Home Depot Warranty not honored

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ahmadcpa
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Home Depot Warranty not honored

Post by ahmadcpa »

Hello...anyone have experience with a situation like this? We bought a GE Side By Side Refrigerator from Home Depot back in April 2010. We paid for an extended warranty that goes through April 2015. The ice-maker keeps leaking water. Though not significant, the leak fills up the tray underneath it to a point where it overflows on the stainless steel door. The door now has permanent water stains and the icemaker continues to leak water. We called Home Depot and they serviced it six times by sending different service contractors.

Fed up by having to take half day off here and there, I asked Home Depot to replace the fridge. They refuse to do it. This was by just calling their standard 800 number. The hardly english speaking representative states that this normal tear and wear and therefore not covered by warranty (baloney)

I assume insurers which include Home Depot must be regulated in a manner where consumers would not have to resort to court action. Any insight would be appreciated!
dolphinsaremammals
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Re: Home Depot Warranty not honored

Post by dolphinsaremammals »

I bought a bathroom sink faucet from Home Depot a few years ago, and the finish started coming off. It took months of their saying it was the manufacturer's problem and cycling around before I got a refund. Not buying from them in the future. I go to Lowe's now.
LifeIsGood
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Re: Home Depot Warranty not honored

Post by LifeIsGood »

The only luck I had with a problem involving Home Depot required filing a complain with the BBB. That finally got their attention.
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XtremeSki2001
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Re: Home Depot Warranty not honored

Post by XtremeSki2001 »

We have a problem with our refrigerator we bought from Lowes and they replace it if it can't be fixed after three repair attempts.

I suggest going into the store where you bought it and get them to assist you. Involve the GM if needed.
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Green Nut
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Re: Home Depot Warranty not honored

Post by Green Nut »

I know it kills the reason why you bought the warranty, but just buy an $89 replacement ice maker and a bottle of Bar Keeper's Friend and be done. Then never step foot in HD again.
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deanbrew
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Re: Home Depot Warranty not honored

Post by deanbrew »

XtremeSki2001 wrote:I suggest going into the store where you bought it and get them to assist you. Involve the GM if needed.
Try this. The retailer makes a lot of money on these warranties, and should be willing to help. Remember that the warranty does not come from HD, rather they sell a warranty provided by another party. It's no wonder the warranty company doesn't want to cough up money for a new fridge. The retailer, however, wants to keep customers happy and have these warranty issues handled in a way that makes HD look good. I'd go talk to the store manager.
Last edited by deanbrew on Thu Oct 16, 2014 8:14 am, edited 1 time in total.
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john94549
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Re: Home Depot Warranty not honored

Post by john94549 »

Check the extended warranty. While purchased at HD, it might be through a third-party. There might well be a different "800" number to call under the extended warranty.
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wilpat
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Re: Home Depot Warranty not honored

Post by wilpat »

Go to the store where you bought it and talk to the store manager. Do not let him/her just tell you to talk to the warranty company. Insist that they follow up on it for you -- in the Home Depot where I worked, in a part time retirement job, the manager would carry this to the highest level possible. Getting a problem like this fixed is the highest priority for Home Depot management.
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Alan S.
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Re: Home Depot Warranty not honored

Post by Alan S. »

I never buy extended warranties. Retailers often make more on the warranty than they do on the sale of the product. Over the long run you will save plenty of money buying products with a reputation for quality and self insuring the repairs if you cannot get it fixed under the mfg warranty that was included in the price.
investor
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Re: Home Depot Warranty not honored

Post by investor »

Alan S. wrote:I never buy extended warranties. Retailers often make more on the warranty than they do on the sale of the product. Over the long run you will save plenty of money buying products with a reputation for quality and self insuring the repairs if you cannot get it fixed under the mfg warranty that was included in the price.

+1
augustine
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Re: Home Depot Warranty not honored

Post by augustine »

I had a completely different experience. I purchased a GE Side By Side Refrigerator from Home Depot about 7 years ago. I got the extended warranty. I don't usually buy them either, but I think this one was around $100 or less for 5 years. After a couple years the ice maker went out. I called the company that did the extended warranty, and they sent out a GE certified tech who replaced the ice maker. Couple years later the water line on the front of the unit would not put out any water. Turned out the water line to the front of the unit was freezing up. GE had a modification for this, and again it was fixed free of charge. Crummy frig, I guess, to have these problems, but I guess I was lucky to get them fixed free of charge.
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Re: Home Depot Warranty not honored

Post by LadyGeek »

This thread is now in the Personal Consumer Issues forum (Home Despot).
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GerryL
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Re: Home Depot Warranty not honored

Post by GerryL »

Alan S. wrote:I never buy extended warranties. Retailers often make more on the warranty than they do on the sale of the product. Over the long run you will save plenty of money buying products with a reputation for quality and self insuring the repairs if you cannot get it fixed under the mfg warranty that was included in the price.
When my salesman starts delivering the usual extended warranty pitch, I often come back with a comment along the lines of: If I thought this was a poorly made product I wouldn't be buying it. Are you telling me that I should be worried about the quality of this brand?
poker27
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Re: Home Depot Warranty not honored

Post by poker27 »

ahmadcpa wrote:Hello...anyone have experience with a situation like this? We bought a GE Side By Side Refrigerator from Home Depot back in April 2010. We paid for an extended warranty that goes through April 2015. The ice-maker keeps leaking water. Though not significant, the leak fills up the tray underneath it to a point where it overflows on the stainless steel door. The door now has permanent water stains and the icemaker continues to leak water. We called Home Depot and they serviced it six times by sending different service contractors.

