Manufacturer Warranties and Protection Plans

[tracy74]

I purchased my Dynex Plasma television in the fall of 2008 with the extended warranty.  I love this tv and would have recommended it to anyone until 2 weeks ago.  On a Sunday morning I was watching tv, I turned the unit off, walked out of the room and when I walked back in a few minutes later there was a crack in the screen.  The whole time I was less than a room away from the tv and know beyond a shadow of a doubt that nothing hit my tv.  I called about the warranty and was told a technician would come out to determine the cause of the damage.  The technician that arrived knew absolutely nothing about the product and did nothing more than take pictures of the unit.  I am now being told that it is clearly impact damage and not covered under the warranty.

I am extremely frustrated because when I call about the issue I'm told we'll see what we can do and someone will call me back and I specifically give them the number I can always be reached at but instead they always return the call to my home number during the day and leave a message on my machine that it was impact damage and is not covered.  The person who calls is always short and bordering on rude in their tone.  I would have no problem accepting or admitting if it actually was impact damage but that is not what happened.  

What do I need to do to be taken seriously and actually speak to someone who can help me?  I would really appreciate some assistance in getting this matter resolved.  The last service order number I was given was {removed per forum guidelines} which was supposed to be for a second opinion but instead resulted in yet another rude message from the warranty company and no resolution to my problem.

[Mbrguy Emerging Expert]

Unfortunately, physical damage such as cracked screens is not covered under Black Tie.

[tracy74]

I completely understand that physical damage is not covered but the screen crack did not occur due to physical damage.  There was no impact, therefore the crack could not have possibly been caused by impact.  I also completely understand that most cracks are due to impact but that is not what happened.  As I said in my previous post I would have no issues with it not being covered if that is what happened.  

Basically at this point I feel like I'm being told I'm a liar.  Oddly enough I get that, at face value it's the conclusion I would've come to myself if I had not been home at the time it occurred and were basing my opinions on poorly taken photos.  There was no crack, I walked out of an empty room and walked back into the same empty room minutes later and there is a crack.  I would love for someone to explain to me how I cracked my screen when there was not a single living body (human or animal) in that room at the time the crack occurred.

There are no external signs of impact and yes I do realize the outside glass is made to not break.  There is not a scratch or a scuff on the glass in the area of the damage.  I refuse to just roll over and accept the "it's impact damage and not covered" line when that is not what happened.  I have my suspicions on the real cause but I am not a technician so I refuse to throw around a hypothesis that I don't know for sure to be true.  What I do know beyond a shadow of a doubt is that there was no impact damage.

What do I need to do to get someone to actually talk to me that can actually do something to help me?  I have always been happy with Best Buy and go out of my way to make my big ticket purchases there but this whole situation is seriously making me rethink my position.  I refuse to be punished because other people are less than honest.

[Mbrguy Emerging Expert]

I wasn't staying that just impact damage wasn't covered. Physical damage such as cracked screens are not covere under Black Tie.

[Ryan-BBY Senior Social Media Specialist]

Hello tracy74 -

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

[tracy74]

Ryan,

I appreciate your response.  I'm still awaiting contact from Allan with the Social Media team.

[Allan-BBY Community Connector]

Hi tracy74,

Being upset that this damage is not covered by your Performance Service Plan (PSP) is certainly understandable, and I am very sorry if this was not handled in a professional manner. Any promised phone calls should have been made, and if this is not the case it is not acceptable.

I did look into this, and I found out that our systems are showing that this authorized service technician did determine that the damage to your screen was caused by an impact to the screen. This is of course not covered by your PSP. I understand it is your assertion that this is not a correct diagnosis.

We might be able to send a different technician out for a second opinion, but if this technician also determines that this damage could not have been caused by a defect in the TV the service call would be at cost to you. Let me know if you would like us to send a technician out anyway, risking having to pay that service centers trip charge (usually around $150), and I will see if we can get this set up for you. I look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks for posting,

[tracy74]

Allan,

I appreciate your response.  As I noted in my original post I have already been informed of the second opinion policy.  The "authorized technician" that was sent out had no knowledge of plasma tvs and did nothing more than take photos of the unit.  When I explained this on one of my previous phone calls I was told by the representative that the photos had been sent to the manufacturer who determined it was impact damage.  I obviously have serious reservations about going into this again to have the exact same scenario play out.  If an actually qualified technician had inspected the unit on site and determined it was impact damage I could completely understand making me potentially pay for a second opinion but that is not what happened.  

The last representative I talked to was looking into the possibility of a a waiver on the cost of the second opinion (she made me no promises but said someone would call me back).  What I got instead was a terse message on my answering machine (even though I specifically requested the call back go to my cell phone number) that the problem was impact damage and not covered.

Just as I know you can't just take my word for the fact that nothing hit the tv, I can't be guaranteed I won't end up with the exact same situation playing out with me footing the bill for it.  I can not accept that this has all been decided based on a photograph.  There is no way to see what is really going on without actually seeing the unit itself and the technician that was sent out did not inspect the unit at all.  He took pictures of the front of it, took the back off (which involved me holding the screen up because he was about to remove the last screw of the stand without laying it down) and took pictures of the part labels.  He did not once stop and look at the screen itself beyond through the lens of the camera.

I pretty much feel like I'm chasing my tail at this point and that the whole system is set up so that I can never speak to anyone who can actually get me past this same place.  I'm guilty until proven innocent with no way to prove any different when decisions are made based on pictures and I'm out more money.  

[Allan-BBY Community Connector]

Hi Tracy,

I hear what you are saying. I do have to state that we should not have been sending a technician out that is not authorized to work on the TV. I will look further into this, and get back to you if there is anything additional we can offer. 

Thanks,

[tracy74]

I am still patiently awaiting a response on my issue.  It has now been almost a full week and I haven't heard anything back from anyone.