Manufacturer Warranties and Protection Plans

[mjg2hvn]

I have a Toshiba Satellite A505-S6980 that I purchased 1/5/2010.   I purchased the laptop and the recommended 2 year PSP online.  The laptop USB ports have begun to recess into the laptop making them inaccessible.   This seems like wear and tear to me, but apparently not to Best Buy.   I am told that I should have purchased a "accidental" warranty coverage which covers "physical damage".  I have never seen such a policy.  I purchased the only policy that was posted while I made my purchase.  Is there another level of protection that is available for laptops?  Is it only offered on certain laptops?  If it is not listed during online purchases does that mean that the warranty is not available for purchase for the item being purchased?

I have been reading other posts in which non-warranty purchasers have been chastised by community members for not buying a warranty.  This is the second time this year that a Best Buy warranty has done me no good.  This is discouraging.

[CrystalWoW Community Veteran]

That would be considered physical damage as it takes some force to get them pushed in like that. All laptops offer accidental protection it just costs more, usually around a 100 more or so. You can return the remainder of the protection plan for a prorated refund if you would like.

[mjg2hvn]

That is kind of you.  However, since the warranty expires next week, I am not likely to get more than $1.

I guess i must yield to the Best Buy experts here.  My 20 years as an electrical engineer building space flight hardware for NASA that had to survive shuttle launches tells me that usb ports should not be susceptible to any force that I have been applying with my hands as I use a lot of computers and this is the only one that has this loose usb problem.  My experience tells me that it is either poor design (where this happens frequently with toshiba/hp computers) or poor workmanship ( a one-of build mistake).

Apparently, the burden of proof is on me not Best Buy.  I am only the customer who paid for the warranty.

[CrystalWoW Community Veteran]

Was it actually sent out? You can request that it be sent to the service center to be evaluated for them to decide if it was wear and tear or accidental?

[mjg2hvn]

No, it was not sent out as the associate assured me it was physical damage that was not covered under my standard 2yr PSP.  He was confident that it would not be covered, but I gather from your statement that I can still have it sent out for assessement.

[CrystalWoW Community Veteran]

Yes you can. They may have you pay a 35 shipping fee that will get refunded if it is deemed covered. This will also get you an estimate to fix it if it isn't covered.

[Ryan-BBY Senior Social Media Specialist]

Hello mjg2hvn -

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

[Blake-BBY Community Connector]

Hello mjg2hvn,

CrystalWoW is correct in stating that the best option would be to have the computer sent out.  The Geek Squad agents at our repair center are certified to make the assessment if the USB issue is due to physical damage or not.  If they decided that the issues are covered then they’ll repair the laptop under you protection plan and if they decide it’s physical damage then you’ll receive an estimate of how much the repairs will cost.  You can accept or decline the estimates and have your computer sent back.  

If you have any problems at the store, please send me a private message by clicking the yellow box at the end of my signature.  

[mjg2hvn]

Thank you for your response.  I did take the advice of CrystalWoW and took the laptop in on 1/2/12.  I am awaiting a response from the repair center.