When should a new warranty begin? Reader ournextcontestant wonders this after purchasing a service agreement from Sears for a broken dishwasher. The new warranty begins on the day it was purchased, and not on the day that the appliance is put back in working order. Ournextcontestant doesn’t like this, believing that Sears is robbing him of valuable days of the warranty. Maybe weeks or months of the warranty, considering how long it takes Sears to actually fix things. [More]
When Should My Appliance Service Agreement Actually Begin?
By September 16, 2011
Sorry, Joining Your Fiancé's Verizon Plan Voids Your Phone's Warranty
By May 12, 2011
David and his fiancée decided that it was finally time to take their commitment to the next level: joining their mobile phone plans together. Unfortunately, they were both already Verizon customers and wanted to upgrade their phones. If can’t imagine why this would be a problem, you’ve never upgraded phones and then joined plans at Verizon. The process seems to be specifically designed to keep customers from doing this. [More]
Roku Replaces 3-Year-Old Streaming Video Box That Stops Streaming
By April 13, 2011
When James’s father gave him one of the original Roku units from a few years ago, he couldn’t get it to connect to his house’s network… or to see any networks at all. He gave the company a call for help, not expecting much because the unit was well out of warranty. A short time later, a brand-new replacement box was on its way. [More]
Sorry, Your 3-Month-Old Starbucks Mug Is Out Of Warranty
By April 12, 2011
Mark has a warning: it’s fine if you want to hand over your money for a venti Java Chip Frappuccino, but don’t buy durable items at Starbucks if you expect them to be, well, durable. He bought a mug back in December, and the mug now has a defect that makes coffee drip on you while you drink. Not liking this feature, he contacted Starbucks and learned that their warranty on mugs lasts only 60 days. “I was shocked that Starbucks would only stand behind their products for 60 days,” Mark writes, “specifically because those same products come at a premium price and sold with overpriced coffee.” [More]
6 Months And $420 Later, I Still Have No Sealy Warranty Replacement Mattress
By March 22, 2011
A product might come with a warranty, but it isn’t much good if the company refuses to honor that warranty. Mike has had his Sealy/Stearns & Foster mattress replaced for sagging issues three times since he bought it in 2006. In October, it was time for a fourth replacement, which is worth a story in itself. After moving away from the original retailer that sold him the mattress, he has to go through the corporate office for his warranty claims. He still doesn’t have his mattress, but Sealy now has more of his money. [More]
Dell Promises Fix For Defective Alienware Laptop, Now Won't Help Me
By February 23, 2011
David’s Alienware laptop has a defective hinge design, and he’s already had the problematic part fixed twice. While Dell has promised a fix for the defect in the near future, David’s warranty has expired and his computer is close to breaking again. He needs help from Dell that no one is interested in providing. [More]
Can High Humidity Void Your iPhone's Warranty?
By August 23, 2010
It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity that can kill your iPhone, reports the South China Morning Post. Apple says their phones are built so that humidity doesn’t accidentally trigger the device’s water sensors, but users in Hong Kong, where humidity can reach 95%, say their devices’ warranty claims are unfairly getting rejected for water damage, even when not a drop has touched them. Humidity test results tell an unflattering tale: [More]
Best Buy Replaces Your TV, Forgets About It, Offers You Another
By August 4, 2010
Reader Wayne is an honest person. His Best Buy Insignia TV died and so, of course, he brought it back to the store. They kept it for a little while, decided they couldn’t fix it, and replaced it with a similar model. Then they forgot they did this. [More]
Canon Fixes 5 Year Old Camera For Free
By July 30, 2010
There was a defect with CCD chips on Rob’s camera, so Canon fixed it for free. Rob would just like us to let people know that he had a great experience with Canon. [More]
Panasonic: If We Had Actually Helped When You Called For Support, Your TV Would Be Under Warranty
By June 17, 2010
James has a sweet Panasonic 42″ plasma screen TV. He writes that the device has an exciting new feature: it now refuses to turn on. Back in January, he called Panasonic support, who were able to help him unplug and reset the TV a few times. That helped, but it broke for good back in May. Now Panasonic says that his warranty is up, but they totally could have helped him if the set had broken closer to the end of this one-year warranty. Say, two months after the warranty ended in November 2009. Also known as January–when he originally called Panasonic about the problem. [More]
Apple Sends You A Check For A HD You Replaced Yourself
By March 30, 2010
Reader photoguy622 wants to let us know that our article helped him get some money from Apple for his broken hard drive. He’d fixed it himself, but Apple has a free repair program he didn’t know about. [More]
Toshiba Is Holding My Computer Hostage For $140
By February 25, 2010
Getting something fixed under warranty is rarely a pleasant task. It often takes longer than expected and occasionally lapses into bouts of back-and-forth finger-pointing between the manufacturer and the owner of the faulty product. Just ask Consumerist reader Art, who says that Toshiba has not only had his busted laptop for three months, but they’ve reneged on their promise to replace it and now want $140 for his troubles. [More]
Blog And Twitter Campaign Convinces Sony To Replace Defective TV
By January 31, 2010
Scott has been a longtime and loyal Sony customer, but the company finally disappointed him. He writes that his lovely 46″ LCD began to produce strange images on one side of the screen for ten minutes after powering up–not catastrophic, but not acceptable for a $3,000 TV, either. The regular channels of customer service were no help, so Scott took his case to his blog and to Twitter. The result? He heard from executive customer service within hours, and received a new TV for his trouble. [More]
Cuisinart Customer Service Doesn't Bother To Read Own Warranty
By January 24, 2010
After receiving a ten-piece cookware set with one pan damaged right out of the box, Drew’s girlfriend knew that she wanted to replace it. That’s what warranties are for! He tells Consumerist that when they tried to send that pan back to Cuisinart for replacement (instead of shipping the entire set back to Amazon, which seemed wasteful) customer service staff insisted that while the product’s warranty might say something, that doesn’t actually make it true. [More]
Canon Is Far, Far Nicer To You Than They Really Need To Be
By November 2, 2009
Reader Kelly writes in to share her positive experience with Canon. She used one of our posts as a guideline before calling in to Canon with an issue with an out-of-warranty printer. Let’s see how it went…
Canon Replaces Lazy Reader's Printer 6 Months Out Of Warranty
By October 18, 2009
Canon is apparently a very nice company. So nice, in fact, that they will apparently replace a product out of warranty even when it’s the customer’s own forgetfulness that led to the delay. That’s what reader Chris reports happened when his Canon printer broke down.
The Tale Of Lowe's And The Refrigerator From Hell
By October 7, 2009
Reader Buddy has a lemon of a fridge that he purchased from Lowe’s with an Extended Warranty. The store keeps sending people out to fix the appliance, but nothing seems to work.
TiVo Now Offers Exciting New DVR Immortality Transfer Fee
By August 16, 2009
TiVo customers have a few different choices when paying for their service plans. The one that’s gamble of sorts is the “lifetime” plan, which includes service for the entire life of your device and currently costs $399. Lifetime service is technically transferable when a TiVo is replaced under warranty, but Nate discovered a new feature: a new $150 fee to transfer service from the original DVR to the replacement.
