Woodstock stove returned for refund

Please, only postings from anyone who was dis-satisfied with their stove (specifically Woodstock Soapstone Stoves) and returned it under the 6 month full refund offer. Please indicate the model you returned, the year you purchased or returned it, the reason you were not satisfied with it, and any grief you experienced with the return & refund processes. Also, same information from anyone who has returned another manufacturer's stove under a similar guarantee, for comparison purposes.

The site is full of people asking other members about Woodstock stoves and I often see the "try it for 6 months and return it if you don't like it" suggestion. But I was unable to find a thread detailing the experiences of those who have taken advantage of the return for refund offer. I'm sure some firsthand experience of other "Hearthers" on returning a stove would be very helpful for anyone trying to decide between a Woodstock stove and any other brand stove.

As for myself, I am completely satisfied with my Woodstock Progress Hybrid installed Feb 2012, and can attest from my own experience on their excellent customer service, both pre and post-sale. I expect their service level is the same on returns, but feedback from anyone who has opted for their refund guarantee would be of much greater value for everyone trying to make a purchase decision.

I think Woodstock is the only company that offers such a return policy. Be interesting to hear of any others. I'd almost believe for most other stove companies it's once you burn it you own it.

I have never owned a stove from Woodstock, but there have been threads here from people that have used the return policy and there has been no hesitation from the company during this process. Their customer service seems to be quite exceptional.

If you search the forum you will see at least two threads where the return policy has been used either for a refund or for an exchange for another stove within their product line.

Wendell and Terry(Scotsman) are the two I recall. Basically, they needed a bigger stove than the Fireview. Uninstalling a stove would be a PITA, but at least you wouldn't have to take a loss on it. A few folks have posted that their dealer would exchange for a different stove if they weren't happy, but I have the impression that dealers like this are not very common. . .also, if the dealer doesn't have what you want, an exchange isn't quite as nice as a cash refund

I did not return a stove, but at one point I put money down on a pre-season sale for a fireview later to find a used one I rebuilt. Called up and told them I wanted a refund, no questions asked and I even explained I bought a used fireview and customer service was happy to sell me parts for the stove the same day, sent me out a rebuild manual and answered half a dozen questions.

I cannot say I have ever had close to that kind of experience with my local stove dealers around here.

We see these kind of testimonials all the time here. If they made a wider range of styles, I would have been very much interested in one.

I did return the fireview because during the break in fires I had a quarter size piece of stone come apart inside the stove, I did not want to take a chance on the stone breaking apart even more so Woodstock offered to fix the stove or just get another stove, at the time I asked for a new stove but it was the same time the new PH was coming out so I opted for the new PH at the great intro price that the PH had...it was a very smooth transaction I can not say enough good things about the company.......

That is one problem with soapstone. It is a natural stone that has natural fractures in it. I understand that it takes a lot of effort and expertise to select stone that is good enough for this duty. By all accounts, Woodstock does a good job of it.

I do remember one other fellow who bought a Fireview to heat a large home but ended up installing it in his uninsulated basement. He could not understand why it did not heat his house. I believe he only had the stairway leading to the basement and hoped the hot air would go up and heat all the home. As it turned out his bare cement block and cement floor of the basement took up most of the heat. We did not hear from him after his complaint but I feel certain he did return the stove.

Just what I was going to say. If Woodstock had in any way made any return difficult for anyone who usees this website, we certainly would have heard about it already. So all this thread will elicit is (some of) the people who HAVE returned a oodstock, and the reason for the return. I'm certain the vast majority of returns occur because the stove turns out to be a poor fit fir the home. Though it us nice that if a person runs into family illness, job loss, the need to move, or myriad other issues that come up in a lifetime, Woodstock will refund the stove money and take the stove back, no questions asked. No other company thta I know of will do that for any product that has been used successfully for any length of time. They have a very humane business ethic. They do what is right, and more.

I' can only think of three returns that I've read about here. The guy with the basement, cicco, and the guy from Texas who's name a can't think of, and I believe he now has the Progress Hybrid. I think the reason they offer the six month deal is that they know the odds are very small that somebody will use it.

I was working with them on a setup for a new FV when I found an old FV on CL - a very early cat model. They shifted gears no problem for me, helped me figure out what items I needed to replace on my "new" stove and promptly shipped them.

I had to replace the cat gasket after 3 months; they sent me a new one, free.

The fact that they still support my 20+ year old stove, and that a human being answers the phone (even if they are closed, they have a service), means a lot.

You hit the nail on the head! Very well said.

It's certainly nice to see that Woodstock is getting such great praise. They certainly deserve it! Especially being a small company and offering all that they do!

Curious as to why you started this thread and said "Specifically Woodstock". ?????