Following manufacturers’ procedures is key to positive solutions
By Janice Salmon, JustPressOne
Do your appliance service claims get rejected because “no parts were verified by distributor?” That is one of the most common claim rejection reasons we see across all manufacturers.
Having filed and adjudicated thousands of claims on behalf of numerous appliance service companies, the primary reason for this rejection type is the service company not following the correct procedure in accordance with the manufacturer’s guidelines.
It is very important to have the correct part number and part distributor information to avoid claim rejections. The best practice is to familiarize yourself with the various manufacturer warranty claim guidelines relating to parts used to perform service.
As a general rule, if any one or more of the following fields do not match with your purchase of the part on the distributor/manufacturer invoicing system, your claim will be rejected:
Part number
The part number must be the exact part number ordered from your parts distributor or manufacturer; do not use a substitute part number. If you delay using an ordered part for more than six months, the part number could become invalid/obsolete/NLA. Contact your parts supply source for assistance if this occurs.
Part distributor number
The part distributor number is critical. In most cases the distributor number is unique to the manufacturer. Why every manufacturer cannot use the same parts distributor number for each location, such as Marcone, is a question the appliance industry should address. Having a different parts distributor number results in considerable confusion on behalf of the service company, thus resulting in unnecessary warranty claim rejections for legitimate warranty service performed.
While the following list is far from exhaustive, these are examples of manufacturer-assigned parts distributor numbers:
Frigidaire Distributor# 94002 Whirlpool Distributor# 976793 Speed Queen Distributor
Reliable Distributor#: 21588 Reliable Distributor# 171450 Reliable Distributor#: 674
Marcone Distributor#: 31094 Marcone Distributor# 131150 Marcone Distributor#: 547
WL MAY Distributor#: 3112001B WL May Distributor# 171050 WL MAY Distributor#: 732
There are also many other parts distributors that service companies use to acquire parts for warranty service; however, you should check with the appropriate manufacturer to ensure they accept the part distributor number and if the distributor is authorized to sell parts for warranty service. The following parts distributors may have a custom number for filing warranty claims by brand:
DAP Parts # 091151 Fox # 071450
V & V # 31091 Encompass Parts # 2282273
Mid-South # 141052 Tribles # 051350
Dey Appliance # 121151 Sundberg # 111153
Remember, if you purchase a part directly from a manufacturer, the part must be included in the warranty claim with the manufacturer’s assigned parts distributor number; for example: Bosch Parts Direct is #999003.
Part distributor invoice number
The part distributor invoice number must be in an open status. Before you use the invoice number, it is always important to check the part distributor portal or your internal business management system to make sure that the invoice number has not been previously used on a warranty claim. Also, if the quantity ordered is more than one, be sure that there is still at least one open part quantity prior to using the invoice number on a new warranty claim.
Part cost
The part cost should be the cost you paid for the part. Do not use retail pricing or add any part handling costs. If you used more than one of the same part number on a warranty claim, do not multiply the quantity by the cost and enter the total cost. The warranty claims processing systems used by most manufacturers will automatically calculate all of this during the processing of the claim.
Consider this practice for truck stock: Keep invoice numbers with the part and the original quantity ordered. Truck stock parts are the number one issue for re-using invoice numbers that are no longer in an open status. Truck stock parts need to be tracked back to the original order if they are used to perform warranty service. Since these parts are normally used to perform both COD and warranty calls, this process can certainly be confusing. Therefore, you will want to create an internal process to manage this activity on a daily basis.
Janice Salmon is the founder and CEO of JustPressOne, a business process outsourcing company and AVB partner that provides claims administration services for independent service companies and self-servicing dealers in the home appliance industry. For more information visit JustPressOne.com.
