SquareTrade, Inc.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/10/01) */
We are sorry the customer had an incident of theft that resulted in a damaged item. As was explained to the customer his warranty, as per the Terms and Conditions, does not cover accidental damage.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /*...

(3000, 7, 2014/10/02) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
When I purchased the warranty, I was never given the option to purchase the ADH (Accidental Damage Coverage) so based on your quote process, the assumption was that it was included (per your advertisement). It's only in the fine print at the end that it removes the coverage if the computer was bought more than 30 days ago.
Your false advertising and unfair practices are unlawful based on the FTC because they affect commerce. Your conditions, obligations and disclosures were not advertised clearly. They were set as a footnote, which is not regarded as making disclosure legally.
Your solution at this point when I have a valid claim is just to return my money. This is not acceptable at all!
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2014/10/08) */
We are sorry the customer experienced an accident that resulted in a failure. Although SquareTrade does offer the accidental damage warranties it does have to be included in the warranty at the time of purchase. The warranty was not sold by SquareTrade but a reseller. We cannot control what the reseller sells to the customers.
Final Consumer Response /* (4200, 13, 2014/10/10) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
I bought it directly from SquareTrade on your website, so your excuse is not valid.
This keeps proving SquareTrade's ethics and business practices

When I first used Squaretrade in 2012 they were great awesome fast service that delivered on their promises. So I didn't hesitate when I purchased a computer in 2014 to use them again. After about 3 months my computer started having problems and quit working. I sent it in to get fixed and while they replaced a physical part it didn't fix the problem, it took about 5 minutes for me to figure that out, so I had to send it in again. Up to this point they were cooperative. After the second "repair" worked for about a month (I am not hard on computers) they were horrible would tell me to call back tomorrow b/c they couldn't get permission, hang up on me, place me on hold indefinitely, say we are good to go, but never actually process the claim, never ordered a shipping label, say one thing then process something else, promise to call back the next day and not do so, transfer you to someone who can't do a thing for you just to be transferred back to the previous department, and get stuck in a repetitive cycle of incompetence where no one knows what the previous person did. Make [redacted] and [redacted] management they actually get things done the rest of the 20-30 plus people I've worked with fire them b/c they have turned me away from your company for good. I will no longer recommend Squaretrade to anyone, but will discourage them from using their services. Good idea, good company gone bad and incompetent.

SPECTACULAR! My 10 year old son broke the screen on his tablet, I knew he would. He breaks everything (typical 10 year old). I filed a claim, printed the return label (free shipping). My wife saw a [redacted] truck at the dollar store so she asked if he could take the package for her. He did. Within 2 hours, my PayPal account had the money in it for the full purchase price of the tablet!.

They must have sent the money the second [redacted] man scanned the package. No waiting. No fuss. I bought a new tablet (using money squaretrade put in my PayPal account), plus free shipping from ventor, to order new tablet.

In short, 15 minutes to file a claim, new tablet two days later ($0.00) out of my pocket. What more can I say! AWESOME!

Final Consumer Response /* (2000, 5, 2015/01/05) */
Hello, and thank you, a check has arrived so this is resolved.

From start to finish, SquareTrade did a great job in working with me on my defective printer. I will certainly use them again because of their high standard for professionalism and customer service.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/02/10) */
We are sorry the consumer has had issues with the tablet.
As per our Terms and Conditions over the life of the warranty we cannot spend more than what the item was purchased for. In this case we provided a full payout for the first...

claim. Based on that claim there are no remaining funds in the warranty and the warranty is complete.
The consumer in this case was told that the warranty continued and the conversation is documented in our system. Although this is not what is stated in our Terms and Conditions we will follow through with our commitment to the consumer. A claim has been approved for this issue.

We are sorry for any miscommunication experienced.We appreciate that the consumer provided all of the necessary documentation at the start of the plan but it seems that it was attached to her account, causing the confusion. It also seems that the shipping process was not described in depth. Since we provide the shipping to and from we do ask the consumer pack and secure all packages before they are sent. In regards to the deductible, any resolution we provide to our consumers for cellular devices does come with a deductible charge. We apologize that these details of the claims process were not fully explained.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/08/15) */
Hi [redacted],
I am [redacted], the Resolution Manager at SquareTrade.
I am sorry for the hassle on this, but unfortunately, we will not be approving a payout on your repair quote.
The diagnostic that you submitted from Apple...

