Manufacturer Warranties and Protection Plans

[TACLee]

ATTENTION ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE PURCHASED A PRODUCT REPLACEMENT WARRANTY AND HAVE TRIED TO USE IT!!!

I purchased an $80 product replacement warranty for my PlayStation 3 that cost me $499.99.  14 months later, my product failed.  I called the warranty company who immediately faxed me a shipping label...nice job, very impressed.  I sent my Playstation back along with all accessories and a letter stating the total I was expecting back ($541.24).  I was told that I should receive my "gift card" within 2 weeks (10 business days according to their rep.).  3 weeks later I called to find out where it was, they stated they NEVER received the unit back...go figure!  They put in a claim and said they would issue me the gift card, but only because I made a fuss.  I finally received my gift card yesterday, less the taxes I paid.  I called the warranty company, who at first stated that taxes were NOT included.  I explained my conversation at the beginning, where I was told that it did in fact cover taxes, in order for you to go back out and "replace" the unit.  I started to get frustrated with the rep. and asked to speak to a manager, I was put on hold for 10 minutes until she returned and stated she was incorrect and that I should have received the taxes as well, but unfortunately the department that I had to file a "new" claim with was already closed and that I would have to call the next day.  I called today and was told that I had to fax over my original receipt (which they already had a copy of from day 1).

I was told that an "error" occurred when the tax was put in, and instead of receiving $41.24 in taxes, I received $3.99 in taxes.  After over an hour being on the phone, they were not willing to compensate me for finding their error, and claims this has never happened before.  To me, they have committed fraud and I know I can't be the only one out there.  First you are given one bit of information, then when it doesn't happen, they "LIE" about it, and then when you go up the chain of command, the "TRUTH" is given, but they don't make it easy to collect, you have to literally take more time and money faxing them YET ANOTHER COPY of what they already have, their attempt in trying to get you to give up and go on about your life.

Basically here is the deal, BEST BUY PRODUCT REPLACEMENT PLAN will make good on the warranty you bought, but they make money ripping people off by not giving them the full price you paid at the beginning, which is their big hype when selling you the replacement plan.  They are committing fraud by not including sales tax, and without that, how can you go back and have the product replaced???  I just happened to have caught it.  The paper that the gift card is attached to states the amount on the card, I didn't realize it however until I went to buy the product and I didn't have enough on the card for the taxes...surprise...I was a lucky one to catch the fraud, but I know other's haven't bothered and BEST BUY continues this practice, because no one does anything about it.  After the communication, most people don't think the frustration is worth the head ache. 

I suggest that if you have received a gift card back, make sure you look to see if you were reimbursed for the taxes, and if not, lodge a complaint.  I have already done so, but I'm going to report it to the Better Business Bureau as well.  Just because the economy is bad, doesn't mean they should be able to steal from the consumers that have kept them from shutting their doors like C****** C***.

Good Luck if you have been a victim of BEST BUYS fraudulent practice.

[RLjr]

I know this doesnt help a lot but next time just take it into the store.  That way when you get your gift card or store credit you can tell right away how much is on there.  I have done these exchanges for years and I have never heard of this problem before.  I would just call 1 - 888 - BESTBUY and calmly and politely explain your situation, and I would imagine it would be resolved, being as the amount in dispute is somewhat small.  And no this does not happen a lot and your replacement plan is not fraud.  Had you not purchased the plan at all you would have been out of a PS3 or probably spend hundreds fixing it.  Once you get your full amount back I would say it worked quite well for you, although it seems with a minor hiccup 

[TACLee]

Oh RLJr, it gets better, I was told by BBRP to call around and see if my local Best Buys would do the exchange.  I went into my local Best Buy and asked them, they stated they would exchange it, however, that the price had gone down $100 from the time I purchased the unit and that they would not give me back the difference on a gift card.  They stated that the only way to get the difference would be to return it to BBRP, and that BBRP would give me full price plus tax.  Even though I would have use all the money that I had originally spent buying the Playstation in the first place at a different Best Buy, I was willing to use the full amount at my current Best Buy, but they wouldn't budge and stated I would lose the additional $100 if I exchanged it with them.

According to the manager at Simi Valley Best Buy, they would NOT give me a gift card, only an even exchange.  This would NOT have been an even exchange, I would have lost $100 because the price dropped drastically over the last year. 

Furthermore, I did call the "888" number and politely explain my situation and was told that I still needed to fax my original receipt (that they already received a month ago), in order to get a refund via a gift card, since it was over $20....the amount owed to me is $41.00, but they needed a second copy of the same receipt to pursue issuing another gift card!!!!

As for spending hundreds of dollars fixing it, no, I had even called Sony and it was still under warranty, just the price of shipping, but at the time, BBRP made it sound like it was easier to go through them...BIG MISTAKE!!!!

You can sit there and claim this was not fraud, but you weren't there, and since I've already made a claim with BBB and Consumer Fraud, I've received several responses stating they didn't realize that the same mistake happened to them and they too will be filing claims.  Being a person with high blood pressure, this was not merely a "minor hiccup", this caused undo stress and numerous hours of my valuable time.

