Debbie Downer
New Member
- Jurisdiction
- Michigan
Hello, I'm not sure if I'm supposed to do a friendly introduction or something. I'm struggling with friendly today. I apologize. My head is spinning. I hope that no one will mind if I just dive right in. I'll try to explain as thoroughly as I can.
When our realtor wrote the offer for submission to the seller when we bought our current home, he suggested that we remove the home warranty provision. He offered to pay for the home warranty from his commission on the sale. After closing, he registered the warranty and gave us a contract number, but he never paid for it.
I learned this just a few days ago, when I called the warranty company to try to repair or replace our existing washing machine. It had malfunctioned on April 1st, flooding our entire basement. But our homeowners insurance coverage does not include repair or replacement for the actual source of the damage.
I contacted my realtor immediately to tell him what I had just found out. He said that it "slipped his mind" to follow up and pay. Incidentally, I had just a few days prior requested some information from him regarding how to file this warranty claim He insisted at that time that he would make a few calls on our behalf, to "help me out." The next day, he tried to tell me that I'd be better off trying to make my homeowner's policy pay.
He is now offering to compensate us for the price of the warranty. He did offer us a second option of adding the warranty at this time, saying that we could still make our claim... but we can't make a claim for 30 days. And my guess is that if we file a claim for something that we knew was not working properly before the warranty was registered, we will have likely committed fraud. When I expressed this concern, he told me that I just shouldn't tell them that I knew it was already broken. No.
We want to accept his offer to reimburse the value of the warranty, because that seems like the easiest solution. Our lives have already been turned upside down by this flood. The contents of our basement are everywhere, and the out-of-pocket expenses are getting out of hand. We've been knee-deep in red tape for weeks already, and we just want our normal lives back.
But we also don't want to accept his offer out of convenience in a moment of stress. Everyone is telling us that we should be expecting him to make us whole with regards to the claim that we would have filed if not for his negligent error, but I don't know if that's correct. I don't know what we are entitled to in this situation.
So my question is, should we accept his offer, or should we pursue this further? Should I be going above his head? I don't know how to proceed. I don't want to profit from someone's mistake, I don't want to be demanding, and I'm not trying to punish him, but we were really thankful for that warranty once we realized how much this flood damage has set us back in terms of loss. And now, out of nowhere, things are just so much worse.
Any insight or advice on this matter would be very much appreciated. Thank you!
When our realtor wrote the offer for submission to the seller when we bought our current home, he suggested that we remove the home warranty provision. He offered to pay for the home warranty from his commission on the sale. After closing, he registered the warranty and gave us a contract number, but he never paid for it.
I learned this just a few days ago, when I called the warranty company to try to repair or replace our existing washing machine. It had malfunctioned on April 1st, flooding our entire basement. But our homeowners insurance coverage does not include repair or replacement for the actual source of the damage.
I contacted my realtor immediately to tell him what I had just found out. He said that it "slipped his mind" to follow up and pay. Incidentally, I had just a few days prior requested some information from him regarding how to file this warranty claim He insisted at that time that he would make a few calls on our behalf, to "help me out." The next day, he tried to tell me that I'd be better off trying to make my homeowner's policy pay.
He is now offering to compensate us for the price of the warranty. He did offer us a second option of adding the warranty at this time, saying that we could still make our claim... but we can't make a claim for 30 days. And my guess is that if we file a claim for something that we knew was not working properly before the warranty was registered, we will have likely committed fraud. When I expressed this concern, he told me that I just shouldn't tell them that I knew it was already broken. No.
We want to accept his offer to reimburse the value of the warranty, because that seems like the easiest solution. Our lives have already been turned upside down by this flood. The contents of our basement are everywhere, and the out-of-pocket expenses are getting out of hand. We've been knee-deep in red tape for weeks already, and we just want our normal lives back.
But we also don't want to accept his offer out of convenience in a moment of stress. Everyone is telling us that we should be expecting him to make us whole with regards to the claim that we would have filed if not for his negligent error, but I don't know if that's correct. I don't know what we are entitled to in this situation.
So my question is, should we accept his offer, or should we pursue this further? Should I be going above his head? I don't know how to proceed. I don't want to profit from someone's mistake, I don't want to be demanding, and I'm not trying to punish him, but we were really thankful for that warranty once we realized how much this flood damage has set us back in terms of loss. And now, out of nowhere, things are just so much worse.
Any insight or advice on this matter would be very much appreciated. Thank you!
