WARNING: CompUSA Warrenty owner

[(oyo)]

Sorry if this has been post before...

I went to CompUSA over the weekend planing to exchange my Wife's PPC to NX70. (The PPC's battery died on her). From what I understand, I can upgrade it to a better units as long as I pay the difference. But now CompUSA have a new policy!!! Instread of you go pick a new model and pay the difference, now you have to call the special number or get online and order your replacement units. They will sent the same units to you at no extra costs. And you have to sent the old units back, and you can do this 2 times. I was there arguing with the manager for about an hour, till he let me exchange it for this time only. And he expect me to buy another warrenty (TAP what they call it) for my new NX70 for my wife. I didn't get the tap though:D Anyway for those with CompUSA Warrenty beware!!!!

[n2ifp]

It doesn't surprise me, I never liked the way CompUSA treated me in other matters. The warranty programs are great for as long as they're making money off of it.

[Burns]

I just exchanged with CompUSA two weeks ago and that did not happen to me. I took my defective T665 in (bad backlight) and upgraded to an NX80 (I wanted an NX73 but they will not be carrying it ever according to their manager). There was no problem. The TAP I got was a one time replacement and I did get another one for the NX80.

Burns
(not logged in because I'm at a library)

[Unregistered]

None of the major gadget stores treat people well. Even if they are nice they still may be blowing smoke up your pants/skirt.

I am surprised that anyone offers the kind of replacement plan that CompUSA has been offering. The economy is bad and just like you want you paycheck, they want their profit. Doesn't take a degree in economics to figure that one out.

[Unregistered]

folks - you may not like the policy and how they treat you - but if you didn't have the warranty - where would you be now? out of a pda and have to pay full price? you can't have your cake and eat it too. there are plenty of people who don't have the warranty, and ended up with dead pda after a year or two. don't they wish they had your problem, instead of having to pay full price for a new pda. think of it as the lesser of the 2 evils, so what is the point of compaining? can you do better elsewhere? can you return a tv set for a full return a year later? or return your laptop 2 years later and upgrade to the latest model? so what if they hassle you, what a good deal it is in the first place. sure i don't like the way they treat me either, but i can certainly live it for the insurance i now have.

[Ftrooper93]

The warranty is to replace defective units WITH THE SAME UNIT or repair. It is NOT so you have a cheap way of constantly upgrading to the latest and greatest at little or no cost out of pocket.

Accordingly, so many people abused the practice, that retailers have little choice from a cost perspective but to modify the policies and enforce them strictly.

Abusers made the bed, now we all have to lie in it.

Lying, cheating, and stealing are unethical....get it in your head.

[(oyo)]

Originally posted by Burns
I just exchanged with CompUSA two weeks ago and that did not happen to me. I took my defective T665 in (bad backlight) and upgraded to an NX80 (I wanted an NX73 but they will not be carrying it ever according to their manager). There was no problem. The TAP I got was a one time replacement and I did get another one for the NX80.

Burns
(not logged in because I'm at a library)

Bruns, the manager at the CompUSA told me this policy was affected August 25th, I was a week late... Just be aware...

The only reason I'm compaining is that when I bought the warrenty last year, the manager himself told me to bring it in if anythings goes wrong and they will upgrade for me if I pay the extra for the higher model. But now they come back and said they won't honor that policy any more!!! this new policy should be excecute with new customer, not the customer who bought the policy last year where the old policy existed.

[patryn121]

Originally posted by Ftrooper93
Accordingly, so many people abused the practice, that retailers have little choice from a cost perspective but to modify the policies and enforce them strictly.

Abusers made the bed, now we all have to lie in it.


Gotta say something here. Working at Best Buy has been a real eye opener. Best Buy makes profit on everything except one thing:
1. Computers - losing 3%

So all that expensive stuff they make a hefty profit on and I have no problem with that. What I do have a problem with is the cost of the service plans. When a plan for a PDA costs $79 retail and only $24 net then who's being abused. On top of that we (BB employees) have to scrutinize and the managers (most I've met) make the case that you broke the item and that it's not covered under the plan.

