When a few pixels go out on your 65″ TV that’s still under warranty, the warranty should cover that, right? That was the dispute between Currys, a UK electronics store sort of like Best Buy, their customer, and an alleged insect, now deceased and stuck in the TV’s screen somehow. [More]
warranty repairs
Westinghouse Digital Offers Two Little TVs Instead Of Replacing My Big One
By 2.6.13
Joe has followed our posts about Westinghouse Digital TVs with interest. When his 46″ set broke after only eight months, he used consumer ninja methods to get a refund, and went nuclear on the company. He wanted to warn other consumers not to do business with the company. [More]
Samsung’s Anti-Repair Depot Still In Business, Still Not Repairing Things
By 1.29.13
Fortunately for Todd, his experience with Samsung’s anti-repair depot isn’t as bad as some we’ve heard. He just keeps sending his wife’s Chromebook in to get fixed, and they don’t repair it. He’d like to get it back so he can return it to Amazon and get a computer that actually boots up, but the anti-repair staff can’t figure out how to authorize sending him his own computer back. [More]
Uh, My Laptop Screen Wasn't Broken Before I Sent It To Toshiba
By 8.15.12
William’s laptop wouldn’t boot. He went to Toshiba for help, since it was still under warranty, and they charged him for software help, since his warranty didn’t cover that. Fine. Only they wouldn’t refund him the $100 when the problem didn’t turn out to be software-related. He sent the machine in for a hardware repair, and Toshiba sort of did the opposite of that. He says that the screen was just fine when he sent it in. Toshiba says that it wasn’t, and that he should pay them $500 to repair it. [More]
Man Wrests Free Repair From Acer's Claws
By 7.21.11
Acer is infamous for its inferior or nearly non-existent customer service. Long are the annals of history filled with the tales of those who have thrown themselves against Acer’s ramparts and disintegrated on impact. But reader PW shares how he was able to get his 6 months out of warranty Acer laptop replaced after it died. The secret is to look for the email address with .tw after them. That’s right, email addresses leading back to the mothership in Taiwan. [More]
EECB Gets HP To Replace Laptop They Tried To Pass Off As Water-Damaged
By 12.15.10
Charlie sent in his HP Mini for repair after the keyboard and mouse stopped working. They denied his warranty repair by saying that a loose tape was caused by water damage, which, while not only unlikely on the face of it, seemed impossible to Charlie as he babies his computers like they were Fabergé eggs. So he launched his campaign on HP upper management… [More]
Toshiba's Netbook Repair Runaround Is Demoralizing
By 9.23.10
One might think that the warranty repair of a netbook that failed after less than three weeks of use would be simple and painless. One would be wrong. Robert asks in his e-mail to Consumerist about Toshiba, “are all computer companies this crappy?” Yes, some of them, but it’s a sad day in America when customers buy a laptop and can expect to encounter the same hardware failures and general runaround that Robert writes that he experienced. [More]
No, Amazon, I Will Not Pay For Repairs To My Defective Kindle
By 7.15.10
Michael tells Consumerist that he’s disappointed in his Amazon Kindle, but really disappointed in Amazon and their lack of support for his problems with the device. The company admitted that his Kindle malfunctioned because of a product defect…but want Michael to pay the $89 fee for having his Kindle serviced out of warranty anyway. He’s not really interested, since he could buy a new Kindle for almost twice that. [More]
HP Returns Computer With Faulty Repair, Bonus Dust Bunnies
By 11.12.09
Marc thought he was being practical when be purchased a four-year warranty to go along with his HP desktop. After about a year, the computer failed. No problem. Just send the tower in for some of that stellar HP repair service. Except there’s probably a reason why you rarely hear the words “stellar,” “HP,” and “repair” in the same sentence.
Walmart Manager Is Super Helpful, Saves Dead TV
By 10.2.09
A few weeks ago, Kaleb wrote to us with a tale of television woe. The Polaroid TV he purchased at Walmart on Black Friday 2008 simply died, and Polaroid wouldn’t perform warranty service without his receipt. All was lost, until a Walmart manager went above and beyond to save Kaleb from his defective television.
Timbuk2 Really, Really Wants You To Be Happy With Their Bags
By 6.5.09
Jennifer had some problems with a bag she acquired from high-end baggery Timbuk2, and when some stitching started to come out, she sent it in for repairs. When some of the bag’s stitching came out, she was treated to a great big pouch full of “above and beyond” customer service.
Who Will Perform Warranty Service On My Pontiac, Saab, Hummer, Saturn….
By 6.3.09
Do you own a GM car (or subsidiary, such as Hummer or Saturn) and are worried about who will perform warranty service? The super-awesome car department over at Consumer Reports checked into this, and learned that the service department of any GM dealership can perform warranty service on your car. They just might not realize that, or might not choose to service Saturns or Hummers.
Help, Audi Fixed My Car And Now The Trunk Fills With Water Whenever It Rains
By 4.12.09
Andrew brought his car to Audi of Downtown L.A. for routine warranty work, but left with a trunk that overflows whenever it rains. When Andrew complained to the dealership’s staff, he was told to take his business elsewhere.
Only 42 People Want A Piece of Dell's $1.5 Million Settlement? Seriously?
By 4.4.09
Come on people, Dell agreed to dole out $1.5 million to customers who had problems with warranty repairs, credit financing, and rebates, but with only a week before the filing deadline, Washington’s Attorney General says that only 42 people in his state have submitted claim forms. We know there are eligible Dell victims out there. Our tipline alone has nearly 1,000 Dell-related complaints. Please, fill out your claim form now and get the money your state attorney generals earned for you!
Error-Ridden MacBook Gets Free Replacement After Nice Letter To Steve Jobs
By 11.25.08
After umpteen attempts to have his multiple MacBook Pro problems fixed, only to be told each time the laptop was working perfectly fine, Jordan wrote a polite email to Steve Jobs. He affirmed his Apple loyalty, laid out what happened to him, and asked for help. A couple of emails later and he was able to walk into an Apple store and swap his jalopy for one of the brand new MacBook Pros that just came out. You might analyze how the letter was written for clues to his success but really what it came down to was that he had gone in for repairs of the same problem more than three times, qualifying him for a refund or replacement under what is known as “lemon law,” and he got his issue under the nose of the guy at the top. Or at least the assistant who opens his email. Same difference. Jordan’s success story, inside…
Why I'm Never Shopping At Sears Again
By 11.27.07
Reader Chris writes the CEO of Sears to let him know why he’ll never step foot inside Sears ever again.
Dear Mr. Lewis,
Sears Hangs Up On You Because They Forgot To Mail The Replacement Part
By 11.26.07
It’s been awhile since we had a good Sears warranty repair horror story, so without further ado: Over a week ago, before Thanksgiving, our new Kenmore High Efficiency (read: expensive) clothes washer broke.
Microsoft Presents: UPS And The Case Of The Vanishing XBOX 360
By 9.12.07
Reader Daniel’s XBOX 360 went missing after he shipped it back to Microsoft via UPS. UPS did not give him a receipt. Now that they’ve lost the package, Microsoft won’t send Daniel a new XBOX 360 because he has insufficient proof that he shipped it in the first place. Daniel has a signed letter from the UPS manager stating that UPS did indeed pick up the package, but that’s not good enough.
