Manufacturer Warranties and Protection Plans

[jgalten]

Hello-

Recently, my 18 month old 52" Samsung TV (LN T5265F_ started to have two vertical green lines appear on the screen while watching.  The lines appear regardless of input (cable, DVD, Wii, etc).  I checked with the "authorized Samsung service center" in my area and they said it needs a new panel at a cost of well over $1K!!  They recommended I just buy a new TV.  You can imagine my shock!  Do I have any recourse?  No, I did not buy the PSP and any other extended warranty, since I expected my $2300 TV to last more than 18 months.  And yes, I have my original receipt.  Best Buy, is this typical?  I am currently battling with Samsung, but I am guessing Best Buy has a bigger voice.  What can you do for me?

[ABomb]

Well unforntunately im not sure what we would be able to do without that warranty. We do offer repair services, but not only would you have to pay for that part, but you would need to pay for the repairs them self from us. I would suggest continuing fighting with Samsung, but if you want to talk to our warranty dept, call 1-800-433-5778. Ask for the TV Repair dept.

[jgalten]

Thanks for the response.  As a retailer, I would be ashamed to sell a product at that cost and accept an 18 month life span without some sort of recourse.  The burden is transferred to the customer to either buy a PSP (which seem to be universally reviled) or deal with it themselves.

[ABomb]

Actually thats not best buys fault because they got the tv from samsung, so its samsung that is selling faulty tvs, but most tvs last longer than 18 months. I definitely understand where you would be frustrated, but hopefully we can get something sorted out with you at the tv repair dept.

[starhelper2587]

Some manufacturers offer 2 year warranties, but most are just for 1 year.  If for some reason Samsung did have a 2 year warranty on your product, BB/GS could do the repairs then bill Samsung.  However, I know of 0 manufacturers that have a No Lemon clause (to replace your TV) like a GS warranty offers, so I would say the option of getting a new TV is probably out of the question, unfortunately.  

[jgalten]

I'm fully aware that Best Buy has the option to claim no fault.  But they do profit off of it's sale and should be the voice of the customer back to Samsung.  It therefore reflects poorly on the Best Buy brand (and people, whom I have had good expoeriences with) to be the face of a faulty product.  And believe me,I understand there is plenty of consumer fraud to make companies like Best Buy think twice about taking TVs back.  Unfortunate, but true.

Thanks again for responding.

[ABomb]

You're welcome.

I also i figure i will let you know that, the mods on the site try to get this to whomever it takes to make this not happen again, but more than not the tv is just fine when you purchase it. Like my tv i have had for over a year now. So its unfortunately luck of the draw. But i do see where you are coming from, and i know what you mean when you say that BB is the one selling it.

[Dorothy-BBY Community Supervisor]

Hello jgalten -

Allan, from our Community Connector team, will be reaching out to you regarding your concern.  You can expect to hear from him in the next 3 - 5 business days.  Thank you for your continued patience!

[Allan-BBY Community Connector]

Hi jgalten,

I can certainly understand expecting your TV to last more than 18 months before it needs repair, and the Samsung representative was correct that repairs on TV’s are often not cost effective. I also understand you anticipating that our company might have better results in getting Samsung to cover the repair of your TV, but the truth is that we would not be able to change the terms of Samsung’s manufacturer’s warranty.

The length of the manufacturer’s warranty on this TV is one year for both the parts, and the labor needed to repair the TV. This is the length of the manufacturer’s warranty I have seen on the vast majority of TV’s we sell, and this is also how long the manufacturer guarantees that there products should work before possibly needing repairs. I would assume that if we knew a specific model was consistently breaking shortly after the manufacturer’s warranty expired, we would no longer carry that model.

I definitely don’t want to come off as not wanting to help, but I just need to be clear that Best Buy® would not be able to persuade Samsung to cover the repair of your TV after the manufacturer’s warranty has expired. I am sending you a private message. To check your messages you should log into the forum, and then click on the letter icon in the upper right-hand corner of the page.

Thanks for posting,