Yeah it's my choice to purchase a service plan but I really really get a bad taste in my mouth when BB or any other place can arbitarily change the contract because they start losing money on one end of the deal. It's like car dealers offering rust protection. Over priced.

So for me I'd rather find a dealer that will sell me product and a service plan--explain it in real words and not later decide to ignore or "re-explain" a section so that my particular problem isn't covered.

Serena the Best Buy Chick who is getting tired of customers getting screwed in my store because I don't know what "this week's" plan covers.

[evaoni]

I have my extended warranty for my NX80 with Best Buy (milking since my N760...). I have one more year left. Anyway, I *do* have a TAP for my Radeon 9500 Pro and Wacom graphics tablet. I wonder if that new policy is for PDAs and such only... hrmmm...

The system worked me, now I'm working the system without letting it *censored*

[(oyo)]

evaoni:

I'm not sure about other products, all I know is that I have to go to 2 difference CompUSA and spent an hours explaning mysefl to the manager that his doing is wrong... You might need to check up on your TAP...

[dotelpenguin]

Well I still have my warranty, and i'll raise holly hell if they don't replace it because the warranty says.
it will be replaced with same item, if same item is not STOCKED in store, a item with similar features and value may be substituted.

PLus tap is sold as a "WALK IN WARRANTY" if they don't hand me a new pda when I WALK (for instance they have to order a refurbe from factory for my replacment) in, they are in viloation of their own policy, which I have in writting. Right now I can't get them to replace my nx70 with something diffenct because they still stock nx70's so my nx70 is sitting dead till they run out.

[Unregistered]

if i'm not mistaken - the fine print, like most things, says that compusa reserves the right to change the policy at any time.

at the end of the day - if your pda breaks while under their warranty - they will replace it. the question is whether is is seamless in the store, or you have to do something.

but no matter how you look at it, you are in good shape because your pda gets replaced, vs someone with no warranty and a broken pda.

you could also lose or have reduced your pension if you company is bought out. GE does that all the time.

and who knows - maybe they changed this policy due to people abusing it.

they show up for damaged pda's as soon as new models hit the floor, then complain if they can't get the new pda immediately. then it is either a coicidence that their pda broke when a new model was released, or it broke earlier - and in that case, since it was broken earlier, then they can live without a pda for a short time, since they waited to upgrade.

[dach95]

As I'm reading down this thread, people are overlapping.  Is there issues now with both BB and comusa, or just compUSA as the thread started with?

[(oyo)]

dach95:

As far as I know only CompUSA does it right now. May be BB will fallow it in the futrue?...

BTW: I like your picture... Marcross is it?

[Unregistered]

BB never replaced them without question like CompUSA did for a while. This statement only reflects my experience with the two stores in 3 large states.

I would like to take my car back and say hey, I my clutch just went out. Give me a new car and don't hassle me about it!

[P DaWg SevEN]

I just spoke with the front end manager that sold me my nx80 and he said that they did change their plan and what i bought is what i am going to get( meaning that the carry-in policy plan I bought will still be honored from say.. 2 years from now) Try to speak to the guy that you bought it from IF their still there and speak with him or her about it.

[P DaWg SevEN]

oops! i mean they DIDn't change their plans

[(oyo)]

Lucky you, In DC, MD, VA area the manager are A$$...

[Shogmaster]

News for you folks: The official policies for BB's and CompUSA's replacement plans were always meant to go through a central 1-800 number BEFORE you take it to a store. It's just that it's up to the store manager to circumvent that or not.

What all that means is this: If a store's getting too many returns and their numbers are suffering due to it, they can always fall back on the "official" policy and tell you to go through the 1-800 number. When their numbers recover after a while, then they go back to allowing returns in the store like they've been doing.

Another thing to remeber: If you live in a big city like LA, you might have several "districts" of BBs or CompUSAs in your local area. Each district's policy for returns for the week differs from others most of the time. Just because you got denied at one CompUSA doesn't mean that it'll be the same way at another CompUSA just 30 minutes away. Happens to me all the time at CompUSAs around here in LA.

