BestBuy cell phone warranty??

Ok first let me say I am upgrading my AT&T cell phone as I pay right at 100 dollars per month on a very old package. This can now be upgraded to unlimited internet for about the same cost and exact same minutes.

Long story short BestBuy actually has better prices, and no crappy mail in rebate, than my local AT&T store. With an instant discount I can actually get a free LG VU or a little better Samsung Eternity for 79 dollars...with contract.

Ok I am ok with the cost and contract as I already have AT&T with 7000 rollover minutes built up. The problem is I simply hate the insurance offered by AT&T as it is simply crap and I am very hard on phones. Drop them on duty...they get wet...bounce around inside a speeding patrol car...etc: The salesman told me that for 6 dollars per month I can get what is called the Geek Squad Black Tie service plan that will replace my phone free for any reason. He said if I drop it, get it wet, or simply get angry and throw it on the ground they will simply replace it for free.....he said it even covers battery replacement and normal wear and tear.

Now this sounds too good to be true so I asked the manager and took his name down saying I would quote him should I have any future issues. The manager said the same as the salesman and advised it really is a no hassle replacement plan with zero deductable. I searched online and found mixed reviews of the policy with several changes over the last years.

Has anyone actually heard of this recent policy at BestBuy or better yet has anyone actually used this plan on a cell phone? From what I have seen online it is popular with the I-Phone crowd as AT&T will not offer insurance on this phone so everyone buys from BestBuy and gets the plan I spoke of. My better half simply feels this is too good to be true and would not work just because most people would abuse the plan....any ideas on this?

Funny story Robo, I was just talking to one of my customer who goes through phones like crazy. He stepped into his swimming pool with a phone is his pocket and ruined it. He finally threw in the towel and purchased the AT&T warranty which was good because a few weeks later he dropped it in the toilet. ........ and no, I didn't ask. They did replace his phone, without any hassle.

If the cost of a new phone is $79, and the insurance is $6 per month, this is 13 months before the insurance has cost more than the phone. If you replace more frequently than 13 months, then the insurance is a good deal.

I had the insurance sold by Verizon at $5 per month, I stopped it when I had to pay $50 to replace a phone.

Best buy has been know to squirm out of warranty service when they can. It would be very simple to abuse this plan. They might honor it once, but I doubt multiple times. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm with your better half.

If the warranty is in writing they have to honor it. The Good Guys electronic store offered plans like this years ago. I had plenty of electronics replaced with the plan. And $6 a month for a $79 dollar phone isn't really the case here. That $79 phone actually costs alot more than $79 to replace.

As long as the warranty comes with the terms on paper you should be good to go.

I have not purchased yet and have not seen anything in writing as of yet. I did register on the bestbuy forum and posed a question to the staff of what is covered.

I was told the plan covers any type of of physical damage and if this is true it would be perfect for my line of work....I am very hard on my phones. I have yet to receive an answer to this question on the bestbuy forum and was advised a service rep would contact me shortly.

From what I have found searching online it seems many customers are complaining about this warranty. Most of the complaints concern non-working phones and I can not find much on actual physical damage. The complaints I did find concern BestBuy first having to inspect the phone and then sending the phone for repairs before deciding if it needs to be replaced.....so much for a hassle free warranty as people are without their phone for months during all the red tape.

How about getting a tougher phone that won't be so easy to break?

gorn said:

If the warranty is in writing they have to honor it.
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As long as the warranty comes with the terms on paper you should be good to go.

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+1. If this warranty is like their PSP, then what they say is going to be covered is totally different from what's really going to be covered. There used to be a website where bb employees (and customers) post stuff about bestbuy policy, experiences, etc... "best buy sucks" or something like that...