Manufacturer Warranties and Protection Plans

[Nogrey]

In April of 2010 I my Sharp Aquos 52" TV started having issues with some of the channels it received. The problem avails itself as "choppy" audio. Kindof sounds like the audio is gargled. I had Zsa-Zsa come out from the geek squad. He determined that it was the tuner board. At his second visit, he updated the firmware, replaced the tuner board, and then shrugged his shoulders when it did not fix the issue. He then (I didn't know he did this) officially closed the issue as resolved and left. I moved the TV upstairs and moved the upstairs TV downstairs. I have 3 LCD tvs (2 sharp tvs and one sony). The other sharp and the sony both have no issue with the cable channels sounding garbled. So I put the problem tv in a room where it sat for several months as I did not have time to deal with it. In November, thinking that my extended warranty was about up, I decided to sell the Sharp TV. I changed my mind when I realized that I had paid perfectly good money for a TV, and extended warranty that I had received little or no value from. So I placed a call to the geek squad and reported that I was STILL having the same issue, and to please send someone different to my home as Zsa-Zsa had been unable to complete the repair, and was clearly out of ideas.

The new geek squad person (Dave?) came to my home with yet another tuner and replaced that. Still same problem. So he ordered a digital board. Two weeks later he shows up with the new board and replaces that (I took not of the fact that he used no static protection on either the digital board which was shipped in a protective bag, or on my $2k Sharp tv). Still, the problem remained unchanged. He had told me that should this not resolve the issue I would receive a replacement television. When I asked how to proceed, he said that he had nothing to do with making those decisions (huh? is this the same guy?). He then proceeded to tell me that he would order yet another digital board.

I called and escalated the case with best buy where the service rep promptly informed me that Best Buy was under no obligation to honor their "lemon policy" because I had not had the necessary "qualifying" repairs. So I ask you, what good is your warranty? What good is your "anti-lemon" policy. I clearly have a lemon that Best buy has informed me that they have no intention of replacing.

Not the best way to impress a customer that has spent thousands and thousands of dollars with you. No, I don't represent a fraction of the bottom line that Best Buy receives on an annual basis. But I sure feel as though I've been shammed.

Thanks a lot Best Buy.

[Allan-BBY Community Connector]

Hi Nogrey,

After so many visits from our technicians to repair this Sharp TV I don’t blame you at all for being upset, and wanting your Performance Service Plan (PSP) to replace your TV. It also sounds like these technicians could have been more professional in this repair.

Your PSP is intended to repair your TV, but there are circumstances in which it would replace the TV with the most comparable TV we currently carry. One of those situations is if it qualifies for the No Lemon clause in the terms and conditions of your plan. To qualify for the No Lemon clause this TV would have to have three previous qualifying repairs, and a technician would have to diagnose that a fourth qualifying repair is needed. A qualifying repair is when a technician installs a non-consumable part(s), due to that part(s) installation they determine the TV is functioning properly, and then closes out the current work order.

I looked into your repair history on this TV, and I show that you first contacted us on 3/27/2010, our technician was at your house on 4/5/2010 to diagnose what was needed to repair this TV, they ordered a part that day, installed the part ordered on 4/20/2010, determined the part had repaired the TV, and closed out that work order.

I then see you called us back on 12/10/2010 to report that the TV wasn’t functioning, we ordered a part that day based on your description of the issue, our tech was out on 12/17/2010 to install this part, the tech ordered another part because the first part didn’t resolve the issue, the tech came out on 12/27/2010 to install that part, the second part didn’t resolve the issue, a third part was ordered that day, our tech was out on 1/4/2010 to install the third part, the technician determined that this part resolved the problem, and closed this work order.

This would mean that there are two qualifying repairs on this TV, and as such would not qualify for replacement under the terms and conditions of your PSP. I am also confused by your statement that your PSP was expiring soon causing you to contact us in December of last year; I show that your PSP doesn’t expire until 11/28/2011, which is four years to the date that you purchased this TV.

I was glad to see that this TV is finally repaired, and if there is anything specific you require of me just send me a private message by clicking on the link in my signature.

Thanks for posting,