OH NO! My .....

[Bruce Wrenn]

In today's mail received a letter telling me our home warranty is about to expire. I didn't know that they ran so long, because on Monday (Oct 31st) we will have been living in our home for FORTY TWO years. I find it interesting that among things my warranty covered was our HOT WATER HEATER. If our water is hot, why would we want to heat it? DUH! Not sure if systems haven't failed, or been replaced during the last forty two years, why would anyone in their right mind want to warranty them. What do you think, should I buy an extended warranty on our home. FYI, I built our house 42 years ago. When I say I built it, I meant everything but the brick work.

[Doug Garson]

I'd just get the extended warranty on the bricks. :D

[Aaron Rosenthal]

Here we go. LOL!!
Home appliance warranties are advertised all over TV. They never include my zip code area - I'm in Canada.
Loike every other insurance except life, the company selling the insurance will make a big profit. Insurance purchasers pay.
But 42 years ago you were spry, and now you may not have the vigour.
Na, it's a looser proposition (MY opinion)

[Stan Calow]

The only thing I buy extended warranties for are the HVAC system. Its saved me twice from having to buy new systems just after the factory warranty expired. The first time, the repair guy said it couldn't be fixed and I needed a new system. Until I reminded him I had the extended warranty, and suddenly it was fixable.

[Jerome Stanek]

I only bought an extended warranty on my first laptop. Boy did that pay off as I used it to get the next 5 over 10 years. they had a deal that if they couldn't fix it after 3 trys they would allow the full price for a new one and I used their loop hole to get a new laptop and warranty with the money from the old ones until I used up most of the money new ones always were less then the one before and better and faster.

[Bill Dufour]

Wait until something breaks then get the warranty and wait a few weeks before telling them the something just broke.
Bill D.

[Alan Rutherford]

The car my wife owned when we got married, a vehicle I bought from a private party a few years later, and a used laptop I bought in a store all had extended warranties and I collected on all 3 of them. But I've never bought one and don't plan to.

[Rich Engelhardt]

My wife's nephew bought an extended warranty on his Saturn - against everyone's advice.

He ended up having the last laugh when it paid off big time. Every time they fixed something on that car, something else broke.

He really did save thousands.

[Jerome Stanek]

I bought a refridgerator that had a 5 year warranty and there was a sign for a 3 year extended warranty that was included in the price. I asked them how much is the warranty and the said it was only so much I told them to take that off of the price. They said it is a great deal as the warranty that it had was so short. I said so it will have an 8 year warranty and they told me no only 3 years. I said what good is that as the refridgerator comes with a 5 year one and if I buy the extended it doesn't extend it. they couldn't understand that. I just told them to just take their warranty off and finally thats what they did. the place is now out of business for fraud.

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

About 8 years ago, My wife got a Microsoft surface for me, I was along and the salesman said the extended warranty covered everything but intentional damage for another 3 years on top of the one year Microsoft warranty. So we bought it. I was given a pamphlet about the extended warranty and for some reason shoved it and the receipt in the glove box of my car. Well 8 months later our house burned down. The house was a total loss right down to the foundation. The Surface had been on the dining room table and was no where. I called the warranty company. Got to have the store receipt and the warranty number. I found them in the glove box and called them back. This time the claims agent says now you have to send in the remainder of the unit so we can see if we can fix it. The damn house burned down. We need to see if we can fix it, You need to send it to us. Well, Their was a home security box missing as well as an old army ammo can that was full of silver coins and a sprinkling of gold coins that I had collected over the years, So I paid two of the junior firefighters from the fire company to search through the ashes. Took them two afternoons after school, and they found all three. The fire was so hot that some of the coins in the ammo can started to melt. They found the security box and also what was left of the surface, a piece of burned glass with a partial circuit board. I took a picture of the remainder of the surface and mailed the glass bits to the claims agent. The claims agent calls me and says, sorry we do not cover damage from external causes. Huh?, you brochure specifically mentions covering it if it falls in the pool. I think pool water might be an external cause. There was a long silence. Sorry we deny this claim. So I sued them in small claims court. Under PA Consumer law, a wrongful denial of a warranty claim gets up to 3 times damages and attorney's fees. The surface cost $700. I got a judgment for $2,100 plus attorney's fees and costs. I waited 31 days for the appeals time to run and then sent the company a notice of intent to attach funds collected by the retailer for warranties costs that were owed to them. Suddenly they wanted to pay just the cost of the tablet. Nope. I paid $340 to have the sheriff attach funds owed to the warranty company by the electronics retailer. That $340 was added to what the retailer had to withhold. I got a call from some lawyer in California threatening to sue me. Told him to take his best shot, California has no jurisdiction over me. Got my check from the Sheriff 10 days later. When i was last in that retailer's store, the warranty company was new. But the pamphlet about the warranty looked the same. The warranty company just changed names. Probably got bad press for their BS.

