BEST BUY SUCKS!!!

[M GO BLUE!!!]

I am so mad I am shaking.

If anybody wants to buy any piece of electronic equipment, I would advise them to shop anywhere but Best Buy. If you do find something there at an unbelievable deal that you can't pass up, DO NOT PURCHASE AN EXTENDED WARRANTY!!!

Two years ago I bought a Panasonic DVD recorder with built in hard drive. It was a good deal because it was a floor model. The salesman told me what a great warranty I could purchase for $200. According to him, if the unit failed and they could not fix it they would replace it with a new model. I brought up that the new model cost twice as much as I was paying and he said that it didn't matter... they would give me the new model. I left without purchasing the warranty because I really couldn't afford it.

Four days later I called Best Buy and asked about the warranty again. The telephone associate once again told me it would be no problem with the exchange if the unit failed. I bought the warranty.

Now two years later I had a problem. I take the unit in for service. Two weeks later I recieve a call that my unit was not repairable and to come in for an exchange.

Unfortunatly, not only does Best Buy not carry the current comrarable model, they misrepresented the warranty. The best they can do for me is to give me the price paid for the unit ($329) in store credit. I can't believe this! I called Best Buy again and was told by an associate that because there was two years left on the warranty they would give me the remaining value back. It turns out that this was as poor of information as what led me to purchase it in the first place!

I recieved a package sent UPS today from Best Buy service. Was it my Panasonic, that I could simply use as a hard drive recorder minus the burner? Nope. It was the dvd that I had been trying to record to when it died.

The store manager offered me the opportunity to spend the $329 in store credit on a trade for a similar unit (that I would not purchase) After a great deal of negociating he offered to knock $50 off the price, so all it would cost me is an extra $130 to get a model I wouldn't have even looked at in the first place. I left the store and looked at the model online. The $50 he was nice enough to knock off the price was already marked off... it was on sale!

I talked to a friendly associate on the phone that offered to split the difference and send me a $65 gift card. When I asked to speak to a supervisor the supervisor was even less helpful than she was and kept talking about what they were doing for me... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!! When I brought up the extra $65 gift card, he said I would have to purchase the model and send them the reciept to get that gift card!!!

So if I had not gave them $200 I wouldn't get $329 in store credit, but I would have the $200 (+ interest) I would have the Panasonic hard drive recorder with a dead burner, and I would get to spend that $200 toward a new Panasonic that costs nearly $500.

Now I get to spend all the money and I get a big old gift card. Whoop dee doo...


BEST BUY SUCKS!!!

[Raiders Army]

I agree. Best Buy sux.

[JonInMiddleGA]

As aggravated as I've been by Best Buy on a few occasions in the past, I have to say that what you describe isn't always the case.

I actually had them give me full credit (gift card for original purchase price) on a several year old laptop that was still under extended warranty. In other words, thanks to the warranty my wife essentially got the use of a laptop free for about three years.

Of course, in order to get it, I had to first endure BB losing the laptop completely. AFAIK, it's still floating around in their off-site service department somewhere.

[rowech]

Throw enough of a fit and it'll get taken care of. We had a problem with their installataion of a dishwasher and had to go through some unbelievable hassle. Eventually, we got a replacement dishwasher which was a better model at the same price and in addition got a $100 gift card for our hassle.

With that said...we'll never by anything else from Best Buy. We just purchased an HDTV and went to Circuit City instead.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by rowech

Throw enough of a fit and it'll get taken care of.

I'd have to agree with this observation. I didn't have to throw a full-fledged fit either, I just had to make very clear my willingness to do so if I wasn't satisfied with their solution.

[stevew]

Sounds like poor service. At least they could have offered to refund you the price of what the unit cost new(which would have been 650?) in store credit, or let you pick up the replacement model. Keep causing a stink and talk about how you are not getting fair replacement cost for your player, and then threaten and file a bbb report on them. Store does millions of dollars, they could cut you a better deal if they want to/get pressured enough.

[rowech]

Another lesson I've learned is always threaten calling the BBB. If they're part of it, they'll be much quicker to look into the situation.

[M GO BLUE!!!]

Who did you guys have to thow fits to/threaten to thow fits to?

I already have gone thru the store manager and their phone customer service. The idiot CS supervisor even kept asking me "Is there anything else I can help you with?" I kept telling him every time he would say that "BUT YOU HAVE NOT HELPED ME!"

