AEP Kentucky Customer Assisted by HomeServe Customer First Program

When Mary Lynn and her husband purchased their rural Kentucky home more than 40 years ago, she was confident that he could handle any home repairs that came their way.

However, once she lost her high school sweetheart and husband of nearly 50 years, she started to worry about potential home repairs.

“My husband always took care of everything,” she said. “It didn’t matter what it was, he took care of it some way and somehow. After he passed, I knew that I had no one to depend on to do things around the house. We’ve been here all these years [40-plus years], and things might go wrong.”

So, when Mary Lynn received a notice from AEP Kentucky early in 2021 about emergency home repair plans available through HomeServe, she signed up. Her family didn’t have the money or expertise to address a repair and these plans would protect them from misfortune.

Mary Lynn had health problems and her daughter and son-in-law lived with her so Mary Lynn could help her daughter, who also had several serious health issues, with errands and doctor’s visits, while her son-in-law was at work.

Despite their struggles with health issues, Mary Lynn remained grateful to have her daughter with her and found comfort in her faith and church community. She also prided herself on being someone who paid her bills in a timely manner.

“I don’t have money for anything extra, and I pay what I owe,” she said. “Some months, I don’t have money for food.”

Then Mary Lynn noticed a strange depression in her yard.

“There was a sinkhole in the yard, and I got to worrying about it,” she said. “The next thing I know, it was bigger. Then came a lot of rain and it kept getting bigger and I didn’t know what it was. It started to smell back there, and the neighbors were complaining about the smell. It got that I didn’t want to go outside the house, because I could smell it and hear them talking about it.”

Even worse, Mary Lynn and her family only had partial use of her in-home facilities, worrying about draining water or flushing the toilet.

Mary Lynn had a septic line policy, so she contacted HomeServe for help and Younce’s Septic Service was dispatched to determine what issue was causing her problems. Then came worse news: the septic line wasn’t the problem. Her septic tank had completely collapsed and wasn’t covered by her homeowner’s insurance. The cost to replace it would be $2,975 – far more than Mary Lynn could afford on her fixed income.

Fortunately, Mary Lynn was a HomeServe customer, and, despite her repair not being covered under her policy, HomeServe’s Customer First program provided a lifeline. The program enables additional repairs outside of the scope of coverage. Younce’s Septic Service returned to Mary Lynn’s home and replaced the septic tank at no cost to her, relieving her of stress and worry.

“I don’t know what I would have done if it wasn’t for your company and my electric company,” she said. “I will never forget how kind you all were to me, and I will never forget what you did for me as long as I live. God provided.”