| Edgestar - Living |
| Edgestar - Living Direct Inc Living Direct Inc Doesn't live up to warranty claims for manufacturer defects, rude customer service Austin, Texas |
| 16th of Jun, 2011 by User892469 |
| I bought an Edgestar 94 beverage built in cooler for our home on Nov 29th 2010 on a Black Friday promo that offered free shipping. Upon arrival, this cooler sat in the box for 45+ days while our basement was finished and then plugged in for use. It wasn't more than 30-days of use before the temp would not cool below 57 degrees. I called Edgestar customer service about the issue and spoke with David Sugarman, in Edgestar Technical Support explaining the issue. I was told that given my purchase date was more than 90-days ago only parts are covered by warranty. If I wanted to, I could pay a $75.00 fee up front to cover their minimum labor costs, I must pay the shipping costs back to Edgestar for the repairs and I would not be given the address for return shipping until I gave them my credit card info and paid them the minimum labor fee. Given the normal shipping fee is $100, I realized in looking at $175 more to fix what appears to be a manufacturer defect. Instead I took the unit to a local appliance repair shop, who is an authorized repair shop for nearly all the major brands, and told them the issues. In a couple of days the problem was diagnosed to be a leak in the steel tubing on the "Hot Gas Line" that runs through the body and sidewall insulation to heat the door and prevent condensation build up on the glass. The steel tubing was cracked and the refrigerant bled out. Given the tubing is inside the wall and insulation it can't be repaired. The local shop called Edgestar for me to inform them of their diagnosis and was told to have me contact them directly. I once again call David Sugerman about a getting a replacement unit given the cooler can't be repaired. I was told that Edgestar needs to confirm the issue by one of their techs to make a final determination that it can't be repaired. I reminded him that the issue is in the body of the unit, behind foam insulation and that the entire cooler would likely be destroyed according to the local repair shop and that given there are no parts that can fix the problem they need to simply send me a replacement unit at their cost. Mr Sugarman insisted that the only remedy to the situation was for me to pay shipping and labor to return the unit to Edgestar. At that point I asked to speak with a supervisor or higher level manager about my issue given Mr Sugerman's lack of acceptance of the repair company's diagnosis. Mr Sugarman refused to provide any contact information and became very arrogant stating "I am the final authority on this". I again asked for someone else to hear me out and stated that it sounds like they just want me to pay the shipping costs to get a defective unit back to them so they can refurb and resell it. Mr Sugarman responded to say "you didn't pay shipping on this unit, so Edgestar can't afford pay 2 outgoing and 1 incoming shipping fees". I reminded him that their Black Friday sale terms should not change their policy on defective merchandise and their marketing decision should be my problem given the unit has a manufacturing defect and again asked for a supervisor's assistance. Again I was told"there is nobody here that can help you". In the end, I tried to follow their their warranty, used a local "authorized" shop to attempt to repair the unit and paid for the costs for a diagnosis. However, this company mandates that they are the only ones who will determine if an appliance is defective and has you pay nearly 50% of the original costs for a manufacturer defect.... Beware. |
|
|
|
Post your Comment
|
|
|
