Manufacturer Warranties and Protection Plans

[MattSCESC]

...Wow... No wonder all of the other posters are posting the same things I am... LOL

[Adamtech Emerging Expert]

You purchased a 50inch Panasonic television less than 1 year ago. Recently, a problem has occured with the sound. The unit is covered under Panasonic's 1yr warranty. You have already had Time Warner out to replace the digital box and the problem persists. We can have a technician come to the home and repair the television under Panasonic's 1yr warranty. If there is no fault found, Panasonic will not reimburse Best Buy for the labor performed. That is the reason for the service call charge. I cannot answer as to why the cost is $150.00.

What I was suggesting is that you can take it into the store and have them hook it up and test it out. This would save you the $150.00 service call fee if no fault is found. You can also private message Allan-BBY for clarification like he mentioned.

Panasonic also has warranty services that you can take advantage of by calling them directly at 1-800-211-PANA (7262).

[Shawnia76]

In regards to taking your TV into the store here is an exact quote that a geek squad member said to me when I asked why I couldn't take mine in "ma'am we only repair computers at the store any TV needing repair will have to be sent out which could result in a longer wait to have your TV repaired than having a repairman come to your home."  When I asked if they could look at it to see if it is my screen that needs replaced I was told "no we aren't trained in TV repair". 

I have no idea what state you are in, but that is what a NW Ohio store told me.  Good luck getting your TV fixed.  I mean that sincerely, not in a sarcastic way.

[Allan-BBY Community Connector]

Hi MattSCESC,

I wanted to post back to you because I see that this has become an escalated issue for you, and I wanted to provide clarification of how our repairs work for TV's. First off TV's 30 inches and larger are generally serviced in the customer's home, but if a customer was to bring their TV into their local Best Buy® store they shouldn't be turned away. Our stores don't have authorized service technicians for TV's, which would mean the store would have to send your TV out to an authorized service center. This would mean that the store would not be able to diagnose the problem with your TV, but our service center should.

It is true that we charge a $150 trip charge for COD repairs, but this should not apply to you if our technician comes out to your home to diagnose the problem with your TV since your TV has not been previously looked at. If we send a technician out to a customer's home to diagnose an issue with their TV (that has not been previously diagnosed and is covered by the manufacturer's warranty), and we can't find anything wrong with the customer's TV we would not charge them the $150 trip charge. We would only charge a customer the $150 trip charge if the customer wants a second opinion by another one of our technicians, that technician comes out to diagnose the same issue, and they also can't find anything wrong with the TV.

If you want me to schedule an appointment to have a technician come out and look at your TV just send me a private message. To send me a private message you should log into the forum, click on my icon, and then click on the send this user a private message link.

Thanks,
Allan
Community Connector
Best Buy® Corporate