What Should You Know About Strange Warranty Policies

The warranty claim requires YOU to destroy the faulty item. To make it even more painful you need to take a picture of the pieces you tore the product into.

Let’s have а look at the most common cases of strange warranty and replacement/return policies:

The act of ritual sacrificing

The product that you’ve fallen in love with suddenly stops working or falls apart. Are you that lucky person that has it covered by the warranty? But do not rush too fast to replace it. First, you need to prepare yourself emotionally for the amusing act of XXI-century offering because some companies have an extravagant policy of replacement/return policy. The warranty claim requires YOU to destroy the faulty item. Why can’t you just send it to the company so they can do it themselves?

It’s still the issue in question, but some businesses say that it saves time and money. To make it even more painful you need to take a picture of the pieces you tore the product into. Or you have to create a video of the destruction process. Or to do both things. The choice of capturing the procedure depends on the intricacies of company’s staff imagination.

Matt D’Avella received such “sacrifizing” claim requirements from Herschel Supply Co.

He found it so absurd that finally decided not to return the item. Moreover, Matt reached the decision to donate the backpack and not to deal with the company anymore and its return policy. However, not all the consumers are so sentimental. Many YouTube users share their videos of cutting Hershel goods apart without any remorse.

A PissedConsumer user had such an issue with Logitech (review #823214). A warranty claim demanded to send the photos of destroyed speakers to get the replacement. But if it had been that easy, there wouldn’t have been a complaint. The company informed him that they could substitute his z623 speakers only with a cheaper version.

"I bought the speaker set z623 from logitech but it came defective, and so I contacted support. They opened a warranty case number 01726694 and told me to destroy my speakers and send photos so they could send me a new one. But today I got an email that said they dont have the z623 to replace mine!!!" 

The consumers with good sense of humor even compete how get rid of the product more creatively than others. For example, Yakima customer decided to employ the “heavy equipment” to destroy the product for sure.

Company’s instructions are another part of the story. Nothing should be left unattended. Some businesses prefer to send a ready-made video. YouTube subscriber hoffelhass has posted the video of Marshall’s guidelines how to satisfy the warranty claim.

"When you ask Marshall to replace your faulty 'Major' headphones under warranty they ask you to send a BIT of the old ones back to them (in CANADA and at your owncost) and send you this video to show you what to do !!!"

Some companies even require the particular number of the pieces you need to cut/tear your item into. An example of such intriguing instructions was given to James Vincent by Brainwavz Audio:

“Please cut the main wire in 4 different places at the very least, it is not sufficient to only cut the wire once or twice. If the wire is not cut up in 4 different places we will ask you to cut it more before we can send a replacement. It is very important that your earphones are cut up in to many pieces.”

Whether it matters for the business or not but at the end the author wasn’t satisfied. However, his earphones were covered by warranty and were about to be replaced, he felt to be too attached to the previous accessories.

And it’s definitely not a happy end.

 The act of volunteering

If you’ve decided to part with some unnecessary things and to earn extra money, think and read twice. You may see the items for the last time. Some companies that deal with trading-in reserve the right to accept or to reject an item. This fact is mentioned in their return policies. If they refuse to pay for the items they don’t need, these products are usually shipped back.

Usually. There are some companies that play the role of the volunteers. They help the world to be clean from not wanted junk. Even if you think that YOUR item deserves living and returning home. A PissedConsumer user describes а similar situation with Bookbyte return policy:

“I sold bookbyte.com three text books that were all in excellent condition. They paid me for two of them, but stated that the third book was damaged and not salable, and that they would recycle it. I emailed them and requested that they return my book and that I would pay for return shipping, but they refuse to respond.” 

Another return policies story happened to Ecyclebest customer. He was promised $346 for his Iphone. But when he sent it to the company, they offered only $29, then $40. The user wanted to return his phone, but Ecyclebest refused return (review #909249).

"I sent the device and weeks later, they acknowledge receipt of the device and offered $29. I asked them to kindly return the device as I will sell it elsewhere. They would not return it. More weeks pass, they ask for the iPhone to turn off the "Find My iPhone" feature and I would receive $40. I told them to pay the original offer or return the device. They refused." 

Is it justified necessary evil or a regular ploy - you decide. But sometimes such games may lead to Federal Trade Commision (FTC) Consumer Protection Cases. 

People are such creatures that tend to look for tricks everywhere. Especially, if they face an unknown warranty policy with extravagant requirements. Which are easy to confuse with most common warranty scams. It makes people ask: "Are these terms legit?" According to FTC “ a warranty is your promise, as a manufacturer or seller, to stand behind your product. It is a statement about the integrity of your product and about your commitment to correct problems when your product fails.”

Since the warranty is a “promise”, the business reserves the right to perform the warranty claim fulfillment the way they want to. And it’s completely legally. Regardless, whether the demands are ridiculous or not, it’s better to have a valid guarantee that your product will be replaced/repaired or refunded. However, it doesn’t always help.

John Abbot once said: “A Lifetime Warranty on a concealed carry firearm isn't much good.If the firearm fails in an armed encounter, the owner of the firearm might expire, along with the warranty.” And this topic definitely becomes “food for thought”.