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

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KKing

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#74494 31-Dec-2010 16:11

Basically, Noel Leeming's warranties don't provide any additional benefit over the Consumer Guarantees Act. I spent $60 on a 3 year warranty back when I was unaware of my rights under the CGA and now I feel ripped off. I have to either pay for postage to the repairer or a $55 bond to Noel Leeming in order to have the phone assessed. The warranty doesn't cover a replacement in the event of failure (not like DSE's warranty where items under $400 are replaced).

I sent them an email. I just want a refund or gift card because I feel ripped off and have a broken phone.

Hello,
I would like to express my dissatisfaction with the Noel Leeming SuperCover product.

I purchased a Sony Ericsson V640i mobile phone on 12/04/2008 along with a 3 year warranty. Now this phone has developed a fault where the unit does not boot up into its operating system. The phone has been into repair in the past for a similar issue which occurred a month after purchase.

I took the phone to a Noel Leeming store in order to make a claim under the 3 year warranty. I was required to pay a $55 bond to have it sent away for assessment. Yes, I understand that the bond is in place to protect the business from costs relating to claims falling outside warranty. But this is disappointing as after purchasing a $60 3 year warranty, I still have to pay $55 which is expensive even though this is a refundable bond. I also believe it is unacceptable to charge a bond when the fault is very obvious and makes the phone completely unusable.

What disappoints me even more is that there is a possibility that the phone would be repaired instead of being replaced with a new unit. I already have the right under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 for the phone to be repaired, therefore the purchase of the $60 SuperCover warranty has been of no use since it does not provide any additional benefits over the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993.

I would have expected that paying an extra $60 for SuperCover would provide me with extra benefits such as replacement or refund of the phone in the event of a fault. I feel ripped off paying for the warranty and I would be better off purchasing from retailer Dick Smith as their extended warranty offers replacements for faulty products under the value of $400. Clearly the Dick Smith product is superior as it offers additional benefits over the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993.

I hope you can offer a satisfactory solution to remedy this situation as Noel Leeming is required to meet its obligations under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 and honour my 3 year warranty. Otherwise I will have to take further action such as lodging an application through the Disputes Tribunal.

Sorry for posting unpleasant stuff on this forum but I just feel ripped off and don't know what else to do. And hopefully by reading this you can save some money by not buying an extended warranty when shopping at Noel Leeming (but I'm sure most of you already know that extended warranties are bad

)

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#423008 31-Dec-2010 16:19

Firstly, have you read what your supercover extended warranty covers? and how to make a claim?

They do state, goto the supercover website, or call the supercover 0800 number. So the bond you are charged by Noel Leeming, may not have applied if you followed the correct process.
They also provide a replacement or gift card if it cannot be repaired, or they decide not to repair it.

Secondly, there is always debate over extended warranties vs CGA. Personally, I buy it on some products and not others. It all depends on whether I need to know if/when/how a product will be repaired, rather than the time spent threatening dispute tribunal action and waiting weeks/months for the retailer to meet their obligations.

heavenlywild

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#423010 31-Dec-2010 16:20

Don't feel that you are alone, this matter has been discussed at length many times on Geekzone. It's not just a Noel Leeming thing... it's a problem with all of these "extra warranties" offered by other retailers too.

Like you have said, never buy any extra cover of any sort again. It's worthless and doesn't mean one gets an easier ride to a replacement unit.

Anyway, hope this matter gets resolved and that you receive a good resolution.

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sbiddle

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#423012 31-Dec-2010 16:23

heavenlywild: Like you have said, never buy any extra cover of any sort again. It's worthless and doesn't mean one gets an easier ride to a replacement unit.

I'd disagree entirely with that point.

An extended warranty won't necessarily mean you'll get anything you're not entitled to under the CGA, but it could certainly well mean you'll get that replacement unit a lot faster than going through the disputes tribunal.

rscole86

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#423014 31-Dec-2010 16:25

sbiddle:
heavenlywild: Like you have said, never buy any extra cover of any sort again. It's worthless and doesn't mean one gets an easier ride to a replacement unit.

I'd disagree entirely with that point.

An extended warranty won't necessarily mean you'll get anything you're not entitled to under the CGA, but it could certainly well mean you'll get that replacement unit a lot faster than going through the disputes tribunal.

Agreed, and as has been pointed out already, some of the smaller items get an instant swap out with no inspection or repair times.

scuwp

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#423016 31-Dec-2010 16:27

Not exactly sure what your beef is, other than a rant about useless extended warranties being a rip-off (fully agree).

You purchased a warranty and under that warranty they will repair/replace your phone for you at their discretion. An "inspection" fee for phones is standard IME.

The fact you had the same rights under the CGA act is irrelevant as the warranty purchase was your choice. Underhanded sales tactics...yes I agree there but now well publisised.

I am pretty sure the NL extended warranty is dealt with via a 3rd party as well.

I suggest if you go through the process (which you signed up for) you will get your phone repaired or if not replaced. Live and learn.

Lazy is such an ugly word, I prefer to call it selective participation

KKing

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#423017 31-Dec-2010 16:28

Thanks for your replies.

I did make a claim through SuperCover but it would cost me to send the phone away to the repairer located in Christchurch. I also had the option to take it to a Noel Leeming store for them to send the phone away but I had to pay a $55 bond. I am reluctant to pay that amount of money (I would be ok with paying $10-$20) especially when they like to use that Liquid Damage excuse.