I got an address to write to, but it seems that Best Buy is completely useless. I might just have to take the stupid credit on gift cards and give them as Christmas gifts.

[Barkeep49]

So I decided I was ready to buy an HD TV. Went into Best Buy, found a helpful sales person, decided to buy a real premium unit. Things were all good. Then the manager came as we begun to ring up the purchase and he tried to convince me to buy the extended warranty. I explained that I never buy the warranty. He decided to go with the hard sell and after a little bit of "discussion", I said let's look at the details of the extended warranty. I'm sure at that point he decided he had me hooked.

I then proceed to find the legalese language which contradicted many of the promises he was making (in terms of when they'd actually replace the model). The manager kept insisting I was misconstruing the whole thing. I turned down the warranty again. And again. And one more time. And then when he kept at it, I walked out, fed up with his hard sell. Went home, thought about it and decided that I would be happier hooking an antenna up to my computer than having an HD TV. I did that, I have been extremely happy and so I can honestly say that I saved several thousand dollars thanks to Best Buy's extended warranty program.

[stevew]

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...30660804302498

Print this out, walmart is selling that model for 424.54.
Instore it is the one he was trying to sell you for 500.

Make him price match that model for 424, and he should also refund you another 7.50 in the 10% guarantee match of the price difference.


Gets you that new player for a total cash outlay of around 90 bucks. Not the greatest ever, maybe you can even talk him into a split difference of 45 dollars even.

[Neuqua]

Ping: Sackattack

[Fidatelo]

I have yet to see an extended warranty that is worth purchasing.

[M GO BLUE!!!]

Originally Posted by stevew

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...30660804302498

Print this out, walmart is selling that model for 424.54.
Instore it is the one he was trying to sell you for 500.

Make him price match that model for 424, and he should also refund you another 7.50 in the 10% guarantee match of the price difference.


Gets you that new player for a total cash outlay of around 90 bucks. Not the greatest ever, maybe you can even talk him into a split difference of 45 dollars even.

Except for the fact that I would never actually buy a DVD/VCR combo unit.

This is the current comparable model

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-DMR-...494561?ie=UTF8

[Bad-example]

Mongol General: We have won again. That is good! But what is best in life?
Mongol Warrior: The open steppe, fleet horse, falcon on your wrist, wind in your hair!
Mongol General: Wrong! Conan, what is best in life?
Conan: To crush Best Buy, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of the women!
Mongol General: That is good.

[stevew]

Ah, damn, i didn't get that one when i searched the site.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by Neuqua

Ping: Sackattack

My ears are burning.

The only warranties I deal with through Best Buy are those pertaining to the game systems, and I have never run into anybody in a huff over those.

On the other hand, my presentation is pretty straightforward. "Here's what we offer, and here's what it does. Here's why I recommend it, and what I've used it for personally."

Ball's in their court at that point. If they say 'no,' that's the end of it.

Maybe I'm unique in that; I hear complaints all the time over the handling of the computers/TV warranties. Could be because the warranties on those devices are so much more expensive than those for gaming, so the people behind those are pushing them that much harder.

Doesn't make it right, but not everybody at Best Buy is looking to give you the hard sell, either.

That's as far as I'll go in defense.

[Mantle2600]

I got a PS2 a year after it came out for 300 bucks at best buy and paid 30 bucks for the extended warranty or so. About two years later it died and I sent it in and got a 300 dollar best buy voucher, well the PS2 was now $179 so i got a new playstation, madden 2004 and hitman 2. So in that case it worked out.

[stevew]

On consoles, the warrantee is worthwhile, cause there is a very good chance of a significant price cut and it breaking in the meantime.

[thesloppy]

Write out your complaint in a very detailed letter (just a little less hostile than the above) and mass mail it to they're executive 'leadership team' (and every other best buy email address you can find). If you know the names of any of the people you dealt with in-store or on the phone you might include those in your email as well.

