Evangeline G. of Yonkers noticed many of her neighbors were experiencing water line breaks, especially during the winter months, and began worrying about the line servicing her home.
“[The contractors] told us to get this [warranty] because all these lines were breaking,” she said.
Evangeline, a single mother raising two sons, was on a fixed income and didn’t want to be faced with the expense of repairing a water line. She saved for two and a half months until she had $204.76 – the cost of a year-long service line warranty – and sent it off in mid-March. A few days later, her check was cashed, and Evangeline relaxed. She only had to get through the required waiting period and she would be covered.
However, several weeks went by and she still hadn’t received her warranty paperwork, so Evangeline called her home warranty company in April to find out if she would be receiving her new customer packet soon.
Then, in early May, she received a notification from the city she had a leak. Not only did the line break near the main line, but it the line was lead, meaning the entire line would have to be replaced in order to bring it to code. Relieved that she had taken steps to secure a warranty back in March, she contacted her home warranty company.
“They said, ‘we have a record that you called two and a half weeks ago,’” she said. “‘You knew about this.’ I said, ‘no, I was calling about my paperwork.’ They didn’t believe me and they said they wouldn’t cover it.”
Despairing, Evangeline began looking for a plumber – otherwise, the city would be forced to turn off the water to her home to prevent the water leaking beneath the street from causing an issue – and she was still out more than $200.
“I hoped I could find someone who would take $50, $75 a month,” she said. “I thought I would be paying this off for 20 years.”
Evangeline’s sons began researching area plumbing companies and suggested their mother contact O’Grady Plumbing, operated by Josephine O’Grady.
“When I called, I was upset, crying, ‘please, can you help me?’” she said.
In addition to being based in Yonkers, O’Grady Plumbing is a HomeServe USA network contractor, and Josephine thought Evangeline might qualify for HomeServe Cares, a program that helps disadvantaged residents without a repair plan by providing free, emergency plumbing repairs to those who qualify.
“So we got a call from Evangeline, and she had a notice from the city that they were going to turn off her water,” Josephine said. “She was pretty upset. It was expensive, and her [warranty] wouldn’t cover it. I told her we would work with her.”
Josephine assured Evangeline they would figure out a fix for her, then contacted her HomeServe Regional Operations Manager, Mary Michell.
“O’Grady Plumbing contacted us to see if we could cover the cost through the [HomeServe Cares] program,” Michell said. “Evangeline qualified, so we made arrangements to replace the lead line from the main, across the street, to the house.”
When Michell contacted Evangeline, she was shopping.
“I was at the dollar store when she called, and when she said they would do the job, I started crying in the middle of the store,” she said. “People were asking me if I was okay, but they were tears of happiness.”
HomeServe dispatched O’Grady Plumbing to replace the entire line at no cost to Evangeline.
“I’m blessed to have this,” Evangeline said. “Thank you so much.”
HomeServe is committed to serving its partners’ communities. To this end, HomeServe Cares is a program to aid disadvantaged homeowners in communities it serves who are faced with a service emergency and don’t have a service plan or the funds to cover an emergency repair. HomeServe Cares leverages the company’s existing service infrastructure and financial resources to aid homeowners in need.
To find out how a partnership with HomeServe can benefit your customers, contact us.