Ridgid ROS warranty (rant)

[Bruce Wrenn]

Unfortunately, One World Tech. (owner of the Ridgid brand) has set itself up for a class action suit, IMHO. I have registered two different tools (by mail). Only after having problems with one (which they fixed) did I receive my registration letter, again by mail. Second tool was registered last December, and now it is seven months later, and nothing back yet. They either didn't anticipate people actually registering lifetime service agreements, or cut back on staffing to process them. So right now, you can only hope that they will honor their commitment. Bad thing about first lifetime service agreement is it's on a tool which they replaced with a refurbished unit which only carries a one year warranty. Borg (HD) only keeps sales info long enough for returns. A third party (Citi Bank- remember them, they got BILLIONS of tax payer dollars) processes their credit, so they dont care about your warranty issues. .

[Joel Earl]

I learned a long time back - anything I value and costs me much, with a warranty that I might someday use __ I keep receipts on it all. Even scan them into a database on my 'fuser in the event the ink fades. Over-kill? Not really ...sadly

Do I enjoy doing this? - nope. Do I feel the need? - yep. The last comment about LV doing things w/o a receipt wasn't what happened to me and I had lost the thing .... but it was on my backup disk. Click-print-covered under warranty!

I am not sure if I actually can blame a company for requiring it - there are so many dishonest people who'd scam anyone if they get the chance I don't think you can just act on blind faith anymore.
I used to walk into Daytons/Target and could flip anything on the counter, used, abused whatever. Returned - no questions asked. Lousy business model at that. lol

Now today I live in a home actually built 30 years ago by one of the Dayton family members .... no chit on this .... and if I could I'd return the dang thing under warranty claim. No chit there either. It just don't work that way .... my so-called home warranty thru the real estate company is kaput. Not expired - kaput. The company honoring same with ERA went belly-up. Even a company carrying my 10 year, 100K extended warranty on my truck went belly-up. So much for warranty at that. Sometimes they not worth a heck of a lot

[Matt Meiser]

Stuff like this reminds me of why I like my local hardware. We bought a fairly inexpensive rake a few years ago from them and this spring it gave up the ghost. I was going to throw it away and noticed that it had a "10 year warranty" so I took it with me on my next trip. Their price tag was still clearly readable and no questions asked they gave me a refund since they don't carry the exact same rake anymore. And when I pointed out that the refund was for $9 more than the rake I was buying since the new one was on sale she just told me that was $9 toward my other purchases.

[Bill Blackburn]

Bought my Toro lawnmower 3 years ago. It came with an extended 5 year warranty which is why I bought it over a higher priced model I wanted.
I filled out the warranty, sent it in and got back a letter from Toro along with what's covered ... essentially all.

So it's blowing blue smoke - valve went south I assume. I take it along with the letter from Toro into the local repair center few weeks back. He looks at the letter, which is even dated and states on it the warranty period, then he says where's the receipt?
He needs the receipt to submit for warranty reimbursement. Toro's policy. Huh? Say what?

Let's see - I have the letter from Toro thanking me for purchasing from them mower and that requires a copy of receipt to even register it in the first place. I can't find the receipt anymore and just figured the Warranty Letter would always be enough. Wrong.

Called Toro - was told the same story. Talked to a manager-same thing. Sent a letter off to the VP of marketing - never heard a word back to date
Needless to say I'd never buy anything from Toro again. Told the shop to keep the stinking thing too - totally done with it.

These stupid companies have to spend and spend to get customers to buy and then lose us this way. Bunch of fumbling baboons is what they are. I'm still blowing smoke myself over this one.

Give me Harbor Freight customer service anyday over 99% of what these companies offer. Sad that the smelliest, cheapest of them all out-does most of them on any day of the year.

And all these companies actually wonder where there customers are? Babbling baboons

[David G Baker]

I keep paper. I have receipts that are 45 years old on big ticket items in case I need a verification if I have a fire and my equipment gets destroyed.
One thing I hate about types of receipts is the receipts that are printed on heat sensitive paper. The printing disappears from the paper in a short period of time and if you try to copy the receipt there is a fair chance that the light from the copier will fade the print so it can't be read. No receipt, no return.

[Paul Ryan]

Let's see - I have the letter from Toro thanking me for purchasing from them mower and that requires a copy of receipt to even register it in the first place. I can't find the receipt anymore and just figured the Warranty Letter would always be enough. Wrong.

With record keeping that is all computerized today, it is a joke that you must keep your recipt once the product is registered. As I stated earlier I keep all of my recipts. But it is still retarted that we must show a recpit once a product has been registered. Ever product that I know to qualify for a loner than a standard warranty the product must be registered with a recipt. At that point you are notified that it is registered and the warranty if in effect. Once servic is required how hard is it for the service shop to call in the machine, give them the serial number and the customers name. If it matches done deal it should be covered. I can understand needing the orginal recipt to activate the orginal warranty, but come on once it is registered that is stupid.

