It seems that the only way Brian’s girlfriend could keep the necklace he bought her at Kay Jewelers from breaking is to not wear it, which isn’t really the intended use of a necklace. It has now broken three times in the same spot. He bought an extended warranty, which would have been a good idea if the store would replace the chain instead of repairing it over and over. Instead, he has to turn in the chain and pendant for store credit and buy something else. Why can’t they replace the defective chain and leave Brian the pendant? Because they just can’t. [More]
warranty and repair
SquareTrade Learns 'Defective' iPhone Is Really Damaged, Replaces It For Free Anyway
By 2.29.12
Dan decided to buy a SquareTrade warranty for his iPhone because, unlike AppleCare, SquareTrade also covers damage to the phone at a good price. This warranty turned out to be a wise investment, since he dropped the phone and cracked the screen. When the replacement phone stopped working, he called them up for another replacement before noticing that the glass was cracked. No more free replacement. How sad. [More]
Maglite Manufacturer Is Quite Magnanimous
By 2.16.12
Jason really likes his mini Maglite, but the part that holds the bulb is corroded. Instead of buying a new one, he wanted to fix and keep the light he loves. He wrote to the company, Mag Instrument, asking whether he could buy a replacement part. Terrible news: that wasn’t possible. But they could send him one for free.
[More]
Intermittent Computer Issues? Lenovo's Repair Center Will Break Them All The Way
By 2.10.12
P.’s Lenovo netbook had a wonky USB port that would stop working when the item plugged into it was jostled a little bit. Fortunately, Lenovo’s repair center is capable of fixing problems like that. He sent the computer in, but didn’t want to pay $700 for repairs on a computer he had purchased for $400. [More]
EECB Scores Hit On T-Mobile, Saves Customer $400 Charge For Phone UPS Lost
By 12.30.11
When Jeffrey received his replacement smartphone from T-Mobile, he packed up his old one, used the enclosed prepaid UPS label, and dispatched it using a UPS drop box. From there, the phone disappeared. One customer service rep after another assured him that the lost phone situation would be resolved…and then a $300 charge for the phone appeared on his bill. It was time to escalate. It was time to use a powerful tool he learned about from this very site: the executive e-mail carpet bomb. [More]
Only The CEO At Cuisinart Has The Power To Send You A Shipping Label
By 12.22.11
Jennifer bought the Cuisinart coffeemaker at right about a month ago. It lists for $145.00, and you can get it from Amazon for, as of this writing, $75.45. Unfortunately for Jennifer, her appliance just plain stopped working, and nothing she did at home would fix it. Cuisinart agreed to send her a new one, and even waived the shipping fee, but they want her old coffeemaker back. This wouldn’t be a problem, but the cost to ship the large and heavy machine is $47.62. That amount would put Jennifer more than halfway to just buying a new machine. [More]
Mandatory Xbox 360 Update Breaks Some Consoles, Microsoft Claims 'Coincidence'
By 12.16.11
Last week’s exciting Kinect Dashboard update for Xbox 360 consoles didn’t just ask users to waive their right to sue and make customers pay to be advertised to. It also appears to have caused problems with a number of consoles. Nothing major: it just keeps them from reading any discs…no, wait, that is major. Microsoft representatives say that this is a coincidence, and that customers with freshly broken consoles need to send them in for repair for $100 or so. [More]
Consumerist Post About Broken Laptop Gets Reader Full Refund Within 3 Hours
By 12.15.11
Once again, Costco saves the day. Last week, we posted the story of Tom, who bought a Sony Vaio laptop from Costco only to have it malfunction a little more than a year after purchase. Sony didn’t seem to want to fix the problem at all, and Costco employees were very kind but couldn’t intervene. Only a few hours after that post went up, Costco contacted Tom, and gave him a full refund for the computer’s purchase price. [More]
Can Owning A Cat Void Your HP Warranty?