Poking around on they're website it looks like they use the standard [first name].[last name]@bestbuy.com convention for their email system, and looking at their 'our leaders' page I'd try these addresses:


[email protected] - vice chairman and ceo
[email protected] - executive vice president of human capital and leadership
[email protected] - president and coo
[email protected] - vice president cfo
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]


You might not get anybody to bite, and likely these emails are going to be filtered thorugh an assistant of some sort, but you also might be pleasantly surprised. If you can somehow find the executive responsible for customer satisfaction they will at the very least acknowledge your claim, and posibly put you in touch with someone who can help. Using this method I've achieved a couple results that would normally be deemed impossible, such as getting a full refund from a ticket reserved on priceline.

[nilodor]

If you're going to raise a fit, go raise it in the store. The end result will typically be you get a better deal than you can on the phone, or you wind up with mall security throwing you out on your keister. I've seen both, tried neither but at least its a start. The phone never really solves anything with stores, unless you're chasing around one a the sales clerks with a cordless phone.

[Router Help]

Originally Posted by thesloppy

[email protected]

Richard Schulze is Best Buy's founder. I've met him a few times, and he seems like a pretty nice and reasonable guy. If he sees your email, you might get some results.

Also, http://www.bestbuysux.org/

[MizzouRah]

best buy is the shiszzle ny mizz.e

[stevew]

Hmm. they sell the 55 model in canada, but not the US.

http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/prodde...80&catid=22494

I don't think they are going to go through the trouble of getting that from a canadian affiliate and then giving it to you for free.....as they will say it's a different company I'm sure.

[MizzouRah]

my wife is sleeping

[M GO BLUE!!!]

I will email the above people in a more reserved tone.

If I get no response, I will be forced to take the $329 on a gift card which I will give to my daughter as a combination B'day/Christmas gift (they are a week apart.) I will also ask to speak to the manager and apologize for my rudeness before, as I was unaware that as a store manager he had about the same authority as a common janitor.

[M GO BLUE!!!]

Originally Posted by stevew

Hmm. they sell the 55 model in canada, but not the US.

http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/prodde...80&catid=22494

I don't think they are going to go through the trouble of getting that from a canadian affiliate and then giving it to you for free.....as they will say it's a different company I'm sure.

I tried that route. They ignored me when I mentioned it.

Part of my frustration/anger is that all along this process I have been treated as if I didn't say anything at all. It's a standard "Here is what we can do for you." I tell them how inadiquate that is and they reply with the same offer as before. Rinse & repeat.

[14ers]

I still do not understand how Best Buy can not honor their warranty.

Parts and Labour Coverage
We cover all the parts and labour necessary to return your product to factory specifications. If we cannot repair your product, we will provide a replacement.

Why can't they repair or replace your product as their warrant says they will? Did they offer you a replacement that met your original product specs; Not the price? I am kind of curious as to what your old model spec are and what model they are currently offering you as a replacement. Are you demanding that they give you a $600+ model that has better specs than the broken one you are returning?



Are you trying to turn a 2004 80gb DVR into a 2006 200gb DVR?

[Ksyrup]

You need(ed) to read the terms and conditions of the warranty. Notwithstanding what the original salesman told you, it's possible that they did indeed limit their liability to the purchase price if they don't have a comparably-priced model. I write extended warranties for a living, and the "repair or replace" language can be ambiguous. I've had a client in this situation with a refrigerator, and their position was that because the comparable model cost $400 more than the original model (which was pushing 10 years old), they weren't obligated to provide anything other than a model that cost what the original one did. Which makes some sense...if you total your car, the insurance company isn't going to give you enough money to buy a "comparable" but more expensive replacement.

I don't know all that much about the language BB uses in their contracts, but I'm almost positive that they have an insurer back their policies in nearly every state (called a cut-through clause). Basically, if the provider doesn't make good on a claim (typically within 60 days), the consumer can make the claim directly with the insurer. So you might want to look into that.

Also, what state are you in? I'm going to guess Michigan. If that's the case, I can tell you that Michigan does not specifically regulate service contracts/extended warranties, so they are most likely regulated under the state's trade practices act. So, you could try filing a complaint with the Michigan Attorney General's office. And since service contracts are often regulated by state insurance departments, it probably wouldn't hurt to file a complaint with the Michigan DOI, either. I know BB has been investigated for its warranty practices (mostly the hard sell stuff, which has lead it and Circuiy City to drop the commission structure for associates), so a well-placed complaint with the State might get you somewhere. Your best bet is to focuse on what the sales associate told you, depending on what the language of the contract says. They might have you on the terms and conditions, but I'd argue that they misrepresented them.

