Manufacturer Warranties and Protection Plans

[DIRECTVSUP]

I bought a 62 inch Toshiba DLP in January of 2007.  I also bought the protection plan with it thinking, heaven forbid, if anything goes wrong Best Buy will take care of me. I mean I just spent alot of money and have for years at this store. Surely that would count for something. I even work for a company that is partnered with Best Buy. Well, 2 1/2 years later my tv died. May 20th was last day it worked. My wife turned it on the next morning and, POP!  She called me at the office and I told her to unplug it for about 30 seconds and then plug it back in and tell me what happens. No luck, it didn't work. No picture, just sound. I told her to call Best Buy because i bought a protection plan that lasts 4 years from the purchase date, and they would surely help us. Right....... The customer service rep told her that the next available date was June6th. When I got home, I called and had the date changed to the next day. I'm thinking, fantastic,now we're getting somewhere.  The next day comes and I get  a call from the tech saying he is not coming, there is nothing he can do unless I have a replacement bulb. He orders me a bulb and has it shipped to my house for me to put in. On one hand I think, no problem, I can do that. I've been in the audio/video industry for a number of years now and know my way around a tv. On the other hand, why did I pay all that money to do it myself?

The bulb came, 5 days later, I installed it and the tv still did the same thing. No picture, just sound. Another call to customer service and another 2 week wait period, the nice lady said on the phone. I had the tech's phone number, so I called him. Nice guy, by the way. He saiid he would order me some more parts and see if those worked.

8 days since the tv has worked and the tech finally gets to come out. Nevermind that a tech lives 19 miles fom my house, this guy has to drive 2 hours to get here. He puts the new parts in and guess what? No picture, just sound. Tech tells me then that there was a part that he tried to order but it was on backorder until june 24th. He was hoping that one of the new parts, the light engine, would have fixed the problem. He then tells me Best Buy's policy on exchanges and that if a tech orders a part and it will not be shipped within 14 days, that I would get a replacement tv.

It's now June 10th and I finally got my confirmation number that best buy would exchange my tv. Happily, I called the store where I bought my tv and checked to make sure they had my records and could confirm my past purchases. The nice lady on the phone had all of my information so I asked her what kind of DLP tvs they had since I have to take it back myself and just wanted to get prepared. "oh, I'm sorry sir, we don't carry those in the store. We will have to order one and that will take another 1 to 2 weeks." Plus they don't deliver to my neck of the woods.

Let's see, May 20th, tv stopped working. May 29th, tech came out and tv still not working. June 10th, get confirmation on replacement, but stillwill have to wait a possible 2 more weeks? I am looking at a possible 5 weeks without tv in my living room even though I spent thousands of dollars on a tv and hundreds more on a protection plan? That is not what I call customer satisfaction. Anyone out there care enough to expalin any of this and why ths process is so horrible?

[Nokia]

I just wanted to mention that you're not required to get a DLP to replace your TV. If you were willing to go with an LCD or a plasma, you could pick up a model carried in the store.

[DIRECTVSUP]

Thank you, Nokia.

I figured you would reply to my post. I see you everywhere on here.

I thought about your idea, but wasn't sure if that would be policy or not. I definitely won't go with a plasma, I have kids and a wife that love to pause things for too long. I was really wanting to keep with the 62" or bigger because my living room is very long and the wall it sits on 18 ft wide. If I get a smaller tv the wife might decide she can fit more excersize equipment in there. I guess I will have to see what happens tomorrow at the store.

Thanks for your thoughts.

[Nokia]

Basically, you'll get a comparable model. The only problem is, it was two years ago, and a DLP. The model you receive as a replacement cannot exceed the original purchase price. If you can find a 62" that's within the purchase price, I'd get it.

FYI, plasma doesn't have the problem with burn-in anymore. I have a 42" Panny, and I've never seen any burn-in.

[Elizabeth-BBY Community Supervisor]

Hi DIRECTVSUP,

I've asked Allan, one of our Community Connectors, to offer his assistance with your ongoing tv repair/replacement concerns.  You should hear from him within the next few business days at the most.

Thanks for your continued patience,

[DIRECTVSUP]

Price shouldn't be a problem. 2 years ago the thing cost me more than the new 72" Toshiba now.

[mrpmpfan]

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8955213&type=product&id=1218008131783

This is the TV I would pick as a replacement for your TV.  Its smaller, sure, but its a heck of a lot thinner and has a great picture quality.

[mstng87gt Trusted Contributor]

I am with mrpmpfan with that tv. I have the LN52a650 and its outstanding.

[Allan-BBY Community Connector]

DIRECTVSUP,

Five weeks without my TV would be five weeks too long, and I can certainly understand you being upset with having to wait that long to have a working TV. I’m sure this is especially true since you purchased a Performance Service Plan (PSP) to provide coverage in exactly this type of situation.

When you first called you should have been given the soonest available appointment for the technician that services your area. That technician should then come to your house on that day and diagnose the issue, and then the technician should order any part(s) they determine are needed to repair your TV. Once we have an ETA on the part(s) we would then schedule you for the next available appointment and the technician should come out and install the part(s). If the part(s) installed don’t resolve the issue the technician would re-diagnose the problem and order the part(s) they determine are necessary. This process should continue until your TV is functioning properly.

Often times with DLP TV’s, that no longer have a picture, it is the lamp that has gone bad.  A technician can come to the conclusion that the lamp needs to be replaced based upon the information gathered from a customer. In this situation we will order the lamp prior to coming out to a customer’s home, and once the lamp is in the technician would go to the customer’s home and replace the lamp. Some manufacturers consider replacing the lamp as a customer serviceable procedure and do not require an authorized service technician to install the lamp. This does not mean that we would require a customer to replace their own lamp, but often times it is quicker and more convenient for the customer to do it themselves. If you had wanted a technician to replace your lamp you should have been given that option.

I was glad to hear that you finally got approved by your PSP to get a replacement TV, but I’m not happy to hear that after all the frustration you had with the repair process you are having problems getting a comparable TV in a timely manner. The store that is processing the replacement should replace your TV with the same TV if we still carry it, a comparable TV as determined by the store, or store credit in the amount of what a comparable TV would cost today if the store doesn’t have a comparable TV. The cost of the TV or the amount of the store credit you receive cannot exceed the original purchase price. The store should not take into consideration the original purchase price when determining what a comparable model TV is.

It sounds like the store is having a hard time getting a hold of a comparable TV in a timely manner. I would like to look into this and see if there is something I can do to expedite the process. I am sending you a private message, and to check your messages you should log into the forum and then click on the letter icon in the upper right-hand corner of the page.

Thanks for posting,
Allan
Community Connector
Best Buy® Corporate