I would give zero stars if it were an option. 1 star because they did come out the next day. A recent experience. We had a slow leak here and there at the base of one of our toilets. Other than that, no issues, until a few days ago when we noticed a sewer gas odor, that resolved itself in less than a day. Nonetheless, we called American Home Shield, assuming that we needed to put a new ring and didn't want to deal with the hassle & mess ourselves.
Just Plumbing was the company that they dispatched to come and resolve this for us, Matt was the tech. The gentleman advised when he removed the toilet, there was no 'flange'. In older houses he said this was common. The option that we had, which MAY not be covered by American Home Shield since it would be considered a 'new part' and not a 'replacement part', was to put a new flange in, and he would need to jackhammer into our tile etc...all for a total cost of just over $2K. As luck would have it, as he predicted, after his call to AHS, they do NOT cover that repair, so I would be responsible for all of it. A second option that was provided was to install a repair flange and bolt toilet to the ground for almost $500. This was provided only after I challenged the $2K option.
We decided against both options, and asked the gentleman to replace the toilet as it was and we will look into this a bit more as these options didn't feel right. I'm not sure who falls for this? He initially agreed, then advised as he was walking out the door, that he CAN'T re-install the toilet back to it's working condition, because since there is a missing part (the 'flange' that was never there) they would be liable. In fact, he wrote this on the paperwork AFTER I had already signed off on it. So he left us with a completely non-working toilet. Luckily for us, it was not an 'emergency' type situation.
I then went to my 'Nextdoor' neighborhood app for some opinions. I heard from plumbers who all said that $2,000 was excessive, $500 maybe, as you are paying for the labor and the convenience of having someone else do the work, but still high. I also was advised that there's no way that my toilet could have never had a 'flange', but that they do rot out over time, which is likely, since the house was built in the 60's. This was not explained, and that seems like a very tricky way for AHS to get out of paying for a part that was supposedly never there, and a tricky way for Just Plumbing Services to make a few extra bucks. Our toilet worked almost perfectly for almost 20 years, with or without this 'flange'. All neighbors said this work could be done for under $50.
Needless to say, since we are handy, and based on several recommendations from my amazing neighbors, we installed a new flange for under $50, within 15 minutes.
The feeling on this is that Just Plumbing and AHS were looking to take advantage of a female who they deemed uneducated to know the difference, who may be able to afford these options. A judgement was made based on my potential ability to pay. If this is how they conduct business, then how many others do they prey on in this way who really don't know the difference and who have paid these ridiculous 'fake' costs and have had unnecessary work done, which would have been the case in the $2K option that was provided as my initial option. The second $500 option only came once I balked at the $2K option.
I don't necessarily blame the tech who was dispatched to us, after reading the reviews for this company, it appears that the company itself is unethical and does bad business, which flows down to it's employees.
Buyer (or Home Warranty Owner) Beware.
Also, the AHS doesn't get out of this either - every time we have had any type of issue, with the exception of an air conditioning unit (which they covered, but we were without AC for 10 days during JULY), there is always SOMETHING that prevents them from covering it, or covering it completely. Funny, they are calling us now to get the $2K or $500 work scheduled and completed.