Lowes extended warranty plan, horrible experience

[judyandlon]

On May 4 our two year old whirlpool refrigerator quit cooling. We purchased a Lowe’s extended warranty plan hoping to never use it. We promptly reported our problem only to find out they could not find that we had purchased this warranty. They put us through hoops until May 10 when suddenly our plan appeared. The refrigerator was repaired on May 12. All contents of the refrigerator was thrown out and we applied for $300 food replacement check immediately. After countless hours on the telephone, hangups, and promises made but never kept this saga finally came to an end on July 23 when we received the check. This has been the worst customer service experience I have ever had.

[retiredguy123]

Don't buy extended warranties. They are always a ripoff.

[RVJim]

Don't buy extended warranties. They are always a ripoff.

Sounds like this one, hassles notwithstanding, worked out for them.

[Michigan Farmer]

I'd purchased an extended warranty for a fan at Lowes, the fan failed during the manufactures warranty and I had to jump through all sorts of hoops. The manufacture gave me a warranty rma number which I took to Lowes after several trips, phone calls and hours of waiting I did get a credit for the fan but not the extended warranty. I stay away from Lowes at all costs now.

[Laker14]

Don't buy extended warranties. They are always a ripoff.
The concept is good, but in application they are designed to allow money to flow in only one direction.

[ThirdOfFive]

Did you keep copies of your warranty paperwork to show them? That should have expedited the process as it would have been proof that you did have the warranty.

But I agree. Lowe's customer service is not the best. They're sort of the low man on the totem pole of big-box home improvement stores and the quality of their merchandise as well as their service sort of lines up with that.

[Get real]

I don't think I have ever had a good experience at the Wildwood Lowe's. The customer service sux. Always a run-a-round.

[retiredguy123]

I don't believe in buying insurance to replace anything that you can replace with your own money. But, buying insurance to replace up to $300 worth of food in your refrigerator seems absurd. And, according to the Lowe's warranty, you have to provide proof that the food was spoiled.

[Stu from NYC]

I don't believe in buying insurance to replace anything that you can replace with your own money. But, buying insurance to replace up to $300 worth of food in your refrigerator seems absurd. And, according to the Lowe's warranty, you have to provide proof that the food was spoiled.

So you bring it to them so they can apply the smell test?

[MrFlorida]

Never bought a warranty plan. Never will.

[justjim]

Extended warranties are nothing but an insurance policy with lots of “small print”. Beware! Lowe’s like most retail stores are having a difficult time finding and hiring good employees. It’s a very tough labor market as predicted by analysts twenty five years ago that most of us thought was laughable. Not funny anymore.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

Sounds like this one, hassles notwithstanding, worked out for them.

It depends on what they spent on the warranty over the past two years.

I have a friend that owned a car dealership and his opinion was that there is not a warranty out there that is worth the money. Retailers make a ton of money from warranties. I worked in various retail outlets over the years and one thing that they had in common was that they wanted everyone to push warranties. They boosted profits like nothing else that they sold.

[RICH1]

A pound of hamburger and a gallon of milk

300.00 dollars worth of food 2 years ago is 500.00 today! Hope that’s listed in warranty

[EdFNJ]

We promptly reported our problem only to find out they could not find that we had purchased this warranty. Lowe's lousy service aside (agree on that), PART of the blame is on you for keeping lousy records. The receipt you were given upon purchase should list the warranty purchase, the actual warranty number, the item number of the warranty and what you paid for it. Can't imagine how they "had no record of it" if you presented your receipt. Whether they had a record or not your receipt should have been sufficient and the "they can't find it" is THEIR problem. We bought a garage freezer from them and actually bought the warranty since we had extra bucks on a gift card we used and everything you could want to know was right on the receipt.

[Keefelane66]

Lowe's lousy service aside (agree on that), PART of the blame is on you for keeping lousy records. The receipt you were given upon purchase should list the warranty purchase, the actual warranty number, the item number of the warranty and what you paid for it. Can't imagine how they "had no record of it" if you presented your receipt. Whether they had a record or not your receipt should have been sufficient and the "they can't find it" is THEIR problem. We bought a garage freezer from them and actually bought the warranty since we had extra bucks on a gift card we used and everything you could want to know was right on the receipt.
Bingo, Bingo, Bingo

[golfing eagles]

"Lowes extended warranty plan, horrible experience"

Any extended warranty plan, horrible experience.

Danger, Danger, Will Robinson. Avoid at all costs.

[RVJim]

It depends on what they spent on the warranty over the past two years.

I have a friend that owned a car dealership and his opinion was that there is not a warranty out there that is worth the money. Retailers make a ton of money from warranties. I worked in various retail outlets over the years and one thing that they had in common was that they wanted everyone to push warranties. They boosted profits like nothing else that they sold.

