Another Noel Leeming warranty issue - don't buy extended warranties!

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wreck90

780 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#423642 3-Jan-2011 10:05

Extended warranties are unnecessary. I've used the CGA 3 times in the last year to get out of warranty repairs.

Lenovo and Apple honored the CGA fairly quickly and repaired goods outside warranty.

But Fisher and Paykel/Noel Leeming would not fix under the CGA (until I lodged a disputes tribunal case). I find it curious that my problems were with NZ companies who should know the law.

If you have a product requiring urgent fix, just arrange and pay the repairs yourself and then request the retailer to reimburse you.

Extended warranties are for those who cannot be bothered enforcing their rights, which is fair enough. Many people dislike conflict situations.

Geese

1028 posts

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Inactive user

#423648 3-Jan-2011 10:30

My first experience with extended warranties was bad, not in terms of making a claim, but in terms of it becoming void, and that has led me to NEVER consider extended warranties for anything designed to be portable.

I bought a new phone from Telecom, on contract, and paid $40 for extended warranty. 2 weeks later I left the phone in a friends car after he dropped me off home, 15 seconds later we both realised, he drove back and threw it to me from a distance of about 5 metres, as it was not expecting him to throw it, I was not prepared to catch it, and it bounced off my leg and onto the concrete driveway. This impact was minor compared to hitting ground on the full, but it resulted in a MINOR but noticeable crack in the side of the phone.

At that stage I realised it was game over for any warranty or extended warranty, even though I have seen phones take worse hits than that and survive for years. I went into Telecom and said my phone is cosmetically damaged, so the extended warranty company will not now offer me any cover, and since the extended warranty does not commence until manufacturer 1 year ends, then can I cancel it for a refund? They said no. So I said, heres another $300, can I buy a new phone and transfer that warranty to the new one? They said no, as the warranty is tied to the serial number and not transferable.

So never again.

tardtasticx

3075 posts

Uber Geek

#423650 3-Jan-2011 10:33

IlDuce: My first experience with extended warranties was bad, not in terms of making a claim, but in terms of it becoming void, and that has led me to NEVER consider extended warranties for anything designed to be portable.

I bought a new phone from Telecom, on contract, and paid $40 for extended warranty. 2 weeks later I left the phone in a friends car after he dropped me off home, 15 seconds later we both realised, he drove back and threw it to me from a distance of about 5 metres, as it was not expecting him to throw it, I was not prepared to catch it, and it bounced off my leg and onto the concrete driveway. This impact was minor compared to hitting ground on the full, but it resulted in a MINOR but noticeable crack in the side of the phone.

At that stage I realised it was game over for any warranty or extended warranty, even though I have seen phones take worse hits than that and survive for years. I went into Telecom and said my phone is cosmetically damaged, so the extended warranty company will not now offer me any cover, and since the extended warranty does not commence until manufacturer 1 year ends, then can I cancel it for a refund? They said no. So I said, heres another $300, can I buy a new phone and transfer that warranty to the new one? They said no, as the warranty is tied to the serial number and not transferable.

So never again.

Ouch. Thats gotta suck.

old3eyes

9119 posts

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#423652 3-Jan-2011 10:33

The only time I buy extended warranties are for laptops. Over the years the cost of the warranty has well and truly paid for it's self. The last time a screen died at about 4.5 years. Bond and Bond replaced the screen no questions asked.

Regards,

Old3eyes

vexxxboy

4244 posts

Uber Geek

#423654 3-Jan-2011 10:36

wreck90: Extended warranties are unnecessary. I've used the CGA 3 times in the last year to get out of warranty repairs.

Lenovo and Apple honored the CGA fairly quickly and repaired goods outside warranty.

But Fisher and Paykel/Noel Leeming would not fix under the CGA (until I lodged a disputes tribunal case). I find it curious that my problems were with NZ companies who should know the law.

If you have a product requiring urgent fix, just arrange and pay the repairs yourself and then request the retailer to reimburse you.

Extended warranties are for those who cannot be bothered enforcing their rights, which is fair enough. Many people dislike conflict situations.

thats if you have the money to pay for the repairs and if you dont you have to wait , i took out an warranty on my 46" tv, it failed and i had a replacement TV sent to me in under a week and i never left my house , if i didnt have that warranty i probably would still be fighting to get a replacement ,

Common sense is not as common as you think.

Damager

2125 posts

Uber Geek

#423656 3-Jan-2011 10:38

wreck90: Extended warranties are unnecessary. I've used the CGA 3 times in the last year to get out of warranty repairs.

Lenovo and Apple honored the CGA fairly quickly and repaired goods outside warranty.

But Fisher and Paykel/Noel Leeming would not fix under the CGA (until I lodged a disputes tribunal case). I find it curious that my problems were with NZ companies who should know the law.

If you have a product requiring urgent fix, just arrange and pay the repairs yourself and then request the retailer to reimburse you.

Extended warranties are for those who cannot be bothered enforcing their rights, which is fair enough. Many people dislike conflict situations.

I have to disagree slightly with you re extended warranties. To say that every single customer that has purchased an extended warranty cannot be bothered enforcing their rights is an exaggeration.

The provisions of most extended warranties are pretty clear and do provide some good protection for the customer outside of the normal warranty period. I'm happy to pay the $25.00 per year for the extra 5 years. Now if I had a refusal to honour the extended warranty. Sure I would have kicked up a fuss definitely. In fact my middle name is "conflict situation". Overcharge me 50 cents in a supermarket.. I will stop the supermarket, the manager will be out of his office and every single customer will know there has been an "incident". I try to be more diplomatic though :-)

Most customers who have issues with an extended warranty, will still make sure they have been done good, just like the OP. I'd rather have the comfort and convenience that an extended warranty provides. It doesnt necessarily mean that I'm shy.