I've had the same thing happen...I had a guy at CompUSA tell me, when I bought a laptop, that I could take a baseball bat to it and they'd give me a new one. When I challenged him to show me where it covered for intentional damage in the contact, he kinda shut up about it.

But they make all sorts of boasts about that crap. Don't listen to any of it. If you're interested in buying one, read it for yourself. And some of them are worth it, but most aren't. BB sells those things on freaking everything and make a ton of money off of them. BB and CC don't report warranty sales as specfic line items, so no one knows for sure, but given how much money they lose on their appliance sales - especially as bad as CC has been going - it's estimated that upwards of 100% of CC's operating profits come from warranty sales. If I ever get the opportunity, I'm starting my own warranty company. It's a license to print money.

[Vinatieri for Prez]

NEVER EVER EVER EVER buy an extended warranty on anything. If you alwasy say no, trust me you will be ahead of the game if something ever breaks down. You will have saved more than anything you will ever have to spend on a repair yourself. There is a reason why they push these things on you at least 3 times before you get out of the store. It's not for your benefit, believe me.

The manufacturer already gives you a warranty. It's all you need.

I've bought a big screen HDTV, 3-4 computers, digital camera and vidcam, ipod, etc. I figure I have saved probably close to $2,000 by not buying the extended warranty.

Also, look into some credit cards that come with additional warranty protection and buy it with that.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Vinatieri for Prez

The manufacturer already gives you a warranty. It's all you need.

well, it's not about purchasing a warranty that is already there, it's about extending the one that is already provided to you.

that having been said, added into the cost of an extended warranty is the "relief factor", that is, the relief that you (most likely falsely) get knowing that should something happen to your purchase outside of the manufacturer's warranty that you're still covered.

to me, with the ever decreasing price of technology i think it's silly to expect the cost of repairing outdated technology to cost the same 5 years from now as it does today. i don't think it would cost me the same to repair a VHS player than it would my DVD player. but anyway, most of these extended warranties cost a lot of money, but how much really does it cost to fix a tv anyway? and you most likely will not need your set to be fixed.

i would probably get the extended warranty (my wife is a worry-wort), but only if the price was right.

[Vince]

I couldn't imagine NOT buying the extended waranty on my Xbox 360 -- a $500 investment backed up for $40. Definitely easy money to spend there.

[Vinatieri for Prez]

Yep, that's the feeling they prey on with these things. Ok guys, keep wasting your money.

[Vinatieri for Prez]

Originally Posted by Hell Atlantic

well, it's not about purchasing a warranty that is already there, it's about extending the one that is already provided to you.

that having been said, added into the cost of an extended warranty is the "relief factor", that is, the relief that you (most likely falsely) get knowing that should something happen to your purchase outside of the manufacturer's warranty that you're still covered.

to me, with the ever decreasing price of technology i think it's silly to expect the cost of repairing outdated technology to cost the same 5 years from now as it does today. i don't think it would cost me the same to repair a VHS player than it would my DVD player. but anyway, most of these extended warranties cost a lot of money, but how much really does it cost to fix a tv anyway? and you most likely will not need your set to be fixed.

i would probably get the extended warranty (my wife is a worry-wort), but only if the price was right.

If you ever happen to get a machine that is defective it almost always happens immediately after you buy it (well within the manufacturer's warranty). That was my point. And some manufacturer's warranties maybe a year or longer. Not to mention if you don't read the fine print you may not notice that most of the time a "2-year" extended warranty runs from the beginning of the purchase, so in my example you only really bought a 1 year extension. Not to mention which is the point of this thread is that the extended warranties don't always get you the result you think you are getting.

Anyways, you've all been warned.

[rowech]

Originally Posted by Vinatieri for Prez

Yep, that's the feeling they prey on with these things. Ok guys, keep wasting your money.

We got the extended warranty for our HDTV because it covers original bulb replacement. While it cost 400 bucks, the bulb replacement itself is about 200 so for the same price I would have paid for two years I got four. In my opinion, a very nice deal.

[Vinatieri for Prez]

??? I don't get it. It sounds like you just wasted 400 bucks. Do you actually know how often the bulbs need to be replaced? Not during the time of your extended warranty. And even if one did, it sounds like you still paid $200 too much. Plus, as I said, just wait until something breaks and see how "easy" is it is to get a repair.

