Evil BestBuy and their PSPs!!!

[trayip]

Hey Guys,

It's me trayip, long time no see. Well i was having lots of problems with my nx80 recently (Battery, hard resets, etc), and i decided that i want to get a Treo 600 (Verizon just announced it for their service) since it combines phone features and pda features in one device that actually works. I also have a PSP at BB (though they told me it was a Replacement Plan when i bought it) covering $550 worth of merchandise. However, now when i walk in to try and gain store credit back or even get something new, they won't let me return my pda. They want to ship it out and have it fixed. But the model is already discontinued and sony is out of the pda market!!! What can i do? I really need a boost of confidence to try and make this work. Should i go to another BB. If so, what should i say there? I really don't use my pda since it's too big to carry and i always have my phone, so getting this treo would really help me....

Please please, if you can help me at all, i'd be really happy.....I need strength and willpower to defeat the evil BB foes!!

Tray

[TJ37]

Find their policy and read it, grab a copy of their new policy for the program and read it and compare. If it says anywhere on the old and new policies that you return your merchandise and restore your credit fully at any given time/date and it doesn't interfere with any other part of the policy, bring it to BB, demand to speak to the manager and point right at policy and demand the credit back for your PDA/accessories. If it's in the policy, they can't break away from it. Make SURE that you read the whole thing and get everything straight and ready, you don't want to make a fool out of yourself.

[addict]

The PSP (I didn't get) said it didn't cover "accidental or intentional damage". Is there another kind?

[trayip]

It covers everything else. Also the other thing is, they signed and validated a replacement plan policy (brochure), though on the receipt it says PSP. They told me i was getting a replacement plan, which means that they will replace it no matter what. I think the PSP is similiar, but i was under the impression that it is a replacement plan...that is what i have been reading since that's what they gave me. What do you guys think?

Tray

[Jim Cooke]

It doesn't matter what we think. TJ37 is right - get the original plan you bought and read the terms and conditions. If they've changed them now, they still have to honor the original terms unless they say they have the right to change the terms and conditions without notice. If that's what it says, you're stuck.

[trayip]

Well....i don't really know where to get the original plan....do you know of any places? The store only has the updated one.

[yOyOYoo]

I had a similar situation occur with my previous UX50 and the whiny screen.

Best Buy refused to give me store credit or a replacement and they said that I HAD to send it in to get serviced.

First time around it came back and it still had the whine. Sony said it was "acceptable". I made a fit and said it wasn't. They sent it back to sony and Sony said that they can do nothing to fix the whine, and that the problem was no fixable.

Then after that Best Buy gave me store credit of $750 and I used it to get a Sony K13 laptop! Use the PSP replacement plan to get your pda fixed, not to switch pdas.

[Jim Cooke]

Well....i don't really know where to get the original plan....do you know of any places? The store only has the updated one.

Didn't you get a copy of the PSP plan when you bought it? If you're saying you lost it then you are totally at Best Buy's mercy. They're not going try and find a copy of it for you so you can compare plans and see if they have to return your money.

[trayip]

Nooooooo, they never gave me the PSP plan. They gave me the replacement plan. That's what they verified. And the salesman said that when i came back to get it replaced, i could get store credit. That's exactly what he said......i have a friend who's son is a supervisor at a BB nearby me. Maybe he can do something?...

[Noryss]

NEver!!!!! No store, best buy, Circuit City, ect will give u such a plan... they will lose money, especially with technology.

I know cause I used to Work for Circuit City.

Why would a company let u return a product wheneever you felt like it and give you all your money back? I mean dude, the protection plan, is an extended warranty period. They tell you they will exchange it if the manufactor or there service center cannot fix it...

[starbuckk]

.....i have a friend who's son is a supervisor at a BB nearby me. Maybe he can do something?...

Um...why don't you ask him? ;)

[Sunnbuzz]

NEver!!!!! No store, best buy, Circuit City, ect will give u such a plan... they will lose money, especially with technology.

I know cause I used to Work for Circuit City.


TRAYIP
I sent him a PM with a few unethical "ideas" that came to me in a dream....
But, no matter what fantasy I may dwell in I do know that no business in there right mind would let you return a very used product for a bigger and better shiny model !!! :eek:

[trayip]

Well do you think it's possible to get store credit??

[trayip]

I didn't get any private message :-D

[Noryss]

They will no give u anything, unless it is broken and they can no longer fix it. Thats how all in store warranties work....

They send it to get fixed, if the part or device cannot be fixed, then they give you store credit for the original purchase price plus taxes! And usually they pro-rate the warranty, and send you the money left over from the warranty.

Also just because Sony has dropped the Clies in the US does not mean they will not continue to Support and Service them....

[trayip]

Oh, i was told by my Barber's son (who we're very good friends with) that because Sony discontinued the NX80 model and dropped the clies in the US, they will just tell BestBuy to give Store Credit rather than service them themselves. We'll see if that works....

Tray

[WVOz1970]

Have any more luck?

I'm taking my Clie back today to see if it can be fixed/replaced. I'm on my third Clie under the extended service plan. I originally had an NX60 that kept hard resetting by itself after having it for four months. They gave me an NX80 (after I paid an additional $25) because the NX60 was discontinued. After six months on that unit, the screen would intermittently turn off. I took it back and they had one unit left in the store and it was a return unit. They replaced my PDA with it. Now, another six months later, this unit has charging issues. About every third or fourth charge, it only goes to about 40%. It doesn't matter which charger I use (I have 3)... it's the same thing.

