Lowes Not Honoring Kobalt Warranty? (Here's What You Can Do)

Have you bought a Kobalt brand tool from Lowes recently and noticed their Hassle-Free Lifetime Guarantee advertised on its packaging? If you haven’t, the guarantee states that “you should never have a problem with your Kobalt tool. However, if you do, return the item to the place of purchase for a free replacement. No questions asked.”

This means that if your tool malfunctions, you can bring it back to Lowes for a free replacement, right? Well, it’s not that simple. Many Lowes customers report that Lowes did not honor the Kobalt Guarantee for various reasons. So, what do you do in this situation?

If your sales representative doesn’t honor the Kobalt Guarantee, ask them why. The problem could be as simple as needing proof of purchase. If, after proving that you have purchased the item and the sales representative still does not honor the Guarantee, show the sales rep the Kobalt Guarantee fine print, which can be found online here.

Related Content: Kobalt vs. Ryobi | Does Lowe’s Honor The Craftsman Warranty?

The Kobalt Hassle-Free Lifetime Guarantee is the Kobalt brand’s quality assurance statement. The statement is a promise to design and produce tools that meet the expectations of every mechanic. In recent years, customers have complained that Lowes is not honoring this guarantee. Or, that there was confusion between the sales rep and the customer about what the guarantee means.

Specifically, there have been questions regarding the “hassle-free” and “no questions asked” portion of the guarantee. Many sales reps at Lowes require proof of purchase or customer identification before honoring the guarantee. Some customers do not believe this to be hassle-free.

It seems as though customers have misinterpreted what the phrase “hassle-free” means in the guarantee’s fine print. Some customers don’t believe that showing proof of purchase is necessary to exchange the product, while others don’t seem to mind.

Whatever your personal beliefs regarding the term “hassle-free,” Lowes requires every customer to present proof of purchase to exchange a product. Proof of purchase can be the original receipt, the credit card used to purchase the product, or a valid driver’s license.

Many customers have said that presenting their Lowe’s Advantage Card to the sales rep has worked as proof of purchase. This is because a quick scan of the card shows all of the purchases you’ve made since acquiring the card in the first place.

A few customers report that they were denied the ability to exchange their Kobalt product under Kobalt’s Lifetime Hassle-Free Guarantee due to issues while presenting their driver’s licenses. When the customers in question presented their driver’s licenses as proof of purchase, they were denied the ability to exchange the product.

While deep diving into this issue, it seems as though Lowes has a “fraudulent alert” built into their system. This alert flags certain IDs due to issues with previous returns. If your driver’s license presents as flagged while trying to exchange a Kobalt item, take up this issue with Lowes’ customer service team.

The Kobalt brand is a line of tools ranging from screwdrivers to power tools. Kobalt products have been exclusively sold at Lowes since 1998. Kobalt is famous for its wide variety of tools, exceptional prices, and great warranty. Many people confuse Kobalt products with Craftsman products, a comparable brand also sold at Lowes. Use this guide to compare Kobalt and Ryobi.

Kobalt is well known for the durability of its tools because of its warranty. Usually, when companies offer lifetime guarantees, they do so because they are confident in the quality of their products, and they want their customers to be, too.

Kobalt is well known for their tool sets. These pre-packaged tool sets contain tools commonly used by mechanics in one bundle for comparably low prices. The 230-Piece Household tool set and the 106-Piece Power Tool Accessories Set are two tool sets customers are particularly fond of. The 230-Piece Household tool set retails for $278 and the 106-Piece Power Tool Accessories Set retails for $41.

Related Questions

Should I get a Lowe’s Advantage Card?

Other than the 5% discount on eligible purchase orders, a benefit of the Advantage Card is that customers have been able to easily exchange their purchases using the Kobalt Warranty because they have one. By simply scanning the card, sales reps are able to see all previous purchases and refund damaged items accordingly. Customers who exchange items while regularly using Lowe’s Advantage Card report that the exchange process in-store is much less complicated than those without.

What are the best Kobalt tools that Lowes sells?

Well, that’s a matter of personal preference. However, from customer reviews and other relevant blog post, a few favorites tend to be:

The Craftsman brand is similar in quality and reputation to the Kobalt brand. You can find Craftsman products at Lowes, ACE Hardware, and online on Amazon. However, unlike Kobalt, which was started in 1998, Craftsman was started far earlier in 1927. According to reviews by customers, Kobalt and Craftsman each sell products that reviewers like better than the comparable brand’s equivalent. Check out this tool chest comparison.

For example, reviewers tended to like Kobalt’s 19-Piece Standard and Metric Combination 3/8-in Drive Spline Socket Set better than the comparable Craftsman product.

The fine print in Kobalt’s Lifetime Hassle-free Guarantee has left many customers upset by the fact that the guarantee is confusing and inconsistent. The best advice we can give customers in this situation is to come prepared.

This means that saving your receipt is advised, be prepared to show a sales representative the credit card used to purchase the item, and don’t get frustrated upon being asked to present your driver’s license.

Getting a Lowe’s Advantage Card has helped many customers seamlessly exchange products as well. If, after all of this, your sales representative still won’t honor the guarantee for a reason that is not valid, pull up the fine print on your phone that states the exact wording of the guarantee.