How Amcrest treats elderly customers...

[Old]

We purchased an Amcrest 4k security camera (we have several) thru Walmart in July 2019 and got the extended warranty for it. A little over a week after the manufacurer warranty expired the camera quit working. We contacted Walmart referencing the warranty and was sent to the wrong warranty company, Assurion, not Squaretrade.

After getting the right warranty company (with no help from walmart) we explained the situation only to be told the warranty wasn't the right one for the camera we purchased at walmart online. We showed the company the email receipt and they said walmart had sold us the wrong one so we headed back to walmart with nothing but lies and runarounds.

We contacted Amcrest in the meantime to see if they would fudge the factory 1 year warranty based on walmart selling us the wrong item but they refused. We then asked Amcrest if they allowed a 3rd party vendor like walmart to sell incorrect addons for their cameras and was never given any direct answer, just a bunch of back and forth with their 'support' and 'RMA team'.

Note that Amcrest repeatedly asked us to file an RMA which we did and was given case numbers and the standard 'we're reviewing this and will get back to you ASAP' response. When they did get back to us it was a different person asking for the same info we had repeatedly gave them.

Finally, one person did offer a discount on a new camera but never actually followed up with it even though we asked for it twice afterwards. Needless to say this is a tremendous burden on us old guys who are in poor health. If Amcrest is going to allow a 3rd party vendor to sell bogus warranties then they should put a stop to it and take care of their long time customers on issues like this as well.

Sad to say, but the warranty company, (Squaretrade) who really had nothing to lose in this deal stepped up and gave us a refund on the warranty itself as well as a $60 check as comp for our issue (the purchased cam was $120).

So in a nutshell, Amcrest and Walmart can kiss our collective butts and we'll never buy anything from either again. We're going to let everyone we know what happened and how we were dealt with.
Thanx for reading,
Old

[longedge]

I can see that you are upset but accepting that the situation is as you describe it, I can't see that Amcrest have done anything wrong nor do I understand what age has got to do with it.

I'm all for calling out unacceptable trading practices when deserved and I do it myself.

I don't believe in third party extended warranties. Sellers push it just as a way of making extra money and when push comes to shove, there's often a reason why "you're not covered in this instance".

[Old]

Amcrest made it plain that they didn't care what walmart did so the fact that they allow such crap should be known. The way they treated me on the phone when I mentioned I was older and had health issues and didn't have time to listen to someone tell me how to troubleshoot a camera was basically 'Oh, youi're an old dumbass so we can get away with anything'. And when I told them I was a retired MS/Apple dev and a former network provider they still come at me several times with the troubleshooting crap even though I told them I had tried several different cables and POE injectors that were currently working.

Also, I plainly told them in each email and call that the camera failed a little over 1 week AFTER the warrany ran out so I was trying to pull a scam on them. Most companies would have made a deal like that good especially since I had bought several of their products in the past. They would have just refurb'd it and come out even anyways.

I don't get upset about crap like this, I just let people know how a company dealt with me. Amcrest should have gotten on walmart's a**, hell, one of the phone support people told me walmart wasn't supposed to be selling warranties on Amcrest cams....go figure.
Thanx for the reply.

[longedge]

I don't speak on behalf of AMCREST and I'm just a customer like you but I like to think I look at things realistically and how I see it is:-
1. Walmart trading practices are not controlled by Amcrest.
2. Your camera failed outside the 12 month guarantee period.
3. Your age and physical condition have got nothing whatsoever to do with the matter.
4. You bought some extended insurance which the company who sold it reneged on in part.