Manufacturer Warranties and Protection Plans

[vorrash]

First thing is I did buy the extended warranty and just to counter what many have said I had an excellent experience with Best Buy servicing the tv.  They always came out fast and the tech had a bulb ready to go.  Now to the part where I complain a bit.  I have gone through 4 bulbs(the fourth just broke) and while best buy was nice enough to replace those bulbs I was shocked to learn that there was a class action suit based on the lamp in this tv.  I am surprised that Best Buy did not inform me of this fact since I am pretty certain that most of the replacements came after there was a settlement in existence.  To me this means they were putting a band aid on  a product with a known defect.

I am a reasonable person unlike some who demand a new tv for free I think that would be silly.  I do however think best buy should help defray part of the cost for a new tv since if they had ever informed me that it was a known issue I would have asked for a replacement under the terms of the protection plan.  There is no way I am going to continue shelling out 250 for a new bulb ever 1 - 2 years.  The bulbs rated life is 10,000 hours which I would guess is probably closer to what my tv has been on in its entire existence.

So any thoughts anyone.

Dan

[Elizabeth-BBY Community Supervisor]

Hi vorrash,

Allan from our Community Connector team will be looking into this - you should hear from him within the next few business days.

Thanks for posting!

[vorrash]

To Nokia,

First of all I did do research before I bought it.  It was not a known issue at that time.  It was only after I owned this tv that it became a known issue.  As far as the manufacturer knowing it I would say them offering free replacement bulbs for years after the warranty expired and a new tv to anyone that had three or more bulbs blow or 1500 dollars towards a new panasonic tv purchase I think would qualify as a known issue.

All that aside under the terms of the PSP there is the following satement:

Parts and Labor Coverage
We cover all the parts and labor necessary to return your product to factory specifications. If we cannot repair your product, we will provide a replacement.

I assume factory specs don't call for a tv that blows up light bulbs on a consistent basis.  Understand that my bulb did not simply burn out.  It exploded.

Lastly, I am not sure what value your post adds.  You feel I have a responsibility to research what I buy but Best Buy has no responsibility to research what it sells.

[Allan-BBY Community Connector]

Hi vorrash,

I completely understand being upset that after four bulbs have been replaced you then find out that there is a known issue with the bulbs, and that there was a class action lawsuit against Panasonic in relation to this issue.

I do have to say that we would never knowingly sell a TV that has a known issue, and that we would not be informed by the manufacturer if there was a class action lawsuit in regards to one of their products. I also have to say that the only time that we would be informed by a manufacturer that there was a known issue with one of their products would be if they issued a recall on a specific product.
   
It sounds like the manufacturer might have issued a recall on this TV since they are offering $1500 towards the purchase of a new Panasonic TV for anyone that has had three or more bulbs replaced, and I would suggest contacting them to see if this is the case.

I would be more than willing to look into this for you and see if there is something I can do to resolve this for you. I am sending you a private message, and to check your messages you should make sure you are logged into the forum and then click on the letter icon in the upper right-hand corner of the page.

Thanks for posting,