Originally posted by: SirPsycho
Originally posted by: KalieMa
quote:
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Originally posted by: jhill1977
I can't speak for Office Depot extended warranties, but I can tell you first hand that Best Buy's service plan doesn't cover screen damage/breakage. It will only cover internal failure (i.e. failed LCD backlights, nureous dead pixels, display distortion, etc.)
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Actually, that's not true at all, unless it has changed in the last couple years. They'd certainly like you to believe that, as replacing the screen is often more expensive than replacing the entire laptop, but it's not the case. However, Best Buy completely sucks when it comes to honoring their extended warranties in any situation where they think there's even the slightest possibility that they can blame the damage on you. My wife has a vpr Matrix 180B5 laptop, which has several known manufacturing defects, among which are faulty hinges. The hinge locks up, and when you go to close the case, it breaks the plastic holding it to the bottom of the case, and then breaks through the plastic on the back of the case, leaving a gaping hole. Even their own technicians in the store know that it's a manufacturing defect, and even though manufacturing defects are explicitly covered by the extended warranty, they won't fix it because it has "physical damage" (in other words, saying that we broke it ourselves). They're being sued by the attorneys general of several different states for exactly that reason, and I'd be very happy if it happened here in Arizona as well. I could provide our AG with plenty of information to help make their case.
To be fair, Best Buy did repair this same laptop on two other occasions for things that they couldn't weasel out of, and the service plan does cover battery replacement, which is why we bought it in the first place. It may still make sense to buy an extended warranty from them for a laptop, but be prepared for a fight if there is any question about what happened.
If the screen's damage by the user, there's nothing a BBY can do - or any other factory/store warranty or service plan out there. If they can deny the claim, they will and at the store level people can't do jack about it.
Other than the physical damage exclusion the plans at BBY are great, although the 3-week turn around time isn't exactly stellar. Hard drives, DC adapter ports, keyboards, batteries, AC adapters, and the like get replaced quite frequently. In all honesty, it's very rare to see a notebook with service disqualifying damage there. When they see one it's within their right to deny service. People just hate hearing that their negligence (even if it's not their direct action) caused some kind of damage, and loathe being implcated in it.
Fair disclosure, I used to work there. I've worked for other big name retailers and within the industry for about 12 years. Some advice - buy a hard-case notebook bag/attache. Don't ever drink near it, and don't drop it. Following that you can live without a service plan of any type.
Sucks that you had a bad experience SirPsycho, but it's just bad business (and would've been found to be illegal) for a company to deny legitimate repairs. I'd love to hear about these lawsuits if they do exist, as the customers of my current business would enjoy hearing it. Link em up so I can help fight the man or something.
Yes, it absolutely is bad business and fraudulent to deny legitimate repairs, and I believe they did exactly that. However, my ordeal with Best Buy is now over. One of the people at their service center did me a huge favor by smashing the hell out of the corner of the case, far worse than it was when it was sent to them, and I had a ton of people at the tech desk to back me up on it. I almost wonder if one of the tech desk employees didn't do it themselves, because they all knew how completely bogus it was that Best Buy wouldn't honor the extended warranty on what was clearly a manufacturing defect.
A point of clarification: Best Buy's product service plans do NOT exclude damage to the LCD screen. They might like you to think so, but it is absolutely not true. If they try to pull any crap like that on you, ask them to show you where on the little warranty card that it says that LCD damage is excluded, and they won't be able to find it, because it's simply not there. Accidental damage ("oops, I just dropped my laptop, and now it's in five pieces on the ground") and intentional damage ("oops, my little brother just smashed my laptop with a hammer") are both specifically excluded, but nothing else is. Additionally, any damage of any kind that is caused by a manufacturing defect is explicitly covered; in fact, it's the very first thing that is listed on the warranty card. That doesn't mean that you'll have an easy time proving that the damage was caused by a manufacturing defect, but the terms of the agreement are definitely on your side if it comes down to legal action.
Another thing that I think is important to say here is that people should strongly consider small claims court when problems like this happen, and the retailer fails to live up to their promises. Small claims court is absurdly inexpensive in order to encourage people to keep things out of the superior courts. In Arizona, the filing fee is all of $28, and since it's a civil action, the burden of proof is much lower than the "reasonable doubt" that most people think of from criminal proceedings. I'm almost disappointed that I didn't have the chance to do it myself. I would have cleaned their clocks in court with the mountain of evidence I had collected.
Oh well, I still have some telemarketers to take to small claims. I won't miss out too much, and those are easy money anyway. $1500 in statutory damages (IOW, no proof of actual monetary damages needed) each just for making my phone ring. I think they should call me more often. I could use the vacation money.
🙂