My guess is the manufacturer's warranty was 1-2 years so you actually got 2-3 years, not 4 anyways.

[Vinatieri for Prez]

Here's a concise 3-page discussion of why to say no.

http://www.digitalhome.ca/index.php?...=110&Itemid=34

And an excerpt:

The general rule of thumb is too avoid extended warranties however, if you're the type of person who requires the piece of mind that insurance brings, then the following are things you should consider when you're shopping:

* How long is the Manufacturers Warranty? - in the table below the cost of a 3 yr extended warranty for a $109 router is $30 for 2 years and $35 for three years. The manufacturers warranty is 3 years, so what exactly are you getting for $35?

* What required repairs does the Extended Warranty cover? That $600 or $800 for your plasma screen coverage doesn't include fixing damage for burn in. Ask questions.

* How likely is the product to fail? - Consumer electronics typically fail early in their lifespan because of a manufacturing defect or after a long useful life. In the first instance, the product is probably covered by the manufacturers warranty. In the second case, the extended warranty has probably expired.

* What is the Expected repair rate? - as noted above, digital camera's have an expected repair rate of 8% in three years. That means you've got a 92% chance that you won't have a problem. In addition, a significant amount of the that 8% occurs in the first year when the manufacturers warrantee is still in effect.

* How much does it cost? - the following chart highlights the price of extended warranties for various products at various price points from a major Canadian consumer electronics retailer. Please see our comments after the chart.


Product Price Mfr.
Warranty Cost
2 Yrs
3 yrs
4 yrs
5yrs
LCD HDTV $2,499 1 Year N/A 330 370 430
Plasma HDTV $5,499 1 Year 600 800 N/A N/A
DLP HDTV $2,999 2 Years N/A 370 410 470
Desktop PC $1,600 1 Year 240 280 N/A N/A
Laptop $1,600 1 Year 300 350 N/A N/A
Laptop $2,200 1 Year 400 450 N/A
N/A
Digital Camera $299 1 Year 40 50 70 N/A
DVD Rom Drive $50 1 Year 15 20 N/A N/A
Router $109 3 Years 30 35 N/A N/A


Some further observations from the chart above:

The Extended Warranty has no value. - note the router in our chart. The manufacturers warranty is 3 yrs. Why exactly are we getting that extended warranty?

Watch out for excessively high insurance rates - the warranty for our $329 digital camera is 21% of the purchase price for 3 years. The repair rate for digital camera's is 8% and the reality is that after a year you'll likely be able to buy an equivalent camera for half the price.

Is it really worth it? - we noted that it for 40% of the purchase price you can add an extra 2 years to your DVD-ROM drive warranty. Save the twenty bucks because in 2 years that's about what a new one will probably cost you.

The real key here is that if you never buy the extended warranty, the money you save on the 5 products that never failed within the warranty period will easily pay for any failure of one product that would have fallen outside the manufacturer warranty but inside the extended warranty.

[wade moore]

I was about to go crazy at FOFC until I read post 27 and 28...

I'm trying to figure out what the hell the anger at Best Buy is here? I understand that some people hate them, but let's look at this...

M GO BLUE buys a $379 DVD burner 3 years ago, he buys the extended warranty...

Fast forward to now and it breaks... he wants to replace it, so he wants the fancy brand-new model that costs $600 to replace it? Come on now, read your warranty... there's NO way that's what it says it will give you.

I think it is perfectly fair.. they are saying we don't have a model in a comparable price range, so you can use the value of the old one towards whatever you buy... I think all of this angst is completely unjustified.

[Axxon]

Originally Posted by wade moore

Fast forward to now and it breaks... he wants to replace it, so he wants the fancy brand-new model that costs $600 to replace it? Come on now, read your warranty... there's NO way that's what it says it will give you.

But that's what the sales people are telling the customer will happen. That's nothing to be upset about?

The last time I made major purchases at Best Buy ( laptop and digital camera ) I was given that spiel almost verbatim. I didn't opt in because I knew that it couldn't be the case but don't fault anyone who gets upset when they are lied to in order to get their money. Caveat emptor certainly but that surely doesn't mean the seller doesn't suck which is what was said.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by Axxon

But that's what the sales people are telling the customer will happen. That's nothing to be upset about?

