After warranty claim rejected, 5 On Your Side gets viewer $1,700 refund

5 On Your Side got a viewer a $1,741.88 refund after a brand new LG laptop, bought on Amazon, stopped working and no one would take responsibility for it.

Em Barber is an illustrator and graphic designer.

"My laptop is how I do all my work," said Barber.

But for months, work was slow for Barber. The LG laptop started acting up right after they bought it in January.

"This is a new computer. This shouldn’t be having all of these issues," Barber said.

The laptop was sold on Amazon as "new" by a third-party seller. When Barber asked for help getting it fixed, Amazon directed them to the seller, then the seller directed them to LG.

"There’s a one year warranty on all their new products," Barber said about LG.

But after sending the computer in for repairs three times, Barber was told by LG the issue couldn't be fixed. couldn’t Then, LG refused to refund Barber’s money because it was purchased from a third-party seller.

"It’s been a train wreck this whole time," Barber said.

So Barber contacted 5 On Your Side.

Digging through Amazon's guidelines showed that the original manufacturer’s warranty still applies for "new" items, even if they’re sold by third-parties.

After showing Amazon their own guideline and asking where the disconnect was, a spokesperson admitted Amazon’s customer service mistakenly directed Barber to the third-party seller for resolution. Barber should have been able to return the computer through Amazon.

Amazon told 5 On Your Side they are giving Barber the option to replace or refund the laptop, and they’re giving them a $100 gift card as a goodwill gesture.

“We work hard to provide customers with a great experience and deeply regret that this situation did not live up to our high standards. We apologized to the customer for the miscommunication about our returns policy and are working directly with them to make it right," an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement.

"Wow! Wow! That’s not what I expected at all," said Barber. "Dang, y’all really get stuff done!"

If you’re buying from a third-party seller on Amazon, look in the listing’s comments section for any warranty details. If you buy something from Amazon that’s considered "new" and you run into an issue, the manufacturer’s warranty still applies. That claim would go through Amazon, not the third-party seller.

After getting this refund, 5 On Your Side has now saved people more than $51,000 just this year.