Call Kurtis: Washer Warranty Woes

Jennifer Lopez bought the extended warranty, thinking her washer would be fixed with no problems.

So why did they say the damage wasn't covered?

The laundry piles up pretty quick at Lopez's home. "A lot of laundry. I wash clothes every day, all day long," She says.

With six kids, a washing machine is a necessity, but lately the family has been hauling their dirty clothes to the Laundromat. Lopez would rather not have to kill time here but the problem is her year and a half old washer is on the fritz.

She bought the Frigidaire set from the Rocklin RC Willey in February of 2009. About six months later, there was a problem with the washer.

"The lock was broken on it, it wouldn't seal," Says Lopez. She noticed a corner of the washer door popped out. It wouldn't lay flush with the rest of the machine. Lopez spent $130 on RC Willey's 5-year extended warranty so she called up the store and a technician was sent out to fix the problem.

But about a year later the machine stopped working again. She tells us water would leak and eventually the washer would not even power on. But this time the tech blamed the damage on abuse, which isn't covered.

Lopez couldn't understand how the door damage could possibly have been caused by her or her family. So we called RC Willey and the company immediately decided to give her a new washer.

Sales Manager Jerrod Cheney tells us, "Customers are the most important and we'll bend over backwards to take care of our customers."

The store isn't sure why the third party tech declared the damage abuse, but decided to fulfill her warranty anyway. With the new washer up and running, Lopez has now cleared the laundry backlog, giving her more time at home.

"It's been good. I've been washing clothes all the time and it's been working really good," she says.

Since Lopez's washer was replaced, her old warranty is now void. She did buy an extended warranty to go along with her new washer.

If you have a problem with a repair you think should be covered by a warranty you can file a complaint with the Department of Consumer Affairs after you've tried and failed to resolve the issue with the company.