One Year Warranty

[Bren's Mom]

What does that mean to you? You buy something, and it's got a one year warranty on it. If it breaks down (not something you did to it) during that time, they fix it right? And if it's not fixable, they replace it?

Would you expect it to be replaced with a brand new one of the same item? Would a used one of that item be ok?

And would you expect to have ANOTHER year on it, or just the remainder of your original one year or what?

 

[Eeyore'sthebest]

What does that mean to you? You buy something, and it's got a one year warranty on it. If it breaks down (not something you did to it) during that time, they fix it right? And if it's not fixable, they replace it?

Would you expect it to be replaced with a brand new one of the same item? Would a used one of that item be ok?

And would you expect to have ANOTHER year on it, or just the remainder of your original one year or what?

I would imagine that it should be replaced with a new item under a year's time. I would also expect that the replacement would carry the same one year warranty, meaning that the clock would restart.

However, you may want to look at the original paperwork that you received with whatever just broke.

 

[lynxstch]

we had 2 small ceramic heaters..1 lasted 4 months..I called the company, they told me to send it back to them..they replaced it, send along a letter with the new date and told me to keep that for another year for the warranty...the second heater lasted 11 months and 1 week..that company also told me to send it back..they replaced it and sent me a brand new heater, with another years warranty, and finally..hubby had a pair of Nike sneakers..washed and dried them several times over the course of about 6 months..no problem..the last time..something melted on the sneaker in the dryer..I called them..they told me to send it back to their 'assessment' center, and they would determine if it was a fault of the shoe or not..I made sure to mention that there was NO care instructions printed either on or with the sneakers..so how would a customer know how/if to wash them...I sent them back...they called me..told me that the particular model was no longer available..told me to check the website and look at a model they DID have..I looked..said that was fine...we paid $20 for the original pair at Sears on sale..the pair they replaced those with was listed at $79 on their site!
I ALWAYS keep my receipts and original boxes..you never know when they will be needed..most companies will either repair or replace the item..or substitute something of equal or better quality!

 

[Sleepy]

I had a problem with a Sony DVD player. 2 different authorized repair shops and 7 different "fixes" and it was still malfunctioning. One visit to the official Sony service center and they returned it to the wrong address and it was now gone forever.

They tried to give me a refurbished unit of something that was 2 years older than my unit. Umm..no. I told them "I already had my own headache and was lucky enough to get rid of it. Why would I want someone else's headache?" With a bit of arguing, they offered me the only new model they could. It ended up being a really nice one that was top of the line back then. It has lasted 5 years so far.

Total time spent trying to get my malfunctioning DVD player fixed? 2 years. I am not exaggerating! I think they were ready to be rid of me.

 

[Bren's Mom]

It's a cell phone. The thing just completely wiped out. No trauma to it, nothing happened. I checked my voice mail one minute and it was fine. Five minutes later my picture was gone off the front screen (replaced with the default stock photo) and everything was wiped out...no previous calls, no contacts, no service even.

I called Verizon and they said my one year warranty was still in effect, until 1/2/10. Great! They were overnighting me a new phone they said. And extending my warranty for 3 months. I was at work and the call had taken a long time (going through the process to try to restore the phone first) and this just flew right over my head. Until I got the phone (didn't arrive until Tuesday, they didn't overnight it, it arrived Monday but they also didn't tell me a signature was required ) and saw that it was a 'certified like new'. Definitely didn't look new, looked banged up. And then I started thinking that why shouldn't I get a new phone with a new one year warranty? After all, it's Samsungs warranty not Verizon's as far as I know.

Am I wrong? Seems that it works that way for other things. I have similar stories to what you all just posted...something goes wrong and they give you a new one.

 

[C.Ann]

It's a cell phone. The thing just completely wiped out. No trauma to it, nothing happened. I checked my voice mail one minute and it was fine. Five minutes later my picture was gone off the front screen (replaced with the default stock photo) and everything was wiped out...no previous calls, no contacts, no service even.

I called Verizon and they said my one year warranty was still in effect, until 1/2/10. Great! They were overnighting me a new phone they said. And extending my warranty for 3 months. I was at work and the call had taken a long time (going through the process to try to restore the phone first) and this just flew right over my head. Until I got the phone (didn't arrive until Tuesday, they didn't overnight it, it arrived Monday but they also didn't tell me a signature was required ) and saw that it was a 'certified like new'. Definitely didn't look new, looked banged up. And then I started thinking that why shouldn't I get a new phone with a new one year warranty? After all, it's Samsungs warranty not Verizon's as far as I know.