indicates that there were multiple dents on the system, indicating physical damage to the unit. This is not covered under our warranty. As such we will be denying this claim.
If required, we can forward this invoice to the Revdex.com for review.
Please let me know if you want me to proceed with a refund on your warranty since we're not able to proceed with a claim approval in this case.
Regards,
[redacted]
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2014/08/18) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
The "dents" noted on the Apple invoice are 1) very negligible that they couldn't have caused the computer to mailfunction, and 2) they were already there when I bought the computer on eBay. So there was no physical damage to the computer that caused problems the laptop currently has. Squaretrade agreed to sell warranty on this computer when I bought it on eBay with the conditions that it was in. So how can you use that as a reason to deny the claim now? It seems that Squaretrade just use that as an excuse to deny paying the claim.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 11, 2014/09/04) */
Hi [redacted],
We're not using the dents as an excuse, but multiple dents is a concern to us as a warranty provider.
As a compromise, I'd like to have this unit reviewed by our repair depot to determine if these dents are cosmetic or if they'll impair the functionality of the unit. We use an independent third party, Apple certified, repair service that will give us a unbiased review of your unit.
I'll ask a claims agent to contact you to set this up.
Thank you,
[redacted]
Final Consumer Response /* (4200, 15, 2014/09/08) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
The laptop is in exactly the condition it was when I bought it from ebay at which time you offer Squaretrade warranty. And it was working fine for a few months so how can any cosmetic mini ding/dent have any effect on the performance of the laptop? And this has been dragging out for months without any payout. At this pace, I worry that the 1-year squaretrade I paid will expire before any claim is settled? I'm willing to accept 2/3 of the repair cost ($729) to settle this matter. But you will be given 2 weeks (deadline 9/22/2014) to pay this amount or this offer will no longer be available after that. In the mean time, I will look at other venues to bring up this matter, which I think other customers of yours experience too.

We apologize for the issue the consumer experienced our records indicated the consumer's device needed the following: Replacement hard drive, windows reinstall, Microsoft & Samsung Charger replacement. Per Terms & Conditions, "We don't cover accessories or parts that are meant to be replaced...

by the buyer & "We don't cover software issues, including for computers, phones, and tablets". As an one-time exception we reimbursed the consumer for the accessory item but we will not be reimbursing for the software. We recommend the consumer review the terms & conditions so there is a clear understanding of the warranty.

The consumer was never instructed to purchase a new phone & claim was never approved for replacement. Unfortunately we are unable to make an exception to payout the customer for the device as the device is irretrievable. Per terms & conditions, we do not cover devices that are lost, stolen or irretrievable.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/12/14) */
We apologize the consumer experienced issues with their device. The consumer has been contacted and a resolution has been reached.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/12/24) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT...

accept the response from the business.)
I will be attempting to contact [redacted] from Square Trade shortly. They have not paid me back for the fee they costed me like they said they would. It is more dishonesty on Square Trades part. I also will be asking for mileage reimbursement for the 2 times they sent me there out of the 4 times I drove there. They had sent me there to pick up my phone to then mail it to square trade. They had said that yes my phone was ready to pick up to mail out and just go there to get it. It was not ready either time because Square Trade was refusing to pay the shop for their work. The fastest route from my address to the address of the shop is 14.5 miles one way. A total of 58 miles round trip for both trips. Using the standard federal mileage rate of 57.5 cents per mile it comes to $33.35. I am not asking for the approximately 6 hours spent either in transit or at the store trying to talk to Square trade on the phone with their manager to figure out and fix things. In regards to their response. The issue was not with my device. The issue was with the lies and incompetency of Square Trade. Yes I the customer have been reached. And no a resolution has not been reached. I am sick of the lies. I am sick of the mistakes. This is not a device issue. This is an honesty and integrity issue.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 16, 2016/01/05) */
The consumer's reimbursement for the mileage has been processed & will be issued in 7-10 business days. The consumer has agreed that the check cancellation fee will not be reimbursed.
Final Consumer Response /* (2000, 26, 2016/01/25) */
I have today received the check that Square Trade had promised. It was mailed out much later than it should but better late than never. I consider this matter to be fully resolved and thank them for making things right.

We are sorry for any issues the consumer had with their device. Several attempts have been made to contact the consumer at the phone number we have on file.  In order to trouble shoot the customer's unit we would need to have them on the phone and near the device.  We have also had trouble validating the consumer's model and serial number provided.  SquareTrade's appliance department has reached back out to the consumer to gather in the information necessary and trouble shoot the device.  Currently, we are waiting for  the consumer to return our calls to finish their claim process.

I threw my money away on a 2 year warranty for my new cell phone. Within 5 months the phone started to go crazy and would rapidly open one app after another randomly and usually end up with the camera turned on. I tried to file a claim online but the form would not let me continue because they didn't have my brand of phone listed and there was no way to type in my brand. I tried calling but every time you call you get the same message that they are overwhelmed with calls and they offer to take your number and call you back without losing your place. I tried that and waited all day with no call back. The next day I tried again and got the same response. This time I got a call back in about 2 hours. I got no help at all from the agent I spoke to. First he didn't like the way I sent in the receipt so he wouldn't accept it. Then he insisted that I reset the phone and lose all my information and then call back again and go through that same process all over again. They just look for any excuse to not pay a claim by wearing you down. I will never do business with this company again.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/03/05) */
We are sorry the consumer had an issue with their device.
We are working with training our specialists so that the proper expectations are set.
We do not know why our system did not have the correct mailing address. We do have that...

corrected.
We spoke with the consumer and he is going to keep the tablet we sent as a replacement.
Due to the poor service the consumer received we are going to refund them the warranty price.

