Manufacturer Warranties and Protection Plans

[JDZONE]

I purchased a Canon DSLR camera from your Best Buy store in Colma, CA on March 21, 2010. I opted for your 4-year Extended Warranty Product Service Plan (PSP) with Accidental Damage from Handling (ADH).

I brought the camera to your Colma, CA store on March 5, 2011 to get repaired. I was told by your Geek Squad agent that the camera would need to be sent to the manufacturer for repair.

I called in to the Colma, CA store on March 11, 2011 to follow up on the repair status and was told by the Geek Squad agent that the repair center was waiting for parts.

I checked the status of the repair this morning on the www.geeksquad.com website and learned that my camera was shipped back to the store on March 11, 2011 and would arrive in 2-7 days. I called the store this evening (March 14, 2011) and was told that my camera was not repaired and was junked out through the Manufacturer's Warranty. I was told to come to the store and pick up my replacement.

Upon picking up my replacement I was told my original 4-year extended warranty has now been fulfilled and will need to purchase another warranty. Why is the 4-year warranty I purchased on March 21, 2010 considered fulfilled when..

1. It's been less than one year since I purchased it. I paid for 4-years of coverage and only received less than one year of coverage. (There's more than 3 years remaining!!)
2. My camera was replaced through the manufacturers warranty.

It seems as if my camera purposely "junked out" so that your Best Buy store can "sell" me another warranty and avoid honoring the original 4-year warranty I already paid for.

I expect to receive the remainder of the 4-year coverage I had purchased on March 21, 2010 transferred to the replacement camera.


-JDZONE

[CrystalWoW Community Veteran]

What was wrong with the camera?

[JDZONE]

Liquid on the sensor.

[CrystalWoW Community Veteran]

That would be exactly why. It was not replaced by the manufacturer who would not cover liquid damage where the black tie accidental did. That is why it was fulfilled.

[deusexmachina Valued Contributor]

If a product costs more to repair than to replace, the warranty would only continue if the fault was covered by both the MFG warranty and the PSP. Since accidental damage is covered only by the ADH PSP, the warranty is consumed when they issue you a gift card or new camera.

If we determine, in our sole discretion that your product cannot be repaired, we will replace it with a product of like kind and quality that is of comparable performance or reimburse you for replacement of the product with a voucher or gift card, at our discretion, equal to the current market value of the product, as determined by us, not to exceed the original purchase price of your product, including taxes

Our obligations under this plan will be fulfilled in their entirety if we replace your
product or issue you a voucher or gift card for
replacement of your product pursuant to these
terms and conditions.

You may purchase another warranty on your new camera if you would like the same coverage that you received on your previous camera.

[Aaron-BBY Community Connector]

Hi JDZONE,

Like Crystallee and deusexmachina mentioned, service plans are considered fulfilled if the covered product is exchanged beyond the scope of its factory warranty coverage.  This regrettably means that the store was correct in informing you that a new service plan would need to be purchased if your camera was replaced due to liquid damage and you would like coverage on the replacement model.  For more information regarding this policy though, I’d encourage you to refer to your plan brochure or to check out the example plan available on the following site:

http://www.geeksquad.com/protection-plans/black-tie-protection/cameras-camcorders-black-tie-protecti...

That being said, I can imagine how disappointed you must feel.  I’d be disheartened too if I found myself in a similar situation, especially if the possibility that my service plan might be fulfilled was not discussed prior to sending my camera out for service.

If you have any other questions or are still in need of assistance, please feel free to let me know.  You can send me a private message by signing into the forums and then clicking on either my signature below or the letter icon in the upper right-hand corner of the page.