Am I wrong? Seems that it works that way for other things. I have similar stories to what you all just posted...something goes wrong and they give you a new one.

If you purchased the original phone brand new, that's what I would expect the replacement phone to be as well - not some beat up used phone.. Can you call them again?

Good luck!

 

[RitaE]

with electronics it is common practice to receive a refurbished replacement after a certain time period .. like a month or so. I'm usually fine with that as long as the refurb is in good working order and looks decent. If it looks banged up I'd call them and tell them you want one without the cosmetic defects.

While you purchased it new ... it wasn't new when it broke. It was almost a year old.

 

[Bren's Mom]

with electronics it is common practice to receive a refurbished replacement after a certain time period .. like a month or so. I'm usually fine with that as long as the refurb is in good working order and looks decent. If it looks banged up I'd call them and tell them you want one without the cosmetic defects.

While you purchased it new ... it wasn't new when it broke. It was almost a year old.

That's true.

So what is the common practice about how much longer the manufacturer should stand by their product? Is the 3 months with the 'like new' phone standard when I had only 1 mo left on the warranty?

 

[bicker]

What does that mean to you? You buy something, and it's got a one year warranty on it. If it breaks down (not something you did to it) during that time, they fix it right? And if it's not fixable, they replace it?

Not necessarily. "Warranty" is a noun, which can be, and generally is, accompanied by an adjective, such as "limited". Limited warranties have restrictions and other conditions that specify what is covered, and what remedies are offered in case of failure.

Would you expect it to be replaced with a brand new one of the same item? Would a used one of that item be ok?

The warranty I know the most about happens to be a TiVo DVR. It has a 30 day unlimited warranty, and also a one year limited warranty, during which they will replace it with a certified refurbished TiVo. That's pretty standard practice in the electronics industry, but by no means absolutely (in either direction).

And would you expect to have ANOTHER year on it, or just the remainder of your original one year or what?

I've not seen any warranties that get extended in case of failure. Interesting idea, but I suspect that factoring the cost of that into the price of the product would boost the price of the product far higher than consumers are willing to pay.

 

[bicker]

If you purchased the original phone brand new, that's what I would expect the replacement phone to be as well - not some beat up used phone..

That's such a common misunderstanding on the part of so many consumers these days. It's a shame really... generally sales involve so much clarifying information that we consumers never read it. This thread hopefully will be a good reminder for folks, especially since we're all in the buying mode this time of year, that things generally are the way the written word says they are (taking into consider the laws and the terms and conditions of the sale), rather than how we might hope they would be.

 

[It'sWDW4me]

It's a cell phone. The thing just completely wiped out. No trauma to it, nothing happened. I checked my voice mail one minute and it was fine. Five minutes later my picture was gone off the front screen (replaced with the default stock photo) and everything was wiped out...no previous calls, no contacts, no service even.

I called Verizon and they said my one year warranty was still in effect, until 1/2/10. Great! They were overnighting me a new phone they said. And extending my warranty for 3 months. I was at work and the call had taken a long time (going through the process to try to restore the phone first) and this just flew right over my head. Until I got the phone (didn't arrive until Tuesday, they didn't overnight it, it arrived Monday but they also didn't tell me a signature was required ) and saw that it was a 'certified like new'. Definitely didn't look new, looked banged up. And then I started thinking that why shouldn't I get a new phone with a new one year warranty? After all, it's Samsungs warranty not Verizon's as far as I know.

Am I wrong? Seems that it works that way for other things. I have similar stories to what you all just posted...something goes wrong and they give you a new one.

I probably would have expected a new phone, too. However, like someone had said, your phone was almost a year old when it conked out. So a refurb should be an acceptable replacement and I would probably have just accepted that. HOWEVER, I would expect the replacement to be in as good, or better, looking condition as my original phone was before it conked out (of course I would expect the working condition to be much better!).

Is the replacement phone the same make & model as your old phone? If so, maybe the casings can be switched. And then think of the 3 month warranty as extending your original warranty by 2 months. If your original phone would have died one month and one day later , you would have gotten nothing as far as a replacement.

