Consumerist
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bad decisions
What To Consider Before Buying An Extended Warranty
The New York Times has an article about why consumers buy extended warranties for electronic products and other appliances, especially since we rarely have enough information at the moment of sale to make an informed decision. Here are three things to watch out for the next time you're buying some fun electronic device. More » -
privacy
Baby Too Boring? Watch The Neighbor's Baby With This Monitor
If you buy the Summer Infant Day and Night Video Monitor, you might want to make sure your neighbors haven't also got one, or else they'll have a secret window into your newborn's room. More » -
happy endings
Lowe's Replaces The Refrigerator From Hell
Buddy, owner of the refrigerator from hell, has sent us a follow-up. Lowe's has agreed to send him a check for the replacement cost of the evil fridge. Hooray! More » -
carfax
Buyer Says CarFax Report Didn't Let Him Know Car Was All Messed Up
CarFax provides a useful tool for used car buyers, tipping them off about the myriad abuses their prospective rides once suffered. But Gyorgy says the service failed him, failing to report a number of modifications and indignities that voided the ride's warranty. He writes: More » -
apple
Is The iPhone 3G Liquid Sensor A Filthy Liar?
Here's the $199 question. What does it take to set off the moisture sensor on an iPhone 3G? Immersion in water? Sweat from a vigorous workout? Using the phone on a humid day? The truth is somewhere on that continuum, and many iPhone users claim that their warranties have been unfairly voided when normal use set off the sensors. More » -
disrepair
Man Says Best Buy Policies Prevent His TV From Being Fixed
Russ used to have a TV, but now all he has are problems. He summarizes his 52-inch Insignia (Best Buy's House Brand) HDTV's decision to check out, then goes into Best Buy's bumbling attempts to fix it. More » -
above and beyond
LG Electronics Offers Customer Amazing Service On Broken Plasma TV
If you owned an expensive TV that stopped working, and you were years out of warranty, you'd assume the manufacturer would have nothing to do with you, correct? LG doesn't play that game—Tim's experience with them when his LG set went kaput is a mind-blowing example of a company practically coddling its past—and almost certainly future—customers. More » -
craptops
Dell Customer Says Company Replaced His Broken Laptop With Cheaper One, Won't Make Good
Feisty Dell laptop purchaser Elijah says he bought a Dell laptop that failed him, and when Dell warrantied it out it sent an inferior one in its place, saying it had comparable functionality. As this replacement laptop has a smaller screen and a weird haunted keyboard that presses Ctrl all on its own, Elijah doesn't agree. More » -
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success stories
EECB To Generator Company Results In Out-Of-Warranty Replacement
Here's an example of a great EECB that worked: even though Joe's generator was out of warranty and the first two levels of customer service refused to help him, he was able to convince the company's execs to make good on a defective starter. More » -
what warranty department?
Funai Knows TV Broke Under Warranty, Hopes You Go Away
UPDATE: Funai Finally Answers The Phone, Offers Refund For Dead 5-Month-Old TV
Back in February, Funai put a Consumerist reader on hold for two and a half hours before telling him that there was nothing they could do about selling him the entirely wrong DTV converter box. Now Funai has decided to head those long hold times off at the pass, and their warranty division has stopped answering the phone entirely. More » -
tales from the crypt
Sony And The Mystery Of The Missing Assassin's Creed Disc
Reader Martin sent his PS3 in to Sony because a game was stuck in the drive. When he got it back, the game was missing. Where did it go? Sony says there was nothing the drive when they received the unit. Martin is wondering why he would have sent his console in to Sony in the first place if it didn't have a game stuck in it. It is a mystery. More » -
twitter
Logitech Replaces Mouse Under Warranty When Tweeted At
Everyone is tired of hearing about Twitter. It's not the newest and shiniest communications tool anymore, and stories about its effectiveness in customer service aren't novel anymore. Reader Ryan is tired of hearing about Twitter, but he shared a story with Consumerist about how Logitech only replaced his mouse under warranty after he tweeted at them. More » -
potentially happy endings
Skullcandy Finally Sends Out Replacement Buds
Wentao, who had been waiting over half a year for a replacement set of earbuds from Skullcandy, wrote in with an update:
Almost exactly three hours after the article was published, I received a call from Skullcandy. I was told I would received my replacement plus one extra pair of the same model before I leave the country. The person I talked to told me his name was Brian, and they had 12 people working there (i.e., not just Joe). lol. Thanks, Wentao
RELATED
"Skullcandy Lifetime Warranty Means You'll Wait Your Lifetime For A Replacement" -
unresponsive
Skullcandy Lifetime Warranty Means You'll Wait Your Lifetime For A Replacement
There is a guy at Skullcandy named Joe, and he is in charge of their warranty fulfillment program. He is overworked. Why, just on this one warranty replacement story, he's had to deal with the same customer over and over and over, and the customer still hasn't gotten a replacement earbud set for the one that broke last November. Wentao writes, "I am also moving out of the country in 10 days, so I will probably never see the headphones I paid for ever again." More » -
advice
Don't Threaten To Kill Telemarketers
We know how you feel; telemarketers suck. But no matter how much they're in the wrong, please don't threaten to burn down their place of business and then kill them and their families—even if they call you a jackass—because they may report you to the police. Then, if your police are anything like the ones in St. Louis, Missouri, you'll likely be arrested and charged for making terrorist threats, like poor Charles Papenfus. More » -
above and beyond, kind of
Sears Customer Service Runaround Results In New Sander
Can we tag a story "above and beyond" if the customer service cycle is so screwed up that it eventually works out in the customer's favor? When jpodbuild tried to get his Craftsman sander repaired or replaced, he couldn't get anyone on the phone who could actually help him—eventually he would end up back at the first number he'd called. He decided to show up in person and let the store manager handle the phone calls. New sander! More » -
warranties
Macbook Pro Owner Caught In Warranty Catch-22 Thanks To Apple's Mistake
Because of an Apple technician's mistake, Gennadiy had two options for repairing his 2009 Macbook Pro: either pay $1240+tax to replace the logic board because Apple said water damage voided the warranty, or push the unseated cable back into place and prove that there was no water damage—which would void the warranty. Gennadiy took the second option and saved himself over $1300, but now has no warranty should something actually happen to the logic board that should be covered. More » -
buyer beware
Pop Goes The Shoddy Refurbed Hitachi TV
Mark thought he'd save some money by buying a refurbished Hibachi HDTV off UEC Web, but was disturbed to discover the TV — as an under-fire politician, coach or CEO would put it — decided to spend more time with its family. More »
warranties
New York, 12:54 AM
Sun Nov 15
4 posts in the last 24 hours
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