Columbia Sportswear Columbia Deceptive Warranty Policy http://www.columbia.com Nationwide

I purchased a Columbia Sportswear winter coat for my son last fall. It lasted him about half of the winter season and then the zipper broke. We contacted Columbia Sportswear about this and they said that this defect fell within their covered warranty defects. We were told to send the coat to them so they could verify this and then they would contact us within a specific time period. We sent the coat in and confirmed that this was a covered defect. Per their website their warranty policy states: "If the warranty department determines, in its sole discretion, that the outerwear has a defect covered under this warranty, we will repair or replace it within approximately two weeks. If the defective outerware is not repairable and an identical product is not available, we will replace it with a garment of comparable style and color at our discretion". 

When we called, we were told that the coat had been inspected and the defect was covered under warranty. We were then told that they would not be able to replace the coat because they did not have any comparable coats in my son's size. We were told that we would have to call back in June or July when their new stock had arrived. We actually waited until September of this year to call in order to give them time to get their stock. I should point out that in June they did have comparable items available online but the company refused to replace the coat, stating that their warranty center carries different stock. When we called in September, we were not able to select a comparable coat because their stock was so limited that they did not have a comparable coat in our son's size. We were told we could select another coat, but those available were not comparable to the one that had been defective. Again, they did have comparable items in stock online but again we were told that the warranty center could not access items from that stock. We were told that we could call back in another month to check and see if they could provide a comparable coat.

My complaint is that Columbia Sportswear violated its warranty by not fixing the coat or replacing it within the two week time frame. Also, they fail to state anywhere in their warranty policy that you will have very limited options for replacing the defective item, to the point that they might not be able to replace the item. They do not inform their customers that their warranty center stock is different from their regular online stock. They could easily provide us with a comparable replacement from their online stock, however they are refusing to do so.

In addition to this, I sent a message to the company via their online customer service center. I have received no reply from the company. I also tweeted a message to the company about this issue. They asked me to direct message them my information along with my complaint, which I did. In order to do this, they had to "follow" my twitter account and I had to "follow" theirs. After reporting my concerns via direct message, I received no reply from the company. Then  they "unfollowed" my twitter account. I also made a complaint on their Facebook page and received no reply. My complaint was then deleted.

This company not only violated their warranty policy but also did nothing to respond to a valid customer concern. Buyers should be aware of this company's lack of customer service and deceptive warranty procedures.