I said it seems that HWA back Mountain since when the client called they went through to a call center which he said identified itself as HWA…I really don’t know but am hoping to find out. The email came directly from the client and for accuracy I posted it unedited.
Good information; thanks for taking taking the time to post. It helps and yes I am working with the client and I have a resolution which helps.
Thanks again
This is interesting stuff. I am surprised that Ben hasn’t weighed in to clear stuff up or clarify things.
Maybe he skipped town:p:p:p
No lie…I am concerned…where is Ben?
Ooops, I got my companies mixed up. AHW is the company I have always used, not HWA. Now things are making sense. Sorry for the confusion, Mark.
Is Mountain a sub division of HWA?
Like in sub contractor?
This is interesting. I’ve always been on the fence when it comes to home warranties. My decision to date has been not to offer. Has anyone emailed Ben directly?
Ben and I have had our disagreements before, but I do not think that this situation has anything to do with him. In fact, I believe that he is trying to take Mountain in another direction because he knows that warranties can be viewed as something excellent or horrible, depending on the report.
When I hear that a RE agent has “thrown in” a warranty on a sale, I shake my head while I watch the clients eyes open wide, in awe and wonder. Some of these warranties go for around $450.
I then give them a reality check and remind them that defects I find and report on may affect areas of the warrenty. I use water heaters as an example. If the tank is rusted and the unit is 12 years old, I tell them that it may not be something that is covered. I tell them to plan for the worst and hope for the best. Same goes for 30-year old heating systems, AC units, etc
After all, if a warranty covered everything for $450 a year, they should finance 10-years worth of warranty up front ($4500), waive the inspection, and expect no repair bills for the next 10-years.
We all know that it doesnt work that way. So, if you put yourself in the position of an underwriter, you’d likely have the same disclaimers in your policy that the warranty companies do. Now, look at the old Mountan warranty. It was around $15 and covered a 100-day period. If one were to expand it to 365 days, it would cost around $50. Compare that to the AHW package for $450. As anyone can see, there is a BIG difference in price, and likely coverage. There are no free rides. Pricing and coverage is based on hard dollar outlays and statistical analysis, which includes manufacturer data, mantenance records, and luck.
As to Mountain… Ben approached me and asked if it was okay for him to PAY FOR and include a 6-month package for IAS with a Mountain membership.
He’s on the up-and-up, and is trying (I believe) a true value-add approach to this venture. This incident likely has NOTHING to do with him, as I doubt he was on the other end of the phone denying the claim without cause.
My advice is to reach out to Ben directly and ask for clarification.
It appears to me it is a warranty from Ben’s company Joe. I’m not sure why else Mark would state…
I recently started to provide the mountain warranty to my clients and thought it would be seen as a benefit. Here is an email from my client;
or
It was Mountain; which it seems is backed by HWA
It then appears that Mountain is simply a subcontractor of HWA. That’s why all this is interesting. Like you said we’ll just wait to see how Ben responds to this.
Joe, I don’t think anyone feels that Ben isn’t on the up and up, at least I don’t feel that way at all. Ben usually weighs in when one of his products or services are discussed. I find it odd that he hasn’t.
If HWA is handling the claims now, it might take a while until Ben gets a straight answer from them. You know how insurance companies are.
I’ve offered the 90 day warranty with AHW for 7 years and another group for 5 years before that. I got no complaints with them. In fact in some cases they’ve been more lenient than I would have been.
Remember - As with ANY type of insurance, NOT every condition is gonna be covered. When youse guys start ACTING like they should be, you’re starting to sound like the realestators. **** happens / get used to it.
Well if we have to get “ahold of Ben” top get things to happen then what is the use of his people? Unless it DENY DENY DENY…and then if they complain, the squeaky wheel gets the grease.
How can Ben do this? Easy, I have sent him over $2000 and he has paid out well nothing yet, but hopefully he will reimburse me the $280 is dollars for the refrigerator thermostat. Seems like easy money to me! Just wonder where he is and why he is not piping in…
I heard he now resides Mexico.:shock:
Russel,
You inspect refrigerator thermostats?
Nope…but the refrigerator stopped working. It worked at the time of the inspection and I have proof (picture), but it stopped working a few months later. Hence the WARRANTY…
The problem is that it is not a warranty. If it were then you would be breaking the law by providing a product from a company that is not approved by the state.
This is how I understand it as far as Florida is concerned.
The state classified a warranty as insurance. The companies offering them have to follow the same rules as companies like state farm and allstate. The state wanted a mid six figure deposit to hold as security from any company wanting to offer home warranties.
The state served the other company offering this product with a cease and desist order last year. The company honored the order and stopped offering their product to Florida Inspectors. I believe that is why changes have been made to the mountain program. Now it is not legally considered a warranty, even through most people think that is what it is.
Please correct me if any of my understandings are wrong.
Ben sent me this message
from Ben Gromicko / Mountain <ben@mountain-association.org>
to Mark Elliott <mark.elliott@yellowhatinspections.com>
date Mon, May 24, 2010 at 1:40 PM
subject Re: Urgent; I’m confused
mailed-by reports-inc.com
hide details 1:40 PM (9 hours ago)
Mark,
Left a message with your company a few moments ago.
We no longer use the term warranty - to provide a layer of protection
for our inspectors, who are not warranty companies themselves nor
allowed to transfer warranties to clients. We took the benefits of of
a home warranty and changed it to a membership benefit of our
inspector association. Tell your clients that each one of your
inspections has a 100-day inspection coverage from my association.
To make a long story short people Ben no longer sells warranties for $17. He sells a promise instead. Unlike the warranty there are many responsibilities you have under his new program you must comply to before he makes good on his promise. Read below.
**What is the 100-Day Inspection Support Coverage Promise? **
If the Inspector promises to follow and make use of all of MISA’s customer-service courses, education and training, arbitration, consultation, and documentation, Inspector will significantly reduce customer complaints and demands for refunds. If Inspector promises to do all that, Inspector should not have to pay their client any refund or any out-of-pocket expenses. If they do, MISA will reimburse the inspector (limitations apply). That’s the Promise.