The last time I made major purchases at Best Buy ( laptop and digital camera ) I was given that spiel almost verbatim. I didn't opt in because I knew that it couldn't be the case but don't fault anyone who gets upset when they are lied to in order to get their money. Caveat emptor certainly but that surely doesn't mean the seller doesn't suck which is what was said.

I don't buy that the sales guy said they would give him a model that cost twice as much.

Let's get some common sense here.. if I bought a PS2 a year ago with the extended warranty should I expect the PS3 2 years from now if it breaks? Come on now...

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by wade moore

I don't buy that the sales guy said they would give him a model that cost twice as much.

You may not believe it, but I can assure you that this is a very common part of their spiel. Usually phrased something like "replace with the item or an equivalent model", with the strong implication that you'll get the same feature set in the replacement.

That isn't always what they mean, but it's very often what they attempt to convince you of.

So sayeth a customer who probably buys more stuff from Best Buy than any other similar retailer (so I've heard the pitch pretty often).

[Axxon]

Originally Posted by wade moore

I don't buy that the sales guy said they would give him a model that cost twice as much.

Let's get some common sense here.. if I bought a PS2 a year ago with the extended warranty should I expect the PS3 2 years from now if it breaks? Come on now...

Well, now you're calling me a liar too then since I had a sales guy tell me the same thing. Can't really find a point of communication when one side calls the other a liar and there's really no way to prove it one way or the other. Guess this conversation is over.

[Ksyrup]

It is very often part of the spiel. That's why I said above that "notwithstanding" what the guy told him, the T&Cs likely say something different. My caution is to never believe what they say, and if something sounds fishy and/or too good to be true, see if the contract backs it up.

I'm in the business, and even I admit that these things aren't always a good deal. I buy them rarely - on jewerly, since my wife's bracelets and necklaces seem to always break, and I bought one on the plasma HDTV I just bought since it cost less than 20% of the price of the TV. Also, the trend has been to lower the manufacturer's warranty, in an attempt to make these products somewhat necessary. If I'm not mistaken, the XBox has a 90 day manufacturer's warranty.

Also, the reason I kept calling it a service contract above, aside from the fact that it's the industry/regulatory jargon, is that often, it really is not an "extension of the manufacturer's warranty." Take BB, for example. They offer a service contract on pretty much everything they sell, made by dozens of manufacturers. There's no way one set of T&Cs can perfectly match what the underlying warranty gave you. What they provide may be more or less than you get with the manufacturer's warranty. So I try to avoid the phrase "extended warranty," although it's difficult.

[Axxon]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

You may not believe it, but I can assure you that this is a very common part of their spiel. Usually phrased something like "replace with the item or an equivalent model", with the strong implication that you'll get the same feature set in the replacement.

That isn't always what they mean, but it's very often what they attempt to convince you of.

So sayeth a customer who probably buys more stuff from Best Buy than any other similar retailer (so I've heard the pitch pretty often).

The sales guy I bought the laptop from started with this then took it the extra step to state that they "had to" replace it with what was available at the time and noted that since computers have such a short lifecycle that I would basically be able to get a much better machine if mine broke near the end of the extended warranty.

I won anyway, the laptop waited exactly 3 years and 3 weeks after I bought it to die. Of course, if I'd had the warranty I might have pushed that up a little since it was pretty much mortally wounded before this.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

You may not believe it, but I can assure you that this is a very common part of their spiel. Usually phrased something like "replace with the item or an equivalent model", with the strong implication that you'll get the same feature set in the replacement.

That isn't always what they mean, but it's very often what they attempt to convince you of.

So sayeth a customer who probably buys more stuff from Best Buy than any other similar retailer (so I've heard the pitch pretty often).

This is a FAR cry from "we'll give you something that costs twice as much"... The equivalent model to what he has is now in a bargain bin somewhere. He wants them to replace it with a newer model that I'm sure has better features, burns faster, etc.

To Axxon and the others - it's not their fault that you are gullible enough to not ask specifics. Saying "an equivalent model" is a far cry from saying that they will replace it with whatever fancy model is on the floor. Use some common sense, they're not going to replace it with some new, far improved model that is twice the value. If you believe that, you shouldn't be buying extended warranties. If something they're saying makes you believe that, you better be looking at the fine print to be sure it is there.

