Best Buy & Geek Squad Policies

[Eric73]

First let me say that this is going to be a long post, but I think its important to explain what happened fully rather then just 'bestbuy is terrible' or something.

I went to my local BB just after xmas in 2007, so a bit less then a year ago.  And I bought a 40" Samsung HDTV.  I did some research before hand trying to decide if I should get a plasma or LCD.  I decided on the LCD for a few reasons, but mainly because I would be using my PS3 on it and read how plasma could burn an image on the screen if left too long and everything I read said it was near impossible to have this sort of problem with an LCD TV.  So with this info I went and spoke with the sales person, and I specifically said the reason I wanted to get an LCD was to avoid any problem with a burned in image.  He said that's not a problem, as its not an issue with LCD but is with Plasma.  So with what I read and his asurance I bought the TV and the protection plan.  I asked of course what is covered by the plan, his response was 'pretty much anything but abuse'  of course I figured that was a stretch and looked briefly at the brochure of the plan, it seemed to cover just about everything that would be outside my control.  I didn't read the entire thing (its pretty long) but was asured by the sales person unless I intentionally damaged the TV or abused it, I would be covered.

So a few months go by and the TV is great and I am having no problems at all, until mid August of this year (2008)  I was playing my PS3 and noticed that the left side of the screen about 3" from top to bottom is a bit discolored and there is a line of black pixels running from he top to the bottom of the screen.  I didn't think much of it till it remained for about a week and was noticeable when watching bluerays or playing games or just watching TV now.  What I didn't know then, is that this was caused by me not having HD service at the time (I do now) and watching the TV in 4:3 aspect, because it looked the best.  Apparently this burned a line and discolored the left side of my screen (no idea why it didn't do it to the right side)  So not knowing any of this, I called BB protection plan number to have it serviced.   When I called the person I talked to was surprised by the line and said 'that isn't supposed to happen on an LCD' which of course I agreed with, since it was exactly what I was told and read.  So they made an appointment for a few days later to have a tech come look at it.  The tech showed up (4hrs late) and looked at the TV and said it was the first time he had seen this on an LCD, he had seen it many times on a plasma but never and LCD.  And again I of course agreed.  So he left and said I would hear from him within a week with what could be done.

Two weeks went by and I hadn't heard anything at all.  So I called the BB protection plan number, explained my situation again and again was told how that's weird an LCD TV shouldn't do that, but that she would take my information and find out what was going on with my claim and have someone call me back.   So a day or 2 later I received a call back from BB telling me that my TV would not be covered by the protection plan, as burn in is not covered in any way.  Of course I was furious and tried to explain that I had since buying the TV seen this in my protection plan but wasn't worried as I was asured it wasn't an issue with LCD TV's.  To which her only reply over and over was 'I apologize but we can not cover your TV'  I tried for the next few days to call and try and get someone who would listen to me and perhaps get someone that would understand my perspective....I did nothing wrong with the TV other then watch it, play games on it, and watch movies.  I explained that I had read the manual since calling and found nothing about image burn other then I shouldn't leave a picture on the screen for more then 20 minutes, which of course I have never viewed pictures on it.  But of course the response didn't change 'I apologize but we can not cover your TV'   Now this brings us to about the first week of September 2008.

Since all of this, till now October 12 2008 I have just been living with it, altho angry everytime I watch a movie or football game where the problem is particularly obvious.    When 3 days ago a friend of mine went to BB to get the same TV as me, I told him my issue and made sure he was aware and had HD service to make sure to mitigate the chance of a problem.  He tells me the next day that he told the sales person my problem and the sales man was shocked and said, that's weird we do cover burned images....of course my friend disagreed with him explaining my situation, until the salesman brought over the protection plan and said see.  In this copy of the protection plan(different name but same thing as they don't offer mine anymore)  it clearly states in big letters that burned images and dead pixels are covered, where my version says in pasing and in small letters  not covered: image burn.

Well of course hearing this I was blown away, even more so when I went to the BB website to check it out for myself, and sure enough it is as he said and the really ironic thing is that this plan began on Sept 14 2008 no more then a week after the last time I was flat out rejected for my claim.  So I have now contacted BB protection plan once again in hopes that now they will fix my TV with the change to the policy, I am not holding my breathe of course and am currently awaiting a response.

So, my question is what you all who read this think.  Everyone I have spoken to even before the change in policy seem to think this is a gray area at worst and they should side with the consumer or at best it is deceptive business as the sales man surely should have known this could be a problem and now in light of the change in policy it is something they were aware was a problem.  I of course think my TV should have been fixed months ago, let alone now it definitely should as this just looks like an admission of it being a problem.

