A growing number of calls are coming in as "warranty requests" where the caller is actually a reseller - someone who buys scratch and dent or floor-model appliances from Lowes, Home Depot, etc., and resells them.
Rules per our SPOC:
- A reseller is NOT a valid distributor - they are not authorized to sell Whirlpool-branded products and provide a DOP.
- The reseller is treated as the original purchaser. The warranty started the day the reseller bought the appliance (if no DOP is in entitlement).
- When the reseller sells the appliance to an end customer, the new owner only gets the remainder of the warranty.
- If a DOP is already in entitlement, a receipt from the reseller does not reset that DOP.
Harder case: If the appliance was sold as scratch and dent but that was not noted on the original receipt (or not given to us), a reseller/purchaser within 30 days of DOP can still claim cosmetics. If the tech arrives and sees damage that does not fit the customer's story of events, use discretion.
Historical note: Sears Outlet acted the same way, and we had similar obstacles with them - customers often believed they had full warranty when they did not.
