In December of I bought a 50" LG plasma TV. Ten months later, the TV screen went black. I called Best Buy and they sent out a technician on October 10th. When the technician arrived, he recorded the serial number and inspected the TV. He said he wasn't sure what was wrong with it, but that he would order a new motherboard and power supply.
On October 24th, he returned and installed the parts. However, he said one of the parts was damaged and could not be installed. I found that to be ridiculous and he should have inspected the parts prior to causing my wife to stay home from work. He said he wasn't sure if the other part fixed the TV, but to call Best Buy if the TV didn't work. He left without even trying to turn the TV on. When I tried to turn the TV on, there was no picture, so I called back. The technician had to reorder the part and come back out.
On November 20th, the third visit, the technician installed the part, but it did not fix the TV, so he ordered yet another part. Because repair attempts have failed for three months, I thought it was reasonable to bring the TV into Best Buy for replacement. Here is where it gets good:
I did some research on the MA Attorney General's website and found two useful links:
1.) http://www.mass. Gov/? PageID=ocaterminal&L=4&L0=Home&L1=Consumer&L2=Shopping, Retail & E-Commerce&L3=Shopping Rights&sid=Eoca&b=terminalcontent&f=shopping_rights&csid=Eoca
2.) http://www.mass. Gov/Cago/docs/Consumer/RetailRights073007. Pdf
In them, I found the following important pieces of information:
-In addition to any express warranties that a merchant makes about the goods it sells, implied warranties also protect consumers.
Massachusetts law creates two implied warranties that no business may limit.
-Under the implied warranty of merchantability, the merchandise must do what it was designed to do with reasonable safety, efficiency and ease, and for at least a reasonable period of time. For example, a toaster must toast, a TV set must have a picture and a clothes dryer should not overheat and catch fire when properly operated.
Every item sold by a merchant in Massachusetts automatically comes with the implied warranty of merchantability.
- If the product is defective at purchase, or becomes defective during the period of the implied warranty, both the seller and the manufacturer are responsible for making it right.
-When the item purchased is defective, you can choose a repair, replacement or refund. This right is contained in the Implied Warranty of Merchantability law. Under that law, merchants cannot limit your remedies.
Essentially, both the seller and manufacturer are responsible for defective products and neither can disclaim an implied warranty.
That said, I tried to return the defective TV to the Best Buy store on December 2. The Service Manager, "Josh", told me that they wouldn't accept return on a ten month old TV and that it was the manufacturer's problem. I showed him the print out from the AG's web site and he said I would have to send that to their Legal Department, but he would not tell me how to contact the Legal Department. He told me that Best Buy "has very high paid lawyers that take care of this stuff and that I shouldn't go that route because my TV would not get fixed for months".
When we protested and asked to speak with his supervisor, he said his supervisor was not there. He gave me his supervisor's name. I continued to point out that it was illegal for Best Buy not to allow a defective item, particularly a 10 month year old, expensive plasma TV. He said "I do not have anything else to say to you" and continued to say that to anything we said. Finally, he said "We (Best Buy) are in charge here. Not you!" and then threatened to have us escorted from the store.
The technician is scheduled to come tomorrow, December 6th, to install yet another part. Irregardless of whether or not this third part actually fixes the TV, Best Buy has ripped me off, as it has cost my wife and I to miss over 20 hours of work to meet with the technician in addition to not having a working TV for three months. I was treated as though I were trying to steal from Best Buy when I tried to return the TV. I believe Best Buy's return policy for defective merchandise is unlawful and dishonest.
Bestbuyisawful
Boston, Massachusetts
U.S.A.
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