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jjnz1

1363 posts

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Lifetime subscriber

#423657 3-Jan-2011 10:39

Protection Plus from Harvey Norman

This is Harvey Normans t&c for their protection plus warranty.

Note that they state in bold that the extended warranty does not limit the CGA in any way.

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Damager

2125 posts

Uber Geek

#423658 3-Jan-2011 10:40

vexxxboy:
wreck90: Extended warranties are unnecessary. I've used the CGA 3 times in the last year to get out of warranty repairs.

Lenovo and Apple honored the CGA fairly quickly and repaired goods outside warranty.

But Fisher and Paykel/Noel Leeming would not fix under the CGA (until I lodged a disputes tribunal case). I find it curious that my problems were with NZ companies who should know the law.

If you have a product requiring urgent fix, just arrange and pay the repairs yourself and then request the retailer to reimburse you.

Extended warranties are for those who cannot be bothered enforcing their rights, which is fair enough. Many people dislike conflict situations.

thats if you have the money to pay for the repairs and if you dont you have to wait , i took out an warranty on my 46" tv, it failed and i had a replacement TV sent to me in under a week and i never left my house , if i didnt have that warranty i probably would still be fighting to get a replacement ,

wreck90

780 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#423673 3-Jan-2011 11:08

vexxxboy:
wreck90: Extended warranties are unnecessary. I've used the CGA 3 times in the last year to get out of warranty repairs.

Lenovo and Apple honored the CGA fairly quickly and repaired goods outside warranty.

But Fisher and Paykel/Noel Leeming would not fix under the CGA (until I lodged a disputes tribunal case). I find it curious that my problems were with NZ companies who should know the law.

If you have a product requiring urgent fix, just arrange and pay the repairs yourself and then request the retailer to reimburse you.

Extended warranties are for those who cannot be bothered enforcing their rights, which is fair enough. Many people dislike conflict situations.

thats if you have the money to pay for the repairs and if you dont you have to wait , i took out an warranty on my 46" tv, it failed and i had a replacement TV sent to me in under a week and i never left my house , if i didnt have that warranty i probably would still be fighting to get a replacement ,

The extended warranties quoted to me in the past, have been around 10% of the purchase cost (from memory, it's been a while since I actually asked the price). I've saved a ton of money declining them and could probably afford several expensive tv's with the money I saved over the years.

If your case happened with me, I have several tv's and would have just used the other until repairs were made (assuming the retailed declined to fix). If the TV were uneconomical to fix, and the retailer refused to come to the party, then, It might take 3 or 4 weeks to get a hearing. During which time, I'd be using the spare tv. No big deal .

If it were a washing machine which is no spare, then, I'd rent one and pass the costs on in the claim.

I haven't come unstuck yet :), fingers crossed.

But, see your point. If you don't have a bit of spare cash then extended warranty might be an option.

Batman

Mad Scientist
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#423678 3-Jan-2011 11:16

the thread title is quite a blanket statement.

i bought a HN extended warranty, 2 years later we migrated to Oz, guess what, it works here too! transferred the invoice number onto the Oz computers and we have another 4 years of warranty here!

now i'm about to make a blanket statement - don't buy front loading washing machines, because a baby sock went inside (because I stuffed too much clothes into it 12 months ago) and jammed up the whole thing. unfortunately not covered by warranty. but at least they sent me a repair man at my cost.

b0untypure1

1426 posts

Uber Geek

#423770 3-Jan-2011 17:02

all i can say is, my mate had one on his Ipod classic under Dick Smiths replacement "extended" warranty , for 2 years. When the click wheel failed, they just posted him a gift voucher, which he put toward a 32gb Ipod Touch. The best thing was, that the warranty company didnt even request his old Ipod classic back. A week later, the wheel fired into action again and now he has 2 Ipods , for the price of one. This process is clearly more EASIER for the everyday person, than going through the disputes tribunal.

timestyles

424 posts

Ultimate Geek

#423785 3-Jan-2011 18:59

wreck90:

If it were a washing machine which is no spare, then, I'd rent one and pass the costs on in the claim.

Last time I knew about it, you weren't able to ask for consequential damages in the disputes tribunal. But that was over 10 years ago, it may have changed since then. Anyone know?

Loismustdye

927 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#423827 3-Jan-2011 22:12

b0untypure1: all i can say is, my mate had one on his Ipod classic under Dick Smiths replacement "extended" warranty , for 2 years. When the click wheel failed, they just posted him a gift voucher, which he put toward a 32gb Ipod Touch. The best thing was, that the warranty company didnt even request his old Ipod classic back. A week later, the wheel fired into action again and now he has 2 Ipods , for the price of one. This process is clearly more EASIER for the everyday person, than going through the disputes tribunal.

DSE as part of their warranty serivce replace the item outright if its valued under $400, rather than muck about with repairs and the such with the consumer.

That being said I stil would not buy one, from what I understand they're essentially an insurance policy that the retailer makes a payment on if the consumer claims (so I've been told). They're an easy way for the retailer to increase profit margins on items that may not have a big markup on them (IMHO).
If asked I decline outright or offer them $30, no big whoop if they say no.

Just means you have to argue with the store a bit more, which I'm not adverse to :-)

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