A retired cop named John Sibley contacted Whistleblower to warn about relying on long-term warranties on products. In 2001, Sibley paid $3,000 for a new Formica kitchen floor in his Rochester home. He was impressed with the manufacturer's promise to repair any water damage for 15 years. "The only item our water damage guarantee doesn't include is an asterisk," the company's brochures boasted.

Earlier this year, Sibley's kitchen floor started to bulge. He found out that a tiny leak from his refrigerator had seeped under the floor. Sibley contacted the company to make good on its promise to replace it. As directed by Formica, Sibley cut out a section of the floor and shipped to the company for analysis.

Then the Formica Corp. told Sibley that it wouldn't replace the floor. The company claimed that the installer didn't use enough glue nine years ago.

Sibley's reaction: "You're telling me now that you're not going to honor the warranty that you were so proud of?"

"We looked into it. It clearly is not a product defect," said Bill Roush, a spokesman for Cincinnati-based Formica.

Both Sibley and the installer don't believe that there was anything wrong with the installation. But even if it is true, how was Sibley supposed to know his warranty was immediately invalidated?

"It's a good point," admitted Roush. Formica is no longer in the flooring business. After Whistleblower called, the company located some leftover flooring in a warehouse that it offered to send Sibley if he paid someone else to install it. But Sibley has paid $1,000 to put in a different floor, after the installer, Hiller's, said it would put it in without charge.

"Is that a big deal in the overall scheme of things? Not at all," Sibley said. Still, "I can't handle being treated this way."