Manufacturer Warranties and Protection Plans

[Nhillard]

Once again I fell to the trap of Best Buy and bought another product from them. I purchased a 32" LG TV with a built in DVD player for the master bedroom. The TV is barley used and now that it is broken it is about as useless as the Best Buy customer service (Geek Squad Staff).

I called the store I bought the TV from and I was informed that I would have to call 1-888-BEST-BUY to set-up an appointment to have a service Tech come look at the TV. I called the Geek Squad and was told that me fairly new TV (Less than a year old) did not have a service plan. The initial cost was going to be $150.00 to have a service tech come and look at the TV to tell me that there was indeed something wrong with it. I would then have to shell out some more cash to get the problem fixed.

My questions to the Geek Squad Rep were simple yet he provided me with no answers. I asked him the following:

1. How can a TV that is less than a year old have no warranty if it becomes defective?

2. Is this a reoccurring problem with the LG TV's?

3. What is the average repair cost for an item like mine with the problem I explained to you?

His answers were as follows:

1. I am not sure, but we can have a Service Rep come to your residence.

2. I do have that information

3. all repairs start at a minimum of $150.00.

Now I am stuck, do I spend $300 to have a $750 TV repaired or do I cut my loses and go to a store that would back-up a product they sell you ? I will be purchasing a new TV and it will not be through Best Buy. I am almost inclined to bring my broken TV to Best Buy and leave in front of their store with a sign warning potential victims about the horrible customer service and failure to stand behind a product. 

In my opinion this is unacceptable and I will no longer be bring my business to Best Buy. I should have listened to the rest of you on the Forum and realized that Best Buy has taken a turn for the worse pretty soon the will be like C**cuit C*ty 3 years ago and on the verge of going under. Hopefully it is sooner than later and nobody else will have to deal with the issues myself and everyone else on the Forum has had to endure.

[Nokia]

I am confused as to why you are being charged for this repair. The TV is still under mfg. warranty, and this problem sounds like it should be covered. One of the Community Connectors should be able to help you out with getting your TV serviced, and hopefully restore your image of BB.

[Nhillard]

That is what I was looking to have happen in the first place. The first lady I talked to at the store I bought the TV was very short in her response to my question and said all I can do Is call the 1-888-BEST-BUY telephone number. Once I called the 1-888-BEST-BUY number the gentlemen on the other end tried transferring me to the cell phone repairs twice and then he finally realized that LG also makes TV's. I am certain the people on the other end of the telephone are not the brightest that is why you don't deal with them in person but they still need to know what products their employer sells and be able to distinguish between them. 

Is this TV still covered under the warranty either from Best Buy or LG? The other problem I see is that this TV is no longer on the Best Buy website, does that mean they no longer sell this product therefore they are trying to kiss me off.?

[Nokia]

BB only offers the GSBTP plan on TVs. Any included warranty is through the mfg. However, BB is an authorized service center for LG, so they can repair the TV and bill LG for the repairs. Your TV should have at least a 1yr mfg. warranty.

BB not carrying that model would have no bearing on the service you receive.

[Nhillard]

Who would I contact too see if my TV still has the one year warranty? I obviously can not call the store I bought it from or the 1-888-BEST-BUY hotline since they both told me I would have to pay to have it repaired..

[Nokia]

Calling 1-800-GEEKSQUAD takes you to BB's in-home scheduling dept.

[Adamtech Emerging Expert]

Have you called LG directly? Keep in mind that Best Buy did not build this TV, we are only a retailer. We do offer our Geek Squad Black Tie Protections on most products so that we are able to assist and repair these products when failures occur. Without this protection, there would be no way for Best Buy to fund the repair work. If the unit is indeed less than one year old, I would contact LG directly to verify that the warranty is valid and what options they might have for repair.

[Nhillard]

GEEKSQUAD wants $150 just to come out and see if they can even fix the problem. If they can I can only imagine it will be another 200-400 to fix. If that's the case I will be into the TV approximately 350-550 and the purchase price was only 750 in the first place.

[Adamtech Emerging Expert]

Ok, did you contact LG directly like I suggested?

[Nhillard]

LG was contacted VIA the online warranty department the same day I first poted  on this useless site. I am yet to receive a response either via phone or email.