That's another issue with these warranties, there are extra costs and hoops to jump through when making a claim.

rscole86

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#423024 31-Dec-2010 16:33

KKing: Thanks for your replies.

I did make a claim through SuperCover but it would cost me to send the phone away to the repairer located in Christchurch. I also had the option to take it to a Noel Leeming store for them to send the phone away but I had to pay a $55 bond. I am reluctant to pay that amount of money (I would be ok with paying $10-$20) especially when they like to use that Liquid Damage excuse.

That's another issue with these warranties, there are extra costs and hoops to jump through when making a claim.

Unfortunately that point is clearly made in the terms and conditions.

"Freight costs of getting the Product to the designated repair agent here in New Zealand or overseas."

I guess you could try to argue that $55 is not reasonable for courier to and from Christchurch, but I doubt they would be willing to agree on a lower cost.

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tardtasticx

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#423031 31-Dec-2010 17:07

But I thought under the CGA the customer isn't expected to pay for any shipping costs?

savag3

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#423041 31-Dec-2010 18:18

tardtasticx: But I thought under the CGA the customer isn't expected to pay for any shipping costs?

That's correct. So in this case the 'warranty' is in fact worse than the CGA.

tardtasticx

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#423044 31-Dec-2010 18:39

savag3:
tardtasticx: But I thought under the CGA the customer isn't expected to pay for any shipping costs?

That's correct. So in this case the 'warranty' is in fact worse than the CGA.

The CGA still counts though, because its a legal obligation the seller cant get out of no matter whether or not he got the extended warranty.

Dunnersfella

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#423051 31-Dec-2010 19:55

That sounds like a fairly poor warranty policy to me, but then, I'm assuming they think that you'll be reading the warranty contract prior to agreeing to it?

I'd buy a warranty on items I could not do without, and that GUARANTEE a quick resolution...
For instance, the CGA can drag out for a long, looong time, and when it comes to things life fridges, freezers or washing machines - any time without a product will severely effect day to day life!
So yeah, replacement warranties make sense to me at times, especially if I was buying a cheapo washing machine.

Damager

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#423062 31-Dec-2010 20:26

My first experience with an extended warranty was only last month. My DVD Recorder (2 years old) wouldnt boot, filled in a claim via NZClaim.com and followed the instructions. I had a 5 year extended warranty which cost me $100.00. Dropped off the unit to an approved repairer of my choosing. Thankfully there were local repairers (Hamilton) on the approved list. Got an update 2 weeks later to advise that the unit was uneconomical to repair and offered me a resolution which was an updated DVD recorder with twin freeview tuners (panasonic xr380). Instructions were given and 2 days later I picked up my replacement unit. Absolutely painless process. Purchased my original recorder from Forlongs in Hamilton and picked up the replacement from Noel Leeming Te Rapa.

Sorry to hear about your warranty issues, sounds like this SuperCover Warranty doesnt allow some flexibility. Hope you get it sorted.

Coincidentally. I also purchased a V640i, but from Harvey Norman. I had to take it in about 3 or 4 times during the 12 month warranty period for corrupted software. Never had this issue with any other make of phone. Soon as it came back after the last warranty repair, I sold it.

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Kaos36

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#423126 1-Jan-2011 07:59

I never buy brand PC's always custom made either buy the parts and build it myself or as this time round I brought one custom assembled to what I want. Noel Leeming and its onboard video PC's = bad if you have gaming in mind.

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raytaylor

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#423600 3-Jan-2011 04:04

I agree - Always buy a custom build PC
At the Laptops-R-Us in Napier, we can usually match the retail price of a desktop pc - and most laptops. With the desktops we provide our own in-house 3 year warranty on all desktops - while still usually being able to match a bulk store price with better quality components, so we can fix most things in store. If something goes bad, we just order another part overnight and then install it ourselves for the customer.

With a laptop, about 30% get returned within the first year due to hard drive failures. They usually get bad sectors. We see this constantly. So it pays to get the extended warranty for these. Its almost guaranteed that your laptop hard drive will fail within the 3 years of having it.
I believe that the more they compress into hard drives, the more they fail - and this is happening more and more over time. I still have 40 gb drives that are perfectly fine after 8 years, but dont expect that from a 200gb drive.

And with cellphones, Noel Leeming didnt advise you would need to pay the bond when you purchased it. You should not be expected to pay more if you clearly are not at fault - even if its a bond.
There is usually a tiny red / white water sensitive sticker below the battery on a cellphone - it changes colour when exposed to water. They check this and then say user fault if possible - easy $55 for the repair agent.

I wanted to make a complaint under the fair trading / consumer guarantees about their inability to inform customers of this policy when purchasing, but my ex boyfriend who had the phone issues just wanted to pay the bond and accept their bad service. Turns out the staff had opened the phone and started playing with it - videos of noel leeming staff playing basketball in the store between the aisles were on it when i bought it as an xmas gift.

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alasta

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#423625 3-Jan-2011 08:56

raytaylor: With a laptop, about 30% get returned within the first year due to hard drive failures. They usually get bad sectors. We see this constantly. So it pays to get the extended warranty for these. Its almost guaranteed that your laptop hard drive will fail within the 3 years of having it.

This sounds like a gross exagerration to me. I have owned a number of laptops over the last ten years, a couple of which I've kept for a three year term, and I have never experienced a hard drive failure on any of them.

Considering the number of cheap and nasty laptops that are out there it's understandable that buyers of these products may experience frequent hardware problems but this is not inherrent in laptops in general.

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