Manufacturer Warranties and Protection Plans

[Clobbersaurus]

So here's my situation.

Nov.'07-Purchased Rock Band bundle for Xbox 360 with 2 year replacement plan.

Feb.'08-Brought back for exchange due to faulty guitar. Now let me mention that I had to bring back the entire boxset each time, which is not easy after you take everything out and play with them.

Feb.'08-Brought back again for exchange due to faulty guitar.

Now here's where I get angry.

Jan.'09-Bring back again for exchange due to faulty guitar. This time the Best Buy did not have any Xbox360 versions in stock. So they call a manager over who offers me a wireless guitar to replace the wired one from the set. I was not opposed to that, so I tell them I will accept that. But the CSR says that they cannot do that due to the wireless being actually in that set, and they would have to take a wireless guitar off the shelf to give it to me, and that would not be allowed. So the manager offers me the Rock Band 2 bundle for Xbox360 as a replacement. I thought about it and was reluctant at first since then I would have to buy the Rock Band 1 game itself, but I tell them I will accept it since I can rent the Rock Band 1 game and just transfer the songs by paying Microsoft $5. So the manager tells me I will have to pay a price difference of $10, which did not make sense since the Rock Band 2 bundle was the EXACT SAME PRICE as the Rock band 1 bundle($189.99) when I purchased that one.

Now here's where I get FURIOUS.

So then I ask about my replacement plan, and the manager tells me I will have to rebuy it for Rock Band 2 since he is giving me something completely different, as opposed to Rock Band 1. I tell him that is ridiculous since the replacement plan says that if an item is not available, that a suitable replacement will be offered, and says nothing about buying a plan for that item. He says that it is policy to do that. I ask how much it will cost, and he says is will be $29.99. So that is $30, plus the $10 price difference, which would be $40 in total. So the CSR rings me up, and it is $60.27?! I had to pay tax on a replacement too!!!

This is unheard of! First off, why should I have had to buy ANOTHER replacement plan for the replacement which had a plan already?!?! Then why did I have to pay a price difference when both items were EXACTLY THE SAME PRICE?! AND why did I have to pay tax for a replacement item?! This is absolutely ridiculous!

Best Buy is my retailer of choice for electronics, games, movies, and computer peripherals. But I don't know if I could use them anymore after this.

Message Edited by Clobbersaurus on 01-05-2009 06:00 PM

Message Edited by Clobbersaurus on 01-05-2009 06:01 PM

[Elizabeth-BBY Community Supervisor]

Dear Clobbersaurus, 

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 a maximum of 3-5 business days.  Please note that it may be sooner depending on the complexity of your issue and the current volume of posts.  Thanks for your continued patience as we work to assist all of the customers who have reached out to us on this forum. 

~Elizabeth

Community Supervisor

Best Buy Corporate

Message Edited by Elizabeth-BBY on 01-07-2009 01:01 PM

[Clobbersaurus]

Elizabeth,

Thank you very much for your reply. I anxiously await a response.

[Dorothy-BBY Community Supervisor]

Good afternoon Clobbesaurus -

I was dismayed to hear you have had so many issues with your Rock Band bundles.  A video gaming experience, including buying, protecting, and playing is supposed to be fun, not give you hassles!

I wanted to clarify the reason that your Product Replacement Plan would not be able to be extended to your new unit.  While true that you would indeed need to purchase a new plan for your new game, it has nothing to do with it being a different model.  

The reason that you would need to purchase a new Protection plan is that if a unit is replaced by Best Buy® after the manufacturer's warranty has ended, then your PRP is considered fulfilled.   You can find the specific verbiage in your PRP brochure under the subheading "Replacement Coverage".  Since your unit was purchased in November 2007, a replacement in January of 2009 would fulfill the plan.  

I would like to speak to you further concerning this issue, so please keep an eye on your private messages.  You can check your private messages by first ensuring you are logged into the forums, then clicking the envelope in the upper right hand corner.  

Regards,

Dorothy

Community Connector

Best Buy® Corporate