When Two Home Systems Fail, Homeowner's Preparations Come in Handy

If Phyllis didn't have her HomeServe plans, the repairs to her freshwater supply line and her sewer service line would have cost her nearly $6,000 over two short months.

Phyllis of Trenton, N.J., believed in being prepared.

“I’d rather pay for (HomeServe repair plans) and not need to use them, than to not have them and have something happen,” she said.

After she received a letter about her responsibility to maintain her water and sewer service lines through her local utility, she decided to enroll in several plans to protect her water and sewer lines, but also her interior plumbing and her interior electric systems and the electrical service line.

“I’ve had HomeServe for many years,” Phyllis said. “I got it right away when I heard about it, and I have my whole home covered.”

It was that smart thinking that saved Phyllis nearly $6,000 as she recently experienced a troubling series of unfortunate events with her plumbing.

“I want to thank HomeServe for everything they’ve done for me.”

“At first, I had a leak in one of the underground pipes, and, a couple days later, the sewer backed up,” Phyllis said.

Phyllis had an incredible run of bad luck with plumbing, including a freshwater leak under the slab foundation of her home and the sewer line connecting her home to the utility broke. Before this, she called on HomeServe two years before to address slow drain issues resolved with little fuss. However, the failure of the freshwater supply line and her sewer line was a one-two punch this spring that would have left her reeling financially if she hadn’t had the foresight to enroll in HomeServe plans.

After spotting some water in her yard, Phyllis called HomeServe’s operations center in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Ultimate Drain Cleaning and Service was dispatched to replace 12 feet of water piping underneath her home.

Then Phyllis started experiencing toilet backups in her home.

“It was a nightmare,” Phyllis said of not being able to use her bathroom and having sewage back up into her home. “I had no toilet or sink or water for a couple of days. Even now, I’m a little bit nervous, but so far, so good.”

Another HomeServe network contractor, Atlantic Highlands Plumbing and Heating Inc., came out to Phyllis’ home and replaced 25 feet of her cast iron sewer line and added an exterior clean out to make it easier for plumbers to access the line in the future.

“I want to thank HomeServe for everything they’ve done for me,” Phyllis said.