xk302a on Birdeye a year ago
04/13/2022, 17:48 PM
Lowe's installed the wrong water heater at my house and refused to take any responsibility. It's a long story but here it is: I went to Lowe's to purchase an electric residential water heater. They gave me a 1-800 number to call, as the water heater installation is done via a separate entity (1-800-heaters) that collaborates with Lowe's. Called 1-800-heaters and asked for a price quote for a 50 gallon electric water heater with 12 year warranty. They gave me a quote, which I found reasonable. I asked them to proceed with the order. They sent me a PDF file that had the order details (model number, installation cost, etc.). The numbers looked good and I asked them to install it. A few days later a local installer working on behalf of 1-800-heaters installed the water heater (they charged me $300 more for plumbing needed to install the water heater). When I asked the installer about the 12 year warranty, he said the water heater has a 6 year warranty. I immediately called Lowe's customer service, left my number for them to call me back (which they did not). Filled out an online form on Lowe's website as well (again no response). Kept calling Lowe's and eventually spoke with a rep. She sent me 1-800-heaters way. They said the model number in PDF order 'clearly' specifies that the warranty is 6 years. So, instead of specifying the warranty in plain English, they apparently expect the customers to know that 'E6' in model number 'E6-50H45DV' means 6 year warranty. I told them that I'm not a water heater expert and I just asked for one with a 12 year warranty. They were rude and refused to help. I called Lowe's and the rep was rude as well and sent me the manufacturer's way. Manufacturer said I should contact the installer. Anyways, after 1 week of making multiple calls per day, no one was willing to take responsibility and I ended up paying nearly $2000 for a water heater I had not ordered. I have been a long time Lowe's customer. But going forward, I would NEVER buy anything from Lowe's and will report Lowe's and 1-800-heaters to the Better Business Bureau.