It does yes. I have a 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee that was purchased April 2013. At that time, Chrysler offered an extended warranty that had no mileage, no age limit. Essentially a bumper to bumper lifetime factory warranty on the car with a $100 deductible per incident. The car is still with me and the warranty has paid for itself. Two years ago Chrysler offered to buy out the warranty for 50% of the purchase cost.

[GpaVader]

Don't buy extended warranties. They are always a ripoff.

In part I would agree with this. The one exception I had with this is Sears. They used to include preventative maintenance with it and that always made it worth while for us if you used it. We always did on the washer & dryer religiously had them come out and do the preventative maintenance on them. Often time replacing belts and cleaning the lent out of the dryer. I don't know of anyone that does this anymore, but for those appliances and coverage, it was worth it.

[ThirdOfFive]

Never bought a warranty plan. Never will.
That has been my rule as well, but with a couple of notable exceptions.

One, we bought a new Rav4 a few years back, w/a 60,000 warranty. We were getting close to that number and talked to the dealership about an extension, the reason being that I had asked their service dept. once what it would cost (parts and labor) to replace a gasket that was showing a little moisture around it, and they said about $2,000.00. The extended warranty (bumper to bumper) was to 130,000 miles, no time limit, AND it transferred to the next owner should we ever sell or trade it. We're nearing 90,000 miles with absolutely no problems, and anticipate none, but with the costs of repairing anything with the Toyota name on it, it does bring peace-of-mind.

The other was on a computer I bought at Costco about 10 years ago. The original warranty was two years and I bought an extra two years for an amount I can't remember, and sure enough, mine died at two years, two months. They took it back and gave me a new one, no problem.

Those were the only two extended warrantees I've ever purchased.

[RVJim]

"Lowes extended warranty plan, horrible experience"

Any extended warranty plan, horrible experience.

Danger, Danger, Will Robinson. Avoid at all costs.

AppleCare is an extended warranty with additional features for accidental damage and in some cases theft. I always add it and it has always paid for itself. Amazing how easy it is to drop an iPhone or otherwise damage it.

[Stu from NYC]

To me insurance is for catastrophic events and a broken washing machine is not in that category.

[kkingston57]

Extended warranties are nothing but an insurance policy with lots of “small print”. Beware! Lowe’s like most retail stores are having a difficult time finding and hiring good employees. It’s a very tough labor market as predicted by analysts twenty five years ago that most of us thought was laughable. Not funny anymore.

Baby boomers have been and still are retiring. Less and less worker bees in US and even less at or near TV.

[Topspinmo]

The concept is good, but in application they are designed to allow money to flow in only one direction.


Like all insurance.

[thelegges]

Our story is a little different, our whirlpool fridge at 2 years started making noise, and was not cooling. My $89 extended warranty plan, extracted from my files, was a easy experience. 2 days after call whirlpool services guys cam e to our home within the 3 hour window. Replaced the part, gave me the email address to send in for food loss.

Service call and part would have been $287 according to a local appliance repair, plus check for $300 food allowance was in my hands in 11 days from my email.

We usually don’t purchase extended warranties, but with the pandemic, products may not have been up to usual standards, and the Lowe’s protection plan worked out well.

Guess moral of the story is file sales records when you buy products.

[Michael G.]

My neighbors say:
"If you know what you want to buy, go to Lowe's."
"If you don't know what to buy and need advice, go to Home Depot or Ace Hardware."

[MrChip72]

I hope with the people in this thread that say they're happy with paying for a warranty and coming out ahead realize that it's like saying they went to the casino and won money.

Just because you had a good outcome, doesn't mean it was a good decision.

[raney3099]

Doesn’t sound as bad as my experience with American Home Shield. I was without a refrigerator from April to July last year They literally have one company they contracted with with one service man and I had to wait two weeks for an appointment another week for the part to come in another two weeks for another appointment when the part that he ordered wasn’t even the correct part this went on for almost 3 months until I dropped them and went somewhere else I had to buy a small refrigerator just some perishables it was horrible

[Worldseries27]

I'd purchased an extended warranty for a fan at Lowes, the fan failed during the manufactures warranty and I had to jump through all sorts of hoops. The manufacture gave me a warranty rma number which I took to Lowes after several trips, phone calls and hours of waiting I did get a credit for the fan but not the extended warranty. I stay away from Lowes at all costs now.
Agreed. It's a b lister store

[Worldseries27]

Agreed. It's a b lister store

[waterflower]

Remember the days when products were built to last 20 years +/_ Why do we tolerate these companies

[MandoMan]

Did you keep copies of your warranty paperwork to show them? That should have expedited the process as it would have been proof that you did have the warranty.

But I agree. Lowe's customer service is not the best. They're sort of the low man on the totem pole of big-box home improvement stores and the quality of their merchandise as well as their service sort of lines up with that.

