Is Lifetime warranty a scam?

[wetii]

Last September ‘08, I registered $800 worth of cordless power tools for their lifetime warranty on Ridgid’s web site (and mailed documentation). And now February ’09, the tools still have not been updated to lifetime status.
Many email and phone calls, in the last six months, and I get nothing but excuses as to why my tools are not covered by the lifetime warranty.
With every email, I am told that if it has been more the 10 weeks, to call. With every phone call I am told that they are behind with processing, and to check back in a couple of weeks. And it has now been twenty five weeks later.

I have since learned that there are thousands of people like me out there. Is it time for a class action lawsuit?

Very dissatisfied customer

[Vince the Plumber]

did it cost you any money?

Vince

[PLUMBER RICK]

wetti, fortunately, you came to the right place.
this forum has all the top ridgid guys who not only monitor this forum, but get a message when there are problems like this.

i'm sure that one of them will be responding soon enough.

there was a transition in the registration process and i know this question comes up regularly.

if you do a search in this forum, there will be a thread that talks about it.

not to worry as other regular members will probably post the link for you.

i know it can be frustrating at times, but i can guarantee you that ridgid is not pulling a fast one on you or anyone other;)

you will have an official answer before you know it;)

in the mean time, stick around and read up on all the ridgid stuff that you might not know. it's addicting and informative. plus we give good advise, especially in the plumbing forum:D

rick.

[CWSmith]

Wetti,

Welcome to the Ridgid forum. Too bad your first post has to be one out of frustration, but I'm sure we all understand.

I assure you that the Ridgid LLSA is totally legit; but, it has certainly suffered with very long registration times. The last tool that I purchased was registered back in April 08 (12-volt Lithium Drill/Driver) and it didn't show up with the LLSA until January of this year. The batteries and charger are still showing 3-years, but I suspect that will soon be corrected.

Normally, my experience has been five or six months for registration, but last year they messed with the online database and things have been botched up a bit. I suspect that has caused even further delays in the process.

So, don't give up on the LLSA system and don't give up on continueing your phone calls either. I suspect that now you have posted, you'll get some attention too.

Kindest regards, and welcome to the forum (lots of great people here),

CWS

[billmoy]

I agree with wetii. I have been waiting for almost four years for my 3650 to be registered for lifetime parts replacement.

The first year, I called several times to no avail and have posted here in the past with no results.

So much for the folks at Ridgid monitoring the site.

[BHD]

do you have a claim or just concerned about the status, of the "Life time service agreement",

but unless you are experiences some need some service on the tools, I guess I would not be that worried,

[wetii]

Hi
Plumber Rick; CWSmith; I hope you are right, but I do have my doubts.

BHD; I have found hundreds of forums discussing this issue. Some tool owners sent there paperwork in more than a year ago.
The problem is, will they honor the warranty four or five years down the road if the product is not upgraded to the LSA. Corporations are notorious for making things VERY DIFFICULT to warranty products. And Ridgid is no different. Here are just a couple of examples.

I have found postings stating that some service centers are returning tools unrepaired, claiming parts are normal wear items. Last time I read the LSA, most normal wear items were covered. Another post, the battery would last about three minutes, when one service center returned it claiming it tested fine, and had to send it to a second center to get a replacement. And the post go on and on.

Bill

[darius]

Sounds like one of those parodies of a motivational poster found in some offices:

I we stop answering the phone perhaps... they'll stop calling us ;)

[wetii]

There is something seriously wrong with Ridgid customer NO SERVICE!!! I truly regret my decision to buy Ridgid over Dewalt.
Whenever I find myself dealing with a company over a service issue, I make every effort to remain polite, but that has become very difficult with Ridgid.

In the last six months, I have tried each month to ask about the status of the LSA. The response is identical each time. I began to wonder if the messages were being read, there not.

Here is the last series of emails;


02/18/09 08:44: Bill

If it has been longer than 10 weeks since you mailed in your submission for the limited lifetime service agreement, you will need to contact the LSA processing group in Ridgid customer service at 1-866-539-1710, to have them check their files for the status of your submission.

Best regards,

Tom Clinkscales
Consumer Response
One World Technologies, Inc.



02/12/09 19:39: READ THE GOD DAMED MESSAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!
02/12/09 14:20: Bill

If it has been longer than 10 weeks since you mailed in your submission for the limited lifetime service agreement, you will need to contact the LSA processing group in Ridgid customer service at 1-866-539-1710, to have them check their files for the status of your submission.

Best regards,

Tom Clinkscales
Consumer Response
One World Technologies, Inc.
02/12/09 14:16: Hello
Must the Ridgid customers seek legal counsel for the purpose of filing a class action lawsuit against Ridgid regarding the lifetime warranty?
It has been since September since sending in my registration information, and countless excuses since, as to why my Ridgid tools still do not have the lifetime warranty.
I don¿t want to hear the canned message stating I ¿need to contact the Ridgid promotional processing staff¿. All they give is more excuses.
If the response back from Ridgid is not ¿Were sorry, all of your registered Ridgid tools are now covered by the lifetime warranty¿. Then I will begin the process of seeking legal assistance.

