Square Trade Warranty Service Failed to honor warranty service agreement San Francisco California

Early to mid 2017 I purchased a warranty for my Asus laptop which was paid through Staples Store in Canyon Country, CA.  It was not my intent to purchase a service agreement when I went into the store, as I went to have a program added to another laptop. The service technician suggested that I buy the service plan for both my laptops but since one was only months old I purchased a warranty for the older laptop for $69.00.  All was fine until about 5 months later when I noticed that the Asus laptop was not holding a charge when it was not plugged in.  I took the Asus laptop back to Staples, not fully understanding how the warranty processed worked.  The service technician informed me that my battery was failing and there was an issue with the hard drive as well.  He stated that the repair would be covered by Square Trade and that I would need to contact them directly.  He was very certain that it was repairable.  I contacted Square Trade and after going through a series of tech guided prompts, I was told that it would require mailing the laptop to them for repair. 

I received a box from Square Trade and mailed the laptop via FedEx.  Some time later, perhaps a week or so, I received an email stating that the laptop was not elegible for warranty repair to due casing damage.  I immediately responded to that email stating that there was no known damage to the casing when it left my possession.  A few days later they sent me an email stating that would refund my $69 but no honoring the warranty. That was early November 2017.  I called them today to find out where the $69 is and they said a check will be coming.  What a RIPOFF!! I will not buy a warranty ever again and I believe this is a common practice for this company.  Someone needs to stop them.