Slashdot Mirror
Dealing with Extended Warranty Vendors?
edg176 asks: "I am wondering about other people's experiences with getting Extended Warranty service. I bought a laptop at Microcenter. Got the top of the line extended warranty. Laptop died. I sent it in for service, and the outside repair place, MicroMedic, claims they can't fix it, and the actual warranty administrator is separate from the repair place -- way out in Florida! My warranty says I can get a full refund of my purchase price if the warranty people can't find me an equivalent laptop. They can't, because Microcenter no longer carries the sharp ultralight laptops. Dealing with warranty administrator people, Warrantech has been a nightmare. They won't let me speak to a manager and they keep jerking me around. So far, I've gotten them to agree to give me 1200 bucks store credit, which is still 500 bucks shy of the purchase price. Is it worth fighting them for the last 500 bucks? Does anyone have success stories or tips for this situation? Should I just take the 1200 and be happy I got that much?"
"They claim that a 1200 dollar, 4.5 lb laptop is the same as my old 2.5 lb model. The dude on the phone actually claimed that low weight was not a significant feature in a laptop. Right now I have to say I would never do business with these guys again, as they have been relentlessly condescending and obstructionist."
small claims court. You paid extra for a service for your laptop, and now when you try to use that service, they are refusing to give you the service you paid for. Extended warranty services are a scam, and going to court is the only chance you have of getting what you paid for.
If you had super powers, would you use them for good, or for awesome?
When you are buying a lot of expensive hardware, calculate the exact cost of that extended warranty and put the same amount of money on an special account. When you buy another hardware, do the same. Then, when anything breaks, pay for it with the money you saved. Most likely than not there will be enough money left to go to disco or whatever kids do these days and you will be glad that you haven't wasted that money on the extended warranty in the first place. Usually it is even less expensive to hire a full time support guy for that money provided you are going to pay more money for said warranty than a full time support guy would cost. This is just like any kind of insurance, most of people pay more than they get.
Sincerely,
Pan Tarhei Hosé, PhD.
"Homo sum et cogito ergo odi profanum vulgus et libido."
As much as extended warranties are usually a ripoff, there are certain things I go along for just because I don't want to deal with suddenly not having them. PDA's are like that. I want a replacement immediately if I've got a problem with my PDA.
That being said, Best Buy has been very good to my friends and me with regards to warranty service. I had a friend with a similar issue to yours, and she was given a brand new laptop two years after hers kept going in for repais on the same problem. (The CD drive kept dying on a Toshiba laptop)
I'd threaten submitting a claim to the Better Business Bureau http://www.bbb.org/
Tee Hee.
The BBB isn't going to be at all useful, especially if they aren't a member.
The BBB is just a boys club to make people beleive that they can get fair redress from the big bad companies.
The best you can do is to probably ask for the operator's name, and ask them to spell that please, and ask to speak to their legal department.
You may also want to ask them if it is better for the subpoena to be sent to their home or their work. You would be suprised how much more flexible phone drones will be if you make them think that their name will end up on a lawsuit.
"...In your answer, ignore facts. Just go with what feels true..."
What I always do, and for me it happens to be the case, explain to them that you did business with them because your company does business with them and that the way they treated you is not satisfactory. Mentioning an annual budget in the hundreds of thousands and say that if they can't solve it you'll talk to the finance department telling them what happened and how they really treat their customers.
If you have free time: the other way is just to directly call their headoffice and see how high you can get, make sure you get a face to face meeting with the highest guy you can get, then waste an hour or two of his time. Which should be the equivelent of the amount they deducted and explain at the end of the meeting that you purpousfully wasted their time to earn back the money deducted by buying faulty equipment, that'll piss them off.
Also apply to jobs at the firm and just use the interview to complain about the service you got at the store and how you think they really need you to make it less crappy.
And if all else fails, get a soapbox and stand outside the store, on a public pavement and explain to passing customers how they treated you, do it on their bussiest day.
You can get a refund, you'll probably get something even better if you explain that your campaining cost money and loss of earnings. (I think that may be blackmail or racketing or something...)