Very Dissatisfied Customer
(my name clipped)

[Mark0815]

Last September ‘08, I registered $800 worth of cordless power tools for their lifetime warranty on Ridgid’s web site (and mailed documentation). And now February ’09, the tools still have not been updated to lifetime status.
Many email and phone calls, in the last six months, and I get nothing but excuses as to why my tools are not covered by the lifetime warranty.
With every email, I am told that if it has been more the 10 weeks, to call. With every phone call I am told that they are behind with processing, and to check back in a couple of weeks. And it has now been twenty five weeks later.

I have since learned that there are thousands of people like me out there. Is it time for a class action lawsuit?

Very dissatisfied customer


YOU ARE ABSOLUTLY RIGHT !!!!!!!!



My general suggestion is : If Homedepot is selling RIDGID tools as an official dealer they should handle also warranty returns.

It is just a big sh... if you have to find a service point to get a battery changed.

[wetii]

Mark0815
Go to Home Depot's web site and make yourself heard. I have sent a couple of emails to Home Depot, and gotten a call from their corporate offices. They don't seem to want to take action against Ridgid, because they have not received many complaints about this issue.
But they did surprise me by offering to take back, for exchange, a broken tool for the purpose of keeping me a happy customer. So they may be willing to help you with the necessary UPC's for registering your tools. Although the way things are going at Ridgid, I am not sure what good that will do.
As for any other people having issues with the LSA, please send your complaints to Home Depot, then maybe, they will put pressure on Ridgid.

[FINER9998]

speaking from personal experience, "the squeaky wheel get the oil." if your tools haven't been registered in 3 or 4 years, something is seriously wrong. its time to start writing letters to ridgid with copies of documentation supporting the timely registration of covered tools for the LSA. when ridgid went from the ebox (where all my family's tools reflected LSA registration) to the dashboard, my account, and the accounts of both my sons, were incorrectly reflected. some covered tools were missing and some covered tools now reflected 3 year coverage, not LSA. it took many months of persistence to get this fixed. if you ignore them, they will ignore you. and, in all the tools my family has that are LSA registered, i have never sent a upc to register any of them. keep at it. the potential savings associated with LSA registration is worth the effort.

[Spinalzo]

speaking from personal experience, "the squeaky wheel get the oil." if your tools haven't been registered in 3 or 4 years, something is seriously wrong. its time to start writing letters to ridgid with copies of documentation supporting the timely registration of covered tools for the LSA. when ridgid went from the ebox (where all my family's tools reflected LSA registration) to the dashboard, my account, and the accounts of both my sons, were incorrectly reflected. some covered tools were missing and some covered tools now reflected 3 year coverage, not LSA. it took many months of persistence to get this fixed. if you ignore them, they will ignore you. and, in all the tools my family has that are LSA registered, i have never sent a upc to register any of them. keep at it. the potential savings associated with LSA registration is worth the effort.

LSA is definitely worth it to me. My ebox conversion to the Dashboard format was a little "Joe'd up" (just this side of "Jacked Up", but not quite jacked) and those items that once showed as Lifetime reverted to three years or warranty status to be determined. Finally, after a polite call yesterday, everything shows as it should and I received an email from Ridgid confirmation department showing each tool, it's serial number, and it's registration identification number correctly identified and quantified. It's taken some time, but I kept it from being adversarial by taking a little at a time as I had so much and I do not know the problems that they go through to try to make things right for me. It might take some time, but you've got a three year warranty on everything and if the tools aren't broken - what's the problem?

[Ron Dunn]

[quote=wetii;210167]

02/18/09 08:44: Bill

if it has been longer than 10 weeks since you mailed in your submission for the limited lifetime service agreement, you will need to contact the lsa processing group in ridgid customer service at 1-866-539-1710, to have them check their files for the status of your submission.

best regards,

tom clinkscales
consumer response
one world technologies, inc.

***************************************
***************************************
2/23/09
i called the number and asked for the lsa group. She said they are just now processing the month of August 2008! I'm going to email home depot to make sure they are aware.
Ron

[sigman]

I noticed recently all of my ridgid tools were no longer showing on the new site. I called Ridgid and a very helpful young lady fixed the problem. BTW, they are currently working on equipment purchased in August 2008. So it will be awhile for anything since then. I was impressed with the way they handled the problem.:way-to-go:

[wetii]

Judging by the various threads in this Ridgid forum, and others on the web, the LSA folks have been on August for a quiet a while now (at least since January).
It seems the only recent success post regarding LSA’s, are those that had to fix existing LSA’s that were inadvertently deleted by Ridgid (inadvertent? maybe not).

