Manufacturer Warranties and Protection Plans

[Dimitra]

My Maytag Neptune washer of almost 9 yrs is still under warranty until November of this year. Best buy is refusing to fix it or replace it by calling it customer misuse of overloading it with no proof whatsoever. They had a third party technician come out to fix the machine. The technician told us after 15 minutes that the bearings were damaged, and the belt was broken, and it's not worth fixing - that Best Buy shoud provide us with a new one.  He said he would inform Best Buy. After four days of not hearing anything, I called to find out the status of my claim, and Best Buy told us that they will not honour the warranty because of alledged misuse. I have two little kids and am constantly doing laundry almost every day. I would have to say that daily constant use of my machine has most likely been the cause of the bearing damage, not abuse or misuse. After my protest, Best Buy is sending another third party technician of *their* choice for a second opinion, and I was told that they have informed the company that they will be using this second opinion to determine the legitamacy of my claim and to charge me for the service call.  Since Best Buy provides their contractors with a steady stream of work (and subsequently, money), I perceive this as a biased second opinion and as part of Best Buy's tactics in evading their obligations. We are taking you to court and filing a complaint.

[snazzye]

 Im sorry but the warranty only covers items that are still operational.

[Dimitra]

If it was operational, we wouldn't need the warranty.

[Ryan-BBY Senior Social Media Specialist]

Hello Dimitra -

Allan from our Social Media team, will be reaching out to you regarding your concern. Thank you for your continued patience!

[APR28]

Worn bearings are pretty normal on an almost 10 year old washer. That's what usually signifies the death of a washer. Fixing the bearings is an expensive job and usually not worth it.

If what you're saying is true, this sounds like a typical case of BBY taking your money for the warranty the realizing that replacing a 10 year old washer is a huge money loss for them.

How much money did BBY make over the years on you renewing warranties? I'm guessing anywhere from $400-$600?

[deusexmachina Valued Contributor]

BB isn't losing any money...their backing insurance company will be covering the repair/replacement anyways. However, they must cover all of their bases so they don't knowingly commit insurance fraud.

[Dimitra]

Washer has had its second opinion and the third party tech verified that the problem is it's not working due to outer bearing, clutch and belt, that there is no indication of misuse. He said he will submit the paperwork and it's up to BB extended warranty. He also told me that all he does is submit the diagnosis, and he too awaits a response. They don't ask him whether he deems regular use or misuse as the cause of the machine not working. He also did not charge me for the service call saying that again, there were no signs of misuse. I am still holding my breath as I am skeptical about BB' response.  

[Allan-BBY Community Connector]

Hi Dimitra,

After reading this I can certainly understand you being upset that the first technician somehow determined that the washer wasn’t working due to misuse. It sounds like the second tech we sent out disagreed with this assessment and the repair or replacement of your washer should be covered by your renewed Performance Service Plan (PSP) that expires on 11/16/2012.

The second technician should have informed us of what part(s) is needed, and we would then determine if repairing the unit would be cost effective. If we do determine the repair is cost effective to continue we should order the part(s) needed, and once delivered to the service center they should be contacting you to set up a time to install the part(s).

If you have any specific questions for me post back to this thread, and I will do my best to get you the answers you deserve.

Thanks for posting, 

[Dimitra]

Disappointed once again. I called BB on Wednesday to follow up and they were still waiting for the paper work to be submitted by All Active Appliances which was the third party company giving the second opinion on my Maytag Neptune. I waited till today again and got almost verbatim that they could not honor the warranty as its customer misuse of overloading the machine. I stand by my first post to this thread. I have also been researching this complaint and found Consumer Affairs had 987 posts of 1 star ratings of reviews and complaints regarding the Maytag Neptune. I have read that there was a recall on the machine and most owners including myself were not informed. The bearings were the main reason for the recall. I also have a evidence of the diagnoses of my washer where the third party tech explains that there is no indication of misuse. I will be posting that on u tube and I will also do a review on yelp. Thank you for reading this I will keep you all posted.

[APR28]

I would just be patient for the final outcome.

It's pretty normal for weasel type companies to intially deny claims.

Unless you were taking a bath in your washer, I don't see what constitutes negligence and misuse when a washer that is failing in its normal life span(8-12 years) dies or has major parts failure.

Do you think BBY would have still taken your renewal warranty money if they knew you washed more loads than the average person? You bet they would have. They follow a take now, deny later philosophy.