SquareTrade Lawsuit
SquashTrade Lawsuit, Settlement Or Non-Discharge: What’s the Difference?
An Allstate corporation, SquareTrade, provides protection plans and extended warranties for electronics and appliances through BestBuy, Staples, Amazon, and Target. Among the biggest resellers of SquareTrade insurance plans is Amazon. In addition to being a major purchaser of electronics, Amazon also purchases home entertainment systems, computer hardware, cell phones, and video game systems. Many SquareTrade lawsuits are successfully resolved against this company. It is important to note that both of these companies sell electronics, which often could result in litigation involving the property and/or personal injuries of its customers or members.
SquareTrade Lawsuit
As a result, many customers have disputed and argued that the warranties offered by SquareTrade, as well as those provided by several other companies, do not make any claims in which they are financially liable. For example, while many customers argue that Target’s warranty plans do not cover breakables, yet another company, Best Buy, which is one of the biggest providers of extended warranties, specifically targets individuals making claims of this nature. Similarly, when a SquareTrade customer buys a computer system from Best Buy, or a cell phone from either Best Buy or another provider, these same customers are often required to purchase additional warranty protection plans, such as on their computer systems or on their cell phones.
To date, no settlement has been received in regard to SquareTrade’s lawsuit with Best Buy.
One thing is clear: no settlement was received, as the lawsuit was abandoned when the companies could not come to an agreement regarding the settlement of claims between them. Despite the fact that there was a risk of a large financial award, there was never any indication that either company was at risk of doing business out of state. In this case, after intense pressure from the press and public, both companies changed their focus back to their home states, where there are less personal or sophisticated media presence. This decision suggests that either company may be perceived as unreliable by individual consumers, resulting in little litigation and increased sales for SquareTrade and Best Buy, respectively. It also casts some doubt on whether settlement protection plans will work in the future.
The threat of a potential lawsuit makes many consumers ineligible for SquareTrade’s and Best Buy’s lawsuit protection programs.
However, for consumers residing in other states, these companies’ sales practices may still harm them. According to the Consumer Products Safety Commission, many of these consumers had purchased computers from either company, only to discover that they did not work in their state. In many cases, the affected consumers were unable to even use those computers, as they could not receive support services from the vendors in their home state.
Because of these flaws, the Federal Trade Commission and the State Attorney General have sought to curb these practices, banning companies from requiring consumers to enroll in and agree to lawsuit protection plans in order to purchase PCs or cell phones from either retailer.
Instead of requiring consumers to sign opt-in forms for lawsuit support, the companies have offered alternatives. For example, they allow consumers to “opt out” of their lawsuit protection plan, rather than enrolling or agreeing to anything. Only those consumers willing to pay for their own shipping and handling costs will be allowed to “opt out,” though this option does nothing to curb the companies’ other activities.
Furthermore, because the agreements do not mention state or federal laws, there is no way for consumers to ensure that they will be protected should they decide to sue.
Furthermore, while the agreements typically only cover a handful of states, there is no guarantee that the state law firm is knowledgeable of all other laws outside their agreements. Consumers have little to lose by signing the agreements, but a lot to lose if they do not sign them. Fortunately, however, consumers who do sign up for the SquareTrade lawsuit services are often able to obtain safe settlements when they do file a claim.
SquashTrade Lawsuit, Settlement Or Non-Discharge: What’s the Difference? An Allstate corporation, SquareTrade, provides protection plans and extended warranties for electronics and appliances through BestBuy, Staples, Amazon, and Target. Among the biggest resellers of SquareTrade insurance plans is Amazon. In addition to being a major purchaser of electronics, Amazon also purchases home entertainment systems, computer hardware,…