HD/Husky Warranty

kaiser715

kaiser715

Doing hard time
Joined
Jun 1, 2006
Location
7, Pocket, NC
Anybody ever tried to warranty a mechanic tool at Home Depot recently? I happened to be going there today, and took along a busted 1/4" ratchet I bought last fall, and asked the tool guy how they went about doing the warranty replacements.

He said they used to swap them in-store, but that policy changed on January 1st of this year. (But the website still says take to any store....).

Now, you have to call the 1-800 number for Husky, and they will swap it out via mail. IF you have your original receipt (but...but...but...it's a lifetime warranty, why do I need to prove WHEN I bought it??). He also said they will "almost" always replace it if you bought the tool individually, but if you bought it as part of a set, they may or may not warranty it, since it was purchased at a discount (as part of a package) and not at full retail.

He said a lot of people were pissed off and have complained.

I call BULLSHIT.
 
Fwiw, I bought a large selection of gear wrench tools. Broke a ratcheting 21 mm wrench, called the help line and they dropped a new one in the mail.

I have a bunch of craftsman screw driver's, been wondering if it is even worth taking them to Lowe's for warranty, or if I will just leave as infuriated as I. Sure you left HD.
 
I don't generally use Huskey, but a couple times I had an odd socket, or ratchet, that I took back to HD. It's been a good year or more, & they replaced it at the store. Sounds like that is gone now! Right before the last Sears in Mecklenburg county closed, I took 2 ratchets in, for exchange. They were eliminating all the stock, & I barley made it! I got 1 gear replacement for a 1/4 drive, but they were out of the 1/2 gears. They finally gave me a New ratchet. I haven't even considered what Lowe's is doing, on Craftsman warranty.
 
I had a USA Crapsman 3/8 ratchet that needed the gears replaced. Sears guy ordered them and after 8 weeks the salesman said he doesn't think they are going to come in, had to settle for the new China Charlie version swap. It had a bad spot in it in less than a year.
 
If you want to stick with the lower-mid priced ratchets, the Gearwrench stuff is a good compromise. They're decent and you can readily buy rebuild kits for pretty cheap as well (at least for a few years until that design goes obsolete, etc), so when you break a ratchet it becomes a DIY fix for $6-10 for the cheaper models, if warranty is not a good option. Any of the store-brand tools are usually just disposable, because they change offshore private-label contract manufacturers so often, and often replacement parts are just not available. You just have to assume it's not going to be able be repaired, so warranty replacement with whatever newer model is often the only option.

The nice thing about the higher quality ratchets (besides strength and proper tolerances) is that parts are available for a really long time.
 
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I dont know if its still true, but as of a few years ago Proto actually made HD's husky 3/8 and 1/4" fine tooth ratchets. But ONLY if you but the matte black versions.
BRM? I dunno.
But Ive got a 94 tooth extended handle 3/8 husky that Ive put some abuse towards for a couple years and its still pretty decent. No broke tooths, flips free. I mean its no snap on but for (I think) $24 Id buy it again
 
Ron said:
I dont know if its still true, but as of a few years ago Proto actually made HD's husky 3/8 and 1/4" fine tooth ratchets. But ONLY if you but the matte black versions.
BRM? I dunno.
But Ive got a 94 tooth extended handle 3/8 husky that Ive put some abuse towards for a couple years and its still pretty decent. No broke tooths, flips free. I mean its no snap on but for (I think) $24 Id buy it again
Click to expand...

That's what I'm driving at; at that price point, I just consider them disposable. Warranty is a crap shot, probably can't find parts unless the stars align (or not worth the time), so just buy a new one if it breaks or gets too sloppy.
 
Are t they actually required to honor the warranty that was in place when you purchased? I mean, I would think they can’t sell an item with a good warranty then after the sale change it up.
 
Sooo...... I just called Husky.

They are trying to work all this out with HD. Home Depot corporate sent out a memo to all it's stores on 8/24/20 saying that ALL warranties and replacements require a receipt, and tools are manufacturer warranty service only. This contradicts the Husky warranty terms and their agreement with HD. Management of Husky is trying to work all this out with HD. Until then, if you call Husky, they'll ship a replacement no questions asked, and you don't have to return the broken one first.

Replacement won't ship until the 9th.