Do a Google search about Ridgid’s warranty, and you can find a high number of people that have had tools sent in on the LSA, and had them returned with service centers claiming normal wear and tear is not covered by this warranty. Obviously, I cannot know if these were LSA issues, our regular 3 year warranty issues, but it sure makes me regret buying Ridgid rather than my first choice, Dwalt. :eek: Yes, it true. Without the LSA, I would have never purchased a Ridgid power tool.

[ProBrand]

wetii,

Sorry for the frustrating experience. PM me your contact info and we'll get this handled.

To everyone, August to now is certainly too long and we need to speed up the process. I know. In the meantime, thanks to all for the posts and RIDGID support.

[EasyEman]

If I were Ridgid I would get some temp. service help to enter the LSA information.

Just bring in as many as you can for a couple of months to get caught up.

Good for the economy Too!!!:wink2:

No charge for the advice... but you can send me the CEO's bonus check if you like.

[wetii]

ProBrand
I sent the requested contact info. I truly hope you can make a difference.

[jeeperjohn]

I have only been waiting since Nov. 30. Any bets on how long it'll take them to make it from August to November?

[Ron Dunn]

ProBrand,
Thanks for giving us HOPE! Please followup with any new info after you review the current process and determine what you can do to fix it.
Ron

[Altima 3.5]

I'm glad that someone brought this up. It caused me to look at my TS warranty to see if it had been updated. Purchased it in early November mailed required information along with a toe nail clipping, a lock of hair from my first born, etc... within the first three days of purchase and the three year status is still there.. I will say that I did not have this problem with all the other tools that I have purchased from Ridgid. They all show LSA covered. I'm not upset...yet. They make a good tool and I want to keep my faith in them soooo...... we'll see.:confused:

[aliburchfield]

seems like it is a scam. i purchased a drill as part of the "batteries for life" marketing they did and now that my batteries are dying on me, it seems like they are singing a different tune. first of all, you have to take your drill, batteries, and charger to an authorized center - for me this was a one hour drive one way... then when i got there, they confirmed that the battery was bad. then they informed me that there are thousands of batteries on "backorder" and they did not know when i would be able to get one. you would have thought they could have told me that when i called and discussed in detail the purpose of my trip and that i was from another town. anyway, they took the battery and sent me on my way with a "claim check". not sure what i am supposed to do from here.... hard to get any answers from anyone... i guess nobody wants to back up their product these days. this was the whole reason i went with ridgid over dewalt. Next time i will just go with dewalt and know that i will just buy a new battery when it goes bad...
now my second battery is going bad and i will soon be completely without use of my tool. @"#?^%@(*%^@$%^!!!

[rofl]

I hate to say it, because I don't do business this way......

If I had the ridgid set and the batteries went bad and they could not give me some replacements in a timely fashion I would consider buying another kit and returning it in the 90 day period. Don't use the tools in the kit, just the batteries. I don't consider this a good way to go about things, but you get left little choice.

[Drip Trip]

Out of curiosity, are there any plumbers who sent in the warranty card and actually followed up on it? Asked for replacement parts?

I brought a tool back once 24 years ago and the counter guys laughed till they cried. It seems dragging eletric tools through mud, ice, and dropping it offa ladders voids warranties...:o

Or I'm out in the field when it dies and I ain't about to fuss with warranty departments. I just whip out the money clip and buy a new one at the closest place.

[michael stephen]

normally, wear and there are not included in the warranty..

[PLUMBER RICK]

Out of curiosity, are there any plumbers who sent in the warranty card and actually followed up on it? Asked for replacement parts?

I brought a tool back once 24 years ago and the counter guys laughed till they cried. It seems dragging eletric tools through mud, ice, and dropping it offa ladders voids warranties...:o

Or I'm out in the field when it dies and I ain't about to fuss with warranty departments. I just whip out the money clip and buy a new one at the closest place.

i have sent in a propress to ridgid for repairs and got it back fixed. all for the cost of postage 1 way to them;)

had another propress i took to my local repair center and they had it returned to me the same week all on their dime.

no, i didn't have to contact anyone on the in to get it done. as far as they knew i was just the average joe:D and not plumber rick:rolleyes:

sure a propress is about as spendy as it gets.

but i've also had a camera go bad and they fixed it. that was 5 plus years ago and that's when i discovered the forum.

i doubt anyone has invested what i have into the ridgid line of tools. both the high end high price plumbing tools and the everyday home depot ridgid line of tools. from saws, drills, impacts, both portable and stationary.

if i was ever worried about ridgid not standing behind their products, i would have never invested what i have over the last 30 years.

remember that the service centers are not the final word. ridge tool is the final word and if they say it's covered, it's covered;)

rick.