I got an extended warranty from Best Buy for my Tivo, took it in, and the lowest end model was still better than what I had. However, I could get the mid-range for the value of my old one, so that's what I got. It is pretty straightforward to me and I'm surprised that anyone would actually believe that they'll replace it with the hot-lick new version that has way more value than their old POS did even when they bought it.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by Axxon

The sales guy I bought the laptop from started with this then took it the extra step to state that they "had to" replace it with what was available at the time and noted that since computers have such a short lifecycle that I would basically be able to get a much better machine if mine broke near the end of the extended warranty.

Again, this is a FAR cry from what M GO BLUE is asking for here. The sales guy is saying that since the value of yours goes down, that something that was worht the equivalent value (as M GO BLUE is being offered here) would be better than your current machine. There is nothing untruthful about this and is different than M GO BLUE's situation.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by wade moore

This is a FAR cry from "we'll give you something that costs twice as much"... The equivalent model to what he has is now in a bargain bin somewhere. He wants them to replace it with a newer model that I'm sure has better features, burns faster, etc.

In the event that an same/equivalent model no longer is stocked,then the closest thing (which would be an upgrade) IS what you're told you will receive. They sometimes even go so far as to say this straight out -- that since this model isn't likely to exist by then, you'll be upgraded to a newer,better model for "free". Whether this precise wording is used seems to depend on how hard you hold out against buying the service plan / how close they think you are to buying it. As I know from personal experience, what you're more likely to end up getting is a refund of your full original purchase price, but that doesn't prevent them from both implying & directly stating otherwise (and neither does the wording in the fine print).

Believe what you want to Wade, but Axxon & the rest of us are telling it like it is (with regard to how the warranty/service contracts are presented).

[Ksyrup]

Another thing to watch for is whether they state that they can give you a refurbished/reconditioned unit as the replacement. That is somewhat common as well.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

In the event that an same/equivalent model no longer is stocked,then the closest thing (which would be an upgrade) IS what you're told you will receive. They sometimes even go so far as to say this straight out -- that since this model isn't likely to exist by then, you'll be upgraded to a newer,better model for "free". Whether this precise wording is used seems to depend on how hard you hold out against buying the service plan / how close they think you are to buying it. As I know from personal experience, what you're more likely to end up getting is a refund of your full original purchase price, but that doesn't prevent them from both implying & directly stating otherwise (and neither does the wording in the fine print).

Believe what you want to Wade, but Axxon & the rest of us are telling it like it is (with regard to how the warranty/service contracts are presented).

I understand they imply otherwise, but I still do not believe that if you asked them "What if it costs twice what I paid for this one" that they would say, "sure, you still get it".

I just puleld out my extended warranty for my TiVO... and I quote..

"Products, including those within the origianl manufacturer's warranty period, may be repaired or replaced with a comparable product, or Best Buy will issue a voucher for the original purchase price at our discretion"

Again, maybe the Best Buy people give a hard sale and only imply the first part of this statement and leave the rest out. But ultimately, YOU are responsible to read this language that is written down on paper. I find all this screaming and huffing about Best Buy doing exactly what it says in writing that they will do to be completely silly.

[wade moore]

Also...

Jon, you of all people I am surprised are basing anything off of what some shmuck in a blue shirt says...

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by wade moore

I understand they imply otherwise, but I still do not believe that if you asked them "What if it costs twice what I paid for this one" that they would say, "sure, you still get it".

And what I'm telling you is "oh yes, they will".

Wade, they will say pretty much anything to sell the damned service contract. They will lie, cheat, promise the earth, the sun, the stars, and the moon. There's no real recourse against them for doing it, you can't prove it (short of being equipped with a handy hidden camera at the time), and it wouldn't matter much if you could since somewhere in the fine print is typically a disclaimer that disavows anything that they said & only takes responsibility

But the point that I'm agreeing with here is that they will definitely claim {insert pretty much anything here}, not whether or not they will deliver on that promise. Nor on whether anybody ought to believe anything that they haven't read clearly & unmistakably in black letters on white paper.

I find all this screaming and huffing about Best Buy doing exactly what it says in writing that they will do to be completely silly.

I disagree, since it's also Best Buy that has representatives looking you squarely in the eye & lying to customers on a regular basis. The outrage is about the lying. The reason it doesn't bite them in the ass in lost business is because everybody else in the industry does the same shit.