Complaint Review: Square Trade Allstate

In December of 2022 we bought a Christmas tree from Walmart online. My husband set it up and it worked, but the following year (2023) it would not light up. My husband checked the plug and the fuse, and all that was fine, so it was the lights. These were LED bulbs and were not replaceable so we filed a warranty claim. We were disappointed at having paid $115 plus warranty ($11) for the tree to have only lasted one year.

I filed a claim online with SquareTrade/Allstate. Identifying the product was impossible because there was no option for Christmas tree, and it was warranted as electronics. Next, it directed me to mail the "laptop or computer" to a repair center. They provided a return label for us to print. The problem was that this Christmas tree was seven and a half feet tall and heavy. My husband had just had surgery on his shoulder and I am disabled so sending it off was extremely difficult.

I tried to find a way to reach an actual human being to explain that this was not a laptop, but a Christmas tree and it wasn't really repairable. I had no problem returning it wherever they wanted me to send it but it just seemed stupid the way this was to be handled. Because it was pretty close to Christmas we didn't have time to wait around on a refund or a replacement so we just purchased another one through a totally different retailer.

Today, August 15, I was just going through all the warranties I had purchased on Walmart products. I saw the Christmas tree on the list, and I looked at it to see what was ever done about it. The last status was that it was in transit via FedEx to New York. Here it is, nine months later and the claim has been in limbo, marked "closed". FedEx still shows it as "in transit."

I called the Square Trade/Allstate 1-800 number and talked to a woman with an Indian accent so thick I could hardly understand her. She kept repeating that it was "out for delivery" and I should receive it soon. Uh...no. I told her it is on its way to New York from here, but it's obviously lost. She just didn't understand, nice as she was. I asked to please be put through to someone on this side with some authority just as pleasantly as I could. She tried to transfer me over, but the US agent answered the call and then disconnected me! I really don't feel like wasting another hour or two trying to get a human being. 

I hate, absolutely hate, trying to reach customer service at this company. I have had to go through an AI chat bot,  an automated phone system, a bad connection with a human on the other end of the planet before finally reaching a CSR in the USA who can help me. And then I was disconnected after that agent picked up. 

Square Trade/Allstate warranties seem like a great idea, as long as you never need to file a claim. Not worth the hassle or the money.