I am writing on behalf of my parents-in-law...loyal Best Buy customers up until recently.Believe it or not, this is a condensed version as the issue is quite long and drawn out....
My father-in-law is a disabled Vietnam Veteran. They are both senior citizens and live a modest life soley on his disability check. They raised four children of their own and now have accepted, without complaint, the duty of raising one of their grandchildren. They are selfless, hard-working and honest.. However, I believe they have been taken advantage of by a very greedy "Geek Squad" agent trying to make a sell, and now Best Buy will not live up to the promises made to them.
As an early Christmas present to each other, they purchased an LCD tv around November of last year. Please understand, this was NOT an easy decision for them. They did not want a big interest payment and of course, could not afford to buy it "outright", so Best Buy's No Interest if paid off within a certain time frame was the perfect chance for them to have such a luxury. At the time of purchase, one of the MAIN questions asked during the "sales pitch" was about the warranty. My father-in-laws nature is to "prepare for the worst..." and has the philosphy that if you can protect yourself against the "unknown", then do it! Having heard about the easy breakability of LCD screens, he SPECIFICALLY asked about "accidental coverage". The GEEK SQUAD Salesman made this EXACT statement to him and my mother-in-law..."Purchasing the Extended Protection Warranty will cover EVERYTHING...Even if your grandkid throws a ball at it and it breaks the screen." Thats just what they wanted to hear. They intended on mounting the TV up high over the fireplace, but when the grandkids come visiting, who knows what could happen! This was a huge purchase and they just wanted to be covered in case of such an accident. Keep in mind, they were not looking for a "handout", a "favor" or even asking for a "deal". They were willing to pay whatever was necessary to ensure they could enjoy their new tv for years to come without being a nervous wreck when the "babies' came over. Once again, to be completely sure they were hearing him correctly, my father-in-law repeated exactly what he said..."...now if I purchase this Extended Warranty, EVERYTHING is covered, no matter what??" ANSWER "Thats the whole purpose of an Extended Service Purchase Option...coverage beyond what the manufacturer covers....like I say, even if your grandkid throws a ball at it...." Well....right at $1000 later (including the $120 Extended Service Plan), they had their new LCD tv. Well guess what??? Yup....the screen has gotten broken. And how? By accident by one of the grandkids tossing his shoe up in the air! Imagine my father-in-laws fury and disbelief when the repair man showed up at the door, shook his head, and said "Sorry...can't help ya." That was almost a month ago. They had the tv for a whole 3 months. They tried calling the store they bought it from directly, the manager wouldnt even talk to them. They were told that "Surely you must have misunderstood"...basically treated them like they were idiots for even suggesting that one of their prized "Geek Squaders" would make such a claim. Besides "didnt you get a copy of your service agreement?" Well of course they did, with their receipt when the purchase was all said and done. Their mistake was believing what the salesman told them, their mistake was trusting too much. But wait theres more....after the entire right side of the screen was broken, they still continued to watch their $1000 tv. You could only see half of the tv, but half was better than nothing. It was so sad. But then a few weeks ago, the tv quit coming on when you hit the power button. It was a game of chance...sometimes it would power up with no problem, sometimes it wouldnt come on no matter what you did. So now, they couldnt even watch half of a $1000 tv! They called the repair service again, the guy came out and once again..."sorry, no reason to fix something else on the tv, the screen is broken". "Yea, we know that" they replied, " but regardless, we were still able to watch at least half of it!!" Response: "Can't help ya cuz the screen is broken".
Please, please....is there anything at all that can be done? $120 for an extended service warranty is crazy, in my opinion, but what was it for, just a back up of the manufacturers warranty? Yes, they should have read their service contract in detail, but they were truly convinced, and even made the salesman REPEAT his promise to him...that THEY WOULD BE COVERED by purchasing this expensive "Warranty". Is it ok for someone to make false claims, knowing what they say is not the truth, and also knowing that it can't be proven when confronted with the issue?
Please....they are still paying the credit card payment, every month, on time....and looking at a broken, black box. Thank you so much for your ear.
Dorothy-BBY
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