Manufacturer Warranties and Protection Plans

[Jerryt75]

The sales person that helped me stated these exact words "If you damage your phone in any way, just bring it in and we will give you a new one. On top of that if it is lost or stolen, we cover that as well". For years I had Att's insurance which is about $5/mo and if you lose or damage your phone they replace it for $50. Thats pretty reasonable. The salesperson told me in his sales pitch that it covers "everything" that the Att coverage does but there is no $50 fee in the event of it being lost or stolen. He went on to state that is is much more convenient and fater because all you have to do is come in to any best buy store and they can help you. After purchacing my iPhone as well as my gf's iPhone with buy back and Black Tie coverage I decided to read the pamphlet. Two things that stand out as completely misleading by the salesperson are:

1) If my phone is lost or stolen and I have "Find my phone" activated on my phone they will make every attempt to track down my phone through GPS. (no guarantees here)

2) If i damage my phone in any way and I need it repaired they will offer a loaner, which I have to pay a deposit of $150 for, and send mine out to be repaired or supply me with a refurbished model.

Both of these important details were twisted by the salesperson's above pitch. I am an adult and I should read the fine print when purchasing anything but thats my bad for trusting my best buy "trained" salesperson. I love Best Buy. I cant even tell you how many thousands of dollars I spent there this year alone. It consists of a PS3, a 40" Samsung LED 3D tv, 2 iPhone 4's and much more.

Now here is my experience with my first coverage request last month. When my gf's phone was having a simple problem that didnt allow the screen to go dark when you had it to your face while on a call (caused it to mute, hang -up, switch to speaker) we went to our local Best Buy (Mira Mesa, CA) just to be told that they will send it off and we can "request" a loaner with a $150 deposit. When you have an iPhone and they want to give you a basic phone while yours is out that is not offering a loaner. Thats like taking in your new Mercedes for service and they give you a 10 year old Ford Focus to use while they have yours. Thats obsurd. The phone is only 4 months old so the person told us we could try to take it to Apple Store and they could probably take care of it at no charge. I asked "What am I paying a total of $30 to Best Buy for if I can just got to Apple? She Shrugged her shoulders and said... "Well, it does cover past the year that Apple offers". I replied "By the end of 1 year I will have paid $360 for a coverage that I can just go to Apple for?" She had no rebuttle. So off to Apple we go. We get there and wait about 10 min for someone to help us and tell us that it is a common thing with the white iPhone 4 that the screen protector blocks the sensor and you just have to cut a small slit in it to fix it. I BOUGHT THE SCREEN PROTECTOR FROM BEST BUY!!! Know your product people! You are selling a product to go with another product that is causing a lot of people problems. I spend my time and money driving around for something that you (best buy) could prevent. If a Best Buy representative reads this I want you to do me a favor. Send out a mass email to all of your cell phone sales associates and geek squad that the Zagg screen protector along with a white iPhone causes problems with the screen turning off during a call. At least make it so that my running around town to have such a simple thing answered is not in vein. This is their favorite Zagg Screen Protector that they will try to sell you with any phone you purchase. Its $30 and supposedly the best one (according to my very educated Best Buy salesperson). 

Im glad that this was a small issue and that the first time I needed mine or my gf's phone fixed or replaced was not in a more desperate situation. I had complete piece of mind with the coverage that I thought I had. Now that I tried to use it im contemplating cancelling my Black Tie and just going back to ATT's coverage. At least it covers lost or stolen phones as well.

[Bagman]

Seems like common practice nationwide with BB to Mislead customers, they did the same to me. Done with BB.

[MadMyke]

Sadly it appears to be a common practice to mislead the customer to get the warranty.  I was told lost phones were not covered but I was also told they would replace my phone with a new phone if I had problems.  The contract even states you can have your phone sent out for repairs, but for me that is not the case.  Best Buy will only give me refurbs and not attempt a repair for some reason.  I’ve been through a few refurbished phones all of which don’t seem to work correctly.  This is a service plan that is supposed to be much better than Sprints plan.  What a joke.  I’ve used sprints service plan in the past and have been extremely happy.  I just had my wife’s EVO 3D screen replaced by sprint while I waited free of charge.  The screen replacement took less time than it takes to drop off my phone at Best Buy for rapid exchange, go figure.

[Bagman]

That's why I will only use carriers insurance, and never shop at BB!!

[Ryan-BBY Senior Social Media Specialist]

Hello Jerryt75-

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

[Douglas-BBY Community Connector]

Hello Jerryt75,

I’m glad that you were able to get your girlfriend’s phone fixed so quickly! 

I apologize for the confusion around your Black Tie Protection plan and what it covers; I’d like to take a few minutes to clear the air a little and help you make your decision.  Our plan is first and foremost meant to be a service plan.  We want to offer you peace of mind in case your phone malfunctions or is damaged during regular use.  While it does not cover loss or theft like some carrier insurance plans do, it does cover damage in the event of drops and spills (this is where Apple will not cover you under the standard manufacturer’s warranty).

I hope that this helps a little. Again, I’m sorry if this information wasn’t clear while you were chatting with our sales associate.  If you can let me know which location you visited and give me a brief description of the associate, I would be glad to follow up with our store management so that we can make sure all of our associates are giving accurate information.

As always, you can see the full terms and conditions of our Black Tie Protection plan on GeekSquad.com.

Regards,

[Jerryt75]

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Douglas-BBY wrote:

Hello Jerryt75,

I’m glad that you were able to get your girlfriend’s phone fixed so quickly! 

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It is Apple that helped me so quickly at zero credit to Best Buy.

Thanks Doug. I do know what Apple covers vs. what Best Buy covers as far as the protection plan. That's why I decided to get the plan in the first place. What I don't understand is why Best Buy employees make it sound like if you have a problem with your phone then all you have to do is go to any Best Buy and they will get you a new phone. That is exactly what my sales person said to me and its totally misleading. When I see all these websites (including this one) where consumers are saying they were told the same thing, then I think Best Buy should address this issue with the employees and management. It is ridiculous that this is happening and its clearly mine and a lot of others peoples main concerns with their experience at Best Buy and you didn't even address that in your response. Do they train you at Best Buy to stray from the obvious issue of misrepresenting a product and tell you to spout out random warranty information? Since purchasing my Black Tie protection plan on my phone I have bought several items from best buy and every time I am told the same thing about black tie. A cell phone is a lot of people life line . I don't have a home phone. I strictly use my cell phone. When someone tells me that for $15/month I can cover my phone completely then I'm onboard because without my phone I would be totally disconnected. Especially when the say "If you break your phone then all you have to do is come in to any Best Buy and we will get you a new one". Makes it sound so easy doesn't it? Well, Its not that easy.  When you are happy you got it and have to use it only to be told that they will send it out and they will loan you a crappy phone to use while your phone is gone for 2 weeks and most likely they wont even fix yours but will give you a refurbished phone to replace it with, that's crappy. Sounds very unappealing to have a new phone replaced by someone else's phone that was broken and they fixed it to give to you.  

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[Jerryt75]

The Best Buy store is in Mira Mesa, CA as stated in my original post. The Best Buy salesperson's name I do not recall but He is about 6' tall and has a shaved head if that helps.

[Jerryt75]

No reply Doug?