(Update: The new CompUSA contacted us to say they will make sure all TAP agreements from the previous incarnation of the company are properly honored.) Remember when CompUSA shut down? Before it emerged from its ashes to fill my inbox with daily email circulars, it announced that Assurant Solutions, the company that underwrote its Technology Assurant Plan (TAP) extended-warranty service, would be honoring all remaining TAP agreements. Now a Consumerist reader, Tom, has a problem with the power cable on his laptop, and Assurant Solutions says they won’t replace the frayed cable: “[The CSR] tells me that he is unable to help me any further since the damage isn’t accidental.” Apparently “honoring” means “we’ll take your calls, but turn you down.”
extended warranties
7 Confessions Of A Sears Electronics Salesperson
A Sears electronics salesperson has generously offered to share some insider knowledge of how the game is played at Sears.
LEAKS: Best Buy Internal Doc Says Their "Extended Warranties" Are A "Myth"
An internal Best Buy training document sent to The Consumerist reveals Best Buy’s position on the “Extended Warranty” debate. Best Buy says they don’t sell those pesky “extended warranties” that get so much bad press— instead they sell “performance service plans.” The document also instructs Best Buy employees on how to sell these warranties to Upscale Suburban “Barry” and “Jill.” It’s important for consumers to be familiar with these tactics so they are able to recognize them while shopping in a high pressure sales environment such as Best Buy. Understanding the sales pitch puts you on equal ground with the salesperson.
Microcenter Tries To Sell You A Replacement Plan For Thermal Adhesive
Monday I bought 1.75 grams of thermal adhesive at Microcenter for $2.99. At checkout I was asked if I wanted to buy a replacement service plan. I was dumbfounded.
Making Price Drops Conditional On Extended Warranty Purchase Could Be Illegal
A few days ago we wrote about haggling at retail stores and how some sales people will cut you a deal if you get the extended warranty, since they earn commission off selling those. Well, reader Stephen writes:
In Michigan at least, it is illegal for a rep to base a price reduction on the purchase of an extended warranty. A few years ago, I was buying a returned Tivo from Best Buy, and the SA tried to tell me he’d give me a better price if I bought the plan. I stopped him right there, told him I knew that this was illegal and that he knew it too. Suddenly the lower prices was no longer conditional on the purchase of the extended service plan.
Something to remember next time you’re wrangling over that HDTV. Michigan’s statute, inside…
Extended Car Warranties Are A Ripoff
Most consumers spend more on extended warranties than they get back in repair savings, according to a Consumer Reports reader survey. On average, buyers paid $1000 and got $700 back in the amount of money they saved in repair costs.”Extended warranties sell costly ‘peace of mind’ for repair nightmares that probably won’t occur,” said Rik Paul, automotive editor, Consumer Reports. “Sellers know what tends to break, and in most cases consumers are betting against the house.” The only one with a peace of mind is the dealer as he tallies up his profits. Consumer Reports instead recommends putting the money you would have spent on an extended warranty into a money market or mutual fund to insure against the unlikely event of big repair costs from parts failure.
Woman Sues Best Buy For $54 Million Over Lost Laptop
Raelyn Campbell is suing Best Buy for $54 million for losing her laptop and lying to her for months about it. She bought a laptop from Best Buy with an extended warranty, it broke, she sent it in for repairs, months later she didn’t have her laptop and after getting the runaround the store finally said it had lost her laptop and offered her a $900 gift card. She paid over $1,100 for the laptop, she paid for software on it, and it had irreplaceable photos, music, and personal information, including her tax returns. She freely admits she chose the high figure to attract media attention. She tells the Red Tape Chronicles “I can’t help but wonder how many other people have had their computer stolen (or) lost by Best Buy and then been bullied into accepting lowball compensation offers for replacement expenses and no compensation for identity theft protection expenses.” She also has a blog.
Consumer Reports Warns Against Extended Warranties
Consumer Reports has an excellent article this morning warning against the fraud that is the extended warranty. From the article:
Don’t Be This Consumer
Instead, he used the oldest black hat consumer trick and bought a new video ipod, put the old ipod in, and returned it.
