Ever offered a settlement on something under warranty?

[LisaR]

I have a refrigerator that will be four years old in June. We purchased a five year warranty. It isn't maintaining the temperature. The warranty company sent out a repair guy. Apparently our refrigerator has a lot of interconnected circuit boards (maybe not the right terminology). When one circuit doesn't work, it is impossible to figure out which one it is because they all go through one another. He had to order multiple parts in order to get it fix.

We have now been told that the warranty place has decided it isn't cost effective to fix something this "old." Why offer five year warranties if a less than four year old refrigerator is considered too old?

They are offering us a settlement. We paid $1445. The warranty is suppose to cover up to $2000. Their first offer was $549. I laughed. Now they are offering $799.

Am I wrong to expect a refrigerator to last more than four years? Am I wrong to expect a warranty to actually cover repairs? I know, I should have read the fine print, but I don't even remember receiving any info about the warranty. We bought it, registered it, and that was it. I don't see anything on their website that talks about settlements, but they aren't stupid, I am sure they have it written somewhere. I also don't get why Whirlpool felt the need to interconnect all this stuff so it can't be repaired easily.

I guess I am wondering if anyone has ever been in this position? I assume we aren't going to get anywhere?I am so not in the mood to argue with them, but I am rather annoyed.

 

[sharona]

Their offer is total BS. My own fridge is 13 years old and so is the one in our rental. The reason you buy the warranty is because repairs are not "cost effective". Insist that they fixt it. Call the Attorney General's office for your state and report them if they will not. If there is a consumer advocate on your local news station, contact them via social media. Squeak Squeak Squeak until you get what you paid for.

 

[Sadie22]

Appliances depreciate in value like cars. If your car was totaled in an accident, you would be offered money to purchase a comparable car of that age, not a brand new one (and the insurance company's offer would likely be wholesale value rather than retail, so it would be up to you to try to negotiate a higher payout). If you had not paid any money for an additional warranty on your refrigerator, which "warranty" is worth no more than what you paid, if that, you would have probably said to yourself, "This is not worth fixing. I want to buy a new appliance, not have a used one which has had problems." You would have taken the money you might have spent on repairs and bought a new refrigerator. You're being offered money toward a new appliance. My advice is get as much as you can and go buy a new refrigerator.

Why are five-year contracts offered? Because they make money for those who sell them, since most appliances do not have catastrophic failures within five years.

 

[bcla]

It sounds like their extended warranty terms are similar to car insurance. At some point if the cost of repairs is more than the value of the item, they'll just settle for the cost of a similar used item. That's certainly the way it worked when my car was stolen.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

Just happened to tack on the extended warranty on a Frigidaire refrigerator we bought new from Lowes. Long story short they did several repairs in the first year, never got it fixed. I made them well aware that the original warranty was set to expire and the refrigerator was still not working properly. After visiting the store and some intense complaining they just replaced the refrigerator.

The manager was like well since you bought the extended warranty we will do this much for you. *knock on wood* the replacement has worked fine with no issues.

 

[tinatark]

I would expect a replacement. Your extended warranty is supposed to ensure your appliance is in working order!

 

[bcla]

Appliances depreciate in value like cars. If your car was totaled in an accident, you would be offered money to purchase a comparable car of that age, not a brand new one (and the insurance company's offer would likely be wholesale value rather than retail, so it would be up to you to try to negotiate a higher payout).

Depends on the insurance company. My car was declared totaled after it was recovered stripped. My insurance adjuster said company policy was to look for similar cars offered for sale and to come up with an offer based on an average. The report showed me the ads they found. He was upfront that those prices weren't likely what they would sell for, and that the settlement amount was probably more than I could have sold it for in a private transaction.

So what I got was this amount, minus my deductible, plus the refund on the remainder of the policy, plus reimbursement for the remainder of my auto registration fees. All that was a few thousand bucks more than I figured I might sell it.

 

[Lilliputian]

A warranty isn't like car insurance. A warranty is a guarantee that they'll fix the item and keep it working during the agreed upon time period. You both entered into an agreement that you'd have a functioning refrigerator for 5 years. Your end of the agreement was that you'd pay the agreed upon price. You did that. Their end was to fix or replace the refrigerator. If they aren't going to repair it, then they need to replace it with a similar refrigerator or pay you the price of one.

