My new house came pre-installed with a water heater provided by Allianze. While the monthly price was a little high, we accepted it on the grounds it was energy efficient and high tech. The rental unit itself has been just okay. There have been two service calls in 3 years, which were handled reasonably well. However, here is where the warning comes in. Without knowing it, Reliance placed a lien on my house. This was done without my knowledge. Why should this matter? Well, banking institutions treat your mortgage differently when there is a lien. You cannot re-finance. You cannot get secured lines of credit. Etc. I suspect selling the home will also be a problem with a lien on it. I contacted Allianze when I first discovered the lien, and asked them to remove it. They would not, saying that the only way they would remove it is if I bought the equipment, or the contract ended. I inquired about the buy out price, and it was 2-3x the current cost of a new heater. When I asked why it was so high, it was because they needed "recoup all of the profit they would have made during the rental agreement". I pushed the fellow to perhaps see if he could lower the pay out (as my wife and I had just learned we were both going to be out of work for a while) to which after a while, he came back on the phone to state ADDITIONAL fees to release the lien. I am effectively a hostage of this company and they do no care, as long as they milk every penny out of me. My house is worth over $500k, and I cannot touch my mortgage because of a $2k water heater.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $50.00