Also...more proof it's a small world. The gal I spoke with said she worked right up the road from Sanford, in Apex. They are in the old Cooper tools building just off US-1. I said I had a friend that used to work there when it was Cooper as an engineer. She asked his name...and knew him. Many of the Cooper employees, and most of the customer service department, went to work for Husky. She had been there with Cooper and now Husky for 36 years.
 
kaiser715 said:
Sooo...... I just called Husky.

They are trying to work all this out with HD. Home Depot corporate sent out a memo to all it's stores on 8/24/20 saying that ALL warranties and replacements require a receipt, and tools are manufacturer warranty service only. This contradicts the Husky warranty terms and their agreement with HD. Management of Husky is trying to work all this out with HD. Until then, if you call Husky, they'll ship a replacement no questions asked, and you don't have to return the broken one first.

Replacement won't ship until the 9th.

Also...more proof it's a small world. The gal I spoke with said she worked right up the road from Sanford, in Apex. They are in the old Cooper tools building just off US-1. I said I had a friend that used to work there when it was Cooper as an engineer. She asked his name...and knew him. Many of the Cooper employees, and most of the customer service department, went to work for Husky. She had been there with Cooper and now Husky for 36 years.
Click to expand...

So you are saying I should call and tell them my <insert single most expensive tool husky makes here> broke and HD wont replace it?

BTW - today I leanred Apex Tool Group makes Husky...same company that makes Weller, Crescent, Kleko Gearwrench et al
 
Ron said:
So you are saying I should call and tell them my <insert single most expensive tool husky makes here> broke and HD wont replace it?

BTW - today I leanred Apex Tool Group makes Husky...same company that makes Weller, Crescent, Kleko Gearwrench et al
Click to expand...
Everybody has their own moral compass.



Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
 
kaiser715 said:
Sooo...... I just called Husky.

They are trying to work all this out with HD. Home Depot corporate sent out a memo to all it's stores on 8/24/20 saying that ALL warranties and replacements require a receipt, and tools are manufacturer warranty service only. This contradicts the Husky warranty terms and their agreement with HD. Management of Husky is trying to work all this out with HD. Until then, if you call Husky, they'll ship a replacement no questions asked, and you don't have to return the broken one first.

Replacement won't ship until the 9th.

Also...more proof it's a small world. The gal I spoke with said she worked right up the road from Sanford, in Apex. They are in the old Cooper tools building just off US-1. I said I had a friend that used to work there when it was Cooper as an engineer. She asked his name...and knew him. Many of the Cooper employees, and most of the customer service department, went to work for Husky. She had been there with Cooper and now Husky for 36 years.
Click to expand...
For us lazy bastards how about a phone number for your husky contact.
 
Once I had a swivel head 3/8 ratchet, from Blackhawk[?] I think. It needed a gear. I found out NAPA carried them, so I took it to a local branch. Style & name had changed by then, so they gave me a new NAPA ratchet! I liked the old one better, as it locked into place better. The new one, flops too much! But hey, it's free!
 
With Sears going the way of the dinosaurs, I was trying to figure out what to do for the new tool sets I needed last year, I thought long and hard about Husky Brand (wanted a store I could walk into and get replacements as needed)....for some reason Husky and Kobalt didn't ring my bell, and the local Napa guy in casual conversation told me to stay away from the new craftsman branded stuff.

Glad I didn't spend my money at the local box store....the beauty of running everyone else out of business is you can screw the customer and they have no where else to go!
 
Any time I've had a problem with anything Husky, one phone call and they put the parts in the mail. It hasn't happened often, though.

Also, big fan of their $25-30 100-ish tooth ratchets.

kaiser715 said:
Also...more proof it's a small world. The gal I spoke with said she worked right up the road from Sanford, in Apex. They are in the old Cooper tools building just off US-1. I said I had a friend that used to work there when it was Cooper as an engineer. She asked his name...and knew him. Many of the Cooper employees, and most of the customer service department, went to work for Husky. She had been there with Cooper and now Husky for 36 years.
Click to expand...

I have some old Xcelite/Weller/etc stuff around here that's stamped "Apex, NC".
 
This was in Hendersonville NC... I took a 1/2 drive husky ratchet back to my Home Depot last night. The lady behind the counter asked if I had the receipt, I said no mam I don’t I’ve had this for years no idea where it’s at. She said go get one off the shelf they have lifetime warranty. They had one black one an one chrome one... black one looked like you’d played soccer with it in the parking lot. So I took the chrome one back up front. She said your good to go
 
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