A/C Repairmen Blow Home Warranty Companies

So I don't know who, if anyone, is reading this, but I have a rant. I live in North Texas, and currently it is a scorching 99 degrees friggin' Fahrenheit. And I have no air conditioning. Now that you've picked yourself up off the floor, let me give you a little backstory.

I bought a townhouse from one of my oldest friend's fiance just before they got married last year. I have never owned before, and I decided it was perfect for me and the pups. Three bedrooms (one is so small I use it as an office though), 2 1/2 baths, two-car garage, nice little fenced backyard. Perfect, right? So, I didn't move in last summer until the very end of July, as I was in-route on my move back here from Los Angeles. So the A/C worked through August and September, and by October it was cool enough to open windows. Now for those of you who live in places where there are true and distinct seasons, let me give you a little info on the Lone Star state. We basically have fall, tornado season, and summer. Every once and awhile it will ice over but nothing like the winters I experienced living on the East Coast. Plus, it's pretty friggin' humid as well. Now, I was raised here. I'm a native Texan, but I'd been away from her for nearly 7 years, with the most recent 4 years in California (read: dry heat, mild winters, a beach near my backyard). But I digress (sorry). So anyway, my central A/C was fine throughout the two months I had to use it. No need for turning on the heat because I have a fireplace if it gets really cold. So enter March '06 and a mini-heatwave. I turn on the A/C, but it doesn't feel so cool. So, I call my home warranty company (can you say RIP OFF?), and they send a contractor out. I pay him the $50 service fee, and he tells me I have a dirty evaporator coil and blower that need to be cleaned...oh, and replace my filter too. Roughly 3 months and $800 later, my A/C unit still leaks (my whole master bedroom closet ceiling has since collapsed due to water damage) and the warranty company refuses to honor their contract and pay to replace it. The A/C repair company says they'll cut me a deal for a new system up to government specs for the bargain price of $2200 (I think I've mentioned in the past that I work in education, so I don't really have that kind of petty cash lying around in any of my Swiss bank accounts and all). Long story short, I have no A/C and no money.

So, the new plan is to purchase a couple of window units (one for my bedroom, one for downstairs in living room) and deal with the two hottest months in TX (July and August) that way. At least I can sleep at night, watch tv without passing out from heat exhaustion, and at least my dogs won't die from heat stroke while I'm gone to work. However, I'm completely pissed that the warranty company has denied my claim because they say the unit has not been serviced properly. For Chrissakes people, I haven't even been here a year and when I knew something was wrong, I paid to have it fixed. Plus, the unit was made and installed back when I had big hair and listened to a Flock of Seagulls. Surely they knew something might break on it when they took my money for this "coverage" So, my real estate agent friend is on their asses, and I at least hope to get back my $350 fee for the warranty service.

The moral of the story here kids: Don't buy a house from a friend, don't trust a home warranty company, and know that a good thing to do in your spare time is learn auto mechanics, plumbing, a/c and heating repair, and become an electrician. If you can do all of that, you have a much lesser possibility of being bent over.

Shit...now I gotta go back to confession.....