Bill Bought a Fridge, and Then His Nightmare Began

If you are about to buy a major appliance from Lowe’s or Home Depot, you might want to read this story first and take a moment to consider how angry, frustrated and upset you would feel if what happened to Southern California resident Bill Bright happened to you.

Based on what Bright has told me about his experience (backed up by receipts and emails), it appears Lowe’s, the nation’s largest appliance seller, doesn’t have its customers’ best interests in mind when the major appliances it sells fail within days after delivery.

Here’s the question that many shoppers never think to ask before purchasing a major appliance: What’s the return window?

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What would you consider fair? What’s reasonable in view of the well-known fact that some appliances have latent defects that are not immediately apparent? A month? Two months? Or maybe even three months, which is Costco’s return policy?

Lowe's slashed the return window for major appliances

While this is not a new policy for Lowe’s, it’s new to me, and customer Bright was not aware of it when he bought his fridge. In 2022, the home improvement chain cut its return window from 30 days to 48 hours for virtually all major appliances.

Check it out in bold print on the Lowe's website. The clock begins running at the time of delivery or store pickup.

Lowe’s is not alone: Home Depot has the same policy, as do some regional appliance dealers.

Why would retailers do this, especially major ones like Lowe’s and Home Depot?

According to the April 8, 2022, edition of the appliance trade publication YourSource News: “According to sources, the new policies were initiated to help (Lowe’s) increase margin on its white-goods assortment.”

Other comments online, such as on a Reddit post, suggest one reason for the policy is that retailers are trying to block customers from using new appliances as rentals and then returning them weeks later. Which, of course, is not fair to the retailers, but the majority of customers are not doing that.

So under this 48-hour return policy, if you have an issue with your new appliance, you, the customer, must deal with sometimes frustrating service people sent by the manufacturer, because large retail chains have decided they don’t have to help customers who were unlucky enough to purchase a defective appliance from them.

That’s exactly what Bright experienced.

As an aside, while Lowe’s is not alone in implementing this policy, it doesn’t seem consistent with CEO Marvin Ellison’s “helping hands” philosophy.

According to reporting by Glenn Burkins, publisher of the Charlotte-based QCity Metro, Ellison said at a January 2025 Charlotte event, “Growing up in rural Tennessee, when your neighbor needed something, you helped them out. You couldn’t live well (when) your neighbor didn’t. That was something that was unconscionable where I grew up.”

It is clear that Ellison understands the difference between what is conscionable — just, moral, fair — and the opposite — unfair, not helping your paying customers, placing profits over people.

If Ellison practiced what he preaches and saw to it that Lowe’s treated its customers in a conscionable way, you would not be reading this article.

But back to Bright’s frustrating story.

Brand-new refrigerator failed, followed by weeks of hassle (and no fridge)

Bright’s nightmare began when his new Frigidaire side-by-side refrigerator was delivered on March 12. He allowed 24 hours for the fridge to reach operating temperature before food was placed in it.

“On Saturday, March 15,” Bright told me, “I found water on the floor, and the freezer was completely defrosted. I was unable to reach anyone at Lowe’s, but computer automation referred me to Frigidaire.

“On Monday, I called Frigidaire again, asked about getting the fridge repaired or exchanged. I was told that Lowe’s would not to take the refrigerator back as it had been more than 48 hours from the date of installation.”

Thus began his adventure, including Lowe’s corporate office refusing all help because of the 48-hour return policy for major appliances.

Bright said that over a period of more than two months, 15 different repair technicians were sent to his home by Electrolux, the maker of Frigidaire products. They changed part after part, but Bright still did not have a functioning refrigerator.

He would have been spared the hassle and expense of having to eat out if Lowe’s had simply refunded his money or swapped refrigerators, as it had done for years before 2022. Electrolux also could have helped Bright out by replacing the fridge when it became obvious it was defective.

Finally, Lowe's comes through

In late May, a technician “condemned” the refrigerator, but Bright was once again put through delay after delay in receiving a promised refund from Lowe’s.

He said the store continued to treat him poorly, offering far less than the full cost of the refrigerator.

I got involved, in effect telling Lowe’s that their offer was an insult, and they finally agreed to a full refund.

Bill then bought a Whirlpool refrigerator from Costco, which, as mentioned before, has a return policy of 90 days.

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“What upset me the most,” Bright said, “was Frigidaire acting as if nothing was wrong. I was without a fridge for 94 days.”

I reached out to Lowe’s to get an interview on this subject, and with CEO Ellison, but have yet to get a response. This article will, of course, be updated if and when the company does respond.

What can potential appliance buyers do to protect themselves?

First, always ask about a store’s return policy on the specific appliance you’re purchasing. You can also research a retailer’s policy online — most display it on their website.

Second, just because a return policy for a new major appliance is 48 hours doesn’t mean that a court will accept that as reasonable.

Forty-eight hours is clearly not reasonable and could be declared unconscionable. Under the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) § 2-302, courts may refuse to enforce unconscionable contracts or clauses.

A customer could pursue a case in small claims court alleging that the refund clause was unconscionable and violated the UCC. Generally, retaining an attorney to do this wouldn’t be necessary.

AI chatbots such as ChatGPT, Google Gemini or Microsoft Copilot, can provide a great deal of useful information on this subject, which, if you were to take an appliance seller to court, could help in a big way.

If you do, please let me know the outcome.

Dennis Beaver practices law in Bakersfield, Calif., and welcomes comments and questions from readers, which may be faxed to (661) 323-7993, or e-mailed to Lagombeaver1@gmail.com. And be sure to visit dennisbeaver.com.

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