One star is not low enough of a rating for Square Trade. In my opinion, they are crooks. My most recent experience was one of the worse customer service experiences I have had. I purchased a phone (new) on ebay. I called Square Trade the next day and they sold me coverage. I sent them the sale information. 6 months later, the phone quit working. Square Trade told me they would send a label to return the item. No label so called back – they said to use the manufacturer warranty coverage. Sent to the mfg who said there was internal moisture damage so they returned it. Called Square Trade who said they would replace the item - but to send info from the mfg. Did that. They said to wait 24 hours at which time they said their coverage was invalid since I purchased the item on ebay, but did not get the Square Trade coverage on ebay. Interesting they didn’t tell me that when I purchased the item or the numerous calls I had with them before it came down to them actually fixing/replacing the item.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 6, 2014/10/14) */
We are sorry that the consumer had issues with our policy of having a receipt of purchase on file and that we were unable to get that receipt, even after they sent it, into our system. We are always willing to work with our customers to...

resolve issues such as these.
We don't understand how the consumer has not seen his refund. According to all of our accounting records the refund was processed on 9/30 back to the credit card used to purchase the warranty. We will reach out to the consumer to resolve this.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/02/18) */
We are sorry the consumer had problems with their phone.
We have processed the payment on February 16 and a check is being sent out to the customer. They should receive the check by February 24.
We are sorry the consumer experienced...

the delay in processing this claim. For that reason we are refunding the customer the warranty price as well. They should receive a check in the amount of $99.00.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 7, 2015/02/19) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2016/03/21) */
We apologize for the issue the consumer experienced with their device.
Our records indicate That we did receive the invoice an a check was processed on 3/8.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/08/12) */
We are sorry the consumer had issues with their device.
There are sometimes where our inventory does not have the correct phone. In this case we tried to source another phone but we had the incorrect model and the customer received the...

wrong phone.
We are reviewing our procedure and are training our specialist to better message what the consumer should expect.
We are reimbursing the consumer the price of the phone and have refunded the price of the warranty back to the consumer.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/08/14) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
I spoke to someone 8/12/15 regarding this issue. The girl stated that they are unable to find me a replacement phone, and they were going to buy me out of my phone for $699. However, my receipt clearly shows $768.99. I asked to speak with a manager (again).
I did finally speak to a manager. He agreed to refund me the price of the warranty given that I had only used a few months of it, and it would expire when I turned my phone in. He also agreed to pay the $769 stated on my reciept.
However, I received an email today (8/14/15) that stated I had been approved for a payout of $699. I called Squaretrade, but unfortunately they do not have anyone answering that phone line and you must leave a message.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2015/08/19) */
We are sorry the consumer had issues with discrepancy of the payment.
We have process a check in the amount of $69 that will make up the difference between what the consumer has received and what they were promised.
The check is being sent out today and is scheduled to be delivered on August 20.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/09/01) */
We are sorry the consumer had issues with their account.
According to our records our system did a full refund of $38.99. We also see, based on the transaction numbers with the financial institution that the funds that were credited to...

the consumer were $1.32 short. We were not given an explanation by the financial institution as to why the full credit was not processed. The credit of $37.67 was confirmed with the financial institution.
We have contacted the customer to have them contact the institution. We are also processing a payment for the difference in what we should have sent the consumer.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/09/02) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
I originally purchased this plan with a phone through eBay, after receiving this response I made sure to check my messages; no further communication has been made on their end to either explain why that amount was refunded, nor have they attempted to refund the remainder of my money. $38.99 - $24.57 = $14.42.
The "financial institution" is a reloadable prepaid card from Western Union; which since your supposed repayment troubles, have had no trouble being refunded for the entire price of the phone.
I'd now like to see your receipts, as I'm most certain none of these things were done and is now an issue of principal and being lied to.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2015/09/03) */
We refund a warranty back to the method used to purchase a warranty. The financial institution used to purchase the warranty was Paypal.
We also have concluded that the partial payment was made from SquareTrade due to the Terms and Conditions of the warranty, " If You cancel after the first thirty (30) days from purchase of this Protection Plan, You will receive a pro rata refund based on the time remaining on Your Protection Plan." As we stated we have processed the difference in the full amount and pro-rated amount as the warranty was cancelled due to the fact that the warrant was cancelled and never used. Also because the consumer had issues with Paypal this amount will be refunded by check.
We did email the consumer the Unique Transaction ID that they can use to find out why they did not receive the full refund. We will not post anything on this response to the rebuttal as it is personal information. We emailed the consumer at the email address listed on the complaint.
We will send the consumer the email again.