SquareTrade, Inc.

I purchased an iphone SE at costco with a square trade warranty. Unfortunately I dropped and broke the phone on the first day of ownership.
I filed for coverage on 8/24/16. It is now 11/1/16 and I have yet to have a satisfactory resolution. I have experienced the following:
1. square trade trying to claim the warranty was not yet active
2. sending the phone to square trade and 2 days later having them send back the phone box with the accessories and no phone. Zero communication.
3. I was subsequently told the phone could not be fixed and they would cut me a check.
4. I finally got the checkin early Oct. And guess what, it bounced. Really.
I have now call square trade 6 times and am am still trying to get a new check and hope it doesn't bounce. It's been over 2 months since the original claim was filed.
I also feel that it is a shame that a business with an 81% negative rating and 1161 complaints filed over the last 3 years would have an A+ rating. Something is very wrong there.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/03/05) */
We are sorry the consumer had an issue with their device.
In this case the consumer is correct and we agree that our no lemon policy does apply.
We will be reimbursing the customer the purchase price of the item in 2 payments.
Also we...

did not repair the unit within the guaranteed time. We will be refunding the customer the purchase price of the warranty as well.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 7, 2015/03/07) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/08/11) */
We are sorry the consumer was misinformed regarding how the process works when a claim is filed.
We are contacting our sellers to make sure that their sales people are giving proper information regarding deductibles on claims.
We have...

worked out a claim so that the consumer does not have to pay a deductible. This is an option we have and it depends on the repair cost as to whether we will wave the deductible or not.

We apologize that the consumer has delays on receiving the reimbursement.We are currently re-sending you a check and you should be receiving it within the next 7 to 10 business daysWe apologize for the delay

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/12/28) */
We apologize for the issue the consumer experienced with their device. The payout for the device was originally processed with incorrect information. The issue has now been resolved and the consumer confirmed the reimbursement has been...

received.

We are sorry the consumer had an issue with their device. We were able to contact the consumer and finish filing the claim.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/11/24) */
We apologize the consumer experienced issues with their device.
The consumer has been contacted to resolve their concerns. Per Terms & Conditions, "We don't cover software issues, including for computers, phones, and tablets" however...

the consumer has been offered additional repairs and we will cover if a software issue is not determined. At this point we have processed a refund for the full amount paid for the warranty.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 7, 2015/11/25) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
The person I spoke with was very nice & helpful. She offered to let me send my computer in again & troubleshoot it one more time & if it wasn't a software problem they would refund the price of my computer fully. With everything going on with the holidays I chose to just take the full refund of the protection amount that was offered. This person was very nice & wonderful to speak with & did agree that the brochures need to be in line with the contract you receive online. I feel the refund of the warranty is a fair resolution. Thanks Squaretrade.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/08/20) */
Hi [redacted],
This is [redacted], the Resolution manager at SquareTrade.
We spoke yesterday. I checked with our accounting department and they indicated to me that the check we sent you was cashed on 7/29 by Citibank.
You had...

indicated that you still have the uncashed check on hand. If you can send me a copy of the that as a reply to the email I sent you last night. I'll work with Citibank to investigate the matter.
If you had cashed it and forgot about it, this should resolve it. But if someone else had cashed it using your ID, I'll assist you in filing a fraud complaint on that check and help you recover that fund.
Unfortunately, until I can verify how this check was cashed, I will not be able to send you a second check.
Please respond to me as soon as convenient for you and I'll check in with Citibank.
Regards,
[redacted]

We apologize for the issue the consumer experienced with their device. Per Terms & Conditions, we provide a new or refurbished device of equal features or functionality. If a refurbished unit is sent it is tested to make sure the device meets standards. Unfortunately even after testing the...

device still failed. We are refunding the consumer's deductible, warranty and issuing a payout once we receive the non-working. The consumer has been contacted by phone & email.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/03/27) */
Hi [redacted],
I am [redacted] the resolution manager at SquareTrade. I am so sorry the phone you received is reported stolen.
We order our phones from a distributor. But as I understand the process, they vet their devices against a...