I'm guessing that BB will balk at this one and try to blame it on the battery and say "Our extended plan doesn't cover batteries", but we'll see. If I recall, BB used to have a "three strikes" deal. If you still had proeblems after the third try, they'd give you credit without any hassle.

Oh, and I beg to differ about PSPs losing money. On the contrary, based on my discussions with management level types, the PSPs are big money makers for BB type stores. It's an insurance policy. And probably on the average, for every 100 they sell, one or two gets actually used. So let's see... $75 for an extended warranty, multiplied by 100 equals $7,500. Fix one or two Clies, maybe even replace them. At most $1,000. Plus, BB gets return credit or some type of deduction from Sony for defectives, so probably costs BB around $800 (if that much) in the long run. $7500 - $800 = $6700 income. Pay a commission to the sales guy for selling it (don't know here... maybe $1000-$2500 per 100 plans?) even with overhead it looks like about $3000 - $4000 in profit. Not bad if you ask me.

Maybe I'm totally off base with that type of thinking... but I've yet to see an insurance program that wasn't a profit center. They'd quit offering them if they didn't make money. BB type stores have such a low profit margin in terms of the actual electronics, they gotta make money somewhere. When they sold me the NX80 upgrade, they sold it to me at their store cost. $527 and it retailed for $599. $63 per unit is almost a 10% margin, which isn't going to make the store much money.

Just my .02, FWIW.

[WVOz1970]

FYI...

I just got back from an hour-long haggling session at BB. Long and short of it, they won't replace my Clie until they have a chance to send it off for repair. Since they don't carry PDAs in-store anymore, they won't do replacements. And since it's a Clie, it goes to a third-party "Sony approved" repair center. I told them I'd just take my chances, as I can't afford to be without my PDA for a minimum of two weeks, and even then not knowing if the problem is really fixed.

The tech guy said they would probably just replace the battery and send it back. Even though Sony says you shouldn't do it... I can replace the stinking battery myself. In a much shorter time frame than two weeks.

Time to go grumble in the corner...

[Noryss]

Told you so....
What I meant about losing money on the warranty, is about exchanging a product just to get a new one.

Think of it Like this.

U bought a NX60. Ok, well lets say you got tired of it. And now u wanted an TH55... ok, is the company going to change it for no reason at all just because you want to upgrade and no cost. That is a loss of money, because now, they ahve to refund you all your money back. I mean, the warranty is great in my opinion for anything with an LCD.

[Dripps]

I had the service plan with CompUSA which is a replacement plan. It even covers screen damage/breakage. Anyway, I took my old NX70V there because battery no longer lasted -- it was just going dead before my eyes -- and they replaced it on the spot with the TH55. I understood it was to be with comparable model if mine was no longer available and this is what they had in stock (and what I wanted). My son also had CompUSA warranty and when his NR70V had a problem we took it there, told them it was acting screwy, and he replaced it with TH55. I am fairly certain if I didn't want to get the TH55 he would have given us some type of comparable store credit to use toward something else...but I didn't take it that far.

[WVOz1970]

Well, my NX80 was originally an NX60 and was replaced twice under the PSP with no questions asked at BB. It sounds as though they've changed their leniency since they quit carrying PDAs in-house. When I had problems before, I simply took it in and the tech center said "Yep, it's broken, go get another one off the shelf." I was somewhat surprised by their being so stubborn this time, but I guess that's the way it goes. I also think it depends on your BB management as to how they handle the service plans.

[zackepceo]

Best Buy's service plan is, at best, a fallback when your item dies. In most cases it is mostly a marketing ploy to get more money. It technically covers only a veeeeery small amount of stuff.

[vw_bugg]

NEver!!!!! No store, best buy, Circuit City, ect will give u such a plan... they will lose money, especially with technology.

I know cause I used to Work for Circuit City.

Why would a company let u return a product wheneever you felt like it and give you all your money back? I mean dude, the protection plan, is an extended warranty period. They tell you they will exchange it if the manufactor or there service center cannot fix it...

DUH!! Thats why BB scraped their pda stock and changed their warrenty, because everyone started taking advantage. My Nr had blue stuck pixels all over the screen so they replaced it with an NX-80. This was luckily when they still had them. BB has gotten really anal about their pda warenties now. If its fixable they will mostlike ly try to fix it it saves them money. Try another BB and another but nowdays they will all most likely tell you the same thing. If you know some one at the BB then take it to him or even talk to him when he is not working and see if he can work something out for you.

As for the original warrenty plan it was stapled to you original receipt wich i beleive would be required for any kind of service. If you lost it that really is your fault.

[cat_taylor]

I had the service plan with CompUSA which is a replacement plan. It even covers screen damage/breakage. Anyway, I took my old NX70V there because battery no longer lasted -- it was just going dead before my eyes -- and they replaced it on the spot with the TH55. I understood it was to be with comparable model if mine was no longer available and this is what they had in stock (and what I wanted). My son also had CompUSA warranty and when his NR70V had a problem we took it there, told them it was acting screwy, and he replaced it with TH55. I am fairly certain if I didn't want to get the TH55 he would have given us some type of comparable store credit to use toward something else...but I didn't take it that far.

I purchased an extended warranty for a laptop about three years ago at Comp USA and when it went belly-up less than a year later, they kept trying to fix it to the point of ridiculousness. It eventually took them several months (!) of phone calls and bringing it in. I even called the CA state government's department of consumer affairs. I finally couldn't wait, took it back to them and went to Costco to buy a new one. Eventually they replaced it with a new model, which I sold on Craig's List. I lost money and a lot of time over the deal and the manager didn't give a s**t when I said loudly that I was never coming back. Maybe they're different with PDA's, but I don't trust them.

Cat