Through an excellent deal made available through a close relative, we obtained a premium brand refrigerator at a very attractive price. That was roughly a year and a half ago.

2 weeks ago, the icemaker stopped working. We tried multiple methods to get it going again but all failed. So we called the seller (and in this case, also the manufacturer) with the intention to ask them to fix it under Maine's Implied Warranty law.

When I eventually got to a human, I was told in no uncertain terms that the refrigerator was out of its factory warranty (I knew that, it was one year), they would do nothing to fix it, but would connect me to their "customer advocacy" department.

The individual I spoke with there also initially disclaimed any responsibility for repairing the refrigerator, and indicated that she was quite familiar with the Maine law. Later in the discussion she agreed to look further into it but would need a diagnostic visit from A&E Factory Service (used to be Sears), and I would need to forward the repair quote to them for approval.

I was quite skeptical that this was my responsibility, but in an effort to expedite the process I agreed and told them that I expected to be reimbursed for any costs I incurred. I scheduled the visit, paid the $150 visit fee, and collected a repair estimate of approximately $800. Receipt and estimate were forwarded to the "Customer Advocacy" email address I was provided.

When I next spoke with a representative, they claimed that since my refrigerator had no prior repair history, the implied warranty was void. A manager on the same team confirmed it, and they refused to cover the diagnostic visit and the repair.

So I filed a complaint on-line with the Maine Attorney General's office and uploaded the diagnostic receipt, estimate, purchase receipt for the refrigerator, and copies of my email communications with the seller/manufacturer. The morning of the following day, I received an email from the AG's office that my complaint had been received and forwarded to the manufacturer.

Less than 2 hours later, I got a call from the chairman's office of the manufacturer. The representative I spoke with was extremely apologetic and very aware of their responsibility in servicing my defective appliance. She dispatched a local factory-authorized service company to take care of the repair and FedExed me a check to cover the cost of the initial diagnostic visit and the ice I'd had to purchase while the icemaker was non-functional.

The refrigerator and its icemaker are now working as intended, and I am deeply grateful that our state has this very consumer-friendly law on the books.

The law works. Know your rights and use it!