Beware of Kobalt warranty

[Davidb]

I bought a small Kobalt pry bar about a year ago. Several weeks ago I was removing nails from old flooring, and and one ear snapped off. The Lowes in Ithaca, NY didn't have the exact product, so they told me to call Kobalt cust. service. I called and got a return auth. #, went back, but they would not give me a refund (couldn't find the product's price online), nor would they give me a similar product from a different manufacturer. Told me to call Kobalt again and ask them to replace it. Two more calls, the third to Lowes cust. service, who assured me the store would contact me with a solution. They did not.

I'll never buy another Kobalt tool.

 

[Electric D]

Probably you could try another lowes? it sometimes depend on the staff from store to store

 

[Exci]

Kobalt hand tools suppose to be covered under their “no hassle lifetime warranty” too. Call and call their CS again until they replace it for you. Or try another store and find a competent employees, sometimes the employee are just too lazy to find the exact replacement

 

[Davidb]

Yeah, there's another Lowes in Horseheads, NY I can try, and next time I'm over that way, I'll bring the pry bar. However, I've already put rediculously more time and gas into this than the tool cost me. I did so because I'm disgusted by the lack of accountability everywhere that now seems to be the rule rather than the exception, Lowes' "no hassle lifetime warranty" is a lie, pure and simple. Otherwise, any one of the three phone calls I made would have resulted in an immediate over-correction. I've never run into a bigger hassle in attempting to return an item in my 74 years. It's also terrible for business, as I pointed out the the store manager (who is likely underpaid and given little autonomy). So for what, a fifteen dollar item, rather than give me a store credit of say twenty bucks, he created a resentful customer who, in the internet age, can reach thousands of niche customers. Unbelievable.

 

[Davidb]

Kobalt hand tools suppose to be covered under their “no hassle lifetime warranty” too. Call and call their CS again until they replace it for you. Or try another store and find a competent employees, sometimes the employee are just too lazy to find the exact replacement

The thing is, what you're suggesting is the exact opposite of "no hassle." Also, it's likely Kobalt stopped selling these particular tools because they all broke. My photo is too large to post here, but it clearly shows that their small pry bar is (was) of all things, cast.

 

[Iro]

Why not change to other brands like milwaukee or dewalt...they are more reliable

 

[Davidb]

Why not change to other brands like milwaukee or dewalt...they are more reliable

Yes, to be sure. The irony is, the Kobalt was meant to replace an old, indestructible steel bar of the same size that I lost on the lawn. Soon after I bought the Kobalt, I found the old one. In future, I'll go with Dewalt, Irwin, any of the others. But not from Lowes. There's a Home Depot in the same area. They will get my business for now on, and sometimes I spend real money on renovation or building projects. It's a mini-case study on how not to handle a problem like this.

 

[Iro]

Yes, to be sure. The irony is, the Kobalt was meant to replace an old, indestructible steel bar of the same size that I lost on the lawn. Soon after I bought the Kobalt, I found the old one. In future, I'll go with Dewalt, Irwin, any of the others. But not from Lowes. There's a Home Depot in the same area. They will get my business for now on, and sometimes I spend real money on renovation or building projects. It's a mini-case study on how not to handle a problem like this.

I wonder what kind of load you were applying for the kobalt pry until its ear snapped off, removing nails?

 

[Mic]

This is exactly why I’ve stopped shopping tools at Lowe’s. Every time I’ve given them a chance, I end up disappointed. For hand tools or power tools I would prefer home depot, Lowe's basically feel like home improvement section of walmart.

 

[Davidb]

I wonder what kind of load you were applying for the kobalt pry until its ear snapped off, removing nails?

They were stubborn nails from discarded hardwood flooring that I intended to put in the wood stove. So yeah, the bar was getting some serious torque. But when the ear snapped off, I saw that the thing was some kind of cast iron, not steel. I tried to post the photo, but it was too large. You can see it even in the the photo. Over seven decades I've pried a few nails in my time, including having to hammer the upper end of the bar. Never had such a thing happen and I was shocked when it did. My guess is that the reason there weren't any of these tools left on the rack is that they all failed, and Lowes/Kobalt stopped shipping them. Bound to happen sooner or later with a cast pry bar.

 

[Davidb]

This is exactly why I’ve stopped shopping tools at Lowe’s. Every time I’ve given them a chance, I end up disappointed. For hand tools or power tools I would prefer home depot, Lowe's basically feel like home improvement section of walmart.

Well, Lowes also sells other very reliable brands. Kobalt, I believe, is Lowes' own brand. And if they had simply and immediately given me a store credit based on an estimated price and honoring the "no hassle life-time warranty" I wouldn't have thought twice about the incident and, other than their crow bars, would continue to buy Kobalt tools. Instead, I was suprised and then disgusted by what happened. I can understand why the manager refused--he probably doesn't make much more than the the floor help, is given a commensurate amount of autonomy, and was afraid of straying an inch from SOP (replace only with identical item). But my first phone call should have fixed this right away; it didn't, nor did two more.

 

[Iro]

They were stubborn nails from discarded hardwood flooring that I intended to put in the wood stove. So yeah, the bar was getting some serious torque. But when the ear snapped off, I saw that the thing was some kind of cast iron, not steel. I tried to post the photo, but it was too large. You can see it even in the the photo. Over seven decades I've pried a few nails in my time, including having to hammer the upper end of the bar. Never had such a thing happen and I was shocked when it did. My guess is that the reason there weren't any of these tools left on the rack is that they all failed, and Lowes/Kobalt stopped shipping them. Bound to happen sooner or later with a cast pry bar.

I think my old "vintage" pry bar can do a better job than this...the kobalt pry bar comes in different sizes, the small one normally can't handle too much load or its ear snapped off like your case...the bigger one might be more capable...I checked the lowe's website and yes the 4 pack pry bar set is no longer sold at their website..lol

 

[Iro]

This is exactly why I’ve stopped shopping tools at Lowe’s. Every time I’ve given them a chance, I end up disappointed. For hand tools or power tools I would prefer home depot, Lowe's basically feel like home improvement section of walmart.

I actually own a kobalt 24v impact wrench, 1/2-in drive, and it did a good job, not all products from lowes are bad...

 

[Muppet Mop]

Pry bars aren’t meant to last forever, and most "lifetime warranties" come with conditions. It sounds nice to think the tool is covered forever, but in reality, the terms often work in the company’s favor. If the tool cost less than $15, it might not be worth the time and effort to argue with Lowe’s about it.

 

[Davidb]

My issue is not really with the quality of the tool. The manufacturer, for whatever reason, made a mistake, produced a pry bar out of cast iron, and included it
in it's "no hassle life-time warranty." Because of the enamel finish, it was impossible to tell that it was cast. Now Kobalt apparently has stopped producing/selling that tool. But it still has to honor that warranty--a simple thing for the store to do by providing, say, a $20 store credit. The Lowes in Ithaca, NY will not do that, and three phone calls, one to corporate customer service, didn't do it. That's my issue.

 

[Fut]

I've never tried with a hand tool, but Lowe's replaced a Kobalt battery for me when it wouldn’t charge right out of the box