Fed up by having to take half day off here and there, I asked Home Depot to replace the fridge. They refuse to do it. This was by just calling their standard 800 number. The hardly english speaking representative states that this normal tear and wear and therefore not covered by warranty (baloney)

I assume insurers which include Home Depot must be regulated in a manner where consumers would not have to resort to court action. Any insight would be appreciated!
I'm curious, is the warranty through Home Depot or a 3rd party insurance company? The bulk of the warranties I've seen sold in stores are not warrantied through the actual store.
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Re: Home Depot Warranty not honored

Post by poker27 »

dolphinsaremammals wrote:I bought a bathroom sink faucet from Home Depot a few years ago, and the finish started coming off. It took months of their saying it was the manufacturer's problem and cycling around before I got a refund. Not buying from them in the future. I go to Lowe's now.
That sounds like it is the MFGs problem. The product you purchased comes with a warranty from the MFG, not the retailer. If my Samsung TV breaks after 9months, I'm not going to call Amazon, I will deal with Samsung.
MooseandBear
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Re: Home Depot Warranty not honored

Post by MooseandBear »

Did you buy the fridge or warranty using a credit card? Can you involve the credit card company in the dispute?
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deanbrew
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Re: Home Depot Warranty not honored

Post by deanbrew »

Alan S. wrote:I never buy extended warranties. Retailers often make more on the warranty than they do on the sale of the product. Over the long run you will save plenty of money buying products with a reputation for quality and self insuring the repairs if you cannot get it fixed under the mfg warranty that was included in the price.
While I agree in a general sense, I bought an extended warranty for a GE hybrid water heater a few years back, and it paid off. The extended warranty added 9 years for about $100, which seemed like a reasonable price on a $1600 appliance. The warranty ended up covering a $700 repair in year 3 and a full replacement in year 6. Given the complexity of modern appliances, an extended warranty can be a good deal, depending on the cost and length.
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john94549
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Re: Home Depot Warranty not honored

Post by john94549 »

Our experience with extended warranties has been a mixed bag. When we re-modeled our kitchen, we purchased an extended warranty which covered all the new appliances, including the Jenn-Air Refrigerator. Several months prior to the expiration of the extended warranty (ironically enough, quite similar to the OP's situation), the refrigerator compressor just died. We called the "800" number for the extended warranty company, they promptly sent a service company out, replaced the compressor, and ran a test. During the test, they noticed a leak in the "sealed system", which, arguably, was still covered by the manufacturer's warranty. That's when the problems began.

The extended warranty folks argued that it was the manufacturer's responsibility as to matters still under manufacturer's warranty, so we contacted Whirlpool (Jenn-Air's manufacturer). They sent someone else out, determined that the repair was impractical, and said we should just replace the refrigerator. But since we'd had close to five years' use, I recall they just offered a modest credit towards a replacement. I declined. So I went back to the extended warranty folks, pointed out that the extended warranty covered repairs (or replacement, if repair was impractical) during the policy period (which we were in), and made no mention of "no coverage" if a particular component was still under manufacturer's warranty.

After two months' wrangling, they finally agreed to replace the refrigerator. I think Whirlpool chipped in part of the cost. You do have to be persistent.

As an aside, we did try to get the retailer involved, but they had already dropped that particular extended warranty company, and really had no leverage.
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munemaker
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Re: Home Depot Warranty not honored

Post by munemaker »

File a complaint with office of consumer protection which is under the state attorney general. In PA, they seem to have a way of getting cooperation on these kinds of things.
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Re: Home Depot Warranty not honored

Post by slapstix »

GerryL wrote:
Alan S. wrote:I never buy extended warranties. Retailers often make more on the warranty than they do on the sale of the product. Over the long run you will save plenty of money buying products with a reputation for quality and self insuring the repairs if you cannot get it fixed under the mfg warranty that was included in the price.
When my salesman starts delivering the usual extended warranty pitch, I often come back with a comment along the lines of: If I thought this was a poorly made product I wouldn't be buying it. Are you telling me that I should be worried about the quality of this brand?
The OP purchased a General Electric. Even the highest quality products can have a defect from time to time.
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Re: Home Depot Warranty not honored

