeps saying we'll get notification of what is covered in the mail next week and it's been weeks.
Is there a class action lawsuit against this company?