I purchased a 52" Toshiba DLP television from BestBuy on Dec. 11. With it, I purchased all of the cables, surge protectors, bells and whistles they recommended-including a $400 PSP (Performance Service Plan). Everything combined, cost me $4210.63 (incl. Tax).
After 8 months (Aug. 05), the lamp failed. The lamp is required, in order to "see" the telivision. No lamp means no television. Because it was still under the original manufacturers warrant, Toshiba replaced the lamp (through BestBuy).
5 months later (Jan. 06), the lamp failed again. Since the manufacturers warranty had expired, the PSP ha kicked in. BestBuy had an authorized repair center come to my home, and replace the lamp.
In Mar. 07, the lamp had it's 3rd failure, and was again replaced by an authorized BestBuy service center, sent to my home.
This month (Sep. 08) the lamp failed again. The fourth failure since purchasing the tv 3yr 9mo ago.
Since a 4 year PSP was purchased, all the lamps were replaced. But as they continued to fail, I became concerned with the reason. Technicians were unable to tell me why, and stated they were only authorized to replace the lamp - not diagnose the problem. Even though I was advised each time on the phone with BestBuy, to have the tech look at what may be causing the failure, the tech said they weren't authorized. The cost of each lamp replacement is $300-350 dollars (parts & labor). They all did indicate that the life expectancy of a lamp is 3 1/2 yrs - 4 yrs.
Given the fact that there is only 3 months left on the PSP, I am concerned that in a short time, I will have a $4000 paperweight in my living room. So I called the company, and attempted to file a claim under the No Lemon Policy clause of my PSP. They took the position that the lamp is a consumable item, and therefore did not qualify for replacement. Even though the policy did not specifically state the lamp was a consumable item, it still was. The policy listed remotes, knobs, belts and bags, and something called "etc". That is pretty vague huh? I guess the $350 part is an etc...
After much debate, the supervisor finally agreed to file a claim with the "Lemon Policy Review Board", and I would receive an answer in 3-5 days. Knowing that I had a snoball's chance in hell of getting an answer, let alone an answer favorable to me, I decided to write to the CEO (Brad Anderson), who delegated it to someone on the "Executive Resolution Team". They sure do have a lot of fancy titles at BestBuy. Brian Nash took the same position as the previous lackies, and refused to honor the warranty that they pushed so hard on me that day in the store, when I bought the tv. He did however indicate how much he appreciated my business.
The No Lemon Policy is clear to me-"After three service repairs have been completed on an individual product, and that individual product requires a fourth repair, as determined by us, we will replace it with a product of comparable performance, not to exceed the original purchase price."
So, my next planned steps are to file a small claims suit in a local court, contact the BBB and the Office of Consumer Affairs. One, or all, should be able to resolve this matter.in the meantime, I'd better think about renewing my PSP, so the lamps can continue to be replaced, while this matter is getting resolved.
In closing, BestBuy has lost me as a customer. I hope that this story scares away anyone that would read it. BestBuy will tell you one thing, and hope they never get called to task. Most times thhey're right. If they weren't right (about most people not holding them accountable), they would change the way they do business. Stay away from bestbuy - especially for major purchases.
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