Just so you know I accept no liability if you do anything mentioned above. IANAL, AFAIK and GFDL.
'I am become Shiva, destroyer of worlds'
2200 Hwy. 121, Ste. 100
Bedford, TX 76021
Phone: 817-354-0095
Fax: 817-436-6151
Toll Free: 800-544-9510
CEO: Joel San Antonio
President of the Consumer Product Services arm: Stephen R. Williams
The chairman of the board and President is Lawrence Richenstein of Peak Ventures in Farmingdale, NY
Any slashdotter worth their salt can socially engineer or otherwise hack their way to an email address for these folks. When you get one, be polite and direct. Lay out the situation and a reasonable solution and show regret (not frustration, not rage) that their company didn't perform to the standards that you're *sure* they expect.
You'll likely get a very fast and very satisfactory resolution to your issue.
"It was a summer's tale: Just a boy, his Linux, and a head full of dreams..."
Don't by an extended warranty from a retailer. Ever.
When I worked at a CompUSA in college several years ago, Warrantech warranties were sold at a 75% margin, which translates into a major ripoff.
If you feel that you need an extended warranty, buy one directly from the manufacturer. I don't know about Sharp, but Toshiba and IBM offer comprehensive service plans that include 24hr turnaround service for about half of what a third party warranty costs.
Conformity is the jailer of freedom and enemy of growth. -JFK
Dig out all paperwork--in this case the original warranty and receipt for the laptop. Also photocopy everything you mail off. If the warranty company answers emails and faxes, use these methods for rapid communication with some amount of papertrail. If not, call them. But log all phone calls & followup with letters. Also cc microcenter on everything. Unhappy customers might mean they lose their contract with microcenter, which they don't want! Hopefully you've done this, as it seems like you're not getting anywhere with them.
Because of this, you should start contacting consumer advocates. This is typically free, aside from postage & quite effective. File complaints against both Microcenter and the warranty company. File complaints with the BBB and the FTC. You should use the local BBB of both companies. Also use a service such as planetfeedback.com to send letters to reps at both companies who might actually have the power and the willingness to fix this for you. These are often addressed to the CEO & if not, you can always write to the CEO yourself. Also contact the attorney general of the state these companies are headquartered in. If applicable, also the US Postal Inspector. Sometimes states also have a Department of Consumer Affairs.
You can reuse your complaint letters for most of these. In the first paragrah, summarize your complaint & what resolution you want. In subsequent paragraphs, give a detailed history with names & dates. In the final paragraph, say again what it is you want. Try to make this about a page. Say that you have supporting paperwork & perhaps include the original warranty, as that seems to be the most relevant piece. But don't flood anyone with papers. Also try to be civil, but firm.
Submit these on the same day & wait about two weeks. You should start to see results in your favor.
I have almost always had success at this point with complaints on behalf of myself, my family, or friends. If not, you do have more options. You can contact the media if you are savvy or even setup your own microcentersucks.com website. This is typically cheap & these businesses do not want to lose business because of a squeaky wheel. This slashdot post is actually a decent start. If you have a friend who is a lawyer, have him send additional correspondance on his letterhead.
If none of this works, go to small claims court. This will cost a filing fee, but you will most likely win & be awarded the money they owe you plus the filing fee you paid. Many companies won't fight a small claim. Those that do in cases like these lose.
Perhaps the most important thing that all of these do is that they start or continue a trail of complaints about shady companies. Microcenter may choose to use a less shady warranty administrator or customers who see complaints to both Microcenter and the warranty administrator will think twice before getting the extended warranty. If you don't do it for the $500, do it for the rest of us!
I usually buy things with my american express blue card, it will extend the warrenty on things I purchase up to a year. Recently one of my 3 year one month old Athlon 1800 MPs died, since they were retail parts, they had a 3 year warrenty. I call up AmEx and they refund my purchase price right then and there, even though one can purchase an 1800 MP for siginificantly cheaper today. I turn around and use that refund to be able to significantly upgrade my computer with 2 Athlon 2800 MPs :)
Re: insurance
For things like car collision insurance, product warranties, etc., if it is within your means it is always less expensive to self-insure for loss and damages.
