Repair

best buy

Best Buy Refuses To Replace Your Defective TV Because You Followed Their Instructions

Umar bought a DLP in 2005 with a $400 Best Buy Performance Service Plan. The TV keeps blowing through expensive bulbs (Umar has replaced 7 $275 bulbs in 3 years,) and rather than wait 2 weeks for a technician every time this happens, Best Buy provided a telephone number and told him to order and replace the bulbs himself. Now, because he followed their directions, Best Buy is refusing to cover the TV under the "lemon" provision of the service agreement. More »

10:11 AM on Thu Aug 7 2008
By Meg Marco
52,129 views, 75 comments

Latest by Osiris_x11: [Thursday, August 7, 2008 3:32 PM] Consumerist, This is Umar again. Thanks for posting my story: [consumerist.com] I got a following reply this more »

cars

Demystify Car Repair Prices With RepairPal.com

Now you never have to wonder if the mechanic is scamming you on repairs. RepairPal.com lets you punch in your make, model, year zip, and repair and then they'll tell you the normal range of prices for it are. A graph shows the range of costs, broken down to whether you are going to an independent shop or a dealer. The source data, which the site has never been publicly available before now, goes back to 1990. A good resource for getting general numbers for what you can expect to pay for basic auto repairs.

RepairPal [Official Site]

5:07 PM on Mon Aug 4 2008
By Ben Popken
10,607 views, 38 comments

Latest by madfrog: I think that this is a great idea. I have worked at 2 car dealerships, in the service dept. This more »

repair

First Air Conditioner Guy Says Replace It For $5,000, Second Air Conditioner Guy Fixes It For $250

Reader F.'s air conditioner was broken, so he called the company that installed it when the house was built. They came out, charged him $100, and told him that he could repair the unit for $3,000 or replace it for $5,000. It's a good thing he got a second opinion, because the second repair guy fixed the problem for $250. More »

10:44 AM on Mon Aug 4 2008
By Meg Marco
15,144 views, 65 comments

Latest by nrwfos: @Eyebrows McGee: Definitely regional - they charge here in my area of VA and it's $100 to come out. And I more »

xbox 360

Microsoft Left A Sheet Of Stickers Inside My XBOX 360

Of all the good places to store a sheet of stickers, "inside someone else's refurbished XBOX 360" is fairly low on the list. Maybe even at the very bottom. Unfortunately for reader Nick, Microsoft appears to be using his XBOX as sticker storage. Read Nick's letter inside. More »

10:18 AM on Mon Jul 21 2008
By Meg Marco
11,565 views, 27 comments

Latest by Dyscord: @zero2dash Well at least you're getting it fixed and getting something out of it. You could always sell the extra controller. Though more »

ask the consumerists

3 Questions To Ask Yourself When Thinking Of Replacing Your Old Car

Reader Brenden says: More »

rumors

Wal-Mart Planning Its Own "Geek Squad"?

MarketWatch says that Wal-Mart is "very interested in expanding into installation and repair services in its fast-growing electronics segment." More »

12:24 PM on Fri Jun 6 2008
By Meg Marco
7,239 views, 45 comments

difficult

Dell Offers To Repair Your Broken Monitor Over The Internet For $40

Reader Robin is wondering what sort of new technology Dell has invented that will let them physically repair a broken monitor over the internet. Must be some serious science. More »

10:29 AM on Fri Jun 6 2008
By Meg Marco
10,030 views, 53 comments

customer service

Target To 80-Year-Old: Yeah, We Sold You The Wrong Watch Battery, But We Won't Take It Back

David cc'd us on a letter he recently sent to Target:

My mother in law, recently went to Target to get a battery installed for her watch. The watch was a common Timex model and the associate told her that she would have to buy the battery first. So she purchased that battery, and the associate attempted to install it in the watch. The battery did not fit the watch, so the associate said "sorry, we don't have the right battery" and then refused to take the battery back and refund her money. She was told they don't take back opened battery packages.

More »

10:00 PM on Sun May 25 2008
By Carey
13,808 views, 89 comments

Latest by zoomer54: @Assimilate: @Assimilate: The girl at the jewelry counter should have sent the lady to guest services to refund the battery- more »

awkward

Lies: Verizon Tells Your Husband That You Weren't Home When You Said You Were

It's a good thing Lynette has a healthy relationship with her husband, because Verizon is telling lies about techs showing up at her home. In addition, Lynette is getting really sick of answering calls for some other family whose phone number now randomly rings her house. More »

2:39 PM on Mon May 19 2008
By Meg Marco
11,162 views, 50 comments

Latest by MissGayle: Some of the comments here remind me of something that happened to my father years ago, who had GTE phone more »

ignored

Warranties: "It's Been 3 Weeks. I Don't Have Hot Water, And Sears Doesn't Care"

Reader Christina has a (broken) water heater from Sears. It's covered under a warranty, but Sears isn't willing to replace it. She's been without hot water for 3 weeks and Sears just doesn't care. More »

2:24 PM on Wed Apr 16 2008
By Meg Marco
10,402 views, 66 comments

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