I bought a Guardsman Elite 5 Year Furniture Protection Plan when I bought a duo recliner sofa and a rocker recliner from La-Z-Boy in January. I received a brochure about the protection plan from La-Z-Boy, but I never received a policy from Guardsman.
I recently discovered that one of the recliner mechanisms on the duo recliner sofa had rubbed a hole in the fabric on the inside of the right facing arm of the sofa. I called the Guardsman toll-free number to find out how to submit a claim. The representative that I spoke to told me to file the claim on-line. However, in order to file the claim on-line, you have to include detailed information (Plan Letters and Numbers, Serial Number or ACK Number and the Fabric Cleaning Code) in the on-line claim form in order to get it to "process"... I.E. If you do not include all of the required information, the "Submit" button does not work. The representative told me that most of the required information is on the Do Not Remove tag, which is usually on the bottom of one of the cushions. However, the sofa that I bought has attached cushions, so the Do Not Remove tag is not on the bottom of one of the cushions. Despite the fact that I have terrible arthritis, I crawled around on my hands and knees trying to find the Do Not Remove tag. I finally located it on the bottom of one of the recliners, but I could not read the information on it. So, I had to try to find somebody to help me turn the sofa on its back in order to read the information on the tag. This was not easy to do because all of my neighbors are old (I live in a retirement community). Since I live in a small rural town, it took me awhile to find a younger person who could turn the sofa on its back for me. Unfortunately, the tag did not include all of the information required to submit the claim on-line.
So, I had to submit the claim via U.S. Mail. Guardsman declined my claim, saying it was not eligible because I did not send it in within their "required time frame". How was I supposed to submit a claim within their required time frame when: (1) I never received a policy from Guardsman (which would have indicted the Plan Letters and Numbers) explaining my coverage and how to submit a claim; and (2) I could not find some of the detailed information (Serial Number and the Fabric Cleaning Code) on the Do Not Remove tag?
I called the Guardsman toll-free number for an explanation, and the representative that I talked to told me I was out of luck because I did not follow their procedures for filing a claim. If I had received a policy from Guardsman and if the Do Not Remove tag was easily accessible, I could have filed the claim on-line within their required time frame. The representative then told me I should have indicated not known in the required fields in the on-line claim form but the Submit button does not work if you do not include all the information.
What kind of way is that to run a business? DO NOT BUY A PROTECTION PLAN FROM GUARDSMAN. They take your money, but find devious ways not to pay a claim.
I am going to take my claim to La-Z-Boy, and I am also going to file a complaint with the Consumer Protection Department and the Secretary of State of the State I live in. Guarsdman should not be able to sell something that does not have any value.
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