 

[bcla]

A warranty isn't like car insurance. A warranty is a guarantee that they'll fix the item and keep it working during the agreed upon time period. You both entered into an agreement that you'd have a functioning refrigerator for 5 years. Your end of the agreement was that you'd pay the agreed upon price. You did that. Their end was to fix or replace the refrigerator. If they aren't going to repair it, then they need to replace it with a similar refrigerator or pay you the price of one.

They're not really extended warranties. They're better described as service/insurance contracts, and often they're subject to insurance law. The terms are often long such that many don't bother to read them, but the language isn't that complex. Here's an example:

https://www.applianceserviceplan.com/uploadedfiles/appliance-service-plan-terms-and-conditions.pdf

1. Appliance Cash Allowance: If Consumers Energy or its agents determines the cost of the repair for a covered appliance exceeds the value of the appliance, the appliance is not repairable or that functional parts are no longer available then Consumers Energy will provide a “cash allowance” in accordance with the Cash Allowance Schedule below.

2. Cash Allowance Schedule: Boiler/Furnace/Central AC/Heat Pump $750 Gas Fireplace $300 Water Heater $300 Range $350 Clothes Washer $325 Clothes Dryer $300 Dishwasher $300 Stand-Alone Freezer $250 Refrigerator $600 Microwave Oven $125.

Cash allowance payments are limited to $2,500 per contract year.

 

[sam_gordon]

They're not really extended warranties. They're better described as service/insurance contracts, and often they're subject to insurance law. The terms are often long such that many don't bother to read them, but the language isn't that complex. Here's an example:

https://www.applianceserviceplan.com/uploadedfiles/appliance-service-plan-terms-and-conditions.pdf

1. Appliance Cash Allowance: If Consumers Energy or its agents determines the cost of the repair for a covered appliance exceeds the value of the appliance, the appliance is not repairable or that functional parts are no longer available then Consumers Energy will provide a “cash allowance” in accordance with the Cash Allowance Schedule below.

2. Cash Allowance Schedule: Boiler/Furnace/Central AC/Heat Pump $750 Gas Fireplace $300 Water Heater $300 Range $350 Clothes Washer $325 Clothes Dryer $300 Dishwasher $300 Stand-Alone Freezer $250 Refrigerator $600 Microwave Oven $125.

Cash allowance payments are limited to $2,500 per contract year.

Which is going to vary based on the warranty offered. OP, I would be asking for a copy of the warranty that was in effect when you got your refrigerator. It's possible there's language that allows them to offer you that small amount (and you have to take it).

 

[sam_gordon]

OP, another idea is to contact the store you purchased the refrigerator from. They might be able to/willing to help out.

 

[LisaR]

I made a few phone calls today.
Whirlpool is generous enough to offer me a $100 gift card to purchase another one of their refrigerators. Unless hell freezes over, that won't be happening.

The store where we purchased our refrigerator went out of business. They do have another location, but it is hours away and run by someone who wasn't even affiliated with the store here.

I talked to someone at the attorney general office. She said she is sure they aren't stupid and have wording in the contract that covers them for this exact situation. I agree, I am sure they do.

I talked to the repair company and they needed to order seven different circuits and it would cost $1000 plus $200 - $300 in labor.

Looks like I'll be going refrigerator shopping soon, unfortunately. I am guessing all the companies are tying these circuits together now so when something is wrong, they can't just replace one part. Every single circuit will need to be replaced and that won't be cost effective.

Didn't expect to need a brand new refrigerator when mine is under four years old and I have a five year warranty plus a ten year on major components. I feel like I did everything I could do as a consumer, but I still got screwed.

 

[sharona]

I've been burned on an extended warranty (car) and can totally relate OP. I would still advise to make a big stink with the warranty company and try to squeeze as much as you can out of them. Maybe price out a replacement and use that to counteroffer with what you'll accept vs. what they're offering. They may decide to meet you in the middle just to avoid having to deal with you. First step though is to get your hands on a copy of your warranty. Are you sure it's not tucked away with your paperwork from the purchase or the manual?

 

[bcla]

Looks like I'll be going refrigerator shopping soon, unfortunately. I am guessing all the companies are tying these circuits together now so when something is wrong, they can't just replace one part. Every single circuit will need to be replaced and that won't be cost effective.

