Manufacturer Warranties and Protection Plans

[wjdavis5]

I purchased my laptop from bestbuy with the ADH plan in  Aug 2008. In Jan of 2009 my Reserve unit mobilized for Iraq. Long story short my laptop was dropped several times causing various bits of damage from Jan 2009 to June 2009. I traveled with the laptop (in a protected carrier) to various locations and continued to use it as long as it still functioned. In early June I dropped the machine while talking to my wife on Skype and tripped bringing a big boot down on the machine, rendering it Non operational. I took into Geek Squad on leave for a claim (June 2009). My claim has been denied 3 times now and I am preparing to go to Court over this AND contact my local consumer protection investigators at the news station. They are saying that it is not covered b/c it was not under 'normal' use. The funny thing is my NCOIC (my boss) did the same thing in Colorado (I'm in Indiana) and Geek squad gave him a brand new machine! No hassles or anything just replaced it with an exceptional machine.

What is normal use? The funny thing is my job in the Army is a Systems Administrator. I work in an office and fix machines and configure servers/network equip. etc. etc. I supported 14 teams in Iraq and had to travel a lot, I was on the road 4 days a week. Seems to me that b/c I told the Geek Squad I was in Iraq that they think they can deny the claim automatically b/c using a computer in Iraq is not normal? Or perhaps it’s a way of showing their lack of support for what we do so that they can sell these so called ACCIDENTAL DAMAGE PLANS. Bottom line the salesperson (Noblesville Indiana) told me that it would cover everything except an act of War (IE Being blown to pieces). I was told as long as I brought the entire machine in (even busted up) it would be covered.

I spent the last part of my tour w/o a machine to communicate with my Wife and Daughter b/c best buy doesn’t want to cover it. Now that I'm home I've taken some time off to address this situation. If my claim is denied a 3rd time I will be sending this post to my local news stations and my representatives from congress, that is after I file my suit in small claims court.

[wjdavis5]

So I just went to my local store again today to get a copy of all their denials. I was told that 'this happens all the time' that being Best Buy denying the coverage they previously promised. I spend 40 min on the phone with the customer relations dept and was told that even though the notes on line had not been updated that there have been several parts replaced on my machine but the finished product was pending my authorization for an estimate. Meaning that they want me to now pay for repairs. So some of the damage is covered but not all of it? Even though the damage is the result of the same         incident(s)?

Also they have been unable to provide me a copy of the service plan terms b/c they have changed since I purchased it.

Stil awaiting a final response from them before I call the news and Fax an intent to sue to their legal dept. (fax is the only way to communicate with their legal team per the CSR I spoke with)

[Dorothy-BBY Community Supervisor]

Hello wjdavis5 -

Sarah, from our Community Connector team, will be reaching out to you regarding your concern.  I appreciate your patience until she is able to contact you.  Thank you!

[wjdavis5]

Wonderful I look forward to hearing from her.

[Nokia]

Here are the terms for the PSP sold in 8-08.

[wjdavis5]

Thanks for the link to the terms and conditions. After having legal counsel review the document here is what we came up with. Best Buy is denying my claim saying the damage is not covered under the NORMAL USE CLAUSE of the the agreement. The word NORMAL is found only 3 times in the document provided. My claim was submitted under the ADH plan I purchased; here is the paragraph pertaining to that aspect of the PSP:

Accidental Damage From Handling (ADH)
Coverage for damage that is the result of an unex-
pected and unintentional external event, such as
drops and spills, that arise from your normal daily
usage of the product. Once your product has been
replaced under the terms and conditions of the
ADH Coverage, this Plan has been fulfilled in its
entirety.

I have highlighted the important sentance here: "... that arise from your normal daily usage of the product."  The terms do not go on to define normal usage, basic contract law tells us that unless a specific definition is given the normal usage is to be assumed. There is also a little known and little used rule of law called the "Scrivener's Rule" which states that if a term in a contract is ambiguous then it is to be construed against the party who drew the contract up. In this case the practical application is that if the contract CAN be read in such a way that what happened will be covered, then it WILL be.

Clearly the contract says "... from YOUR normal daily usage...." that means however you normally use the product, it does NOT say normal is how a majority of people use THEIR product.

pending your response this concludes my brief

[starhelper2587]

I know normal use is defined by the MFG's terms.  The MFG of the item in question lays out what they consider "normal use" then BB must oblige.  For example, if you set your laptop on top of your vehicle and forgot to put it inside before backing out and running over it, the MFG would not deem this accident to be within "normal use" and would therefore call the accident a negligent accident.  This is b/c the MFG doesn't intend its laptops to be used on top of moving vehicles.  I know the logic seems ludacris and irrational, but again, the MFG lays out these terms.

I don't see how your use wouldn't be considered normal though.  Especially if the laptop was simply dropped (not in water completely submerged, though b/c that wouldn't be covered).  Is that the reason they keep saying the claim is denied?

One of the Community Connectors (BB corp employees/forum moderators) should be along sometime next week to assign your thread to the best CC for the situation to work w/ you, the store, and the service center to get this resolved.

Myself, and BB do appreciate you military service!  Thank you VERY much for defending our freedom! 

[wjdavis5]

again quoting the contract ".... your normal use..." no where does the contract say normal use is defined by the mfg. Whats going on here is an attempt to defraud the consumer, they are assuming the ignorance of the end user and assume they will not be willing to fight. Though this is speculation it would seem that with most insurance agencies, claims adjustors will financial bonuses for denying claims that save the company money.

Their attempts to deny this claim have already cost them more than it would have cost to just replace the machine. Consider all the people that have had to put time into this issue, I'm on my third claim with the same machine, 3 times now I've sent this machine into a service center and spend time arguing with these people. Its like the kid in school that works harder to get out of doing work than they would have just doing the work.

It would be wise to resolve this matter before it gets escalated further, the amount it has cost the company grows everyday they procrastinate.

[starhelper2587]

Sarah was assigned to your thread.  Usually CCs take 3-5 business days to respond b/c they research the issue first.

[CrimsonRain]

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wjdavis5 wrote:

It would be wise to resolve this matter before it gets escalated further, the amount it has cost the company grows everyday they procrastinate.

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And you know this how....?