Extended warranties ...

tommy21

Hope right forum for this. I guess I do not have a complaint as such but I just wanted to see others' opinions of extended warranties. We bought a gas cooker last week and I went to register it there with the company, which adds a 4 year parts guarantee on top of our normal one year parts guarantee with the company we purchased it from. Now I think this additional parts guarantee is in one sense a load of rubbish as if your machine broke down in a "reasonable" amount of time as per the Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act (correct me if wrong), you would be covered, but I imagine having followed this step it at least makes it much easier to get any problem rectified. All it costs is a phone call (and of course to give the sales agent a point of contact with you for the following)

While on the phone, of course the sales agent rolled out the extended warranty wagon. From my time working in O2, it always used to marvel me how people would rush to get extended warranties (or rather insurance I suppose is the term there), often paying upwards of €70 a year. Given the chances of having to use it are slim and even if you do there are so many exclusions, I always thought it better to put the €70 away for your next phone.

So the sales agent offered me a full warranty, labour and all, should anything go wrong over the next 3 years (including my first year) for about 70€. My (very long winded )question/topic is whether people think these type of warranties are worth it for some products. For mobile phones, I think not. For this appliance, which cost €800, I was mulling it over but think that chances are even if I did have to call someone out to fix it in the next 3 years, they would charge €70-100, the same price roughly, and this presumably would not be an issue in terms of cost for the first year anyway. The chances of having someone come out twice are even less in that time, but possible.

I bought an extended warranty for my Sony Laptop 2.5 years ago for 5 years, cost about €100. The battery died (through my inefficient use of it in fairness) and are not covered for any reason. The power cable died (through no fault of mine I am aware of) - this was also not covered.

So what do people think - are extended warranties and insurance worth it on some products, but not others, or are they a rip-off across the board?

Oh and if you have read this far, happy new year! :P

P. Breathnach

I never buy extended warranties. Perhaps some firms offer a good package, but I have yet to be convinced: in general, they are simply schemes to generate additional profit for retailers or manufacturers. Neither do I register for guarantees. I simply keep receipts and all documentation.

Now, consider this angle in relation to your cooker: the manufacturer is prepared to take the position that all components are good for at least four years. That can reasonably be interpreted as meaning that the cooker itself should be considered good for at least four years, even if you don't register for the extended warranty. If the cooker fails in that time, you should be able to seek a remedy under the Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act 1980, and that remedy need not be limited to parts.

tommy21

P. Breathnach wrote: »

I never buy extended warranties. Perhaps some firms offer a good package, but I have yet to be convinced: in general, they are simply schemes to generate additional profit for retailers or manufacturers. Neither do I register for guarantees. I simply keep receipts and all documentation.

Now, consider this angle in relation to your cooker: the manufacturer is prepared to take the position that all components are good for at least four years. That can reasonably be interpreted as meaning that the cooker itself should be considered good for at least four years, even if you don't register for the extended warranty. If the cooker fails in that time, you should be able to seek a remedy under the Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act 1980, and that remedy need not be limited to parts.

Thanks for the reply. Yeah I'd agree with you to be honest, there always seems to be some catch! I do register the guarantees however, if only for the sake of ease!

coylemj

The call agent or store assistant who sells you the warranty gets commission, the retailer gets a cut of the action and the insurance company who covers the warranty makes a profit - mainly because there are so many exclusions they hardly ever have to pay out.

In short, there are too many snouts in the trough and it's so difficult to get a claim approved that they are exceptionally bad value, avoid at all costs.

OP, you said 'I just wanted to see others' opinions of extended warranties'. This topic has been covered by consumer programmes on TV all over the world at this stage and the message is always the same, they are bad value for money and should be avoided.

axer

P. Breathnach wrote: »

Neither do I register for guarantees. I simply keep receipts and all documentation.