 

[C.Ann]

That's such a common misunderstanding on the part of so many consumers these days. It's a shame really... generally sales involve so much clarifying information that we consumers never read it. This thread hopefully will be a good reminder for folks, especially since we're all in the buying mode this time of year, that things generally are the way the written word says they are (taking into consider the laws and the terms and conditions of the sale), rather than how we might hope they would be.

Did I miss the part of her post where they told her they would be sending a used, beat up phone? If so, I apologize..

 

[KAMLEM]

If you purchased the original phone brand new, that's what I would expect the replacement phone to be as well - not some beat up used phone.. Can you call them again?

But she purchased a new phone 11 months before that, so they have every right to replace it with another phone that is 11 months old. By now the phone has depreciated significantly. Why should she receive a brand new one?

 

[C.Ann]

But she purchased a new phone 11 months before that, so they have every right to replace it with another phone that is 11 months old. By now the phone has depreciated significantly. Why should she receive a brand new one?

She didn't mention that they indicated it would be an old beat up phone, so I'm sure that was why she was surprised..
I don't think it would have been too much for them to mention she was receiving a refurbished phone - unless they did and I missed that part of the post..

I've never even seen a "beat up" cell phone.. Each time DD and her DH change to new phones the old ones still look brand new..

 

[bicker]

Did I miss the part of her post where they told her they would be sending a used, beat up phone? If so, I apologize..

She hasn't posted the full text of the warranty yet.

Did you miss the word "generally" in the comment you replied to?

 

[wdwfan16]

What does that mean to you? You buy something, and it's got a one year warranty on it. If it breaks down (not something you did to it) during that time, they fix it right? And if it's not fixable, they replace it?

Would you expect it to be replaced with a brand new one of the same item? Would a used one of that item be ok?

And would you expect to have ANOTHER year on it, or just the remainder of your original one year or what?

If it was not fixable I wuold expect a new one of the same model or the newer replacement model, if my model was out of production.

ETA: For some electronics they will send a refurbished model and they might have a same warrenty on it.

OP - If it is beat up call them.

 

[bicker]

To help clarify, a bit, this is what a typical cellular phone warranty says, with regard to this:

The manufacturer will, at its sole option, either repair, replace or refund the purchase price of any unit that does not conform to this limited warranty. The manufacturer may choose at its option to use functionally equivalent re-conditioned, refurbished or new units or parts or any units.

 

[wdwfan16]

I would imagine that it should be replaced with a new item under a year's time. I would also expect that the replacement would carry the same one year warranty, meaning that the clock would restart.

However, you may want to look at the original paperwork that you received with whatever just broke.

The clock does not restart. You only get the remainder of the orginal time and maybe a small amount more.

 

[C.Ann]

What does that mean to you? You buy something, and it's got a one year warranty on it. If it breaks down (not something you did to it) during that time, they fix it right? And if it's not fixable, they replace it?

Would you expect it to be replaced with a brand new one of the same item? Would a used one of that item be ok?

And would you expect to have ANOTHER year on it, or just the remainder of your original one year or what?

It's a cell phone. The thing just completely wiped out. No trauma to it, nothing happened. I checked my voice mail one minute and it was fine. Five minutes later my picture was gone off the front screen (replaced with the default stock photo) and everything was wiped out...no previous calls, no contacts, no service even.

I called Verizon and they said my one year warranty was still in effect, until 1/2/10. Great! They were overnighting me a new phone they said. And extending my warranty for 3 months. I was at work and the call had taken a long time (going through the process to try to restore the phone first) and this just flew right over my head. Until I got the phone (didn't arrive until Tuesday, they didn't overnight it, it arrived Monday but they also didn't tell me a signature was required ) and saw that it was a 'certified like new'. Definitely didn't look new, looked banged up. And then I started thinking that why shouldn't I get a new phone with a new one year warranty? After all, it's Samsungs warranty not Verizon's as far as I know.

Am I wrong? Seems that it works that way for other things. I have similar stories to what you all just posted...something goes wrong and they give you a new one.

She hasn't posted the full text of the warranty yet.

Did you miss the word "generally" in the comment you replied to?

 

[bicker]

Hmmm... you're confused? Okay let me try to clarify: I said something about how things are "generally", and your reply was something about how the OP didn't say something about her personal situation (i.e., the opposite of "generally").

Does that help clarify it?