I do a lot of work with extended warranty companies on vehicles every week. They find reasons to deny claims all of the time. But if the serial number, miles, and customers name matches, that is all they need to consider the claim. It should be no different with equipment, mileage does not come into play, maybe hours, but not to many things have hours meters on them yet. Usually in the automotive industy if you have a factory extended warranty it is a very easy and painless warranty use. Apparently that is not the cast with tools, machines, and equipment.

[John Thompson]

Every electrical tool I have owned over the past 38 years I keep the reciept. I use a metal file box.. staple the reciept to the owners manual and file it alphabetically. And I do send in the warranty registration along with a photo-stat of reciept.

I have the Ridgid 6" and purchased it when Metabo was building it. It is now produced in China. I run heck out of it and no problem which really doesn't help you so..... I think that Ridgid in this case is taking a rather Ridgid approach and frankly.. it stinks to high heaven IMO>

Sarge..

[Ray Dockrey]

The problem with Home Depot receipts is that they will fade over time and in a hurry. Within about six months you can't read them anyway. I was told by a Home Depot employee one time to make copies of the receipts and staple the original to the copy so they can be read.

I don't buy Ridgid tools unless they are on clearance at a great price so I don't register them and just take the three year warranty. I figure if I get three years out of them I am good plus from all the negatives I have heard about service chances of getting them serviced in a timely is probably small so I just don't bother.

It is probably bad reasoning on my part but I am okay with it plus if they go out I have an excuse to get a new tool.

[Larry Browning]

Has anyone else had the ink (or whatever it is they use now, thermal paper?) fade away on a store receipt? This happened to me on a Ridgid cordless drill I bought a few years ago. They said that after registration I could get free battery replacement for life as long as I had the original receipt. This was the main reason I bought that particular brand at that particular time. I am a hobbiest and am pretty easy on my tools (for the most part). So after about 3 years of occational use the batteries went kabut. I had diligently kept the receipt stapled to the manual in the plastic case. When I looked at the receipt it had completely faded and looked like a blank piece of paper! I took it to the HD I had bought it at and was told that since the piece of paper I claimed to be the original receipt was blank they could not honor it. Plus, they said if the drill is over 3 years old the lifetime of the TOOL had expired anyway so no batteries for me. Apparently I had mistakenly assumed that it was my lifetime they were talking about, not the tool's. So apparently nowadays, a lifetime warranty is the product's expected lifetime (as determined by the manufacturer), not mine.

[Bill Blackburn]

So there still are some extecnded warranty companies that are factually in existance and paying claims it sounds like.

I was so ticked off the last 2 times when the 2 companies failed and left all hanging I could have killed the carrier. What made me even madder was when they REMAINED in business, allowed to domicile to some island since they didn't meet statuatory reserves in MN and then the State let them keep writing policies thru the Credit Unions - the belief was they would take in money, repay the first claims and in time make all whole. That one was in 2001. In 2007 they shut it down all together. Best as one can guess not a soul ever got a time and those shelling out a grand in the last few years really got screwed.
MN -- insurers have always been able to pull off whatever suits them best. The exception was the AmFam class action...a slap on the wrist at best.

HD's huh .... where in the southern part of MN you at? My 2 boys are in market

[Bill Blackburn]

Many times - I believe it's almost a worthless joke and will benefit them, not us. Make a copy or scan it. Otherwise when it is needed you'll be looking a a mostly blank piece of something-and that is what they will tell you when you plead your case at the CS desk.

[Tyler Davis]

Jason - take it down do Western Tool Inc. on South Campbell

bring whatever documentation you have - emails w/ dates, etc. They don't require a receipt. They will fix it under the LSA if possible, and if not, they will order a replacement under the LSA

[Dell Littlefield]

If you bought it with a credit card, your card company can probably verify the purchase and that should work to confirm your purchase. It has worked for me.

[Jason Hallowell]

Jason - take it down do Western Tool Inc. on South Campbell

bring whatever documentation you have - emails w/ dates, etc. They don't require a receipt. They will fix it under the LSA if possible, and if not, they will order a replacement under the LSA

Thanks Tyler, I've used Western Tool before, and they're really close to my house. Once my e-mail sytem gets fully transfered over, I'll print out the warranty registration e-mail and bring it down there.

[Ellen Benkin]

Can't you just take it back to HD and say "it doesn't work" and take a store credit? That's what I do when I lose the receipt (which happens regularly). I don't think it's worth fighting with them, just use the policies they already have in place.