MEBANE, N.C. — Patricia Hook spent a good chunk of her life not knowing anything about the city she now calls home. The city is about 30 miles east of Greensboro and is named after a former Brigadier General.
“My son called and was like mom, move to Mebane, I was like where,” Hook said.
The call didn’t last that long but the move did, Hook has been in Mebane for more than a dozen years. She bought a house and has started to enjoy all that North Carolina has to offer.
The house she purchased was built a long time ago and has needed some repair work done since she bought it. Hook figured the old home may need a little TLC, so she bought a home warranty to help cover the cost of any expensive repairs.
On one Summer day, that warranty was put to the test. The AC unit didn’t seem to be cooling the home like it should. Hook called the warranty company and had a technician sent out to investigate.
“They said it needed a compressor and that took a while,” Hook said.
The work was eventually completed, but the system was still not working perfectly. Hook again called the company, and a technician was again sent out.
While a lot of the repairs were covered Hook did have to pay a deductible and trip fee. This wasn’t a big deal until the techs couldn’t get the problem solved right away and had to come back out often to inspect the unit.
“Then it was like, oh there’s a coil, oh there’s a valve and this is more trips,” Hook said.
Eventually, she was told she’d have to pay several hundred dollars for coolant that wasn’t covered and when that didn’t work, she would have to pay for additional parts and labor. Hook complained she should not be responsible for the cost of replacing parts that were just replaced or for trip fees because the problem is still unresolved.
“For like 15 minutes I was told you are responsible for out pocket costs, I was like I just paid, she kept saying you are responsible out pocket (costs),” Hook said.
Not wanting or feeling she should have to pay anything else Hook called WFMY News 2. We quickly contacted the warranty company to better understand why it was charging Hook for trip previously replaced parts and multiple trip fees.
A representative agreed to investigate the issue and get back to us and Hook. A short time later Hook received a call from the warranty company and was told she didn’t have to pay another penny. The system was fixed a few days later.
“Thank you, thank you, apparently you have clout, which I do not,” Hook said.
As for the home warranty, Hook decided she would not be renewing the policy.