By 12.9.11
Chris sent his HP Elitebook in for repair, only to learn that he had done something to void the warranty, and it wouldn’t be repaired. What was his heinous offense against technology? He owns a cat, and there’s fur inside the computer, causing HP to declare his computer a “biological hazard” and send it back un-repaired. He sent along photos that HP took of his disassembled computer and used to make the case that his computer wasn’t repairable. [More]
Buying Laptop From Costco Extends Your Warranty And Your Aggravation
By 12.8.11
Last year, Tom bought a Sony laptop from Costco. Part of the reason why he chose Costco to purchase a computer was the warehouse club’s famed extension of manufacturers’ warranties: more warranty protection on a portable computer can’t be a bad thing. Except when it is. In Tom’s case, having another company involved just means that he can always get a very nice person on the phone at Costco who isn’t able to help him at all. [More]
If ASUS Installs Your Hard Drive Backwards, Your Computer Can't Overheat
By 11.30.11
Perhaps it was naive of reader A. to think that sending his overheating computer back to ASUS would end with him receiving a functional computer back. He did expect them to at least put the hard drive back facing in the right direction, though. Or maybe that was the outsourced repair depot’s idea of a fix for his problem. A computer that can’t boot can’t overheat. [More]
TomTom Sends Mangled Warranty Replacement, Plenty Of Excuses
By 11.11.11
After about six months of use and while it was still under warranty, the TomTom iPhone Car Kit Mark purchased failed. The onboard GPS booster and Bluetooth that are the entire point of the device stopped working. Some highlights of Mark’s struggle with the company: TomTom initially wouldn’t replace it, claiming that the warranty was void since they no longer make the product. Then they sent Mark what was clearly another customer’s return–a scratched-up unit without power cords. They claimed that they couldn’t send a power cord because Apple makes the cable. Because Apple manufactures black car-to-mini-USB cables. [More]
The 4th Replacement Laptop HP Sent Me Doesn't Work, Either
By 10.27.11
John bought a rather nice HP laptop for his business, and it would be nice if it would work. Ever. Every time they boot up one of the replacement machines HP has sent, it crashes. They’re now on laptop #5. [More]
Krups Botches Coffeemaker Repair, Replaces Shorted-Out Appliance
By 10.13.11
The Krups XP2070 is not a cheap coffee maker. Trevor received his as a gift two years ago. It sold for around $300 then, and it would be reasonable to expect the appliance to work for more than a year. While Krups accepted the machine for repairs, fixed it, and then graciously extended the warranty when it failed again. Trevor determined that the root problem with his XP2070 hadn’t been fixed during either repair, and it had been returned to him to break again. Was he stuck shopping for a new coffeemaker? [More]
Casio Tries To Wait Out The Warranty On Crappy-Sounding Piano
By 10.7.11
The piano that Jennifer bought her daughter last Christmas sounds terrible. She’s been trying to get Casio to fix it under warranty since June, but Casio corporate and her local repair shop have excuse after excuse for why they aren’t able to come out and fix it–or just replace the piano already. [More]
This Texas Instruments Calculator Can't Calculate Correctly
By 9.29.11
There’s a basic assumption that consumers have about calculators: that you put numbers in, and the calculator spits answers out. Correct answers. Accurate answers. In the case of the Texas Instruments scientific calculator that John bought recently, he tells Consumerist that this is a false assumption. As false as the answers it gave him for the area of a circle. [More]
Vizio Claims Repairing Their TVs Isn't Cost-Effective
By 9.23.11
I love photos of urban decay and reminders of the former functions of old buildings. TV repair shop signs, for some reason, can outlast the businesses they advertise by decades. It’s hard to pack a 60″ plasma screen in your SUV and take it to the shop. Repairs still happen, especially when they’re cheaper than the cost of a replacement TV. But our friends over at HDGuru tell us that the nation’s second-largest brand, Vizio, is quick to declare televisions “unrepairable,” even when a customer is willing to pay. Even for problems that other manufacturers are able to repair themselves. [More]
When Should My Appliance Service Agreement Actually Begin?
By 9.16.11
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]
