A company approved for warranty business involving the City of Emporia will pay money to Kansas state government and to consumers in the state for alleged violations of the Kansas Consumer Protection Act.
As part of a consent judgment involving the company, Kansas Attorney General’s Office and Sedgwick County Attorney’s Office, HomeServe will pay out $850,000 total, with $500,000 to the state for Consumer Protection Act violations and the remainder to consumers for company practices to market home warranty services.
At issue were HomeServe USA and HomeServe Repair Management dealings for both interior and exterior electrical home repair plans through an affiliation with Evergy Central Kansas and its prior company name, Westar, from September 2014-December 2019. The Kansas Attorney General and Sedgwick County Attorney’s Office started a joint investigation into claims HomeServe offered repair plans that “failed to provide a material benefit” to customers and “made material misrepresentations.”
HomeServe does not admit to state allegations as part of this agreement.
This past May, Emporia had agreed to a service line warranty program through HomeServe, where homeowners would pay a small monthly fee and receive up to $8,500 in water or sewer line repairs and up to $3,000 worth of indoor plumbing repairs as part of the agreement.
When the agreement was finalized, the city said it would not provide funds to the program or receive proceeds from it. City Manager Trey Cocking says the program has been on hold and has not moved forward because of the legal issues addressed in the consent judgment announced Friday. The future of Emporia’s partnership with HomeServe is uncertain.