[rob powers]

I hate CompUSA policies!!!! The coverage plan is the worst - as is the restocking fee they charge for returns. I've gotten the worst service from CompUSA. They tell you anything to sell the insurance plan but, be prepared to fight when you actually use it.

[crazyyog]

I too tried this weekend to get my NZ90 replaced under CompUSA's warranty plan. I had replaced at the beginning of the year and they just handed me a new model. They actually let me pay the difference and do an upgrade. Now they tell that they have changed the rules and I had to have my replacement mailed to me. At the time I let it lie, since they did not take my old model back and it was still somewhat functional.

When I received my replacement it was another NZ90, but an obviously refurbished model. It did not come in origional packaging. The unit had some wear from use and the battery was already at 20 cycles. When I called to complain they stated that it was in the warrenty that they can do this. They are probably right, but I was never given a copy of the warrenty, so is there anyone out there who has a copy of it or a link to it? I would like to see the old version and the new one they just rolled out to compare.

Even though, they probably have a clause somewhere in there that they can change the rules, I still feel it is pretty cheap. I was sold the warranty with the expressed understanding that I could go into the store and get a replacement. Anyway thanks for listening to my rants. :)

Gary
garylibby@cox.net

[Otakusensei]

You can blame me and the other CompUSA drones for hosing the policy. I guess taking advantage of infinite upgrades on PDA, cell phones and videocards might have pissed the company off some. What do they expect from a service that is only profitable if your customers are too gullible to use it?

[Prozak]

There are several problems with these warranties.

1. The employees lie to you in regards to what the warranty actually covers. Like battery replacement. The warranty may not cover it in writing, but an employee may tell you it does, and *sometimes* they will cover it, but not always. I don't think abusing these warranties is right, I never have (never even purchased one). But when employees knowingly lie to their customers about these things, and a customer needs a legit replacement for his device, can you really blame them when they abuse the warrenty or a future warranty? I sure can't, seeing as to how the employee is to a certain extent, abusing them.

2. A second problem, people don't read what the warranty says. If people would read what it says, then they would know that the employees really sugar coat it, and that's because they have to in order to sell it to you. Actually, I did buy one of these warranties once, and that's because the employee told me it would cover everything. This was at Best Buy, I can't even remember what I bought the warranty for, but I remember reading in writing later that if I dropped my electronic item, it would not be covered, even though the employee told me it would be.

In reality, if I had really damaged my item by dropping it, I would have had a chance to get it replaced, and just a chance really, not a gurantee. And this brings up another problem. Lets say this really did happen and I had it replaced. This creates yet another problem, which is that customers will now hold that store up to those standards, when the store really doesn't have to meet those standards.

My advice is, know what the warranty says(yes they do have the right to change the warranty policy whenever they feel like it, thats what the warranty says!). And a second thing is, remember that your warranty might cover more than what it actually is supposed to cover, but it's a gamble, i.e. not a gurantee.

[clicclic]

In the retail establishment's eyes, these PDAs have a shelf life of six months. After that time, they become an expense, not a profit-center. This new policy of sending it in for repair won't be nearly as profitable as the old policy because of:


Shipping
Man-hours to repair
Parts warehousing and availability
Profits lost to third-party repair shops


The bottom line: do not buy a warranty until the policy changes back because I guarantee you it will. The repair train will get so backed up and derail (after consumer complaints) that eventually you'll see an article on CNN saying how evil these policies really are. At least now the media isn't slamming the policies and they're making the company *some* money. :rolleyes:

[tifosiv122]

BB by me upgraded my NR70V to the NX70 to the NX73 to the NX80 and my policy is still in effect till 2005. They told me they will swap for free becuase I am on the 'old' policy, but all new policy is one swap and no continuation of warranty.

Erik

[(oyo)]

thanks tifosiv122:
I didn't know BB also change their policy. My policy is ending soon.