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When American Home Shield customer service fails

How to Make the American Home Shield Corporate Office Listen

A legal option that can get American Home Shield to listen — and get you compensated.

It’s really easy to feel like you are David fighting Goliath especially when a company you’ve done business with doesn’t live up to the promises they’ve made.

This is especially true if they make a mistake that ends up costing you money. Sometimes you rely upon the services they provide which means, even if they make a mistake, if you don’t pay your bill they will cut off your service.

Phone calls with employees who don’t have any power end up wasting your time. Email complaints seem to go nowhere with next to no evidence that a real person actually read them let alone have the power to give you a decent response. Requests to speak with someone who has any Authority at the corporate office usually take too long if they aren’t ignored.

Worse is when they tell you that they’ll make things right but they simply don’t follow through so you end up having to start the frustrating process all over again.

What can you do other than feel like someone American Home Shield took advantage of?

Use Arbitration to Settle Your Complaint with American Home Shield

Conducting business with large corporations can leave you feeling powerless and frustrated especially when it’s so difficult to get your single voice heard at the corporate level. Most companies include a forced arbitration clause in their contract to prevent you from taking them to court and if you have limited choices for home security, you might be forced to do business with a company that you already know is very difficult to get a hold of when things go wrong and has very low customer service standards.

With arbitration you have the opportunity to get a satisfactory solution for your complaint against American Home Shield without having to sue them. When you request arbitration, an independent individual is appointed to the case, someone who is familiar with the type of situation involved or the mistake that was made. They are someone who is impartial and they look at the facts presented by both sides. After reviewing the facts, it’s the arbitrator that makes a binding decision, not the company.

Arbitration is Fair, Just, Reasonable, and Transparent

Arbitrations handled by the American Arbitration Association® is an option which complies with the Statement of Principles of the Consumer Due Process Protocol, which means:

  • The process needs to be fundamentally fair for everyone involved, yourself included, and that means everyone should have a fair appointment of an impartial, competent, and qualified arbitrator who conducts fair hearings.
  • A reasonable standard is applied, and this means you all get access to all of the pertinent information, they have to schedule a good time for the hearing, pick a good location, and provide it at an affordable cost.
  • The transparency standard means the arbitration agreements have to be clear, easy to understand, and include all the necessary information and provide you and the other party with the ability to hire representation.
  • An alternative to arbitration, which takes the form of small claims court and, in some cases, mediation, has to be available to you, if you choose it.
  • The process should be just, fair, and allow the arbitrator to award you the same outcome you could get in the courtroom, an award which is a legally binding decision.

Arbitration Gives You Leverage Against American Home Shield

Once you notify American Home Shield that you’re pursuing arbitration, they know immediately that they are on the hook for much more money than they were prepared for. Firstly, they know that they might lose the case and they might have to pay for what you’re asking. Secondly, they’re going to have to pay for the additional cost of an arbitration process. Once they realize that at the corporate level they are usually more willing to listen to reasonable demands.

However, if they are still unwilling, you still have reasonable, transparent, and fair hearing options without having to spend any money. Our FairShake process will help you file for arbitration. It won’t cost you anything unless you win.

Leverage Leads to Faster Settlements with American Home Shield

Doing this takes away any advantage that the company previously had. Instead of the big bad company being in control, you and the company are on neutral ground, equal footing with a third-party arbitrator calling the shots.

This leverage has to be used in your favor by first formally raising your complaint with the corporate office. At FairShake we help you do this. We send a demand letter to the corporate office to start the process of resolving your case before you file arbitration.

This letter starts the clock on how long they have to resolve your case before you file arbitration. Usually they have 30 days but this is based on the fine print in your contract with the company.

In about half of cases, you will receive an acceptable settlement offer from the company headquarters during this time and then your issue gets solved as simply as that. But if they don’t make a reasonable settlement during that time frame, the next step is for you to file your case with the American Arbitration Association. FairShake will put together all the official arbitration paperwork for you and guide you through the next steps.

Do I need an attorney?

If your case against American Home Shield goes to arbitration, you can choose to have an attorney with you or not. There are different situations where having an attorney would prove beneficial for you. If, for example, your case is something very complicated, something that involves a breach of contract or federal violation of no robocalls, it might be better for you to have an attorney who can help you maximize the potential value of your claim.

However, there are lots of common complaints against this company and many others that fall under specific laws. If your issue falls under these specific laws it’s much easier for you to get a higher level of compensation without additional legal help.

In legal terms, if you don’t have an attorney with you that means you are bringing your claim “pro se”. If you decide that you want to go forward without an attorney, check out some information from The American Arbitration Association’s Pro Se Case Administration Team.

What can I do next?

Start by telling us your issue with American Home Shield. With FairShake, we remove the stress and frustration of dealing with a big company. Instead, we help you get a solution.

We have a 100% satisfaction guarantee and if you aren’t completely satisfied with our service, you don’t pay.








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