By Christopher Elliott
Guest Columnist

Christopher Elliott

Laura Lowry’s Sollevare wine cooler doesn’t work, and neither does the replacement. Who does she talk to about a refund?

Last year, I bought a Sollevare wine cooler from Lowe’s that was supposed to have a reversible door. It was one of the main reasons I bought this particular unit. The cooler I received had no means of reversing the door. We finally got a hold of customer service at Sollevare, who then shipped us out the correct door.

Within three months of the purchase, the unit started losing temperature and shutting off. I Sollevare contacted customer service again and I was able to get a new unit sent to me with the assurance that a new reversible door would be shipped separately.

The door never showed, so I contacted customer service again. What I did notice was the new unit sent to me was different from the original. It appeared to be an updated model. I let customer service know the unit was the same model but appeared to be updated. I wanted to make sure the correct reversible door showed up at my doorstep.

Well, the old model door showed up. I contacted customer service again and was told there was a backorder and it would take about three months.

During this time, the new model started to get ice build up in the rear of the unit. I contacted customer service again and was told the only thing they could do was send another replacement.

It’s almost a year later and I’m exhausted with trying to continually get a response from Sollevare. Now I have two units that have crapped out. My confidence level has dropped and I still don’t have the reversible door for the most recent unit.

I’d like a refund. Sollevare tells me if I purchased through a retailer I would have to get the refund from it. Lowe’s, of course, says it’s too late and I have to deal with the manufacturer. This has been going on for close to a year. I have been unable to locate the names of anyone in upper management.

I’m exhausted and at a loss at this point. I want my money back. Can you help? — Laura Lowry, Port St. Lucie, Fla.

It looks like you bought the wrong wine cooler. And at first I thought that was strange, because if you look up Sollevare wine coolers on the Lowe’s site, they look like they’re highly rated (four stars and above). But pay attention to the number of reviews. There are only a few reviews, perhaps published by Sollevare employees or their friends. Who knows? But there aren’t enough reviews to be a reliable source of information.

Maybe you should have taken this up with Lowe’s as soon as it became a problem, just to keep them in the loop. Lowe’s might have found a way to replace the faulty cooler or repair it. I publish the names, numbers and email addresses of the Lowe’s customer service managers on my consumer advocacy site.

I also have a guide to getting an appliance repaired, replaced or returned. I think you will find that helpful if you ever run into trouble with Lowe’s again (which I hope you don’t).

I contacted Lowe’s on your behalf. The company didn’t respond, so I contacted it again. And again, no response. Finally, you contacted the California Attorney General’s Office, which reached out to Sollevare. The company apologized to you and issued a full refund.

Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at [email protected] or get help by contacting him.