ORLANDO, Fla — A local veteran thought buying a home warranty was a good idea.
“I figured, you know, since this is an older house, things are gonna go wrong,” said Patrick Joynt.
But he claims when something major went wrong with his water lines, the company left him high and dry.
When Joynt bought the home in 2023, he and the seller split the cost for two years of coverage from Choice Home Warranty. Choice Home Warranty is a company Action 9 has investigated before.
The company has a lot of complaints online about denied claims, but it’s worth noting Joynt filed two other claims that were covered by Choice Home Warranty. His third claim was the biggest issue, and it was denied.
Joynt knew the home be bought in Ocala was an older home.
He said, “Oh yeah. I mean, it’s this house is built. It’s like, it’s pushing 70.”
That’s why he signed on with Choice Home Warranty and even paid extra for what’s called the Choice Ultimate plan.
He explained, “I didn’t see any limitations, like, if it’s this, if it’s this type of refrigerator, or anything like that, or nothing, because I had the whole house covered.”
Joynt showed the Action 9 team when you click on the website for that plan it reveals a long list of things that are covered.
So when his water slowed to a drip in his house, he knew there was a problem, but he assumed it would be covered.
The first person Choice Home Warranty sent out to his home couldn’t find the problem and according to Joynt, the company told him to get someone else to look at it. So he did.
“He walked up. He said, ‘Where’s your water?’ ‘Right there.’ And he’s like, “Oh there. Here’s the leak right there.’”
The second company fixed the problem by replacing the main water service line and re-piped the home. It led to a bill of around $10,000 which Joynt relayed to Choice Home Warranty.
“I said, ‘You know, these were galvanized steel. They weren’t going to break or weren’t going to hold.’ And the lady said, ‘Oh, we don’t cover galvanized steel,’” Joynt said, recalling the conversation.
Looking at the fine print of his contract there are exclusions and limitations on coverage, but the Action 9 team didn’t see any specific reference to galvanized steel pipes.
The company has a “B” rating with the Better Business Bureau but has more than 11,000 complaints over the past three years.
The Arizona attorney general’s office sued Choice Home Warranty in 2019, accusing the company of consumer fraud with allegations of deceptive and unfair advertising. It claimed the company used contract exclusions, payment caps and bad-faith refusals to avoid paying for repairs. That case is set to go to trial next year.
Meanwhile, Joynt feels like he’s in a battle of his own and is hoping Choice Home Warranty will reconsider its decision.
He said, “They offered me $100”
It’s important to always do your homework and try to learn as much as you can about the company and what’s covered before signing on with any home warranty company. In this case, Action 9 reached out to ask Choice Home Warranty about this claim and all the online complaints. So far, the company hasn’t responded.
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