Manufacturer Warranties and Protection Plans

[C9096]

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CrimsonRain wrote:

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Nokia wrote:

What are you proposing as a solution?

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A free iPhone 4G.

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Funny. Guess I'm crazy for thinking that my contract has some kind of worth or monetary value.

Nokia, I'm just saying that they should put some sort of value on my contract that's all.

We are going to end up getting the new IPhone for my wife's line regardless of this phone situation. I'm just saying that maybe they should meet us half way or something to show us that they value us as a customer.

[Nokia]

You are proposing they take 50% off an iPhone 4?

[Daniel_BabyD_W]

C9096, I understand your frustration when it comes to not being able to keep the same phone you have been used to for year, however, it is in no way Best Buy's fault because they have no control over what phones the manufacturer stops making. I highly support the GSBTP on Best Buy's phone because if it comes down the fact that they must replace your phone, you get the chance to change to a different one by just paying the difference(in full retail). It's almost like an early upgrade and you don't have to sign another contract for that new phone. Best Buy would not be able to mark down any of the phones full retail price because they are not funded for that and their store would take the full hit. I'm hopeful that one of the CC's will be more than able to help you resolve this problem but also hope that you don't lose their faith in Best Buy because they're following the required rules and structure put in place by an excellent business model that makes their GSBTP 10 times better than any other extended warranty or insurance.

My response is in no way an official response/statement from Best Buy or Geek Squad.

[Dorothy-BBY Community Supervisor]

Good afternoon C9096 -

Aaron, from our Community Connector team, will be reaching out to you regarding your concern.  Thank you for your patience!

[C9096]

Nokia, I do not expect them to give me an iPhone for half off. I expect them to give more more than a measly $50 for a phone that it right now worth $300. I talked with the manager at the store today that is over Geek Squad and she said that I should get the store credit for what the phone is worth now and I should be able to use it any way I see fit. It is not right to tell a customer "hey, we no longer have the phone that you bought 8 months ago so you're only option is this one phone or you can pay us more money".

I just brought the iPhone upgrade up because I was trying to use it as a solution on what to do with the store credit.

[Nokia]

Yes, you can do that. The phone is worth $50, which is what you would get if you opted not to use the credit for another phone. You can spend it however you want.

If you choose to use the full price, it must be used on whichever comparable phone model the store selects.

[C9096]

Nokia, thank you for trying to be helpful but it is very clear that we do not view this the same way. I will just be contacting someone from corporate customer care who works for Best Buy to see what they are willing to do.

Once again, thank you for your help but our conversation just keeps on going in circles.

[Nokia]

Aaron will be replying soon.

[Aaron-BBY Community Connector]

Hello C9096,

Whenever a contract cell phone is approved for an exchange under service plan coverage we generally try to provide customers the exact same model.  If that is not possible though – and the phone is discontinued – our stores will provide a store credit for the full retail price of that phone.  That store credit can then be applied towards the retail price of another phone of your choice with the following restrictions:

• If you select a model that is less expensive than the original unit then any remaining store credit is considered forfeit

• If you select a model that is more expensive than the original unit then any difference in price is your responsibility to pay

The reason for this is that while promotional prices may vary from week to week, the retail price of the phone remains the same.  Your carrier essentially pays the remainder of the phone’s purchase price as part of your service contract.

Before worrying about an exchange, however, remember that your Samsung Jack would need to be sent out for service first.  Only our off-site service center is able to approve your phone for an exchange under its service plan coverage, and this process regrettably does take several business days.

Let me know if you have any additional questions!  You can send me a private message by signing into the forums and then clicking on either my signature below or the letter icon in the upper right-hand corner of the page.

[C9096 · Accepted solution]

Aaron,

Thank you for finally contacting me in regards to this situation. My wife actually spoke with the store manager and he is willing to go by what corporate customer care told me when I contacted them in the first place and they confirmed what I thought was the policy. This may not be the case but I was informed by a Geek Squad agent when I contacted you guys in the first place that I could use the store credit however I wanted to. I even told her what my idea was so I would not be paying any more money out of my pocket.

I will be sending the phone off to service on Sunday. If it is able to be repaired that is fine by me, everyone in the Mobile department I have spoken to said that it will not be repaired but I am okay with receiving the same phone back if that's the case. I just didn't want to send it off to service, go without a phone with features that I use everyday for two to four weeks and then have to deal with all these questions after my back is definitely to the wall and time is ticking away.

The Best Buy Mobile BTPs have way to much gray area and the terms and conditions are not clear when it comes to mobile phones. Maybe Best Buy needs to invest some money in new brochures to give the customers or change the terms and conditions to specifically mention mobile phones in them so when customers purchase them they have a better understanding what the policies and procedures are. I still think it's wrong to in a sense try to strong arm a customer into getting a certain phone and have that only be the one choice unless they are willing to fork over more money. I know that Best Buy' mobile department is still relatively new being only a little over two years and the monthly BTPs are fairly new as well in comparison to the other plans in the store. Training needs to be done so everyone is on the same page and they can all properly inform a customer on what their options are and everyone should be the same across the board. The only people who have told me what you did was you of course, Nokia, and the Mobile Manager. Every other store manager and corporate customer care agent that I told the scenario to told me the other option. You can see why a customer can easily get upset and confused.

Thanks for your help.