I just discovered what I believe is possible fraud regarding Google Nest camera warranties. If you own a Google Nest IQ camera and you call in for warranty support, the Google CSR will ask you for your Nest IQ serial number, which makes perfect sense. In my case, when the CSR entered my serial number into his system, it said that the Nest IQ camera I purchased in June of 2020 is out of warranty.
But here's the problem. It's NOT. The reason for the error is that Google changed the warranty term for all NEW Nest cameras to just 1-year. The manual that came with my Nest IQ camera clearly states that it has a 2-year warranty. When I confronted the Google CSR about this, he said if I have proof of purchase, and a copy of the owner's manual, then Google will honor the 2-year warranty.
So basically, if you're an informed buyer you'll get the warranty you were promised. But if you're not, you won't. Does anyone else see a problem with this? Most companies attach the warranty terms to their product's serial number. In fact, that's one of the reasons serial numbers exist. That way, should the company's warranty policy change, consumers who purchased products before the change will still be ensured the warranty term they were promised. That doesn't appear to be the case here.
When I asked the Google CSR to escalate this matter to Tier Two support and correct my warranty term, the Tier Two agent said my request was unnecessary since my Nest IQ camera isn't defective. But isn't that why we register products in the first place?
To me, this is absurd and borders on fraud. It needs to be corrected immediately.
