Manufacturer Warranties and Protection Plans

[dwonj]

On 12/18/11, I purchased an Asus laptop (for $479.99), as a gift for my daughter.  In addition, I purchased the 2-yr ADH Black Tie extended/additional warranty coverage (for $219.99).

My daughter had problems with the laptop in early March (it would not take a charge; the on-site tech said it looked like the charging port had come loose from the motherboard) and she returned it to a local store around  3/5/12.  The local store took the unit and said they would send it out for repairs.

She called yesterday to check on the status of her repair and was told they had determined the unit was "unfixable", to come back to the store and get a new machine.

She did so last night, but as she was checking out, they informed her that the Black Tie extended/additional warranty coverage was no longer applicable and that she would need to purchase the coverage again for this "new" machine.

I spoke with an Agent this morning, who explained that once a machine/unit is exchanged, the extended/additioanl warranty coverage expires.

I have three problems with this:

First, this nuance was never explained to me by the sales agent when I purchased the unit in December.

Second, the Black Tie warranty document only says (embedded in the second bullet point of item C) that "our obligations under this plan will be fulfilled in thier entirety if we replace your product with a new or refurbished products...".  I actually read this, and I would think that most people would read this, that the obligation to fix the problem with that old unit that occurred ends when they provide a new machine, but there is NO clear language tha the remainder of the warrnaty would not be applicable to the replacement unit.

Third, consider the scenario where you open the box with the unit and it is completely broken.  If I take it back to the store on the day after I open up the box to find an unusable unit, and they say "yes, it is unfixable, here is a new machine", I have a new unit but there is now no longer any 2-year extended/additional warranty protection provided?  In effect, I have paid $699.98 for a $479.99 unit and no coverage (or in my particular case, less than three months of coverage), as opposed to the two years of coverage that I was sold.

In the past, we have purchased laptops from Best Buy that had to be sent back to be repaired, and in some cases, replaced, and always, the remainder of the extended/additional warranty was applied to the new unit.

I would think it would be a reasonable assumption, and a reasonable read of the Black Tie warranty document, that Best Buy honor the contract from 12/18/11 forward.

Does this make any sense?

[Jimmienomam]

I do understand your plight, but what did you think that "fulfilled in their entirety" mean?

I read it as that the agreement is fulfilled in all aspects (entirety). I am unsure how else to read it.

If your unit is entirely broken in the first 30 days all you have to do is exchange it under the return policy as long as it was not negligent damage caused by you.

If the item were repairable then the contract would still be in affect until the contract ends or until the item is replaced (as was your situation).

The only thing that I would inquire is what was the reason for it wing scrapped? Damage you caused it or a default? I know that may be a hard question for you to ask as most people automatically jump to defective part unless physical damage.

The one thing I would ask the mod here or your local store to look into is if it could have been fixed/replaced under the manufacturer's warranty. Given it was under 90 days it may have been able to if they can show that it was the machine breaking and not you doing something to it. If so you COULD POSSIBLY receive a replacement under the manufacturer's warranty and the BTP will then transfer to the new computer. If they cannot replace it under the manu. Warranty then the BTP is completed and won't transfer.

[Ryan-BBY Senior Social Media Specialist]

Hello dwonj -

Mike from our Social Media team, will be reaching out to you regarding your concern. Thank you for your continued patience!

[ncoclub]

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Jimmienomam wrote:
I do understand your plight, but what did you think that "fulfilled in their entirety" mean?

I read it as that the agreement is fulfilled in all aspects (entirety). I am unsure how else to read it.

If your unit is entirely broken in the first 30 days all you have to do is exchange it under the return policy as long as it was not negligent damage caused by you.

If the item were repairable then the contract would still be in affect until the contract ends or until the item is replaced (as was your situation).

The only thing that I would inquire is what was the reason for it wing scrapped? Damage you caused it or a default? I know that may be a hard question for you to ask as most people automatically jump to defective part unless physical damage.

The one thing I would ask the mod here or your local store to look into is if it could have been fixed/replaced under the manufacturer's warranty. Given it was under 90 days it may have been able to if they can show that it was the machine breaking and not you doing something to it. If so you COULD POSSIBLY receive a replacement under the manufacturer's warranty and the BTP will then transfer to the new computer. If they cannot replace it under the manu. Warranty then the BTP is completed and won't transfer.

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Well at least I'm not the only one who has trouble understanding just what "fulfilled" means. Would you not agree that if two people who dont know nor have never met came to the same conclusions after reading the contract that possibly a wording change needs to be made so it is clearer? I'm quite sure there are a lot of others who would make the same assumptions that the OP and me have made.  I argued this with Chrystal yesterday and she basically said the same thing you did "I do understand your plight, but what did you think that "fulfilled in their entirety" mean?
I read it as that the agreement is fulfilled in all aspects (entirety). I am unsure how else to read it." Well it seams at least two of us are "unsure how else to read it" 

[Mike-BBY Community Connector]

Good evening dwonj,

A laptop is a wonderful gift.  I'm sure your daughter loved it!  I'm sorry to hear it had to be replaced so soon.  I have looked into this for you to see what I could find out.  

In looking into this service order I found that the laptop came in with physical damage causing the functionality issues.  When this is the case, the manufacturer's warranty will not cover the repair/replacement and the liability then falls to the Black Tie Protection.  

Replacement under the plan in this circumstance is best described in section "E. Accidental Damage from Handling (ADH)," bullet point 4:

If your product receives two (2) repairs as the result of cracked screens or has been replaced pursuant to this ADH Coverage provision, this Plan has been fulfilled in its entirety.

Because the plan was needed to replace the computer and was outside the scope of the manufacturer's warranty, even though it was less than a year old, the plan was fulfilled.

In the example of a day-old product, assuming it was brought back and was not working due to a manufacturer's defect then it would be exchanged under our 30 day return/exchange period.  If it had physical damage after leaving our store, it would require a Black Tie Protection plan with ADH coverage in order to be repaired/replaced.  In that case it would still be sent to the service center to assess the problems and find if it was repairable or if it would need to be replaced.  Again, if it needs to be replaced the plan is fulfilled.  The investment of the ADH plan has saved the customer from the full cost of a replacement computer.

I will be documenting your experience so our management team can gain insights from your experience.  Please let me know if you have any additional questions.

Sincerely,