Manufacturer Warranties and Protection Plans

[bsauceamlin]

I recently purchased a new phone/added a line to my T-Mobile plan so I could have my grilfriend on my plan. I purchased the phone through a Best Buy Mobile store and was happy at the time. 

The salesperson, who appeared to be very knowledgable and very excited for us about our new HTC Amaze phones talked us away from purchasing the T-Mobile phone insurance for the Best Buy Black Tie Protection.

He explicitly said to me and my girlfriend that the Best Buy plan would cover damage and loss (Stolen/Lost) of the phone and without a deductible, unlike T-Mobile, which would charge me a fee for getting a replacement phone. 

This was a hard selling point because we had discussed how my girlfriends phone had been stolen and thus needed a new one.

Of course, just a few days ago my phone was stolen but I wasn't worried because I knew I had the apparently awesome protection plan. And now, as I contact Customer Service and the Mobile store where I purchased the phone/plan I keep getting told that loss of phone IS THE ONE THING THAT IS NOT COVERED!

The employee I talked from the Mobile store said all employees knew that was the case and told people that when selling it however this is another blatant lie because that is not the information I was given.

So now I have to pay full price for a phone I just upgraded/purchased and I was swayed from having actual insurance on my phone.

I plan on telling everyone I know to boycott Best Buy for a long time. I'm upset and disappointed that a company like this either poorly informs or allows their employees to directly lie to the people that keep them in business.

Also no one has been willing to help or offer any sort of apology about any of this.

[Some2]

You are going to be banned!! Yes we all know it sucks

[CrystalWoW Community Veteran]

To combat customers leaving confused about their protection plan, Best Buy requires that every single person who purchases the protection plan electronically agree on the signature pad at the register that they had received, and understood the full terms and conditions of the protection plan that clearly state lost/stolen phones are not covered.

[ohyeaaa]

You signed the terms and conditions. do not get mad at best buy for her phone getting stolen get mad at whoever stole it.

[bsauceamlin]

I realize Best Buy had nothing to do with the phone getting stolen.

I'm not stupid. I'm upset at the salesperson who blatantly said that loss was covered in the protection plan. 

I signed under the pretense of this being part of the agreement. 

Regardless of what the plan actually says (which clearly it does not cover loss) I was mislead by a salesperson and am extremely displeased with the negative and unapologetic tone I have received from every single Best Buy employee I have spoken to.

Your company needs to understand what Customer Service means. Not just saying, "Hey, you signed it! Deal with it!"

[subakkarayo012]

well, as a best buy employee I will apologize on behalf of us all. I'm sorry that this has happened to you, I may be able to provide you some assistance if you like, since the device you purchased is in fact an android smartphone did you have lock and found or any other location applications on it at all ?

[Mbrguy Emerging Expert]

This is what pops up on the keypad during the Black Tie purchase.  

While no employe should every lie or knowingly misrepresent Black Tie, there really is no way to tell what was said during the transaction. So, to combat this and ensure that every customer knows what the plan entails, a copy of the Terms and Conditions is made available to every customer. Before the purchase of Black Tie can be completed, you would have had to acknowledge by keypad that you received this copy of the Terms and Conditions. The actual prompt on the keypad states "I have received and agree to the Terms and Conditions for my Geek Squad Black Tie Protection Plan." - this is stating that you have acknowledged that you did indeed receive the Terms and Conditions pamphlet and that you are legally agreeing to the said terms/contract.

Best Buy then gives every customer 30 days to read the small Terms and Conditions pamphlet and if they see something that they do not agree with or feel that the plan does not live up to what they were made to believe it was, they can return the Black Tie for a FULL refund. After the first 30 days, they may return it for a pro-rated refund.

This ensures that every customer has the means to know exactly what the Black Tie Plan entails and if a customer does not like the Plan or feels that there is no value in it, they may return it within the first 30 days and they will receive their money back.

[Justin-BBY Community Connector]

Hi bsauceamlin, 

I want to extend my deepest apologies to you for any miscommunication over the phone's coverage plan during your store visit. It's troubling that such interactions would happen and I'll surely have this internally addressed. Adding on to what Mbrguy and others have already said, you can view full details of your plan's coverage here. If you have any other comments or questions, feel free to reply here or send me a private message. 

Regards,

[snazzye]

 Unfortunately the black tie protection only covers phones that are still in your possesion. But feel free to go into any Best Buy and they will assist you with purchasing another phone and dont forget to get the black tie protection. 

[rellarillear]

Having been in the world of medical insurance, these scenarios are not specific to retail extended warranties.

If you go to a Doctor and he states that his office will, lets say, file for pre-certification on your treatments because it is necessary for your health insurance to cover it.

The office never files, and you get the services, which are later denied because of a lack of pre-certification. 

It does not matter what the Dr told you they would do, it is ultimately your responsibility to get the pre-cert done, even if they offered to do so.

Ignorance is not an excuse that will hold up anywhere, when it comes to a legal agreement.

"Officer, I didn't know I couldn't go that fast!"