Plaintiffs in Costco battery warranty class action seek settlement approval

Update:

• Costco agreed to create both a non-reversionary $1.14 million cash settlement fund for a Matched Replacement Transaction Settlement Class and a $1.26 million settlement fund benefiting an Unmatched Replacement Transaction Settlement Class to resolve a class action lawsuit over Interstate battery replacements.
• Attorneys for the class and lead plaintiff John Skrandel asked U.S. District Judge Bruce E. Reinhart to give initial approval to the settlement.
• Skrandel claims he and others purchased recreational or automotive Interstate batteries marked as being replacable for free if the battery fails during the warranty period.
• However, he alleges he was charged the difference between the original price and the new increased price when he went to Costco for the replacement. 

(May 7, 2021)

A Florida man says Costco duped consumers with its Interstate free battery replacement warranty, instead issuing a refund and then charging them for a new, more expensive unit.  

Lead plaintiff, John Skrandel, filed the nationwide class action lawsuit in Florida federal court Friday. Skrandel claims Costco has been deceiving consumers for years with its supposed free car battery replacement warranty.  

Skrandel says that he, along with other consumers, reasonably gather from Costco’s free battery replacement warranty on Interstate-branded products that the unit will be replaced at no cost if it fails within the warranty period. Indeed, the plaintiff says that he purchased an Interstate battery with a 36-month warranty based on Costco’s claims of a free replacement.  

Skrandel says that when his battery failed within 36 months, he thought he could simply exchange it for a free replacement at Costco; however, he says he was refunded his original purchase price and then charged for a new, more expensive car battery.  

“Costco’s advertised Free Replacement Warranty for the Interstate Batteries is not free at all, but instead, costs consumers the difference in the original purchase price of their Interstate Batteries and the increased price of the replacement batteries Costco requires consumers to purchase,” alleges the lawsuit. 

The class action points out that Costco does not qualify its free Interstate car battery replacement warranty in any way. Skrandel says he was never provided any disclosures about his car battery’s 36-month warranty that would have informed him that he would need to pay for a replacement.  

“A reasonable consumer purchasing an Interstate Battery would expect to receive a replacement battery for free if his or her Interstate Battery became defective within 36/42 months of purchase, and certainly would not expect to have to pay out of pocket any additional amount to receive the battery replacement,” the complaint alleges.  

Skrandel accuses Costco of breach of warranty and fraud. He claims the warehouse giant has enriched itself by deceiving consumers about their Interstate car battery free replacement warranty in violation of Florida consumer protection laws.  

The class action lawsuit seeks to represent consumers nationwide who purchased an Interstate car battery from Costco with a free battery replacement warranty, along with a subclass of Florida consumers. Skranden is seeking to assess damages on behalf of class members, as well as a court order stopping the allegedly deceptive car battery warranty claims.  

Did you try to use your Costco Interstate car battery warranty? Did you receive a free replacement or have to pay the difference? Tell us about your experience in the comment section below.

The lead plaintiff is represented by Jason H. Alperstein, Jeff Ostrow and Kristen Kale Cardoso of Kopoleowitz Ostrow Ferguson Weiselberg Gilbert, and Steven G. Calamusa, Robert. E. Gordon and Daniel G. Williams of Gordon & Partners PA.  

The Costco car battery warranty class action lawsuit is Skrandel v. Costco Wholesale Corp., Case No. 9:21-cv-80826-RKA, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.  

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