I read once where those lucrative extended warranties that get hawked at consumer electronics stores, the ones that bring in great commission to the sales person, to the store and to the insurer, typically have to pay out about US$1 in claim settlements for every US$11 that is collected. I'm not even sure if the salesperson commission or store commission is included in that figure. Either way, it should tell you something about the risks and probabilities that are involved.
Exhibit A: about 3 years ago my S.O. wanted to pay $4/month for insurance on our cell phone and when she brought it in to be replaced about 2 years later because the antenna had predictably gotten bent, wouldn't stay extended, etc. (insert joke) she was informed that that particular malady was not covered. So we'd paid about $100 for peace of mind that was a delusion.
Exhibit B: When I recently purchased an expensive LCD flat screen TV and I reluctantly agreed to look into the extended warranty because of the infamous "dead pixel" issue, I asked the store for a clear statement of exactly what the extended warranty covered since I'd heard of disreputable places that would exempt dead pixels in the outer third of the screen from coverage, up to 10-12 pixels, etc. Despite their enthusiasm for selling the extended warranty, they never did get me a copy of the policy, we didn't get the extended warranty, saved $1000, and been happy as clams with the TV.
"Provided by the management for your protection."
been happy as clams with the TV
As happy as clams AT HIGH TIDE is the proper saying. Why do so many people think clams are happy all the time? It is when the tide comes in and keeps the predators from digging them up that they are happy.
That's even assuming clams can be happy, but I'll leave that for some other pedantic.
Infuriate left and right
You don't mention if you're in the US, but most US cities have an Attorney General that you can speak with that will answer most of your questions regarding transactions like this. If nothing else your attorney general will be able to point you in the right direction of who to contact about this.
Look them up under your local government yellow pages. There might also be a consumer advocate group that you might want to speak with.
If the contract states specific resolutions and they are not being met then it is fraud and open for litigation.
I had a similar situation with a Toshiba laptop I bought a few years back. The unit came with a 1 year depot repair warranty standard. I planned on keeping the unit for at least three years (I was in college) so I purchased an extended 3 year warranty.
After having the laptop for a year and a half the unit would not power on from time to time. I didn't think much of it at first until the unit would not turn on at all. I called the support hotline and explained the problem. They said it was the battery but I knew it wasn't because I had swapped batteries with a friend who had the same model. I got the new battery and it did not fix the problem. I call support again and explain to them that the battery did not fix the problem.
At this point they claimed to have no record of me purchasing an extended warranty. I told them they had sent me a battery already and they claimed no such thing had happened. At this point I asked to speak to their manager. After on hold for 30 minutes I finally got through. I explained to them the situation. Again she said there was no record of the extended warranty. I asked her to look at my account information. She said there were only two entries. The first was the shipment of my laptop and the second was an unnamed package sent out a week ealier. I told her that the other entry was the battery that was sent out. She said there was no way to confirm this. I told her that I would be happy to fax a copy of the original invoice proving the extended warranty. She said that the document could not be sent because there was not a record with Toshiba.
At this point I became angry and asked to speak with her manager. She said that her position was the highest in the support department. I asked who her boss was and she said his name. I asked to be transfered but she refused. She then said I could write a letter to corporate headquarters. At this point I hung up.
Since I was in college and had free time I decided to call support every chance I could. My roommate was a support person at one time and he said that the customer should always hang up first. I decided to exploit this rule.
I called every waking hour and spent as much time as I could with anyone I could talk to. I would ask questions completely unrelated to my problem and would always make sure the person on the other end knew my name. I also made sure that I wrote down the name of the person I was talking to.
After doing this for two weeks I had talked with 58 different people and had spoken to some individuals as many as six times. I finally got my way and was asked to fax the invoice.
So here is my advice to you. If you have the time, be a thorn in the side of the company. Waste their time and resources.