Online electrical goods store Kogan.com has volunteered to help consumers caught short with worthless warranties after the collapse of U-Nited Warranties.
Kogan says it will offer assistance to “thousands of Australian consumers caught by the fallout”.
In the latest stunt from the master at milking publicity – his last masterstroke was taxing shoppers using outdated Windows technology – founder and chief Ruslan Kogan is portraying himself as a white knight to customers of rivals Big W and Myer and Dick Smith.
U-Nited Warranties (also known as United Electrical) provided outsourced warranty services to many TV brands in Australia. As a result of the collapse, thousands of Australians will now find that the TV they purchased from these stores is no longer covered by the extended warranty they paid for.
Kogan has volunteered to step in and offer assistance to those affected, regardless of which major retailer the TV was purchased from.
“Warranty is a major part of a TV purchase and we sympathise with all customers who have been affected by this collapse,” said Kogan.
“Six years ago, we used U-Nited Warranties in our first year of operation when Kogan was run out of my parent’s garage in Melbourne. We quickly outgrew the service and built our own Australia-wide warranty network. Now, all warranties sold at kogan.com carry the full faith and credit of our company – meaning we do not farm out our responsibilities to third-party providers.
“Customers who, in good faith purchased warranties from our nation’s biggest retailers, believing that the warranty would be honoured, should not be left hanging in the air. We thought, given we have expertise in after-sales support, we could certainly help.
“We usually don’t shy away from pointing the finger at our competitors when they do the wrong thing by customers. But, at a time like this, when so many Aussie customers look like they will be left out in the lurch – it is more important to lend a hand than point a finger. Kogan has always stood up for Aussie consumers by delivering the best prices and after-sales support.”
Kogan says consumers can register their product at kogan.com and simply email assistance@kogan.com.au with their details.
“We will do what we can to ensure that you aren’t left hanging in the air by the retailers who sold you the warranty, whether it’s Big W, Myer, Dick Smith, Bing Lee, Harvey Norman or JB Hi-Fi,” Ruslan Kogan said.
Kogan will endeavour to assist affected customers through provision of after-sales support, which may include (among other things) troubleshooting advice, provision of parts where available, access to repair centres around Australia, expertise in in-home repairs, guidance on technical fixes, and product repairs by the Kogan Help Centre.
