KSL Investigators Help Window Company Honor Lifetime Warranty
May 26, 2021, 6:35 AM | Updated: 6:37 am
SANDY, Utah — A warranty is supposed to give you peace of mind knowing the company stands behind its product. So what happens when a company refuses to honor its own warranty?
When a Sandy couple butted heads with a national window company they said refused to honor their lifetime promise to stand behind their work, they called the KSL Investigators for help.
When Debra and Stan Gamero found that all four of their custom, energy-efficient windows had broken seals between the panes, they hoped their lifetime warranty from Champion would provide a wallet-friend fix.
“The double panes are not sealed and when it rains, it bubbles up,” said Debra Gamero. “The water leaks through and it leaves water spots.”
Now, right there in the warranty in bold letters, it says “NO CHARGE will be made for GLASS SEAL FAILURE.”
“They tell me they are not warrantied,” Gamero told KSL TV. “They say it has something to do with the way it was installed.”
The Gameros spent nearly $8,900 on their windows 12 years ago, and Champion installed the windows.
“Those are beautiful windows, but they don’t look beautiful,” Gamero said. “No matter what I do, I cannot get them clean.”
Fed up with dirty windows and calls or tech visits going nowhere, the couple decided it was time to the KSL Investigators.
We reached out to Champion Windows on the Gameros’ behalf — not through customer service, but directly with the company’s CEO. We sent him photos of the no longer energy-efficient windows and asked why their warranty is no good.
Debra Gamero sits down with KSL Investigator Matt Gephardt with her paperwork. Holding onto the warranty and receipts is key in making a claim. (KSL TV)
Champion’s CEO told KSL “Champion does and will continue to honor valid warranties in the Salt Lake market,” and asked for time to get to the bottom of this. Well, he did, and told us there was a “misunderstanding of the warranty request, which caused someone on our team to assume the warranty was invalid.”
Two weeks later, the Gameros had four new, energy-efficient windows.
“Look at the view you can see and it’s just so nice,” said Debra Gamero. “I used to have to pull the Roman shades down because they (the broken windows) were so ugly.”
A view restored, the Gameros said, because they called the KSL Investigators.
Debra Gamero now gets a clean view of the Salt Lake Valley through her replaced windows. (KSL TV)
“I do think that your call made all the difference,” Debra Gameros said.
A warranty is a legally binding guarantee. If a company refuses to honor it, the Federal Trade Commission recommends taking it to the state’s department of consumer protection. If that does not work, the next option is small claims court or a lawsuit. But you will not get far if you do not have a copy of the warranty and a receipt.
