Better Business Bureau warns against out of state letter

Published: Nov. 14, 2011 at 10:09 PM CST|Updated: Dec. 12, 2011 at 6:31 PM CST
Email This Link
Share on Pinterest
Share on LinkedIn

The Better Business Bureau is issuing a warning about a company that sells insurance for plumbing.

They've been slammed with calls from customers and utility companies receiving out-of-state letters from a company.

The Better Business Bureau said they have been getting calls from the public wanting to know if Homeserve USA,which sells insurance coverage for burst pipes, broken boilers and drains is a legitimate business.

"What we are concerned about there has been several letters to our area, this is the 3rd round this year, notifying consumers to purchase an insurance policy/warranty on water line that goes from the outside of the house," said Michele Mason with the BBB.

Mason said Homeserve is not associated with any local utility company. If you read the fine print from the letter, she said it should alert you to problems immediately.

"The first two we see on the list are things we expect to be most common causes of problems acts of God or frozen pipes. Neither are covered,' said Mason.

Huntsville resident Camille Solley got one of the letters in the mail.

"It was a little suspect you don't know who its from plain white envelope no address. I had to check it out. They want to debit your accounts that's suspect. You don't know who it is until you read through the whole thing," said Solley.

Mason ran Homeserve through the BBB's database.

In the last three years, they've had more than 100 customer complaints. And the contract issuer Homeserve works with called warranty corporation? They've had 494 complaints filed, 38 of those considered serious.

Their grade from the BBB, a C-.

Mason warns consumers to check with their insurance provider or a plumber. And beware of companies who ask for your banking information first.

WAFF 48 contacted Homeserve-USA. We were told by a customer service agent that there is no media spokesperson available to handle our questions.

They did take down our contact information and assured us that Homeserve would call with a comment.

That phone call has not since been returned.

Copyright 2011 WAFF. All rights reserved.