list provided by the service provider to make sure the ESNs are active. There might have been some mistakes on that part. I'll have an agent contact you right away to get this resolved.
As far as making the fact that we use remanufactured devices for our exchange program; that is already in place. All of our resellers who offer our wararnty for phones have training material and brochures that clearly state this.
I will make sure we get you a fully functional unit in the next day or so.
Regards,
[redacted]
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2014/04/02) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
On the next phone they sent me the LTE phone service would not work and it would drain my battery very fast. When I called them they said they would send another but it never came. So I just went and bought a new phone.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2014/04/03) */
Hi [redacted],
I am so sorry about that. I'll have a senior claims agent contact you and get a resolution for you right away.
I appreciate you working with us and I apologize this is claim is still not fixed. I'll follow up with our distribution manager too, to make sure we have these process errors rectified.
Regards,
[redacted]
Final Consumer Response /* (4200, 11, 2014/04/12) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
On April 3rd [redacted] sent me this email:
On Apr 3, 2014 2:45 PM, "[redacted] H" wrote:
Greetings [redacted],
I am reaching out to you today to offer you an alternate means of claim resolution. It seems as though we have not suceeded at delivering a perfect replacement phone out to you, and as a result, I am authorized to offer your resolution by means of cash payout.
Based on your carrier, and make and model of your cell phone, I am authorized to cut payment in the amount of 696.30, in order to cover the out of contract price for a Samsung Galaxy S 4, 639.99, plus tax in your area, 8.8%.
I do need your confirmation on this matter in order to continue to process this request, please feel free to reply to this email in affirmation, or please feel free to give me a direct call back at X-XXX-XXX-XXXX ext 1035.
Thank you,
[redacted]
SquareTrade Claims Specialist
Since then I have not had any response to my emails or calls. I believe he sent this to get me to accept his proposal on here. But it has been 9 days and I should have got something in the mail or at least a response to my calls or emails if they really wanted to resolve this.
Consumer Response /* (2000, 18, 2014/05/16) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/11/24) */
We are sorry the consumer had problems with his unit. Our repair guarantee is for units that are in repair for longer than, in the case of cell phones, 2 days. If they are in repair for more that 2 days, as this consumer has experienced,...

the plan is free and we refund the warranty price to the consumer. We have refunded the consumer the warranty price (by check) as per what is stated on our website. If there are additional repairs we cannot refund more that what is promised in terms of delayed repair, the consumer already has been sent the full refund price of the warranty.
The consumer is correct in that if the unit cannot be repaired within three weeks we [redacted] pay the consumer the purchase price of the unit. This is stated in our Terms and Conditions.
The delay in the repair was due to the fact that the issue the repair depot found was liquid exposure as the indicators in the unit showed. There were no indications of liquid exposure in the first repair. The warranty does cover these issues as well so the item [redacted] be repaired. The delay was caused by the need to file a new claim for the depot.
We [redacted] send an email to the consumer to confirm all of this so it is documented in his account so there [redacted] be no misunderstanding when he speaks to another agent.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2014/12/01) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Upon receipt of the initial repair, the phone was taken out of the package, charged enough to turn on. I then started testing the features. I found the camera was not working. The was NO way water damage occurred between the time of me opening the repair and sending it back. If there was water damage as they claim, how was I able to power on the phone? A SquareTrade representative stated there was an error in how the re-repair was entered into the computer.
They did say they issued me a paper check refund for the plan purchase price which I have not received as of yet. According to their website, if a phone repair takes more than two business days they [redacted] do that. The first repair took nine days (seven business days).
I am unsure how SquareTrade can say that they have honored their contract in terms of repair times. I had only purchased the warranty because of the quick turn around they advertised. I would not call almost a month anywhere near the terms of five days clearly stated in their service contract. Due to the length they took repairing my phone, I was forced to purchase a new phone.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2014/12/04) */
We are sorry the consumer has not received his refunds. We have processed the refund through the method that the warranty was purchased but the credit to the credit card account failed so we processed the payment as a check. The check should arrive by December 12.
Our depot can only report on what they see, they have no idea how it happened, only that the liquid indicators show that there has been liquid exposure.
In term of repair time we agree with the consumer and we did not repair the unit within the time frame we have guaranteed. We are refunding the warranty price as we said we would.
Final Consumer Response /* (4200, 12, 2014/12/14) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
During this response, I was asked to leave a review on another site. I left a honest review. SquareTrade then asked the website to pull the review because they said this all took place over a year ago. I provided documentation proving that this did happen last month. Due to the month SquareTrade had my phone, I was forced to buy a new one. I am unsure how a company that has not lived up to their contract and performs underhanded attacks to have negative reviews pulled can have such a good Revdex.com rating. The face of the matter remains, SquareTrade did not repair my phone in any stretch of a timely matter. I would like the msrp of my device paid our. I'll be willing to accept msrp minus the plan purchase price. That would be $300.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/04/27) */
Our Assurance Team has spoken to the consumer regarding this issue. If the consumer has additional questions they can email - [redacted]@squaretrade.com or call [redacted] dial [redacted] and extension [redacted] The team will reply to the email...

