How do you not get ripped off by extended warranties?

Question

My wife had a cancer operation that removed half her insides and we decided to purchase a compact washer and dryer at Home Depot to have upstairs. The sales person told us that an extended warranty would make sure that we would have no problems until the year 2010 and if a tech had to come out more than 3 times they would replace it. Well the dryer broke at christmas and 4 tech visits later It's still not fixed and needs to be junked. After 2 days of phone calls and my wife in tears Home Depot offered us a lesser model and said we had to pay $100.00 for a new warranty. I made another 2 days of phone calls and they said that the warranty company would refund our money but it would take at least 30 days to process. These are the same guys who tried to fix it for 2 months. I told Home Depot this was not acceptable and they told me to take a hike and that all replacements and refunds are at the managers discretion. Thats not what the sales person told me.

Answer 1

I worked for Home Depot and I would never buy an extended warranty from them or anyone. I am a handy person who can fix a lot by my self. The best way is to start with the department head and work your way up in the ranks. Being on the other side of this they do not pay enough for the department heads to take too much grief. The assistant managers are different as night and day. If you do not like one change to another. They usually have at least 3 to 4 to chose from. The best way I found is don't blame them for the problem, ask them to help with a solution. If they can't help them talk to the manager and if they do not help you can go corporate. Home Depot would rather replace your washer and dryer than have this story aired. If the local store does not want to help then go national. From your question you sound pissed and you should be. If you hide it and it does not work then show it and let them know loud and clear. The worst they can say is no. The loudest problems get solved the fastest.

Answer 2

Poky: I know what you mean: I've been there too. Although I like Home Depot above all the rest, I don't know whom controls the warranties.
I played phone tag with both Home Depot and Armstrong tile for six months before I realized what was happening, they just put in a new round of people to deal with me and, it started all over again.
I think you should have, maybe you still can, grab the deal offered and run. I think Sears would make a better deal. They've been real good but, someones probably got stories about them too.

Answer 3

The Better Business Bureau bbb.com works wonders. I had a problem with Bellsouth being dishonest, rude, and incompetent, and trying to cheat me out of some promised rebates. After wasting a lot of time, and only getting one of the rebate problems resolved, I finally went to bbb.com and they solved the other problem easily, at no cost to me.

The way bbb.com works, you write a complaint on their website, they forward it to the company, and if the company doesn't respond, they give the company a black mark, which can cost the company some of their future business. Nearly every company contacted by bbb.com will respond and take action to fix the problem, because they want to avoid bbb black marks.

Answer 4

i worked at home depot. yes they lie about warranties and price matching. never deal with the store where you purchased it. call back east to headquarters or go online to hd's website. no, i'm not bitter. you are not the first and not the last. good luck.

Answer 5

I never buy them. Its the principle they dont make good products ever so I plan on having to buy new in a few years. Thanks exporting American GDP to China. The trade deficit for so long so high they decided we would buy anything.