Warranty void unless surge protector used

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Dunnersfella

4083 posts

Uber Geek

#275255 22-Nov-2009 19:18

Hey JonnyCam - your bossed was lied to.
They will have only have told him that because he DIDN'T buy an extended warranty.
The manufacturer / importer will want to ensure the customer is happy in case of a warranty claim - even if HN don't...

Here's how it works, TV's have next to no margin on them. Every store cuts and cuts the price to beat each other, meaning the only way they make their profit is through add-on sales, extended warranties and rebates from the importer.
To add to that, the sales people are typically paid a low hourly wage, BUT with the promise of commission to boost their earnings. The thing is, the commission is paid as a percentage of the margin...

Seeing as they probably didn't make much at all on the TV, all their incentive to sell comes from add on sales.
HDMI cables (Monster cables have HUGE margin), screen cleaning kits / cloths, wall mounts, entertainment cabinets, surge protectors (the Belkin 8 plug jobbies have BIG margins), universal remotes, DVD / BluRay players, delivery, extended warranties - the list goes on.
Consequently - you'll see people making pretty far out claims to secure a sale.
Sometimes this is because the person has no scruples, other times, because they lack understanding.

Would I buy a surge protector?
If I lived outside of a CBD, yes. The power supply in the country can be pretty dirty / unreliable on a fairly regular basis. And even if you're insured, sometimes the wait to get your new appliance can be a painfully long one.

Would I buy a screen cleaner kit. Yes, but I wouldn't pay $80 for a spray bottle, microfibre cloth and some solution. BUT, if I got a 1/2 price deal, then sure... why not, I am inherently lazy after all :)

Would I buy an expensive HDMI cable.
No.

Would I buy an extended warranty?
Well, actually I would on a laptop, not on a TV. IF the warranty covers wear and tear - as hinges etc kill a lot of laptops... not as many as drops do though! And yes, some companies do cover wear and tear... some companies don't, so ask first.

My advice is that no one should ever feel bad about walking away from the counter if the sales person makes a dodgy claim / if you feel unduly pressured.

Samsung

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mcraenz

1140 posts

Uber Geek

#275360 23-Nov-2009 08:52

Just bought a TV Samsung series 6 40" at HN. Got a very good price but man talk about pressure selling, extended warranty, cleaning solution, monster cables etc etc. I just kept saying no thank you. At one point I almost caved and bought the cleaning kit. I felt exhausted by the time I came out of the store! I had a little chuckle when I got home and opened the box to find a cleaning cloth and a little slip that said use only water to clean the TV! Anyhow I don't blame these guys for selling so hard but I genuinely didn't want any of that stuff.

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Bung

6356 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#275372 23-Nov-2009 09:17

Vero's basic contents insurance contains the following

"You are not insured for
1. The amount of the excess shown in the schedule
plus an additional $150 in respect of any claim arising
while the home is let to tenants other than you.
2. Any loss or damage caused by:
a.wear and tear, rot, corrosion, rust, gradual
deterioration, mildew, insects, vermin (other than
opossums) or other gradually operating cause;
b. mechanical or electrical breakdown or failure unless
actual burning out occurs but always excluding lighting
or heating elements fuses or protective devices or
electrical contacts where arcing occurs in ordinary
working; and
c.defect in design or inherent fault."

Maybe this means that a surge protector may put your TV into the gray area where it gets killed but there's no visible sign of failure that distinguishes the fault from normal.

Paulthagerous

698 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#275380 23-Nov-2009 09:53

To be honest, how will they know if you were using one or not? If you suffer from, say, the aforementioned green line, you could easily just say you used a surge protector and it happened anyway. Not that I would encourage this behavior of course.

zaptor

741 posts

Ultimate Geek

#275678 24-Nov-2009 00:45

If I ever buy my next TV (which is most probably going to be a Panasonic plasma) from HN, I'll simply get the best deal for TV and cabinet. Then hop over to DSE for cables and a $48 surge board.

kiwitrc

4123 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#275694 24-Nov-2009 06:34

rscole86:
clevedon: If the store won't cover you for the surge, house and contents insurance will. Happened to?our rear projection TV?a few years ago when a car?took out?a power pole down the road from us and we got a new Plasma out of it. Just talked to our insurance company today and they said?we would still be covered for the same event and there is no requirement in the policy to have surge protectors on any equipment. Wouldn't mind it happening every three our four years - cheap way to upgrade.

There is no reason why you cannot do it every few years... assuming you want a new car too?

I like the way you think.

Niel

3267 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#275874 24-Nov-2009 17:13

I am an electronic engineer with about 25 years experience. Surge protectors contain an MOV (metal oxide varistor). It is a resistor that suddenly reduces in resistance when a voltage is reached. They are very slow, not so effective, and cost about 10c.

All electronics products already have them plus inductors (to slow down the pulse while the MOV handles it) and the combination is required for passing electrical safety tests. The tests involve about 20 spikes of around 4 000 V. You will never get 4 000 V on your mains plugs, because the gaps in switches etc. is such that they break down at around 2 000V.

Anyone buying a surge protector is wasting his money. The only time when a surge arrestor does anything is when the power lines are directly struck by lightning, and then the surge arrestor will explode along with all your electronics.

The actual cause of issues is load dump and power dips. Load dump is when an inductive load (like aircon pump, etc.) turns off and creates a spike nearby (as opposed to distant lightning). Consumer products produce little load dump so is usually not a problem, it is more of a problem in industrial environments. Power dips on the other hand is very common in a consumer environment. When power dips and comes back up your voltage on capacitors can briefly be pushed up higher than usual (long explanation, Google voltage doubler) and damage components.

The best solution for power dips is a UPS, but gets expensive when running all your equipment through it.

I got a 42" Konka LCD from DSE with 3 years warranty (at a discount, otherwise too expensive) and no mention of surge protector.

You can never have enough Volvos!

ilovemusic

1428 posts

Uber Geek

#275914 24-Nov-2009 18:35

HN BS

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