I used to never buy extended service warranties, but after my BIL told me of his experience, I apparently decided to buy a 5 year extended service warranty the last time I bought a new oven/range.
I totally forgot about it, so when it malfunctioned recently, I called my trusted local service guy. He came to diagnose and told my DW that he would get back to us later with a quote. When he came back with a quote of $425, I vaguely remembered that I might have bought this on AMEX for extended protection, or possibly even bought a service contract. I looked up my old emails, and lo-and-behold, I indeed did purchase an extended service contract for $129 (range was $1,250 for a floor sample).
I had no idea what I had bought, so I googled the name of the extended service company on my receipt (New Leaf Service Pro) and indeed I had a 5 year contract. However, somehow my receipt had the wrong contract number (I wasn't told that on the first call) and the service contract had the wrong model number for my range. I was told that due to the wrong model number, I would have to file a paper claim, and submit my proof of purchase. As soon as I got to my desktop, I filled out the claim form, and emailed it back with a copy of the invoice. This was at 6pm on Erev Yomtov.
I had asked if I can use my own service person, but was told that I need to use whoever they send, which was Dial Appliance Service. I tried calling them to schedule service for Friday, but they close at 5pm. Their voicemail said that in case of emergency one can send an email, so I indeed sent an email, asking for service to be scheduled for Friday, and notifying them that I would be unavailable to respond or confirm anything for the 2 days of YomTov.
Apparently, despite me emailing a copy of the invoice, something was still wrong, and New Leaf was providing the wrong model number to the service provider, who said they won't order parts until they get the approval for the correct model number. Seeing what I was up against, I told them to order the parts, and if there would be no approval I would pay out of pocket. Only after multiple calls and email and escalations, did New Leaf seem to have corrected their records with the correct model number, but at that point it was already 4:59pm on Friday. They said it is in queue to send over the authorization to the service provider.
After this experience, I am starting to doubt whether it was worth it. For an extra $296 ($425 for repaid - $129 paid for service contract), I could have had a working oven for Shabbos. At the rate things are going now with the Extended Service company, it seems like I would be lucky if I have a working oven for NEXT Shabbos.
Anyone have other experiences, DPs or anything else to add?