Simplicity Manufacturing Inc.

Review: I purchased, at a local dealer in 2010, a Simplicity 26" snow blower. The following year, I received from Simplicity an extended warranty offer. I called the number listed and asked who the service dealer would be. I was told [redacted], in Mansfield, Pa. (which is where it was purchased). I was ok with that so took the 4yr offer at $233.58 which I put on my credit card as I did this over the phone. At no time was I told that after the initial 2yr manuf. warranty was up this would go to a 3rd party company. I had a problem last week, so I called [redacted] to pick up the unit. The letter, that had the offer stated Free pick up and Delivery. I called the service number to find out if the contract was still good and it was and is until 3/3/14. Now I am told that [redacted] is not the dealer that would fix this unit. I asked where and was told, "they couldn't tell me" I told them I wanted to file the claim, and they said "Oh, there is no pick up and delivery, you have to SHIP the unit out". I didn't bother to ask where as it would cost more to ship than it was worth. This is a very heavy piece of equipment. I believe this was nothing but a scam to get you to believe that Simplicity would honor the warranty. I would like my money refunded as nothing was ever claimed against the unit and from the way its going nothing ever will.Desired Settlement: I would like a refund since the money was obtained under false, or missing, information and I would like Simplicity to stop offering something they are not going to honor.

Consumer

Response:

I have not heard anything from this company, so therefore I can safely say I am not satisfied with them. They want you to buy their products, but won't respond to a problem.

Review: This all started shortly after we purchased our Lawn Tractor on April 27, 2007. Almost from the onset of owning this tractor, we have had various issues with it, including when I emailed the company back on August 3, 2010 regarding our 2450 Simplicity Regent lawn tractor, that we purchased from Johnson Tractor in Janesville, WI. The model number is 269056. In 2010, the issue was that the front mounting brackets cracked and as a result ripped part of the mower deck, which was ultimately covered by Simplicity. In the email, I also explained about the several issues we had since the first season of use. For example: while under warranty we had to have the deck bearings replaced, which did not make any sense as they are supposed to be lifetime sealed ball-bearings on this tractor according to your literature. Furthermore, one of the pulleys had broken and snapped off. The seat has ripped. Three bolts in the front end of the tractor had to be replaced because they were missing, and the belt has needed replacing on a couple of different occasions, to name a few issues. It has been in service several times over the years with Johnson Tractor, the most recent being a few weeks ago due to it losing power while going up slight inclines. We took it to Johnson Tractor for service, at which time the service tech Jason checked it out and said nothing was wrong with it and we were charged full service price, which we paid. He did say if we had issues with it once it was home to give him a call. Well, we had to do that. Jason came out and took a look at it and figured out it must be the transmission! I am very very disappointed in this once again. This mower was recommended to us for our lawn by the dealership, Johnson Tractor, and we have had nothing but issues with it since day one. Our neighbors each have a Simplicity, which we talked them into buying around the same time we bought ours. One neighbor purchased a 44 inch deck and the other has a 48 inch deck, neither neighbor has had a bit of issues with theirs. When our mower was fixed for the mower deck issue back in 2010, we learned at that time Simplicity knew of a manufacturer defect with the 50 inch mower deck. Upon doing some further research and asking around, I found out that there has been several issues with the 50 inch deck being put on these mowers. It is too big and causes too much stress on the mower, therefore, they no longer make this with this size transmission on it with the 50 inch deck due to the stress it causes on the transmission and mower and other issues it has. In addition I found out over the last few days from Bill in service at Simplicity (Briggs and Stratton) that a memo had gone out TWO YEARS AGO, from Tuff Torq the maker of our transmission, stating that when changing the transmission oil it should be upgraded to a 5W/50 synthetic oil to prolong the life of the transmission. However, over the many times we have had in the shop and I have complained about issues, Johnson Tractor Service has never mentioned this memo and offered to change the transmission oil. When I contacted Simplicity about covering the oil change or paying for us to get a new transmission, they said this was not possible and a new transmission was also not an option of coverage as it is long out of warranty. I feel that if either Johnson Tractor or Simplicity had sent out notice about the oil change memo to the consumers of this tractor, that our transmission would have lasted longer. Based on all this, I feel strongly that we should not have to pay for this costly replacement and it should be covered by Simplicity as the company knew all the problems this particular model had and this problem existed and never did a recall on it or sent notice to existing customers. This is a safety hazard, in that if the mower loses power while going up an incline, the mower could easily lose control and tip injuring the driver severely. I want them to stand behind their “Brand Promise” as stated on their website and help to rectify this situation as soon as possible. Thank you for your assistance.Desired Settlement: Ultimately, I would like our transmission on our tractor replaced and our tractor to be thoroughly looked over for any other manufacturing defects/issues at no cost to us. Based on the many many issues we have had with this lawn tractor over the years since it was new, I know the issues are specific to our lawn tractor make/model as like I said our neighbors each have the same tractor but with smaller decks, and have had absolutely no issues with it whatsoever.

Review: I purchased a Simplicity ZT2652 mower in 2011. It came with a two year warranty and I received an additional year warranty by financing. I took my mower in to have warranty work done because the third year was coming to an end. I took it to my local Simplicity dealer, [redacted]'s Sales and Service in Shippenville PA. When the work was completed, I was contacted by my dealer and was told that my bill was $197. I was told that even though the mower was under warranty, it covered everything but the electrical problem in my motor. This is to the contrary of what I was told when I purchased my mower. [redacted]'s told me that they were told this from Simplicity. This is completely ridiculous to me. I feel that I am being lied to and taken advantage of. I would never have taken it to a dealer if it was not covered by the warranty. I explained to my dealer that I was bringing it in for warranty work from the beginning.Desired Settlement: I would like to have my mower covered under the warranty and not have to pay $197. I would also like Simplicity to notify cus[redacted]ers what is supposedly covered by their warranty.

Review: I purchased my Simplicity Snow Blower in 2009 and have used it a dozen timse since my purchase, we had a snow storm recently , Thursday Feb 14,2014, I made one pass and the snow blower shut down and would not restart. I had Longenecker's Hardware, were I purchased the blower pick it up and check it out to determine why it quit operating. [redacted] called me from longenecker's service department informed me the repair would cost over $400.00. He added that the YELLOW PLASTIC OIL PLUG had vibrated loose and fell out causing loss of lubricant damaging internal components and that this was a problem with the Simplicity blowers in general. [redacted], said he contact Simplicity but they would not help because the blower was five yeras old. My complaint, this was through no fault of my own but rather a defect in the product. This is wrong, Simplicity should replace all damaged parts parts , I have no problem paying for the labor. My Simplicity Blower Model # [redacted], Ser # [redacted]. Longeneckers hardware-[redacted], Phone # [redacted]Desired Settlement: I just want what is fair in this case, Simplicity should at least replace all damaged parts at no cost to me.

Consumer

Response:

From: [redacted]

Date: Fri, Mar 14, 2014 at 3:45 PM

Subject: Re: You have a new message from the Revdex.com of Wisconsin

To: [redacted]

My ID [redacted] - has been resolved to my satisfaction , thank you. [redacted]