Best Buy & Geek Squad Policies

[coolpacker11]

I recently had my HP laptop out for repair through the geek squad, because I am still covered under the PSP. I got a call yesterday saying that the product arrivd back at the store and they replaced the LCD screen and the hard drive. They then said that they would need my system install discs that came with the laptop in order to install Windows Vista again. I was not told that this might be needed when I brought my computer in, and I could have easily burned some system restore discs at that point. I was only told to back up important files, which I did. However, now they want me to restore discs from HP out of my own expense, and I also have to wait 5 days for them to be delivered.

Part of the PSP says:

No Deductibles
We pay any covered claim from the first dollar. There are no deductibles, no hidden charges, no out-of-pocket costs for qualifying repairs.

Since they had to replace the hard drive, isn't restoring the computer to a usable condition also part of the "qualifying repair"? There was clearly an OS on it when I brought it in.

I am also angry because if I was told at any point that I needed a system restore disc, I could have ordered it so it arrived when the repair was complete. Now, the repair is complete but my laptop is unusable.

[AGENTG]

There is a similar situation being handled on this forum...you may want to read:

http://www.forums.bestbuy.com/t5/Best-Buy-and-Geek-Squad-Policies/Geek-Squad-reps-don-t-even-qualify...

[QuantumThunder · Accepted solution]

It is your responsibility to provide Best Buy everything that was included with the pc when you purchased it in order to complete all aspects of the repair (laptop, power cord, reinstallation discs - HP includes a software program and some blank discs with its pc's to create your own set, also, they should have offered to create your discs as a service at time of new pc purchase for an additional fee)

When they replace HD's under psp they will reinstall your OS at no charge, they, however, need the discs. The reason they don't keep the recovery discs on hand is twofold:

- Microsoft simply wont allow them for licensing reasons. Failure to comply would result in Microsoft levying sanctions and other legal actions against Best Buy.

- If Best Buy were to stock every single model laptop/desktop recovery disc at the stores/service center it would require HUNDREDS if not THOUSANDS of dedicated square feet of storage.

The good news is last time I had a client that needed to order HP recovery discs they charged 29.99 and that covered overnight shipping, and then you have a set of backup recovery discs should you ever run into major problems in the future. You will never understand how much those discs come in handy until you have issues :-)

[coolpacker11]

Thanks for the info!

[QuantumThunder]

No problem, ideally they should have told you this at the time of check in but at any rate...Every computer owner needs to have a set of restore discs so your best bet is to order them and keep them for future rainy days :-)

[JoshSB]

Exactly, also another reason why they may not have told you is that the computer did not show any signs of Hard Drive failure, if the Hard Drive misses just one metric on our testing diagnostics we classify the hard drive as bad and failing and replace it to be proactive.

~ Josh

[juvevk]

coolpacker11,

How long ago did you purcahse your HP?

I am asking cause I have owned 2 HP Desktops and one HP Laptop. On each instance I was able to go to the HP web site and order recovery discs from them for each of these systems.

They can only do this once per system. So, if you loose them, or scratch the discs, you are out of luck. They cost me 10 bucks for shipping and they arrived fairly quickly. You should go to the site and give it a shot. You will, however, need your computer's model and serial numbers.

Not sure if they do this for every single computer, but this was certainly the case with all 3 of mine.

Hope this helps.

[MelissaOehl]

I had a similar problem, my HD failed as soon as I unpacked my new laptop. It didn't give me any time to make the restore discs, Geek squad replaced the HD but said I was out of luck on the OS. The should've just given me a new machine, I've had almost every major componet replaced in less than 2 years and it still doesn't work right.

[Nokia]

Did it fail as soon as you opened it, or after two years?

[JM]

---

MelissaOehl wrote:

I had a similar problem, my HD failed as soon as I unpacked my new laptop. It didn't give me any time to make the restore discs, Geek squad replaced the HD but said I was out of luck on the OS. The should've just given me a new machine, I've had almost every major componet replaced in less than 2 years and it still doesn't work right.

---

I suspect that it did not fail out of the box, because Geek Squad would have exchanged it within the first 14 days (standard policy for all computers sold at Best Buy), unless you did not open it within that amount of time, which is definitely not recommended with electronics.