I’ve spent many thousands of dollars at Lowe’s (over $20,000) with no problems at all. I far prefer it to Home Despot.

[jbrown132]

Don't buy extended warranties. They are always a ripoff.
Always thought that way until I bought a $1500 sound bar from Best Buy. The sound bar died after 16 months. Best Buy said they could not fix it but could ship it back to Sony. I called Sony and they said by the time I paid for shipping both ways, and the cost to look at it and repair it, the cost would not be worth it. Several months later I bought a new Samsung TV from Best Buy and about two years after I bought it the screen started to die. I did buy the extended warranty and Best Buy replaced the TV immediately. What I was told by a Geek Squad employee, is that we live in the age of disposable electronics and no one wants to repair them. I believe him.

[ThirdOfFive]

Remember the days when products were built to last 20 years +/_ Why do we tolerate these companies
Ain't THAT the truth!

My brother has a refrigerator that originally belonged to my parents, who bought it when they were first married...back in 1947. Works as well today as it ever did, though I imagine it burns electricity like there is no tomorrow. He only uses it during warm months, unplugging it during the colder ones (which in Minnesota is most of them).

I doubt they sold many "extended warrantees" back in 1947.

[ThirdOfFive]

I’ve spent many thousands of dollars at Lowe’s (over $20,000) with no problems at all. I far prefer it to Home Despot.
Like most stores, you get what you pay for at Lowe's.

Back in the day, before moving to TV, I did a lot of woodworking. Lowe's was the only game in town for supplies; other options were about an hour's drive away. Their lumber was, to put it mildly, not the best. Oak or birch plywood ("Chi-ply", as it was known) which they sold as AB wasn't: BB at best, possibly even lower, and it came with a LOT of voids, plus it was prone to separation. They did have a good supply of hardwoods though, SFS, but you paid through the nose for it even then.

The only major appliance I ever bought from Lowe's was a dryer, good price and they would deliver and set up. Set up entailed getting it into the basement, putting in place, hooking up electricity and gas, and attaching the dryer vent duct. Everything went well except that during set-up they crushed the vent duct. I went to Lowe's with the crushed duct intending to get a piece the same length to replace the one they screwed up, on their dime. But it was a no-go. Their rather lame excuse was that delivery and SET UP were free, but "installation" cost more, and I hadn't payed for installation. I challenged them to name one thing they'd have done differently had I paid for "installation" rather than taking the free "set-up", and they couldn't. Still no replacement from them on the crushed duct though.

Pretty bad customer service in that instance, in my opinion.

[srockey]

We had a dishwasher go bad that had an extended warranty. They were easy to work with. We got a Lowes gift card for what we paid for it. I would have rather had a check, but it all worked out pretty well.

[Larchap49]

Extended warranties are nothing but an insurance policy with lots of “small print”. Beware! Lowe’s like most retail stores are having a difficult time finding and hiring good employees. It’s a very tough labor market as predicted by analysts twenty five years ago that most of us thought was laughable. Not funny anymore.

The world has become very technical. Few jobs left for the uneducated and smart challenged people. So couple that with just plain lazy and you have an unfulfilled job market.

[villageuser]

On May 4 our two year old whirlpool refrigerator quit cooling. We purchased a Lowe’s extended warranty plan hoping to never use it. We promptly reported our problem only to find out they could not find that we had purchased this warranty. They put us through hoops until May 10 when suddenly our plan appeared. The refrigerator was repaired on May 12. All contents of the refrigerator was thrown out and we applied for $300 food replacement check immediately. After countless hours on the telephone, hangups, and promises made but never kept this saga finally came to an end on July 23 when we received the check. This has been the worst customer service experience I have ever had.

We have been here and have always dealt with the Summerfield Lowe’s (once it got built there). We have purchased numerous appliances from them, and have always purchased their warranty. The receipt says right on it to keep it for proof of purchase of the warranty. We have always done so, and when they sound confused about our warranty, I give them the number, and have had no problems with them.

We have always appreciated their service, though it has been a little slower these last two years, but then, what hasn’t?

[jparsoneau@aol.com]

Don’t ever buy extended warranties. They cost you approximately 25% of your purchase and if your appliance or fan or car don’t work within the first 30 days I’m taking that back to the store anyways warranty or not. It’s nothing but an extra markup to make more money that you will never use and if you have to it’s nothing but a pain in the butt. Definitely not worth it

[OhioBuckeye]

Well then I wouldn’t buy from them again. Lesson learned!

[Babubhat]

Always thought that way until I bought a $1500 sound bar from Best Buy. The sound bar died after 16 months. Best Buy said they could not fix it but could ship it back to Sony. I called Sony and they said by the time I paid for shipping both ways, and the cost to look at it and repair it, the cost would not be worth it. Several months later I bought a new Samsung TV from Best Buy and about two years after I bought it the screen started to die. I did buy the extended warranty and Best Buy replaced the TV immediately. What I was told by a Geek Squad employee, is that we live in the age of disposable electronics and no one wants to repair them. I believe him.

