Best Buy & Geek Squad Policies

[sherrodk]

In 2008 I purchased a LG 5.1 Sound System along with an extended 4yr protection plan (#8963124).  I have had to take my system in for repair 3 times, 1st 2 times because it would no longer play a DVD, then this time for the same DVD problem plus the sound would just go out and you have to power cycle the unit to restore the sound.  During the 2nd repair the Customer Service and Geek Squad employee told me Best Buy backs there products and would replace it with a new unit if I had to bring it back in a 3rd time.  Ok today I again returned it to Best Buy and was told by the Customer Service Employee that it was under the extended warrenty and Best Buy would replace it with a New Unit, but I had to take it to the Geek Squad desk.  Well after waiting for a few minutes and having the Tech look over all my paperwork he gave me a Service Order Document to sign and told me they would ship it off today.  I explained that this is the 3rd time I have had the unit here for the same problems and he said it has to be serviced 4 times to be considered for a replacement unit.  I am very confused your Customer Service Employees are telling all customers that 3 times is your max and your Geek Squad Employees is  telling Customers 4 times.  After taking this unit in 3 times and Waiting a Total of over 3 Months for the repairs (20 to 25 days each)  to be completed does not seem correct.  Can you please tell me what the Company Policy is for extensive Repairs on 1 Item before they are replaced.

Thank you  

[Area51Kev Regular Contributor]

There are other Best Buy policy wonks on this forum who could probably answer this with a higher level of certainty, but as I understand it...an item needs to have had three separate qualifying repairs and be in need of a fourth separate qualifying repair to be considered for replacement. By "separate" I mean that fixing the exact same problem twice would only count as one qualified repair. If that's not right I'm sure another user (or Best Buy Community Connector) will correct me. Good luck. 

[Mbrguy Emerging Expert]

What the actual policy is called is the "No Lemon Policy" and is a part of the Black Tie Protection Plan.  

Under the No Lemon Policy, if a product has had 3 qualified repairs previously and needs a 4th qualified repair, then the technician at the Service Center will authorize the product to be replaced.  Upon this authorization, you would be able to go to your local Best Buy store and get a comparable replacement not to exceed the original purchase price.

A "Qualified Repair" is a repair in which at least one non-consumable part is replaced during a single repair and upon this replacement the product is returned to its fully functional state. Redo repairs that take place right after an original repair in case the original repair didn't return the product back to it's fully functional state are considered part of the original repair and are not considered a separate "Qualified Repair."

The only person who determines which repairs are qualified and can determine that a product can be replaced under the "No Lemon Policy" is the service technician.  Under the "No Lemon Policy" the product must go to the Service Center before they can determine if the product can be replaced.

Hope this answers your questions.

[SlimJim77]

^^Nailed it.

[sherrodk]

So it looks like I am out of luck when the Extended warranty runs out in September this year.  Well I guess the extra for the 4 year plan was really worth it this time.

[Mbrguy Emerging Expert]

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Area51Kev wrote:

There are other Best Buy policy wonks on this forum who could probably answer this with a higher level of certainty, but as I understand it...an item needs to have had three separate qualifying repairs and be in need of a fourth separate qualifying repair to be considered for replacement. By "separate" I mean that fixing the exact same problem twice would only count as one qualified repair. If that's not right I'm sure another user (or Best Buy Community Connector) will correct me. Good luck. 

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Close.  If the product has to be repaired for the exact same problem, but that problem is not directly after the first repair, say a few months later, then it would be considered a separate "Qualified Repair".  If a hard drive goes out and 6 months later, the hard drive goes out again, those replacements would be considered separate qualified repairs.

[Ryan-BBY Senior Social Media Specialist]

Hello sherrodk -

Justin from our Social Media team, will be reaching out to you regarding your concern. Thank you for your continued patience!

[Justin-BBY Community Connector]

Hi sherrodk, 

I sincerely apologize if you were ill-advised about our No Lemon Policy with regards to your Home Theater system under Black Tie Protection coverage. Mbrguy did a wonderful job explaining this process to you and after researching, I have your service order information and will provide you with updates as they arise via private message. To view your private messages, ensure you're logged into our forums and click on the envelope icon in the top right corner. Again, I'm terribly sorry for any inconvenience, as I'll be sure to address this internally with store management. 

Regards, 

[Area51Kev Regular Contributor]

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Mbrguy wrote:

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Area51Kev wrote:

There are other Best Buy policy wonks on this forum who could probably answer this with a higher level of certainty, but as I understand it...an item needs to have had three separate qualifying repairs and be in need of a fourth separate qualifying repair to be considered for replacement. By "separate" I mean that fixing the exact same problem twice would only count as one qualified repair. If that's not right I'm sure another user (or Best Buy Community Connector) will correct me. Good luck. 

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Close.  If the product has to be repaired for the exact same problem, but that problem is not directly after the first repair, say a few months later, then it would be considered a separate "Qualified Repair".  If a hard drive goes out and 6 months later, the hard drive goes out again, those replacements would be considered separate qualified repairs.

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Thanks for the clarification. You are one of the stellar Best Buy policy wonks I was referring to. 

[Lduss86]

Even when they say they will replace it don't count on them following through with what they say they are going to do its a sham