As doubts surround the future of Australian extended warranty and manufacturer’s warranty provider, United Warranties, one industry insider has blasted the company, saying it is a “blight” on the warranty service industry.
In a statement issued today, Don Card, general manager for National Warranty Services, said the recent troubles of United Warranties have affected many in the trade.
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“It is a great pity it has come to this, with so many people, businesses and resellers being badly let down and out of pocket,” said Card. “And it is not just the thousands of warranty holders and many resellers and businesses, there are many service agents who have not been paid for service and parts they provided over past months.
“However, this it is not really a huge surprise to me, and will not be a huge surprise to the many resellers and service agents who refuse to deal any more with United Warranties.
“To be blunt, the fact of the matter is United was always very big on sales hype, but constantly delivered rubbish warranty service and lousy customer service. And that has been the experience of so many resellers and service agents over the years United has operated. We heard this feedback from resellers and end-users all the time.
“We are hearing about Myer now, but as well as ‘bread and butter’ resellers, United has been losing every major account it gets almost as fast as it gets them. I long ago called this the ‘burn and churn’ business model.
“Unfortunately, this will undoubtedly reflect on the third-party warranty niche once again.
“United had, I believe, various accreditation and Federal and State Government approvals. But at the end of the day, it is about the company, its values, its ethics, and how the business is run. Pieces of paper don’t cut it.
“In a way, I am glad this has happened because, in my view, the warranty niche is actually much better off for it. To us who work in IT and try to provide decent service, United has been a blight within the warranty and IT industry for many years. And I know many, many, resellers and end-users who would emphatically agree.”