Post by JonnyDVM »

slapstix wrote:
GerryL wrote:
Alan S. wrote:I never buy extended warranties. Retailers often make more on the warranty than they do on the sale of the product. Over the long run you will save plenty of money buying products with a reputation for quality and self insuring the repairs if you cannot get it fixed under the mfg warranty that was included in the price.
When my salesman starts delivering the usual extended warranty pitch, I often come back with a comment along the lines of: If I thought this was a poorly made product I wouldn't be buying it. Are you telling me that I should be worried about the quality of this brand?
The OP purchased a General Electric. Even the highest quality products can have a defect from time to time.
Most high quality products already have a warranty that would protect against a defective part. Put me in the "never" camp for extended warranty purchase. My favorite pitch was RadioShack trying to sell me an extended warranty on a $25 coaxial cable a few years back. Yah man it's going to crush me financially if this things fails three years down the road. :D Anyway, In OPs case, definitely involve the store manager. You probably have been dealing with people that really don't care. The store manager should be willing to make an effort to protect the brand. Your complaint is valid and already has produced negative Internet postings (ie this thread) which as a business is something they should want to try to rectify.
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Re: Home Depot Warranty not honored

Post by frugalfraggle »

investor wrote:
Alan S. wrote:I never buy extended warranties. Retailers often make more on the warranty than they do on the sale of the product. Over the long run you will save plenty of money buying products with a reputation for quality and self insuring the repairs if you cannot get it fixed under the mfg warranty that was included in the price.

+1
+1
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Re: Home Depot Warranty not honored

Post by Ged »

The only time I buy an extended warranty is when it is new technology in an area that has had issues. For example I bought an extended warranty for an early rear projection LED HD TV. Good thing I did because the light engine on that went bad twice during the time I owned it. Cost of a replacement light engine was greater than what I paid for the warranty.

Consumer Reports generally recommends against extended warranties. However they recommended getting one for early RPTVs.

If I was buying an OLED TV right now I might also consider an extended warranty.

For refrigerators I would not. I'd look at putting money into models with a good track record rather into a warranty.
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Re: Home Depot Warranty not honored

Post by Professor Emeritus »

poker27 wrote:
dolphinsaremammals wrote:I bought a bathroom sink faucet from Home Depot a few years ago, and the finish started coming off. It took months of their saying it was the manufacturer's problem and cycling around before I got a refund. Not buying from them in the future. I go to Lowe's now.
That sounds like it is the MFGs problem. The product you purchased comes with a warranty from the MFG, not the retailer. If my Samsung TV breaks after 9months, I'm not going to call Amazon, I will deal with Samsung.
Of course you would be throwing your strongest consumer protection laws into the toilet by letting the seller off the hook. In most states you go after the seller and they go after the manufacturer. You normally have much greater rights against the seller than you do against any manufacturer.

The seller is responsible for both the express and the implied warranties. Plus you have easy jurisdiction over the seller. Why make your life more difficult?
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Re: Home Depot Warranty not honored

Post by lululu »

slapstix wrote:
The OP purchased a General Electric. Even the highest quality products can have a defect from time to time.
Unfortunately, GE is no longer what it was in terms of quality.
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Re: Home Depot Warranty not honored

Post by Hug401k »

This sounds a bit odd, but I've found companies really respond to issues placed on their Facebook Page. I've never gotten such quick and competent service when I complained about a cable issue on their FB page. Try that after the manager.
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Re: Home Depot Warranty not honored

Post by MnD »

HD's best conventional hot water heater has a "lifetime" parts and labor warranty when they do the install.
Mine started leaking on a Friday morning (at only 4 years old) before a three-day weekend and after calling the warranty center (in India) they indicated the first appointment available was next Tuesday. So 5 days with no hot water. I protested and a manager was supposed to call - who never did.

I called the local HD manager and he agreed to swap out the leaking hot water heater for a new one at no cost.
There are dozens of plumbing companies in our city who will do immediate hot water tank replacement any day night or weekend.
So I hired one and had the tank replaced by mid-day Friday for the cost of the labor.

So basically HD's "warranty" is worthless unless you think taking cold showers for almost a week is acceptable performance.
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dolphinsaremammals
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Re: Home Depot Warranty not honored

Post by dolphinsaremammals »

Professor Emeritus wrote:
poker27 wrote:
dolphinsaremammals wrote:I bought a bathroom sink faucet from Home Depot a few years ago, and the finish started coming off. It took months of their saying it was the manufacturer's problem and cycling around before I got a refund. Not buying from them in the future. I go to Lowe's now.
That sounds like it is the MFGs problem. The product you purchased comes with a warranty from the MFG, not the retailer. If my Samsung TV breaks after 9months, I'm not going to call Amazon, I will deal with Samsung.
Of course you would be throwing your strongest consumer protection laws into the toilet by letting the seller off the hook. In most states you go after the seller and they go after the manufacturer. You normally have much greater rights against the seller than you do against any manufacturer.

The seller is responsible for both the express and the implied warranties. Plus you have easy jurisdiction over the seller. Why make your life more difficult?
This was a Home Depot brand, otherwise I probably would have contacted the manufacturer.
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