Best Buy & Geek Squad Policies

[lilfitz]

I purchase a Presario A940NR last August and it has never worked right since purchase. I constantlly get blue screens and my expert friends have told me that there is a deeper hardware conflict causing the trouble. It was a display model and did not come in a box or with the usual extras.

I purchased it from BestBuy store in Fayetteville, NC.

Where do I stand on the warranty or repair/replacement?

Should I bring it back for replacement to the store?

Or Should I phone GeekSquad? or HP/Compaq support?

[stldude29]

You will always get the manufacturer's warranty for however long it maybe, reagardless if it is a display model or new in box. On most all laptops you will get a 1 year warranty trhough the manufacturer. Best Buy and the Geeksquad will honor the warranty and do the repairs based on what the manufacturer covers. I would bring it in to the store and have the Geek Squad look at it for you. If you purchased the extended warranty (Black Tie Protection), it will give you a free diagnostic through the Geek Squad, if not, then you will need to pay, I think between $59-$79 for the diag.

[lilfitz]

Thanks for the quick reply stidude99

However, I find it hard to swallow if Geeksquad are going to charge me a fee (as I did not get black tie), when the problem lies with the product and is clearly well inside the warranty limit.

It has been established by experts that there is definitely a fault with the system. It is not my responsibilty as the end-user to diagnose a fault on a machine which was bought in good faith.

They should either honour the warranty in FULL or not. Full stop. 

If that is the policy of GeekSquad to charge people for diagnosing a problem - which results in determining a fault indeed exists - then it is very wrong. I can accept being charged for the diagnosis if it results in finding no fault. But not if it proves that there is a fault! That's just wrong.

[indisguise]

if its something that is completely covered by the compaqs warranty then they should not charge you anything, you do have to bring in the reciept though for then to take care if it through compaq, take the power adapter and the restore disks that you should have created also, and back up all your data before you go because you will sign a waiver of liability in case they have to reformat the HDD and reinstall windows

[Starflyer59]

It should still have a manufacture warranty left. I would recommend calling Compaq tech support.

[lilfitz]

Thank you. I'll bring it in and cross fingers and legs they don't let me down like the experience of so many others in the forums. I'm hoping it won't take weeks!!!

[Elizabeth-BBY Community Supervisor]

Hi lilfitz,

I've asked Aaron, one of our Geek Squad Community Connectors, to review and respond to your post.  You should hear from him shortly.

Thanks for posting!

[lilfitz]

Thank you Elizabeth....

[Aaron-BBY Community Connector · Accepted solution]

Hey lilfitz,

Blue screen errors can be quite a nuisance, so I can certainly imagine how frustrated you must feel if you have been encountering them on a regular basis. I believe, however, that I should be able to answer all of your questions (including those mentioned in the thread below).

http://forums.bestbuy.com/bb/board/message?board.id=Computers_New&thread.id=5142

First of all, manufacturer warranties typically begin the day an item is purchased – open box models included. Since most computers carry one full year of factory coverage, this means that your laptop should still be protected until August if you just purchased it in 2008.

Next, remember that you always have at least two options for repairs under your factory warranty. The first would be to work with the manufacturer itself. The second is to work with an authorized service provider such as your local Best Buy® store. Simply present your computer along with a copy of your receipt to a Geek Squad® associate and they’d be glad to help you out.

While most over-the-phone support is typically provided on a pay-as-you-go basis, you may wish to contact HP at 1-800-752-0900 to see if this is the case under your factory warranty. Otherwise, you are always welcome to contact us at 1-800-GEEK-SQUAD (1-800-433-5778) or http://support.geeksquad.com/ for additional pay-as-you-go assistance. Be forewarned though that you would need to contact HP to order replacement recovery discs!

Last, but far from least, I would like to make one slight correction. While you may not have opted for additional service plan coverage, you should only be asked to pay for repairs under your factory warranty if one or more of the following conditions are met:

• No fault is found
• The problem is determined to be software-related
• Damages are discovered that are beyond the scope of your factory warranty (such as accidental and cosmetic damages)

I hope this helps you out, but please do not hesitate to let me know if you have any additional questions. You can send me a private message by clicking on the letter icon in the upper right-hand corner of the page and composing a new message to my user name “Aaron-GS.”

[lilfitz]

Thank you very much Aaron for your advice and support.

I am, however a little bit concerned that I could be sending in my Laptop and if they cannot find a fault I'll get hit with a bill!! 

Anyway I've taken the plunge and contacted HP. They were very helpful. I chose that route due to the amount of negative comments on these forums and talk about 3 week delays etc. 

Thank again. Hopefully I'll get my laptop back by Ju-ember!!!