(or if a voice message is left) within 24 to 48 business hours.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/04/28) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
I tried for two weeks to get in touch with squaretrade representatives and was told to expect a call back. I emailed and left messages and spent countless hours on the phone and was just given the run around over and over again and never once received an email or call back that was of any help with any solution whatsoever. The response that I was given was that because I dropped my phone while taking pictures and/or video accidentally twice that my accidental damage insurance is not valid because of this. This makes no sense as this is why I would purchase this warranty... For accidental damage... Being treated like this by any business is very unsettling and raises concerns that this is happening to more people than just me as I can see by mutilple complaints on here (Revdex.com) and hope that they will fulfill my warranty that they cancelleda nd all of the other warranties they are attempting to not honor for false reasons.
Final Consumer Response /* (4200, 10, 2015/05/05) */
I have been in contact with multiple people from SquareTrade since the last reply. they refuse to send me my phone that I sent them back on the 8th of April and it is now the fifth of May. They also refused to fix my warranty claim issue. Not sure what to do any more... Unfortunately sounds like I got robbed by these people...

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/05/12) */
Hi [redacted],
I am [redacted] the Resolution Manager st SquareTrade.
I am sorry for the hassle on this repair. As I understand it, you've spoken to one of our supervisors last week regarding this repair. And she notes that the laptop is...

functional at this point. You are covered for 90 days after this warranty against further failure. If this happens, please contact us right away and we'll assist you with this.
I am sorry too, for the delay on this. We have a commitment to provide speedy repairs, though in this case we were running into a parts backlog. But I want to compensate you for this. What I can do is offer you a refund on your warranty as an apology for the delayed repair. You'll see this refund on your credit card in about 3 business days.
If you require anything else, you can reach me directly at [redacted].com.
Thank you,
[redacted]
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 7, 2014/05/15) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
I spoke with [redacted] and we came to this agreement. Thank you.

Square Trade couldn't have messed up my warranty claim any worse. I filed a claim three weeks ago and was told to wait an hour to learn a response. After two hours I called and was told to wait another hour. Finally after three hours I was told that I would receive a check in 5 days, followed by an email 2 day later confirming that message.. 13 days later I called again to ask where was my check. There first response was to ask if I filed the claim properly. I reference the email confirmation. I was then told to wait a few more days. Finally yesterday I got an email telling me my check was cancelled and they will mail a new one. Today I received that check.
In addition to that fiasco, My warranty told me I would recieve a Staples Gift card, not a cjheck. I am now three weeks without a printer!!!

