PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Jane and Timothy Jacobbson bought a Samsung oven for many reasons, including its self-cleaning mode. About 3 months after they got the oven, she used that self-cleaning feature — but the oven overheated and shut down.
Fortunately, it was under warranty.
Then, just before Thanksgiving — with plans to cook a turkey dinner for family members — she used the self-cleaning feature again. And again, “the whole panel blew out,” she said.
By this time, the manufacturer’s warranty had expired. However, when they bought the oven at Home Depot they bought an extended warranty.
Jane said a Home Depot repairman came after the holiday “and fixed it, put a new panel in and said, ‘Now you’ve been told twice not to use your self-cleaning (feature).’ That’s what he told me.”
On the repairman’s report, it says: “Instruct customer not to use self-clean feature. Unit does not have a cooling fan… Will overheat…”
The Jacobbsons said that’s the same thing they were told under the Samsung warranty.
“Then I said, I don’t know what to do.” That’s when they contacted KOIN 6 News.
KOIN 6 News reached out to Home Depot’s media relations department, who emailed they were “looking into this.”
That same day, the extended warranty people got in touch with the Jacobbsons.
Their extended warranty said the company might give a “replacement product” or “Home Depot Gift Card or a check” if the oven required “a 4th repair.”
But those 4 repairs don’t include the first time the oven failed because the “no lemon policy does not apply to repairs performed while the product is under the manufacturer’s warranty.”
That means the Jacobbsons would need their self-cleaning oven feature to fail 5 times. But Jane Jacobbson said she’s afraid to use it because it gets too hot to touch.
Days passed. The Jacobbsons hadn’t heard anything. KOIN 6 News again contacted Home Depot and worked out some “miscommunication” their spokesperson mentioned in an email to KOIN 6.
But then, the Jacobbsons got an email from the warranty company that said it was “unable to approve their claim.”
“We weren’t getting anywhere,” Timothy said. “I don’t get angry easily and I got angry, and I don’t like that,” Jane said.
Just as KOIN 6 was going to contact Home Depot again, the Jacobbsons got a check from the warranty company for nearly $1000 to buy a new oven.
In this case it’s a good thing the Jacobbsons bought the extended warranty. But Consumer Reports says usually it’s not worth the extra money because the cost to fix it probably won’t be much more than what you’d spend on a warranty.
Now, the Jacobbsons will have an oven they feel safe having.
“Thank you so much. Thank you for what you do,” the Jacobbsons said. “Seriously, thank you.”