The clocks

Every deadline in both plans, on one page.

The giants' contracts are full of small clocks, and the whole fight is usually about one of them: a customer in a documented court case lost because a 25-day written-notice window buried in a rental agreement ran out before he knew it existed. These are the protection plans' clocks — what starts each one, what it pays, and what happens when it runs out. Print this page.

The calendar

ClockStoreStarts whenWhat it pays / decides
48 hoursBothThe delivery momentThe easy door for delivery damage. HD: report at 1-800-455-3869; after, the Special Services Desk. Lowe's: 1-800-445-6937; after, the manufacturer's warranty. (Factory-sealed unopened items at Lowe's keep 30 days.)
72 hoursLowe'sYour initial fridge/freezer claimIf the fridge isn't repaired by hour 72, rental reimbursement up to 25% of the Retail Cost opens — approval required BEFORE renting.
2 / 3 daysHome DepotYour claimAppointment must be offered within 2 days (top-100 metros) / 3 days (elsewhere) — or a $50 check/eGift Card is owed, and the repair still happens.
14 daysLowe'sYour claimProduct not repaired in 14 days → one-time $50 payment. Refrigerators and freezers expressly excluded.
60 daysLowe'sYour plan's end dateThe window to claim the 30% no-claim payback. Miss it and the terms say forfeited.
90 daysLowe'sYour discovery of the defectYour duty to notify the administrator of the defect in writing. A term they can raise against late filers — report early, in writing.
12 monthsHome DepotYour first same-issue repairSquareTrade's standard terms frame the 2-repair lemon count inside any 12-month period (Home Depot's coverage page says "during the protection plan term" — the conflict itself is documented on the count page).
3 daysLowe'sPlan purchaseHow long a plan can take to appear in the portal — the lag behind "my plan isn't showing up."

Sources: Home Depot official appliance brochure + coverage-details page; Lowe's Terms & Conditions (ELPP0009S-1219); SquareTrade standard US terms. Checked Oct 20, 2026. Your plan document controls.

How to run your clocks

  1. Every clock starts from a date you can prove — a delivery timestamp, a claim confirmation, a discovery you wrote down. If a date isn't documented, document it today and say when you did.
  2. Put the dates in the checker: it counts all of your clocks at once and flags the ones already owed or already passed.
  3. When a clock pays money (72h, 2/3 days, 14 days, 60 days), the payment is claimed, never automatic. Claim by name, in writing, before the next clock runs.

Count your own case. The free checker takes your store, your plan date, your repair history, and your dates — and returns your lemon count, your live clocks, and the money the plan owes. Run the checker →

The working papers for this fight

The pages above are the map. The kit is the paperwork: the repair log that proves the count, the script for your administrator, and the complaint pack for when the stall continues.

Included in the $39 ProtectionPlanDecoded Kit

  • The deadline calendar as a worksheet: your dates entered once, every clock computed, with claim-by dates
  • The claim-by-name wording for every paying clock
  • The tracker pages (print) — clocks, count, and contacts on one sheet
Get the $39 ProtectionPlanDecoded Kit

One payment, yours to keep. We never ask for your store or plan-portal password — you file everything yourself. See everything inside the kit →

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