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/08/04) */
Contact Name and Title: [redacted], Resolution Mgr
Contact Email: [redacted]@squaretrade.com
Hi [redacted],
I am [redacted], the Resolution Manager at SquareTrade.
I am sorry for the delay on this. I see from your claim here that we are...

waiting on your receipt submission before we can approve your claim. One of our agents has sent you an email with instructions for how to send the invoice to SquareTrade, but we do not have it yet. As of today, 8/4/2014, we still do not have it.
If you can send it directly to me at [redacted]@squaretrade.com, I'll forward it to our claims agents and process it through for you. Please make sure that any scans that you're sending is less than 5MB, or it will get filtered by our mail server's security system.
I look forward to getting your invoice and helping you resolve this case ASAP.
Regards,
[redacted]

Awful! I sent my daughter's Ipad in with a minor crack to the screen but otherwise in perfect working order. It was returned a week later with the screen fixed but the Ipad itself had been disabled for over a million minutes and was no longer recognised by my computer. SEVERAL phone calls later, after no one could give me an explanation as to why squaretrade had broken the Ipad and then returned it to me in that condition, they agreed to collect it again and after nearly a month the Ipad was returned, now no longer disabled but with everything wiped. Luckily I had backed it up but was able to restore it but despite making a complaint I have never had any explanation or apology for my Ipad being broken and returned to me in non working condition. Mistakes happen but there is no excuse for not acknowledging or responding to a complaint. Would I recommend them - absolutely not!!!

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/09/10) */
Hi [redacted],
I am [redacted], the Resolution Manager at SquareTrade.
I am sorry for the hassle on this claim. From our notes here, it looks like one of our managers, [redacted], has helped you process a reimbursement for a brand new phone. ...

The check is in process and you should have it by next week.
Please let us know if you need anything else, OK?
Regards,
[redacted]

No, I have an email sent out on the [redacted] informing me the check is going to be $[redacted] (I have sent an email to the Revdex.com complaint team handling this showing the proof of the email.
 
 
And its been about almost 2 months (as of the [redacted] and nothing has been completed. They keep promising me a check for the amount shown above, and saying it should be in the mailbox by now, but its not. Sincerely, [redacted]

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/11/19) */
We apologize the consumer experienced issues with their device.
It appears the check was resent on November 13th and should be received within 7-10 business days.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/11/24) */
Hello...

Revdex.com,
Thank you for your attention to this matter. Square Trade has once again stated they mailed a check, and its been 10 days since the date , Nov 13th, on which they say it was mailed. This is the 2nd time they said a check went out. I am inclined to consider them fraudulent. Please proceed with the next steps to insure they send us the money. It's so obvious the check never went out, as stated by them, as I receive all my other mail.
I have made them aware that I did not get the check yet, and that I will not let this rest until I do.
Thank you so much.
[redacted] (cell)
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2015/11/25) */
The consumer's check was processed on November 13th, 2015. She was advised it will be deliver in 7-10 business days. As of today only 8 business days have passed. The consumer has been contacted to inform of the current timeline for reimbursement checks.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/06/01) */
Our Assurance Team is looking into the customer's case and will reach out via email or phone call in the next 24 to 48 business hours.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/06/03) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT...

accept the response from the business.)
Square Trade has paid out a claim against this warranty in the past. Their basis for not paying this claim is that the receipt is fraudulent.
I've had to file a better business complaint to get the previous two warranty claims with Square Trade to be processed.
The original equipment purchase receipt from AT&T, the receipt from Apple when the original phone was replaced under this warranty showing the original and new serial numbers, a copy of the detail from my credit card for this transaction, as well as a copy of the Pay Pal transaction showing Square Trade paying me the cost of the Apple repair.
I'm unsure what else that might be needed to soothe the fear that this is a fraudulent receipt.
Yesterday, the SquareTrade rep suggested that the warranty may not be valid. I'd just like my warranty claim processed without any more hassles.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 10, 2015/06/08) */
Our Assurance Team has called the customer regarding this issue and left a voicemail. That department can assist with any concerns if the customer replies back to that message. The team will reply within 24 to 48 business hours.