I'm in the electronics industry. Board design isn't my particular field, but everyone in the industry knows the way things work today. In order to save money and make a more reliable long-term board, all the "packages" are more or less permanently soldered onto a main board. The packages are cheaper, the (automated) assembly is cheaper, and the overall reliability is much better. Most boards are actually soldered by placing all the components in an oven that melts the solder in place, and where the solder self aligns the chip to the board "traces". While it may seem odd, there should be fewer requests for repairs and the repair is reduced to just replacing the whole thing rather than trying to narrow down exactly which individual part is failing. It may be possible to replace an individual IC package, but it would require expensive "rework" equipment that most repair personnel wouldn't have and wouldn't be trained to use. This kind of "rework" is generally reserved for expensive prototype boards or chips and not fixing production parts. The manufacturer has already figured out that it'll cost less to replace entire boards under warranty rather than pay for the cost of diagnosing individual part failures. And of course they've probably figured out how many of these might fail once they're out of warranty.

Did you ever see Back to the Future 2? There's that scene where the 50s Doc Brown has to recreate the damaged timing circuit from 50s era parts. Sure the individual parts are replaceable, but there's a lot that can go wrong.

 

[bcla]

I've been burned on an extended warranty (car) and can totally relate OP. I would still advise to make a big stink with the warranty company and try to squeeze as much as you can out of them. Maybe price out a replacement and use that to counteroffer with what you'll accept vs. what they're offering. They may decide to meet you in the middle just to avoid having to deal with you. First step though is to get your hands on a copy of your warranty. Are you sure it's not tucked away with your paperwork from the purchase or the manual?

I've had my share of interesting deals. Once I had an issue and a shop diagnosed the problem. I whipped out my "extended warranty" and the shop's secretary actually spent time on the phone trying to figure out how to file a claim. It was made more difficult because the service contract provider had been bought out and the liabilities assumed by another company. In the end they got them to reimburse for the cost of parts and labor at that particular shop.

Actually - their diagnosis may not have even been correct, but that's another story.

 

[sharona]

My used car "extended warranty" was not sold by the dealership (as I had been led to believe since that is who sold it to me) but by some mythical unicorn company that had gone "out of business" when I tried to use it.

 

[bcla]

My used car "extended warranty" was not sold by the dealership (as I had been led to believe since that is who sold it to me) but by some mythical unicorn company that had gone "out of business" when I tried to use it.

Often another company takes on the liabilities, although it can be hard to track who. I bought two from the same dealership before. One was from a private company (the one that I previously mentioned). The other was a direct subsidiary of the car manufacturer.

 

[sam_gordon]

I made a few phone calls today.
Whirlpool is generous enough to offer me a $100 gift card to purchase another one of their refrigerators. Unless hell freezes over, that won't be happening.

The store where we purchased our refrigerator went out of business. They do have another location, but it is hours away and run by someone who wasn't even affiliated with the store here.

I talked to someone at the attorney general office. She said she is sure they aren't stupid and have wording in the contract that covers them for this exact situation. I agree, I am sure they do.

I talked to the repair company and they needed to order seven different circuits and it would cost $1000 plus $200 - $300 in labor.

Looks like I'll be going refrigerator shopping soon, unfortunately. I am guessing all the companies are tying these circuits together now so when something is wrong, they can't just replace one part. Every single circuit will need to be replaced and that won't be cost effective.

Didn't expect to need a brand new refrigerator when mine is under four years old and I have a five year warranty plus a ten year on major components. I feel like I did everything I could do as a consumer, but I still got screwed.

That's a shame Lisa. Maybe get back on the phone with whoever offered you the buyout and try to negotiate. Maybe you can get them to at least offer $1000.

ETA: Let them know the parts are going to be $1K, and the labor is another $2-300.

Good luck!

 

[StephMK]

I'm sorry you're going through this. I will not buy another Whirlpool product after getting a horrible washer/dryer that died before 7 years. I would be livid and have a very hard time letting go when the fridge is that young. Have you tried contacting Whirlpool directly? I would start posting on their social media pages and anywhere you can find for the warranty company. They really need to call them something else because I would think "warranty" means that it is actually warranted and covered for that period of time. What is the point if they aren't covering much of anything?

 

[tvguy]

I am not a fan of extended warranties or service plans. When do buy one, I want one from the actually maker of the product. I did that with my kids used cars from Hertz. Hertz gives you a basic warranty, then tries to sell you their extended plan. Both were Fords, and ANY Ford dealer in the country can sell you the Ford extended warranty, even is they didn't sell the car. I went online and bought a Ford warranty from a Ford dealer in Maryland that apparently cleans up by selling their warranties at a very low mark up Less than any of the local Ford dealers.

As for repairs, and parts. Very few TV companies for example.... FIX TV's under warranty. It's cheaper for them to just give you a new TV.