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 11 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. 

 


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

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