I had a similar but worse experience recently. I bought a Dell last September for my 13 year old daughter to use for school, and because she is 13, got the extended protection plan. The hard drive broke three months in, not physically shattered but failed due to a defect. I had lost the receipt, and they basically tol me tough luck, they could not find the purchase in the computer, so I could not get it fixed under the best Buy plan or the manufacturer's warranty. OK, my fault for losing the receipt.
Then, I am a writer, and have a nice laptop that I use for work. I bought the extended service with accidental damage plan. The LCD screen was cracked, I brought it in to Leominster MA store for a fix up. The Geek Squad runs a diagnostic on it and says that the only problem is the LCD screen, the will send it out and in a week or two I will have it back. Almost a month and several calls later, it is back. I go to pick it up. They had fixed the LCD screen and run full FACE and Hard Drive testing at the Geek Squad facility it was sent to.
As soon as I get it home, I get a notice from Norton that the security software has expired. I try to renew, but something is going wrong between my computer and the internet. The next day, EVERYTHING IS CRASHING. I was moving to start grad school, and brought it back to the Watertown, MA store.
They run diagnostics and stress tests and say, "It must have a virus." I say, "The virus software was current four weeks ago when it went in for service, and when it got back it could not connect with the internet to renew, so it must have been infected while it was being repaired." There were a thousand excuses as to what "may have happened" including a claim that the Geek Squad had not even powered the machine up at the repair facility.
It is interesting that they were able to repaire and check and LCD screen replacement and run the PACE and HD tests without turning on the computer, but OK, they hold all the cards and my laptop, so I agree to pay the $199.00 to "remove the 8,000 virus traces". They assure me that my data (my last years work) will be safe because they are just getting rid of a software operating problem, they have run extensive diagnostics and stress tests and they ae sure it is a virus.
This is supposed to take 1-3 days. I call and call and get excuses from the computer disconnecting overnight during repairs to they forgot to start the repairs...Finally on day six, over 5 weeks from the first drop off, I go into the store. They say, "Oh, actually, we think the problem is the hard drive. The good news is that it is covered under the protection program." I say" So I'll get my $199 back?" Geeks, "Well actuallly, there was a virus that we removed." I say, " If there is a mechanical hard drive problem, it happened in the 5 plus weeks you've had the computer. It has gone through several of your own tests, including the one you ran whe I dropped it off, that said the hard drive was fine. We go back and forth. Finally, I give in on the lost cause $199.00 and ask for the machine so I can back up the work.
They tell me that the hard drive issue they could not even detect when I dropped it off is now so bad the machine is unusable.They say a virus may have caused the mechanical hard drive damage. I will be lucky if the Geeks can salvage any of my data-for another $99.00. They have me sign a form that says that if they cannot retreive my data (a years work that they told me was perfectly safe) that I will only be charged $39.
Then they say, "If you want to pay to upgrade the hard drive, we can fix it right here. Otherwise we have to send it out and it will be another two or three weeks."
I lose it. They have taken a computer that had no issues other than a broken LCD screen and charged me $300 plus weeks without my work computer to strong arm me out of anothe $200. Mond you, the lap top only cost $800.00. I tell them to send it out and call the cutsomer service line. After thre hours on hold-being disconnected, put on hold, told they had no record of my protection plan (until I gave them the receipt and poited out that they had repaired the LCD screen for free, and I had that receipt as well). I finally get a supervisor to speak to me.
I tell her the story. She looks into it and says that a virus may have damaged the hard drive. I say that I know that a virus (ie, this is all my fault despite the computer being FINE when the Geeks took it) cannot mechanically/physically damage a hard drive, and if it could, Best Buy would not be fixing the hard drive under the hardware warranty. She then says that it may not be the hard drive, and that she could not discuss working things out with me until the service center confirmed that it was the hard drive.
I said, " Wait, so the Geek Squad in the store is not able to make a definate diagnosis with their tests?" She says, "No, we have to wait until it gets to the service center." I say, " They offered to fix my hard drive on the spot if I paid a $200.00 fee to upgrade my hard drive. Are you telling me that The Geek Sqaud is charging people to upgrade and fix their hard drives in the store without being SURE it is a hard drive issue." She says, "No, they are not doing that." I say, "So explain to me why they offered that service to me." She says, "OK-it is definately the hard drive." I say, "So you'll refund the $199 and $99 for the bogus servce they sold me?" She says she will give me half of the cost on Best Buy gift cards-IF I can provide her with copies of the receipts I have for the services.
I will NEVER, EVER, do business with Best Buy again, despite having spent a shameful amount ( I had done all of my family business, gift business, and my corporate business-printers, faxes, computers, TVs GPSs, etc,etc, etc. with them in the past and having not used my protection plans). I am incredulous that they had all of the purchases in front of them in the computer, and still treated me with utter contempt on the phone. I was actually in the process switching my appliance business from another store that this site will not allow me to post: I was considering getting a counter depth Samsung refridgerator, hood microwave, And dishwasher, and TV with them for my new home, but after this scam that they are running, I'm done
Heather Bull-Chou
Elizabeth-BBY
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