Many credit cards would double the manufacture warranty .

[lawgolfer]

Many credit cards would double the manufacture warranty .

In the past 20 years I have bought several TV's from Costco, in three different states before settling in The Villages. Two failed, one within the manufacturer's warranty and one not. Costco replaced both, immediately, at the store. With no Costco near TV, I bought an 82" Samsung from Best Buy, thinking I would get the same service from BB. My mistake. The TV failed at 14 months, 2 months beyond the factory warranty.

BB would not even look at the TV. The manager said they had no repair services; however, if I had paid the extra $200+ for BB's own warranty, it would replace the TV. He went on to tell me that he didn't know how to contact Samsung.

I then turned to the warranty provided by my Visa card. That was an adventure. The bank's website proudly described the warranty, but failed to provide any information on how to make a claim. After hours "on hold" on the phone listening to bad music with interruptions about how important my call was to the bank, I was connected to a live person. After describing my problem, she transfered me to another department. This time, I waited only 15 minutes before being connected to a live person. After explaining my problem, the person said I needed to present my claim to a separate business which handled all such claims for the bank. The call was then disconnected, without being told how to contact the business which handles these claims.

The next day, I went through the same process although, thankfully, the time on hold was reduced to 20 minutes. I was given the name and phone number for Card Benefit Services. Its phone system had a recording that, due to the high volume of calls dealing with airline delays, I would be on hold for a lengthy time. After that lengthy time, the first person I spoke with said the computer showed my card did not provide an extended warranty and that I needed to contact the bank. She, promptly, disconnected the call.

Eventually, this was straightened out with the bank. The person at the bank told me to submit my claim to Card Benefit Services via their website. The claim form on the website is confusing and the responses it allows do not directly relate to my claim. My last contact was by phone to ask about some of the questions. After discussing my claim, the person told my my claim would likely be denied as I had put the Samsung in the trash and the claims examiner would, probably, want to have it examined to see if it could be repaired.

I replaced the Samsung with a Sony from Costco. Costco extends the one year factory warranty to four years at no additional cost. The TV was delivered by Costco at no charge. The price was $200 less than those quoted by Sam's Club and Best Buy. I will receive a 1% refund on all our Costco purchases at the end of the year. To my surprise, Costco also sent me a $100 gift card.

To make a very long story short, buy Costco!

[toeser]

On May 4 our two year old whirlpool refrigerator quit cooling. We purchased a Lowe’s extended warranty plan hoping to never use it. We promptly reported our problem only to find out they could not find that we had purchased this warranty. They put us through hoops until May 10 when suddenly our plan appeared. The refrigerator was repaired on May 12. All contents of the refrigerator was thrown out and we applied for $300 food replacement check immediately. After countless hours on the telephone, hangups, and promises made but never kept this saga finally came to an end on July 23 when we received the check. This has been the worst customer service experience I have ever had.

I contracted with Lowe's to replace every inside door and closet door in our house with substantial upgrades. It was not a cheap project. Lowe's acted as a general contractor and lined up a door factory and installer to do the actual work. When problems arose, all three walked away. I would never do another big project through them. I would be my own general contractor and work directly with suppliers and installers. That way I could maybe force some accountability.

[thelegges]

Remember the days when products were built to last 20 years +/_ Why do we tolerate these companies

Tolerance of products is the least of problems. Took us 5 months just to buy a fridge, not the one we wanted but the only one that was finally available for delivery. Repair guys said Their workload has doubled in the last 2 years on new appliances

[EdFNJ]

Many credit cards would double the manufacture warranty . Not any more. That ended a few years ago for the vast majority of cards. Better make sure before you ASSUME you're still covered. Some of the ones with the $100+ yearly fees MAY have it but there aren't many (or any?) of the no fee cards left that do. Also Visa ran me through h3ll making a claim the one time I used a Visa for that feature years ago.
12 Best Credit Cards for Extended Warranty Coverage [2022] (https://upgradedpoints.com/credit-cards/best-credit-cards-for-extended-warranty/)

[tonyt57]

Bought a Samsung fridge from lowes, with extended warranty. Had a repeat issue over a few years, we decided to renew the extended warranty, 3 months later the issue started up again, water/ice issue, tech determined it could not be repaired. Lowes gave us a gift card for the original purchase price and we kept the 5 yo fridge. All involved were very responsive. Couldn’t have asked for more, except for Samsung to not make crappy appliances

[Djean1981]

We need a Costco. :(

[MollyJo]

Don't buy extended warranties. They are always a ripoff.

Manufacturers only build appliances to last 7 years, if you’re lucky. That’s why warranties are a good idea nowadays…