I, too, have had a terrible experience with my HH Gregg Extended Warranty (brought to you in part by GE Customer Care) on my Panasonic 32" Tau Flat TV, purchased from HH Gregg in Morrow, GA in August.
This saga began one summer night at the beginning of June. While watching the season finale of 24, the picture in my TV suddenly zoomed in and about 1/3 of the picture extended off the right side of the screen. At first I thought it was Fox's broadcast messing up, but the next day I noticed it on my Tivo screen, DVD player, etc. Definitely the TV since it was happening on multiple inputs.
I call HH Gregg to file a repair under my extended warranty. They pass me off to GE Service who sets up a in-home repair through Norman's Electronics. Sometime later, Norman's calls to set up a time for a visit, which of course they can't tell me a specific time because they don't schedule ahead of time and can't do on the only day I can have off from work (Thursdays) because the tech doesn't apparently work on Thursdays. We work around that little inconvenience and find a day my wife can be home for the tech to come by.
On this day, on or around June 8, Nathan from Norman's Electronics comes by the house to take a look at the TV. My wife reported that he took the back off the TV and determined the problem to be with the pincushion chip and says he'll order the part. Ok, no problem. The TV remains at the house, albeit with the picture very wonky, and the part is on the way.
A number of days and many phone calls later, the part finally arrives at Norman's and I have the same scheduling fun I had before trying to work out a business day I can be off work while not knowing the schedule. We agree on Friday, July 6 for the service call. One big caveat, the part they ordered can't be installed in-home due to its complexity and lots of soldering. So, I take the day off work to wait for Nathan to come by and pick up the TV, which happens around 11:30 am that morning.
During the next week, I call to find out the status but it hasn't been done. Finally, they let me know that they can't install the chip in the shop either. Too difficult. So, they have to order a whole board that contains the chip. Another 7-10 days go by waiting for this part.
This part finally arrives and several days pass before it's installed. It doesn't fix the problem. They determine that another part needs to be ordered, some sort of coil. The part is ordered.
Another 7-10 days pass, the part arrives, the part does not fix the problem. Now, I'm genuinely getting frustrated. I call GE Customer Care and try to get the ball rolling on a replacement. I tell them how there have been multiple repairs attempted and nothing has worked. They call Norman's and get the same story, however, they (Norman's) still want to send the PCB board off to Panasonic and have it rebuilt. They say this will be another 3-4 weeks to finish and that this must be done before they can issue a replacement.
(Side note... By this time, it's now August I have now been without my TV for over a month... I did get a "loaner" because of my warranty around July 23, but it's from some no-name company (Broksonic?) and is smaller and lacking features of my Panasonic.)
So, I have called GE multiple times, get the same answer about them having to send off the board to be rebuilt. I call Panasonic, just to see if there's anything they can do. They do confirm what I already knew, that my TV was built in 2003 and long since discontinued and that there are no parts for them available. How is Norman's going to rebuild a part for a TV that doesn't have any replacement parts?
I call GE again and ask for a manager. Apparently everyone who answers the phone at GE is a manager and cannot escalate the issue above themselves when I asked to do so. Whatever.
I've called HH Gregg Corporate, no help. I get the same blathering response that GE gives me about them having to repair the part. I've called GE dozens of times and get the same useless responses. I've called my local HH Gregg store and spoken with the Ops manager and she seems to be the most willing to help, but has to run it up the chain. I'm still waiting on a call-back on that front.
Now... How much money have they spent in man hours, parts and shipping for these parts, and now they want to spend the time and money to REBUILD a discontinued part? Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's gonna cost a whole lot more to do than my TV cost (MSRP about $1100 when it was new). JUST REPLACE THE DAMN THING and save us all further time and money!
It's been almost 1 1/2 months since my TV left my house, they've had no luck repairing it and are resorting to anything they can try to avoid giving me a new TV under my warranty. The thing is, they will have spent a lot more in the end with all these ridiculous shenanigans trying to rebuild a discontinued part. What a bunch of morons!
I will say that the people I've spoken with have themselves been nice, but the companies in general are completely incompetent and useless. Special mention goes to Brandy @ HH Gregg Newnan who has been the most willing and most helpful thus far. Least useful customer service award goes to GE "Customer Care" (a term I use loosely). What company has all their
Meanwhile, I watch my smaller, less-endowed Broksonic TV, waiting for an end to this interminable story. I will NEVER recommend HH Gregg to anyone I know nor will I ever purchase a single item from their stores again. They're the ones that sold this warranty to this useless GE company and they can't/won't do anything to fix it. What service!
Jason W
Newnan, Georgia
U.S.A.
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