[Doug Garson]

Sorry Perry, but I'm not with you on this one. A warrantee is intended to protect the consumer from a defective product not a product that is destroyed by a house fire. Home insurance is intended to reimburse a home owner for losses from a home fire. Is there a reason your homeowner's insurance didn't cover the tablet?
To me, taking advantage of a poorly worded warrantee, is comparable to a company weaseling out of a claim due to the fine print.

[Jack Frederick]

In my industry, HVAC/P&H, there have been assorted companies offering extended warranties. Manufacturers like a third party vendor for their warranties as they get the benefit of the “glow” at the time of sale without having to carry the liability of the warranty on their books. Triad was a big outfit in the 90’s, followed by EWC. I initially took on the Triad line, but I never got behind the sale of them. I guess I like selling cast iron and steel and not paper. Yes, I am an idiot. If a contractor sold these warranties and had a lot of them out there and things folded, I felt the contractor would be left holding the bag. That kind of liability could poison my relationship to the contractors, my base of business. I resigned the line. A couple years later Triad went belly up having sold a bazillion of these things, profited greatly and when the claims started coming in they took their winnings and folded with their millions. The American way. A year later another outfit came along, EWC, Extended Warranty Corp, and polishing the same apple were even more successful and then they too folded. I rarely buy warranties, but bought the whole enchilada on my wife’s 2020 RAV4 simply due to amount of electronics in the vehicle. I also repaired/replaced the plumbing warranty work required by my SIL/daughters Home Warranty after the companies plumber muffed the job. I love warranties when they work.

[Brian Elfert]

Home warranty companies tend to pay contractors who work them a low rate so they tend to get bottom of the barrel contractors.

[Bill Dufour]

For a few years my district offered a prepaid law deal. So much a month and you get a few hours of legal advice when needed. But you could just pay it any month and start using it then. No need to pay until needed?
Bill D

[Bernie Kopfer]

Wait until something breaks then get the warranty and wait a few weeks before telling them the something just broke.
Bill D.
Please Bill don’t ever complain about the high price of insurance and many other products that this sort of philosophy drives up the cost of.

[Doug Garson]

Please Bill don’t ever complain about the high price of insurance and many other products that this sort of philosophy drives up the cost of.
Only two words describe Bill's suggestion "insurance fraud". Let's assume he was just joking.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Only two words describe Bill's suggestion "insurance fraud". Let's assume he was just joking.


Insurance fraud works two ways. Insurance company sells you insurance, then denies claim, forcing you to get an attorney involved. Second is when they do settle, they jack up your rates for using your insurance, which why you bought it in the first place. That's just as much fraud as what Bill suggested. Sometimes it cheaper to just borrow the money needed from the mafia. As an example, in 2008, I spent a week in hospital with an unknown virus. Was considered to be near death. Pulled thru, and insurance company rewarded me by jacking up my rates from $650 a month to $1350 (individual coverage.) This meant that increased premiums in first year was more than my hospital bill. Lucky for me, in 2008, I turned 60 and was able to start drawing my retirement, which included insurance at no cost to me.

[Doug Garson]

Insurance fraud works two ways. Insurance company sells you insurance, then denies claim, forcing you to get an attorney involved. Second is when they do settle, they jack up your rates for using your insurance, which why you bought it in the first place. That's just as much fraud as what Bill suggested. Sometimes it cheaper to just borrow the money needed from the mafia. As an example, in 2008, I spent a week in hospital with an unknown virus. Was considered to be near death. Pulled thru, and insurance company rewarded me by jacking up my rates from $650 a month to $1350 (individual coverage.) This meant that increased premiums in first year was more than my hospital bill. Lucky for me, in 2008, I turned 60 and was able to start drawing my retirement, which included insurance at no cost to me.
No argument on shady practices by insurance companies, but the old saying two wrongs don't make a right applies. Making a claim on something that was broken before you bought the insurance is pretty obvious fraud. Denying a claim due to some loophole is just shady as is increasing premiums after a claim.

[Bill Dufour]

When we bought our first house it included an insurance policy. They refused to replace the 1940's stove whose thermostat did not work. Home. inspector had tested it, it heated up. They claimed it must have been broken when we bought the house. I do not know, all I know is it would not shut off.
they did pay to rebuild the panel and and replace several Zinsco breakers when it started to sound like frying eggs.
Bill D