Troubleshooter: No heat | ABC11 Raleigh-Durham | abc11.com

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By ABC11

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Kelly Curtis says she has a home warranty, so when her heat went out in the beginning of December, she says she didn't think much of it and called up her warranty company First American.

"Ok, we'll cover it and we'll send someone out," she said.

First American then sent out a contractor to her house.

"He took a look at it and said the air handler was bad and he would order the part and get back to me within a few days," Curtis said.

But she says it took more than a few days, because there was difficulty getting the right part.

The part did come in the end of December and Curtis says the contractor said he'd put it in.

"He said … I'll be out this day to put it in, never showed up," Curtis said, "I called him again, because he never called to say why."

Curtis says the contractor was supposed to come Jan. 3, but never showed up.

"He called again and said be here last Friday and he never showed up," she said. "It's horribly frustrating and it's cold. Friday night I called home warranty company back and said nothing they could do with me and I have to keep calling the contractor myself."

Still bundled up fighting the cold, that's when she decided to call the ABC11 Eyewitness News I-Team Troubleshooter Diane Wilson.

"You called me Monday morning and by Monday afternoon the whole warranty company was calling me wanted to resolve it," Curtis said.

Curtis called a heating and air company on her own to come out and fix it, costing more than $2,000 - fix, First American agreed to cover in full.

"They said they were going to send me a check for $2,100," Curtis said. "I'm just so thankful that you guys helped me and that I'm going to come home tomorrow and have heat."

Following the incident, a representative with First American Home Buyers Protection released a statement to ABC11.

"First American Home Buyers Protection is committed to providing our customers with valuable protection and excellent service across the nation. With more than 400,000 home warranty contracts in force, the company serves 35 states through a network of more than 7,000 certified contractors. We work to respond quickly to all claims, and we are sorry that there was any delay on the part of the local contractor or obtaining the necessary parts. We are glad that our customer's system has been restored and that they are satisfied."