On Warranty: Rheem says "not prorated." Home Depot says it is prorated.

[ergonomicmike]

There is a disconnect/miscommunication between Rheem and (The) Home Depot about Rheem's warranty policy covering their Hot Water Heaters.

The story: A Rheem Performance Plus gas water heater, purchased 7 years ago at Home Depot, failed within its 9 year (parts) warranty.

Rheem said that they would replace the water heater under warranty. The Rheem Customer Support person told me to return the unit to Home Depot and buy a replacement. (By this time I was talking to Alabama. (As opposed to India.)) The Rheem lady told me that Home Depot would credit me the cost of the old unit, but that I would have to pay the difference in price between the new and old unit.

Fantastic.

But when I brought the unit to Home Depot, it was a different story. Home Depot wouldn't give me full credit for the old unit. Instead they gave me $200 less than my original purchase price. (I had the receipt.)

I told the Home Depot Customer Service person what Rheem told me. She said, "No, it's a prorated warranty."

I contacted Rheem by email when I returned home. Rheem assured me that theirs is not a prorated warranty. This is consistent with what I read in their Warranty. (Nothing about prorate.) And is consistent with this old thread in this forum.

I then called and spoke with the Manager at that Home Depot about this. I told her this story and what Rheem had again confirmed. She told me that it's a prorated warranty. That they just enter the water heater's serial number into their (Home Depot’s) computer and credit me whatever the computer says.

I asked who I could talk to in Home Depot Corp to find where the disconnect is between Rheem and The Home Depot. Was told to call Home Depot's 1-800 Customer Service number, where then I was told to send a letter to The Executive Escalations Team.

Which I plan to do. But I thought I should post here first to hear what you all say.

P.S. When I told Rheem about all this, Rheem graciously offered to make up the difference. But if The Home Depot is at fault, I don't think that Rheem should have to pay.

 

[Breplum]

You are to be applauded for your good work so far. You must be speaking of a "6 Year" water heater, which, in the printed material from Rheem says 12 years (and as you correctly state nowhere does it state 'pro-rate') https://www.rheem.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/Rheem-Tankless-Gas-Warranty-Doc_2021.pdf
looking forward to your further tales.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[ergonomicmike]

Thanks. The Performance Plus tank water heater had a 9 year warranty. But more crucially for this thread, it is an "Exclusive" Warranty which says "No one is authorized to make any other warranties on behalf of Rheem." So I don't know how Home Depot is involved. (Although to be fair, HomeDepot saves me the cost of having to drive the old tank to the dump. But that should be a "fee," not a "prorated" warranty.)

 

[ergonomicmike]

So, can someone please report their experience about making a warranty return of a Rheem water heater at Home Depot?

I have to believe that a few hundred of you have done this.

I would like to document whether this prorated warranty policy is recent or has been policy for a long time now before I write to Escalations at Home Depot.

Thanks.

 

[Master Plumber Mark]

If you dont buy the heater from a plumber , then you are screwed and at Home Depots mercy....
You saved a few dollars over paying a plumber to do the job initially,
but Its how the game has been played for decades...... nothing new here..

The hardware stores cater to the DIYers who just need hot water for their rental properties
or hope to be moving or selling out soon and dont care about the quality of the heater

I deal with people every day that think HD should pay for the labor to haul that heater
back to them and install the heater for free too.....

On another note,,,, Also the heater sold at HD are cheaper
built than the professional heaters sold to plumbers. Their anode rods are about half
the size that goes into the Pro units...

I suggest you buy yourself an extra anode rod and install it on the hot side of
your new heater or you will probably be doing this dance again some day

 

[ergonomicmike]

Thanks.

Taking your comments in reverse order: I use an electronic anode rod. (The water system in this house eats anode rods. When the house was new (16 years ago), I had to switch to magnesium within the first year to get rid of green tint in the water. And even after that, I had to replace the rod every year. (Even the one that you show.) The electronic rod is working well. Still looks brand new. Water is clear and no sediment in the old tank.)

Next, I do not expect that Home Depot should pay for the labor to haul my heater back to it and install the heater for free too. (I believe in personal responsibility.) My instant issue is that Rheem said that Home Depot would give me full credit for the Rheem water heater that failed within its warranty period. But Home Depot didn't. I simply want to find the truth.

Last, I've read on the web that tanks sold by Plumbing Supply Houses are better than Big Box tanks. And I did pay a plumber to install the unit that failed. The problem here in Phoenix is that independent plumbers don't stay around long enough for warranty work. The only way that I might have some long-term warranty coverage from a plumber here would be to use one of the "big box" HVAC/Plumbing businesses that advertise on the radio. And even then, it's not certain that they would give me satisfactory coverage.

(As a side note, at my age, this will be the last time that I replace a water heater. So this was my last dance.)

 

[ergonomicmike]

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[TankBirthday]

One fact that will matter to both Rheem and Home Depot: the warranty clock on water heaters runs from the manufacture date, not the purchase date. Your tank may be 7 years old by receipt, but if it sat in distribution for months before you bought it, the warranty has been running longer than you think. If anything, that cuts against you in a proration dispute, so it is worth knowing precisely.
You can get the exact manufacture date from the serial number on the rating plate. Rheem encodes it as month + year in the first four digits after any letter prefix (RH0806B17262 is August 2006). A free decoder that handles Rheem and its store labels (Ruud, Richmond, GE and others) is at tankbirthday.com.
If the serial shows the tank is, say, 7 years 8 months old from manufacture while your receipt says 7 years from purchase, that gap is exactly the kind of detail Home Depot's proration system will use, and having it in writing before you escalate is worth the 30 seconds.

 

[GReynolds929]

Not true. If there is a receipt showing date of installation that is where the warranty starts from