How to deal with a home warranty company that will not perform on the warranty agreement and will not respond to contact attempts?
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How to deal with a home warranty company that will not perform on the warranty agreement and will not respond to contact attempts?
I purchased a home warranty at the time I closed on my new home about 3 months ago. Now, I am unable to get any response from the warranty company regarding a claim I wish to submit. Prior to the sale, the company was well rated by reviewers including BBB. Now, they have an “F” rating from BBB and numerous complaints posted online. Do I have any recourse if the company refuses to perform, or to even respond to my inquiries? The company is based in one stae and I live inanother. The premium was paid through escrow at the time of real estate closing.
Asked on August 21, 2012 under General Practice, North Carolina
Answers:
S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
You can sue the company for breach of contract for its failure to comply with the terms of the warranty. Your damages (the amount of compensation you are seeking in your lawsuit) would be costs you incur due to the failure of the company to comply with the terms of the warranty.
A lawsuit can be filed in the state where the plaintiff resides (you are the plaintiff) or in the state where the defendant (warranty company) is located or in the state where the claim arose.
For convenience purposes, such as filing documents with the court and court appearances, it would be advisable to file your lawsuit for breach of contract in your state. You can have a process server in or near the city where the warranty company is located serve the defendant with your summons and complaint (the complaint is the lawsuit attached to the summons). You can find process servers in the Yellow Pages or online listed under attorney services.
Since the warranty company is doing business in your state, it may have an agent for service of process located in your state, who can be served with your summons and complaint. Your state's office of the Secretary of State may have information on the company's agent for service of process.
If that information isn't available, you can have your summons and complaint served on the company by a process server in its state as previously mentioned.
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