richms:

 

I was told that for small appliances, if it was delivered and installed then they should arrange for someone to come out, but if you picked it up from a store or it was couriered to you then there was no expectation that the retailer should cover the removal and installation of the item.

 

If we give them the benefit of the doubt, they could be confusing this with contracts for work and materials, where this would be the case. They would also have no liability for damage caused by a third-party during or resulting from installation and it's fair for them to investigate this possibility, but who installed the product is immaterial to losses caused by product failure.