Scotty's policy is that the lifetime warranty only applies to the original owner. Previously they didn't ask about it (or require the repair shops to ask about it), so you could buy one off of Craigslist and still get the full warranty coverage. But Scotty apparently figured out that the secondary market with full warranty coverage isn't good for sales of new riggers, so within the last year or so they started requiring that your downrigger be registered to get the free service. My guess is that your rigger isn't registered.

For what it's worth, my experience with the Scotty repair guy at Auburn Sports has been fantastic. I've been shocked at the quick turnaround mid-season.