Why would you not register for guarantees? You should always register since what happens if the seller closes down his/her business a month or two after purchasing an item? Good luck trying to get comeback then. At least you could try and make a claim under the guarantee if you registered the product and also registering the product does not mean you have to make claims via the manufacturer if something goes wrong - its just extra protection.

P. Breathnach

axer wrote: »

Why would you not register for guarantees?

It's a bit of bother I don't need.

You should always register since what happens if the seller closes down his/her business a month or two after purchasing an item?

It hasn't happened to me yet. That is partly luck, but it is also the case, at least for major items, that I choose to deal with firms in which I have some confidence.

Good luck trying to get comeback then. At least you could try and make a claim under the guarantee if you registered the product and also registering the product does not mean you have to make claims via the manufacturer if something goes wrong - its just extra protection.

It's years (decades, actually) since I decided not to register for manufacturers' guarantees. I used to read the bumph, and judged that what was being offered wasn't worth the price of a postage stamp. To date, I have never had reason to regret my decision.

watty

The "so called" register for manufacturers' "guarantees" are usually worthless compared to your contract with retailer. They are disguised Marketing surveys.

They rarely cover call out charge and often not labour.

Decent manufacturers' guarantees are worth while if valid for non-retail customer (Distributer, Retailer, OEM) if they allow complete replacement (i.e. HDD).

axer

watty wrote: »

The "so called" register for manufacturers' "guarantees" are usually worthless compared to your contract with retailer. They are disguised Marketing surveys.

They rarely cover call out charge and often not labour.

Decent manufacturers' guarantees are worth while if valid for non-retail customer (Distributer, Retailer, OEM) if they allow complete replacement (i.e. HDD).

Might not be better than statutory rights but they cover you to a certain extent should the original seller go out of business. Don't understand people not registering.

Elessar

Yeah it's been covered plenty of times here before. Getting an extended warranty is like throwing money down the toilet. You are already covered. An exception would be warranty which includes accidental damage, if you think you might break your appliance.

Apart from that, don't buy them. You are already covered.

Now, a case could be made for buying an extended warranty to save yourself the headache of getting your rights enforced. It's definitely an easier road. You're pretty much 100% guaranteed to have a fight on your hands trying to get the retailer to uphold his responsibility under the SOGA. Expect to be fobbed off, lied to, ignored etc. because so many retailers in Ireland (even big multinationals) are unbelievably ignorant of their responsibilities to consumers. You may have to go to the Small Claims Court to get your rights enforced. Luckily, it's designed with consumers in mind and it's made as simple and easy as possible.

Take Currys for example. There was a large thread on here recently (do a search) where even the Managing Director came to post regarding his company's responsibilities under the SOGA, claiming they aren't as extensive as they actually are. The company heads believed they were meeting all their obligations under an EU directive which has all sorts of rules in it such as saying it's the consumers responsibility to prove a fault exists, and that it existed at the time of sale, 6 month rules etc. None of which apply to the Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act 1980 - which the consumer has the right to invoke over the EU directive. In fairness the MD was very open and he is going to meet with the National Consumer Agency to clarify his company's legal responsibilities. Although I have little faith the the NCA myself.

Regardless, it's good to see you know your rights OP. Extended warranties are indeed rip-offs across the board, unless you can justify paying the price vs. the headache of getting your rights enforced.

CarrickMcJoe

I only once got one of these extended warranties on an xbox when they were €300 to buy. Got the RROD and sent it away, repaired, died again, repaired again, died again. Sent off again and machine replaced with a new one.
Cost me €30 for the warranty but proved to be money well spent.

tommy21

I'm liking all the discussion I know maybe for some it has been to death on boards.ie and other places, but no harm to keep getting the info out there!

tommy21

CarrickMcJoe wrote: »

I only once got one of these extended warranties on an xbox when they were €300 to buy. Got the RROD and sent it away, repaired, died again, repaired again, died again. Sent off again and machine replaced with a new one.
Cost me €30 for the warranty but proved to be money well spent.

But to my knowledge the RROD is repaired free of charge, even after your original warranty has expired...