I appreciate the fact that you are trying to defend your company, but the fact remains, though you have not experienced this issue, you are very lucky, because trust me, once a consumer finds out they've been ripped off, heads will role, you've been lucky not to have yours roll.  I've worked for many companies in the past and there was always at least one unhappy customer, you don't sit there defending your company, you sit there apologizing and asking how you can make it better.  Not one person from Best Buy has asked me how they can rectify this situation, they sit there making excuses and then making me do their job, spend my time and money in order to get MY $41 back.  It's truly the principal of the matter, they have all my records, they are just hoping I don't pursue their error in order to get my money back, hence...YOUR COMPANY makes more money!!!  I spend enough money at Best Buy, just going through all my purchases on the website, that I don't need to have this kind of issue, I'm not asking for thousands of dollars, just the money that is owed to me. 

I will be the first to jump on the band wagon when this moves to a class action law suit.  Audits will be made and it will be uncovered that Best Buy is liable to ripping hundreds to thousands of people off!

Thank you for your response, I'm not angry at you, other than the fact that you make excuses for them, instead of just apologizing.  I tried every avenue, and now I have to let other consumers know this is a problem, and they need to go back and check their receipts.  I knew how much was on my gift card when I received it, it clearly was printed in big fonts, it didn't dawn on me when I went to repurchase it that I wasn't given enough to purchase the bundle pack and had to purchase the PS3 without the bundle pack, as I had purchased prior.

[RLjr]

I wasn't trying to "defend" them just stating what i have experienced......

I really don't understand your situation now, when you buy a replacement plan and a ps3 goes defective, if it can be proven defective by geek squad then typically the store will return the amound of your ps3 plus tax onto a gift card. 

If they only want to exchange it, then yes they would be correct because the service plan covers the ps3 not the price.  So if the new ps3 you receive is the same one you had but now $100 less, you do not get that money back because you are receiving a NEW ps3.  You don't get the ps3 and cash difference.

Also you stated your ps3 was originally 14 months old yet sony said it was still under warranty?That doesn't make sense because Sony only has a 12month warranty on ps3's, so either you gave them wrong info or sony gave you wrong info.....

In the end though all that matters to you i'm sure is that we give you your $41, and it seems at least right now you are entitled to it. Just keep being persistent and you will get it.  I agree it shouldn't take this long and it should have been resolved right in the first place, but every "issue" i've ever seen that was within reason, corporate usually takes care of the customer, it just takes a while.  So hang with it, keep your blood pressure down man its only $41!!! Not worth  health issues in my opinion

[TACLee]

Thanks RLJr.

When I first went a got a copy of my receipt from Best Buy and asked them about exchanging it and getting the difference on a "gift card", the guy at customer returns informed me that they wouldn't do that and that my best bet would be to send it back to the BBPR so that they could send me a gift card and I would get the $100 difference.  At the time I didn't realize that there was a bundle pack for an additional $100, or I would have pursued doing the "even exchange" with that one, but when speaking to the return desk, he stated I would have to "even exchange" it for the lower priced one, even though my original sale was for a bundle pack.  And yes, it was him that suggested I send the Sony PS3 back to Sony to have it repaired since it was "still under warranty", despite it being 14 months old, yet just one more guy at Best Buy who doesn't know what the heck he's talking about.  I would agree with you, I thought Sony only had a 12 month warranty, but I didn't think any more of it since I was going to have it replaced anyway with my replacement warranty.

What's interesting, and yet once again, inconsistancies with Best Buy, is that when I went in to purchase my replacement PS3, I had to purchase the one without the bundle pack and the guy that was at the counter asked if I wanted to buy the BBPR Warranty, I laughed at him and said no, because I didn't have enough on my card.  Hence, when I got home to check the amount with my original receipt, it's only then I realize they hadn't sent me the full amount that was due.  Due to the frustration, for a brief moment I informed him that when I'd asked a month prior when I came to get the receipt, I'd asked if I could get the difference on a gift card and was told no.  He then proceeded to ask who I spoke with because HE would have given me the difference on the gift card because he was the manager of that department, and HE would make sure he spoke to his staff so as to avoid this issue next time.  It's amazing how everyone I have spoken to tries to play the good guy once everything is said and done.

Bottomline, I was told by several individuals that in order to get the "full amount I paid", would be to send the unit back to BBPR and they would give me full price plus tax.  It turned out they didn't and now I'm stuck here fighting for what was righteously promised to me.

I will go out of my way next time when it comes to purchasing items from Best Buy, because when everything has settled, "Best Buy" is truly not a best buy.  Too much red tape and too much frustration.

Thanks for your message, hopefully you are one of those employees who believes customers are always right and will go out of your way to help those and keep the customers you have.

[Aaron-BBY Community Connector]

Hello TACLee,

It’s regrettable if your Product Replacement Plan experience has not gone as smoothly as expected, and I certainly do apologize if this was the case. I’ve had the opportunity to speak with our PRP department regarding this issue, and would like to assure you that what you encountered appears to have simply been a clerical error that occurred while filing your claim. Best Buy® strives to ensure accuracy, but to err is human – and we’re all human after all, aren’t we?

Unfortunate as this may be, it is my understanding that you have been provided a resolution by our PRP department. Additionally, Jennifer within Consumer Relations has also offered to provide you further assistance with this issue. If there are any other unrelated concerns that I can address for you, however, please do not hesitate to let me know. You can send me a private message by clicking on the letter icon in the upper right-hand corner of the page and composing a new message to my user name “Aaron-GS.”