As I said I am waiting to hear back on what they will do for me, as of now I have only received a canned response but hopefully will hear back soon.  I really don't see what kind of recourse I have other then a small claims suit, something I really don't want to do, as I don't want to be 'that guy' but again I don't see any other recourse after all the people I have talked to and the little hope I have that they will indeed now cover my TV.

So again I ask, what do you all think....please refrain from BB sucks or your an idiot, I really think I have a legitimate issue that is just being brushed aside.

Thanks for reading.

[Eric73]

Hmm think I should have put more profanities in this, and said how I have told everyone I know never to shop at BestBuy again...seems the way to get replys.   :/

[Aaron-BBY Community Connector · Accepted solution]

Hey Eric73,

While I’m sorry to hear about the problems that you’ve been having with your TV over the past few months, I would like to take this opportunity to explain a few things.

First of all, it’s important to understand that while image burn (or “ghosting”) is not a frequent occurrence with LCD TV’s that does not mean that it is impossible given the right conditions.  In most cases though, LCD TV’s will only suffer from a temporary problem that is often called “image retention.”  Samsung’s website (www.samsung.com) does advise of this possibility and includes recommendations to avoid image retention on their LCD televisions; as such, this is not considered to be a manufacturer’s defect covered under their warranty, and it is not covered under Best Buy® Performance Service Plans (PSPs).

As far as your PSP is concerned, please understand that these plans have gone through a number of revisions over the past few years.  While some areas of coverage may have changed from revision to revision, both Best Buy® and its customers are bound by the terms and conditions that were current at the time of the original purchase.  Essentially, the coverage provided by the new Geek Squad® Black Tie Protection Plans that are available for purchase today does not apply to your PSP coverage.  Still, I can understand your disappointment with this and the sales experience you described.

I’d like to see how we can reach a mutually agreeable solution to this dilemma.  Please keep an eye on your private messages for further communication!

Thanks,

Agent Aaron

Geek Squad® Community Connector

Go Ahead.  Use Us.

[Raven13]

  Seriously I  feel the same way right now after having a similiar experience... Where old practices aren't being done anymore.. Its has to due to the underwriter.. AIG. Yup that's right its the underwriter that makes the decision on your repairs.. And guess what they are not going t stretch their necks out for anybody right now.. Why?? You have seen them in the news in financial trouble... So why would they want to spend more money on you? They are not worried about customer service anymore they are worried about losing money.. And with you they aren't losing money you already paid for your service plan.. And we can say well we will tell all of our friends not to shop at BB anymore.. But to them it doesn't matter. BB right now are puppets to AIG. (sorry to say that but right now you are you have all admitted it to me) They are at the whim of an insurance company.. And we know what it is like to get money from insurance companies... Its like pulling teeth. AIG has nothing to loose.. They have plenty of other companies to deal with if BB goes out of business. And now they have the federal government backing them (not to get political).. So when they do finally decide to replace my camera will I get another PSP with it... NOPE.

Raven

[MtnXfreeride]

But they need to afford their weekly vacations to the spa at AIG!!!!  

If you think about it though, whenever they change the coverage of a plan, its probably just so they can keep it at an affordable price for the customer.

Image burn is something I have always kept in mind and I know never to leave my monitor on when I leave.  Saves power anyway. 

Its probably so people dont cheat the system.

Message Edited by MtnXfreeride on 11-18-2008 06:41 PM

[Eric73]

I just wanted to put a thankyou in to Aaron for taking the time and talking to me about my problem and actually listening and understand it, while I didn't get my TV replaced we did reach a reasonable solution.  Just wish I had talked him in August when I first had this problem

Thanks again Aaron, its appreciated

Eric

[3Kessingers]

Glad to see that you guys have reached a possible resolution. Unfortunately, it appears that there is more than one unhappy customer with the way that Best Buy handles things.   I'm new here and trying to figure out how I can post a subject on a bad experience with a protection plan and getting service that has been promised to me for over two weeks! 

Service has definitely gone down hill and it's so hard to find someone that actually cares about a bad experience.  Reality is, when we're promised something out of service that we pay for, we expect it!  We expect a little more when we spend our hard earned dollars for more!  After all, how does Best Buy remain a large corporation with the higher-ups making $$$,$$$,$$$ 's?  Simply, because we continue to give them support in making purchases.

Interested in helping me to make a post?  Plz help

Merry Christmas!

[Coolbballer21]

Glad to see Aaron could help you out there, I know there is a "chance" on LCD TV's that it can happen, just glad you both could work something out.