Customer feels cheated by Brick extended warranty

Laurin Clarke said she bought The Bricks 5 Year Blanket Warranty because she was told she would be covered if anything went wrong with her new leather furniture.

But when she tried to get repair work done, she said the retailer wouldnt fix what she calls obvious flaws.

Dont buy this warranty because they dont honour it, Clarke said. Its not worth the $300.

The Brick describes the sofa and loveseat Clarke bought in 2009 as being made of premium, top-grain leather.

I really believe in buying quality, Clarke said. My parents taught me: buy quality so that it lasts a long time.

She said the salesman persuaded her to pay an extra $300 for the extended warranty because it would buy her peace of mind.

He said this is really good quality leather, but if anything at all happens, even if you spill nail polish, food stains, he said anything rips, tears, seams, structural damage you are covered. He made it sound so wonderful.

However, Clarke said the couch had begun to sag in the spot where her husband generally sits to watch TV.

Then she started noticing marks and flakes on the leather surface, and saw that two seams had split.

The Brick sent someone to take pictures of the damage, and Clarke said she expected it would be an easy fix.

However, when the retailer calledback, Clarke said they agreed only to fix the sagging cushion, saying the marked surface and split seams werent covered under the warranty.

Warranty denial 'not even logical,'customer says

Clarke said she pored over the fine print in the warranty and still cant see how the company could refuse to repair the split seams and marks on the furniture.

The Bricks 5 Year Blanket Warranty includes failed stitching, as well as cracking and peeling leather finish.

Im not a lawyer, but I read through it, Clarke said. I think everythings valid here.

She said talking to The Bricks customer service department felt like an argument in semantics.

I was calling it rips and cuts and peeling leather and she was calling it scratches. We just seemed to go round in circles. It almost felt like she was reading from a script because she sure wasnt listening to me.

Clarke said she was told even the splitting seams couldnt be covered as a sewing defect.

She said, We dont cover scratches and the splitting seams and the scratches are on the same piece so we wont cover those. I said thats not even logical.

Im starting to feel cheated actually, Clarke said.

Marks caused by abuse and neglect company says

The Bricks record of the chain of events is very different from Clarkes.

Greg Nakonechny, the Vice President,Legal for The Brick, said the company offered to fix the seams and the cushion, but that Clarke insisted the company give her new furniture.

She only sought a full replacement of the product, which is certainly not in line with the terms of the warranty, Nakonechny said.

Clarke denies she insisted on having the furniture replaced, or that she was offered $800, only that she wanted the furniture repaired.

Nakonechny said, based on photographs taken of the damage, the marks on Clarkes couch are excessive.

Any use that is in excess of what is reasonably expected, then its considered abuse and neglect, he said.

I come from a family with four active kids. I look at the sofas we have that are approaching ten years and they are nowhere close to having that level of scratch marks, he said.

Although the warranty Clarke bought covers more that 20 mishaps including stains from food, drink or bodily fluids, spilled nail polish and cosmetics, as well as burns and cuts Nakonechny said it wont cover the marks on her sofa.

Those are clearly not covered under the warranty as they fall in the category of either reasonable wear and tear, which is expressly excluded under warranty, or use that is outside the ordinary, Nakonechny said.

Abuse and neglect, along with wear and tear are two items excluded from the warranty.

Clarke says the companys conclusion is unfair.

I could see it if we were abusive people, but I think we take care of our stuff, she said.

The Better Business Bureau of Central and Northern Alberta has recorded 700 complaints against furniture companies.

More than 90% of those are against The Brick, however that number includes complaints made against any of its stores located across Canada since the companys corporate headquarters are in Edmonton.

One-third of the complaints concern warranties.

We dont look at numbers in terms of number of Better Business Bureau complaints, Nakonechny said. We look at overall our performance from our customers, the feedback our customers give.

Extended warranties arent worth very much Consumers Association says

The Consumers Association of Canada says extended warranties arent worth the money.

I would not buy an extended warranty, said Association President Bruce Cran.These salespeople want you to buy these warranties for all sorts of things.

Sometimes theres up to 50% commission involved, so that will probably give you an idea who benefits, he added.

These warranties arent worth very much, Cran said.

Nakonechny admitted The Bricks salespeople are paid a commission to sell extended warranties.

In any commercial enterprise there needs to be an incentive to offer it, and so our sales people are compensated based on their sales.

Nakonechny said although the company wont fix the marks on Clarkes sofa, it fully intends to repair the stitching and sagging cushion and will be in touch with her.

Clarke said shes still waiting to hear from them.

Its unfortunate that the communication has broken down, he said. The foam or the seams, that is covered. We think she is entitled to repairs and we want to repair those aspects.

Clarke meanwhile, thinks the Blanket Warranty she paid $300 for is a blanket with holes.

What does a blanket mean to you? Youre covered! Youre protected.