Consumerist
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warranties
Why Do You Buy Extended Warranties?
We all know that most extended warranties are wastes of money that generally go unused, so why do people buy them? According to a study in the Journal of Consumer Research, guilt-racked and nervous consumers are willing to shell out the extra cash to buy a little peace of mind... More » -
warranties
Saturn Reassures You That Your Warranty Is Still Good
As you probably already know, the Penske Automotive Group is buying Saturn from GM, but what will happen to your warranty? Apparently, nothing. It'll stay exactly the same. Saturn recently sent out a letter of reassurance to its customers and reader Jimi was kind enough to scan it for us. More » -
robocallers
Meet The People Behind The Car Warranty Robocallers
We know how much you just loooove those car warranty robocallers, so we couldn't pass up an opportunity to introduce you to the folks the FTC says is behind the robot army. More » -
follow ups
More Info On Replacing An HP Laptop Motherboard
We asked John, who wrote to us earlier this week about replacing the motherboard in his HP laptop, to send us a link to the listing he found for $150. Below is his response.
Several readers also contacted us to point out that HP extended the warranties on a number of models recently due to motherboard failures, so John or other readers may have more options than they initially thought. More »
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Carpocalypse
Who Will Perform Warranty Service On My Pontiac, Saab, Hummer, Saturn....
Do you own a GM car (or subsidiary, such as Hummer or Saturn) and are worried about who will perform warranty service? The super-awesome car department over at Consumer Reports checked into this, and learned that the service department of any GM dealership can perform warranty service on your car. They just might not realize that, or might not choose to service Saturns or Hummers. More » -
about to expire
FTC To Investigate Car Warranty Robocallers
You knew it was imminent: after the "your car warranty is about to expire" robocallers pissed off the internet and the government within a matter of days, it was just a question of who would take them down first. Surprisingly, it looks like it's going to be the government. More » -
us fidelis
Car Warranty Racket Exposed On Today Show
The Today show recently aired a terrifically entertaining exposé of US Fidelis, one of the biggest companies behind the auto warranty racket that you've probably encountered via junk mail, telemarketing, or even on TV. They start by looking at an individual who spent $3,180 on one of their auto warranties only to be left stranded when her car overheated and they refused to pay. More » -
tivo
TiVo Warranty Charges $49 To Replace Defective Units After 90 Days
Sam emailed us with a complaint about TiVo: he says the customer service rep wants to charge him $50 to repair a defective HDMI port on his 5-month-old TiVo HD DVR. Sam can't understand why he'd have to pay an additional, uncategorized fee when his box is still under warranty. We checked out the warranty details and called TiVo, and it looks like it's a flat fee (the TiVo rep we spoke with said it was $49) that covers the cost of replacing the unit entirely—in other words, TiVo isn't going to repair just the port and send it back to you. Note that this only covers boxes outside the first 90 days. If you're still in the first 90 day window, replacement is free. More » -
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warranties
Home Depot Steps In When GE Gives You The Warranty Runaround
Reader Chris bought a GE hot water tank from Home Depot, only to find out that it was broken. He noticed a sticker on the back telling him to call a 1-800 number for warranty repair rather than returning the tank to the store. So he did. And he got the runaround. More » -
brookstone
Brookstone Clerk Tries To Sneak Warranty Into Sale
Clearly Brookstone doesn't spend enough time training its employees to be dishonest, because this airport Brookstone clerk did a terrible job at trying to sneak a $4 warranty onto Nadav's father's purchase. She even admitted to the act when confronted. More » -
warranties
XBOX 360 Warranty Expanded To Cover "E74" Error, Refunds Issued
According to research by the gaming blog Joystiq, a mysterious new error has been affecting the XBOX 360. The "E74" error, according to some non-scientific data compiled by the blog, has been increasing since the debut of NXE (New XBOX Experience). Now Microsoft is acknowledging the error and extending their 3-year Red Ring Of Death warranty to cover it. More » -
cars
Help, Audi Fixed My Car And Now The Trunk Fills With Water Whenever It Rains
Andrew brought his car to Audi of Downtown L.A. for routine warranty work, but left with a trunk that overflows whenever it rains. When Andrew complained to the dealership's staff, he was told to take his business elsewhere. More » -
applecare
Apple Sells You The Wrong AppleCare Package, Then Loses Your Refund
Apple sold reader Melody the wrong AppleCare package, but instead of switching her to the proper coverage, they issued a refund and told her to re-purchase the warranty extension. They even gave her American Express transaction reference numbers so she could track the refund, but AmEx says the numbers are invalid and that they have no record of a refund posting. Melody's been out $195 since February, and thinks it's time for Apple to cough up her money. More » -
settlements
Only 42 People Want A Piece of Dell's $1.5 Million Settlement? Seriously?
Come on people, Dell agreed to dole out $1.5 million to customers who had problems with warranty repairs, credit financing, and rebates, but with only a week before the filing deadline, Washington's Attorney General says that only 42 people in his state have submitted claim forms. We know there are eligible Dell victims out there. Our tipline alone has nearly 1,000 Dell-related complaints. Please, fill out your claim form now and get the money your state attorney generals earned for you! More » -
follow ups
Sears Clarifies Craftsman Tools Warranty
Earlier this month, we noted how a reader was having trouble getting Sears to properly honor the lifetime warranty on his Craftsman tools. Now David Figler, a vice president of the company, has responded and said, "We stand behind the warranty—complete satisfaction—period." Below is his email, and a portion of the memo he sent to Sears stores on the matter. More » -
dirty tricks
Office Depot Employee Claims He Photoshops Price Tags
Who needs to lie about inventory when you can inflate the price directly? LAPTOP has uncovered more dirty secrets of Office Depot employees being dishonest to customers, this time by altering price tags on clearance items to incorporate the cost of an extended service plan. More » -
follow ups
Brian Manages To Replace His Rusty Craftsman Sockets At Sears
When we broke off from our Sears Craftsman warranty saga last Friday, Brian had been told there were no replacements on tools that have rust on them, which wasn't what Sears told us the last time we had warranty questions. Over the weekend, Brian found more evidence that Sears can't get its warranty language straight. But there's some good news, too: he dressed up a little, cleaned off the sockets, and went back to Sears. This time he got a different associate who seemed to have no problem swapping out the tools, and who never mentioned the supposed "three per day" rule. More » -
excuses
Sears Can't Get Its Story Straight Regarding Rust And Craftsman Tools
C'mon Sears, rust isn't a magic brown fairy powder that you can sprinkle over any warranty issue to deny coverage. Brian was told he couldn't have his worn-out sockets replaced because they were rusty. He pointed out that he needed them replaced because they were worn out, not because of some cosmetic damage due to oxidation. Now Sears has officially told him that any rust on a Craftsman tool automatically voids the warranty—which is not what Sears told us two years ago. More »
warranties
New York, 5:02 AM
Mon Jul 6
6 posts in the last 24 hours
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