Manufacturer Warranties and Protection Plans

[ncjake2000]

We purchased a Samsung 42" LCD TV Oct 3, 2007 and at the same time purchased the 4yr Performance Service Plan. The TV went black and stopped working on Feb 1st, 2008. We called the 888 number on the Performance Plan and reported the problem. The customer service rep made an appt for the repairs to be made on Feb 3rd, between 8am and noon. Around 5pm on Feb 3rd, having not heard from anyone, we contacted the company contracted for repair services by Best Buy. We were informed they had just received the work order and they had 48hrs to respond. On Feb 5th we contacted the service company again after not hearing anything and were told they didn't have our correct phone number, blaming the delay on Best Buy. We gave them the correct phone number and called Best Buy to complain about the service, or lack of, we were receiving. Best Buy called us back, told us they had talked with the service company and had told them that we were very dissatisfied and assured us that someone from the service company would call us shortly. This was on the afternoon of Feb 5th, and late in the afternoon on Feb 6th, after no phone calls from anyone, we called the service company again. This time we were told that they had our correct phone numbers and the work order had been sent to the technician. We were advised that perhaps we should call the service technician directly to maybe "light a fire" under him and they gave us his personal cell phone number. We called the service technician directly via his cell phone on Feb 6th. and he asked us to give him the serial #, model #, and tell him what problems we were having with the TV. We gave him all the requested info, he stated that he would contact Samsung Tech Support and order the parts they recommended to repair our TV. Mind you, this was all done by phone, no technician from the service company contracted by Best Buy for repairs ever came to inspect or troubleshoot our TV! The technician told us he would call to schedule an appt when the ordered parts arrived. On Feb 13th, after a week of not hearing anything, we again called the service company. This time we were told that they had not received an authorization from Best Buy to order the necessary parts. We immediately called the 888 number to Best Buy and were told that an authorization to order parts for our TV had been sent to the service company on Feb 7th. They stated they would re-send the authorization immediately. We called the service company again later on Feb13th and was told that they did not have an authorization number that they were aware of, or that it may be on their managers desk under some paperwork!

As of this moment.....we still HAVE NOT heard from the service company OR from anyone from Best Buy following-up on our situation. We have been without our big screen TV for 15 days and still counting. It seems that whether we call Best Buy, or the service company contracted by them for repairs....it is always the "other parties" fault that our TV is not repaired yet.

We did not hesitate to pay Best Buy the price they asked for the TV or for the "wonderful and necessary" Protection Plan. However, the way Best Buy has handled this situation has left a VERY SOUR taste in our mouths. We would at LEAST expect Best Buy to follow-up on our situation to insure our problem is corrected.

This however has not happened and to be honest.....We are only ONE PHONE CALL away from contacting our local Television Stations troubleshooting desks to see if maybe they can help us in getting our TV repaired. In these troubled economic times, widespread NEGATIVE publicity would seem to be the last thing Best Buy would desire.....that is "IF" they care at all. Even making a formal complaint with Best Buy hasn't helped. Our advice to other consumers........SHOP ELSEWHERE!!!!!

[Elizabeth-BBY Community Supervisor]

Dear ncjake2000, 

Thanks for posting your concern on our Best Buy® Forum.  Your issue has been assigned to one of our Community Connectors for further review and response, and you should be hearing something within the next few business days.  Thanks for your continued patience as we work to assist all of the customers who have reached out to us on this forum.

[Allan-BBY Community Connector · Accepted solution]

Hi ncjake2000,

I will agree that no one should be playing the blame game, and that it should not take ten days to get parts ordered for the repair of your TV. We sometimes have to use a local repair center when there is no Best Buy® technician that services the customer’s area, but we do expect them to provide the same level of service that we require of our own technicians. The fact that the technician diagnosed your issue over the phone would be a concern to me as well, and we require our technicians to physically look at the product they are repairing before any parts are ordered.

I would like to get you resolution in this repair, and hopefully earn your patronage back. I am sending you a private message, and to check your messages you should make sure you are logged 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

[ncjake2000]

Hello Allan,

We still do not have our TV repaired as of yet, however a local repair service does have it in their shop and hopefully some progress is being made. This makes the 4th week we have been without our TV due to this fiasco. If you would still like to send the gift card, we would gladly accept it. Thank-you.

[RonB]

Don't feel too bad.  Best Buy has been trying to fix our set for over three months. Current plan is to remove new parts installed so identical new parts can be reinstalled. Expensive and frustrating was to do business.