Reader Chris now says that he should have known better than to buy a Lenovo computer. He wishes that he had realized this months ago. Life is about learning from your mistakes and all, but his computer has been stranded in Lenovo’s anti-repair depot for six weeks on “billable hold” and awaiting additional parts. [More]
extended warranty
Best Buy Cancels My Black Tie Plan, Forgets To Tell Me
By 7.29.13
Reader L. had heard nightmare tales about Best Buy’s Black Tie Protection Plans, but they couldn’t possibly be true. Could they? Two years into a four-year protection plan on his TV, he found out the hard way. No, they didn’t refuse to cover his problem, or stall on sending a repair person over: they had canceled his plan back in 2011, but forgotten to tell him. [More]
Even Bestselling Authors Aren’t Immune From Shoddy Home Depot Warranty Repair Work
By 2.19.13 — Updated: 6.26.14
In spite of the completely nonexistent rumor that making the NY Times bestseller list grants an author access to a level of customer service reserved for elite celebrities, it turns out that no one is immune to a bad repair job that can ultimately result in $20,000 worth of damage. [More]
Extended Warranty Junk Mail Designed To Look Like DMV Letter
By 6.29.10
The letter was from “Motor Vehicle Services.” It warned Serra that his car’s manufacturers warranty is expiring. It accurately listed the monthly payment he was making on his car, and the number of payments he had made. It was even written in that typewriter font beloved by mechanics and bureaucracies. But it wasn’t from the Department of Motor Vehicles, it was a piece of extended warranty junk mail gussied up to look official. Here’s the letter: [More]
Why Do You Buy Extended Warranties?
By 6.21.09
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…
Sports Authority Is Selling An Extended Warranty For Shoes
By 6.14.09
Sports Authority is pushing a new “Extended Coverage Plan” for footwear that runs for one year after Sports Authority’s 30-day warranty expires. The extended warranty, which costs between $4.99 and $15.99, supposedly even covers normal wear and tear. So how is this profitable?
Whatever Acer Is Doing To Your Laptop Is The Opposite Of Repairing It
By 8.13.08
Reader Alex bought an Acer laptop with a 3 year extended warranty, and honestly, we lost count of how many times he’s sent it in to Acer for repairs — but every time Acer sends it back it seems to get a little bit less functional. Now he’s finally had enough and is demanding a replacement. This has lead to a 5 month stand-off in which Acer is refusing to send him a replacement because it would be a “downgrade” from his current broken laptop. Alex has already replaced the laptop and was going to give up. We’re his last hope…
Best Buy Refuses To Replace Your Defective TV Because You Followed Their Instructions
By 8.7.08
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.
Consumer Reports Calls You A "Pushover" For Buying The Extended Warranty Sales Pitch
By 3.17.08
Not surprisingly, the car dealers who sell the extended warranties disagree. A spokesman for the National Automobile Dealers Association likened the warranties to insurance for which, of course, policy holders as a group pay more than they get back to protect against the rare problem that is ruinously expensive.
Microsoft: We’ll Fix Your Damn Xbox
By 9.22.06
It freezes. It crashes. It gives you the red light of death. Well, you’re not alone. Microsoft has admitted it. Early Xbox 360s are defective and will be repaired free of charge...providing that you purchased yours before January 1, 2006.
Best Buy: “Oh Yeah, Tetris Breaks All The Time.”
By 7.6.06
Here at Gawker Tower (actually, a giant disused school bus turned vertically that was used by local teens for sex parties until the smell got too bad), we really love the circle jerk. So it was nice when our geeky, mouth-breathing colleagues over at Kotaku took time out of their busy schedule of writing about video games and wondering what it might be like to touch the soft mound of a woman’s breast while she was conscious to pass on a reader email, indicating a new protection plan scam from our buddies at Best Buy.
