Page 1 of COMET EXTENDED WARRANTY

hi, i know comet gets loads of stick (and it`s usually justified) but i thought i`d share my experience, about three months ago i got a letter saying that my Thompson 28wt25us widescreen tv/dvd combi was now over 3years old, and would i like to take out a warranty, NOW, tbh the dvd player was becoming a bit picky about which dvd`s it wanted to play & they where offering "new for old" (if uneconomicle to repair) + full cover & a loan set if it need to go "away" all for £52 i know i could argue that the tv should last longer than 3yrs etc etc, but couldn`t be arsed with the hassle, so bought the warranty, i even told the sales guy i thought the dvd was on it`s way out, he said no probs, shall we send someone around ? & this is before i`d even signed up :o anyway, i decided to wait till the player knackered completly (rather than get a quick fix that might not last) and now it`s not working at all & i got a problem with verticle (sp) lines on the screen so i just rang em up, 2 minutes later i got an apointment for this monday, now i think thats pretty frigin good service :o i`ll post the results of his/her visit tommorow, but so far i`m impressed & the woman i rang about the claim was Very clued up about the problems etc, really seemed to know her stuff, also when i bought the tv, comet where By far the cheapest (£799 including a nicam vcr & dvd player thrown in + a stand) whilst others where asking around £900 just for the tv (argos had it for £1000 :o )

This item was edited on Saturday, 9th October 2004, 13:34

How did it go then?

righto......my dad waited in yesterday afternoon as arranged, the guy turned up at 1pm (so far so good) but then asked my dad what the problem is, alarm bells going off, these guy`s obviously don`t comunicate very well with head office as i gave a full description of the faults. anyway, my dad tells him the integrated dvd player won`t read any discs and about the lines on the screen, at this point the fella say`s "which lines" my just flatly replied, those dirty great lines running down the side of the telivision you`re looking at. the engineer then said, oh them :/ (trust me, you can`t miss em) anyhoo, he said the transformer was causing the lines (?) and then started fiddling about with the dvd player, which he then accidentaly locked out, then blamed the "lockout" as the reason it wasne working, my dad pointed out the fact that it was not locked when being tested earlier (by himself) and told the "engineer" that he had just locked it and had better know the code, the "engineer" then claimed it was locked when he came to it >:( and needed the code (duh) my dad rang me in work for the code & as i`d never locked it EVER i had no clue what the code may be, i sugested they try factory standard codes ie, 0000 or 1234 etc, luckily it turned out to be 0000. the engineer then said he`d have to get parts etc, & he would ring back at 2pm today (tue) to complete the work, dad said ok, no problem. dad gets the phone call today (from a different "engineer") saying he`s sat outside my house waiting to get in, dad goes around & lets him in, the guy then say`s ah, i`ve read about these types of lines on the internet, it`s deffo Not the tube (duh, allready knew that) he then say`s he "thinks" he can fix it, and at least the dvd player is sorted, to which my dad rightly replies "No it`s not" no-ones touched the firking thing (my dad was getting pretty p***ed off by this point) so the guy say`s he`s off to order parts/suss it out, & will return Next wednesday :/ he`s at least ordering a new dvd drive unit & will hopefully figure out whats wrong with the screen, but tbh, with the combined intelect of the numbnuts we`v seen so far i`m not holding my breath......


bet you wish you never asked now don`t you :D

but thanks anyway 8) :D :)

This item was edited on Tuesday, 12th October 2004, 18:30

righto, last week the repair guy said he was coming back this wenesday (tomorow) however i got a letter this morning saying that the tv is "beyond economical repair" and they where giving me a new set, But the set they want to give me is a goodmans TW28D11 as seen here http://www.comet.co.uk/comet/html/cache/453_816346.html and heres the problem, when i got the policy i was told i would get a "relative spec" replacement if it needed replacing, my tv is a tv/dvd combi (thompson 28WT25US as seen here http://www.dealtime.co.uk/xPC-Thomson_28WT25US) now the cheapest price i can find for my tv is £569.99 and the goodmans is on the comet website for £249.99 (i`ve seen it for £200 elswhere) and the goodmans does not have a dvd player + i`d class the goodmans as a "low end" set whilst i`d assume the thompson is a "mid range" set. i rang the number provided and got put on hold, waited 30mins then as soon as the clock struck 5pm they hung up >:( (the letter says ring between 9am & 5pm) so i rang the 24hr customer service line and the (very nice) lady said she could not help me aparently because my set has been written off it won`t show up on her screen & she has no authority to change it anyway, so i explained the situation as best i could and she agreed that there was a big difference in spec and said all i can do is try & ring back tommorow and point this out, and that i should also brows the comet website & pick another, one that i think is closer in spec, only problem is they don`t carry anything above 21" in combi sets :/ so do i ask for a set with IDTV or maybe a bigger screen ? ( instead of a dvd) i also like the look of this http://www.comet.co.uk/comet/html/cache/204110.html still a much cheaper package, but am i being cheeky ? (bearing in mind, i`d MUCH rather have a combi set rather than seperates) and i don`t know if the tosh tv accepts ntsc (i need this) and at the end of the day, Can comet just tell me i gotta accept the goodmans or nothing ?

Any help/comments greatly apreciated & needed.


EDIT= i just read the initial letter i got from comet when they asked me if i wanted the warranty, it clearly states

NO BILLS TO PAY

NEW FOR OLD PROTECTION FOR LIFE (if product cannot be fixed economically)

they have also said i have to pay £68.55p this pays the reminder of the insurance policy & delivery of the unit. (tho tbh i only live 10mins away from the service centre, so i could collect if they let me)

This item was edited on Tuesday, 19th October 2004, 19:06

Quote:
i`d class the goodmans as a "low end" set whilst i`d assume the thompson is a "mid range" set

Not necessarily....we have a Goodmans 32", got it as a replacement after a Bush 32" went faulty after 10 months (from Comet too). The Goodmans is actually a Thomson tube, you can see the sticker on the tube through one of the air vents on the back. I can`t fault ours, we`ve had this one about 3yrs now, and the picture is good, bright colours etc (well, I think it is).

I`d say you want a seperate DVD too though to make it similar spec, not just the TV (I know you don`t really want seperates though).

I`d say you want a seperate DVD too though to make it similar spec, not just the TV (I know you don`t really want seperates though).

i already have several seperate dvd players, the good thing about a combi for the front room that my 6yr old autistic son can`t throw it through the window like he with seperates ;)

right, i`ve asked them for the phillips 32" as seen herehttp://www.comet.co.uk/comet/html/cache/453_203149.html but the guy at domgen (comets insurers) tried to palm me off with the goodmans + a seperate goodmans dvd player >:( i told him no way, and if it came to the push i`d force them to match the spec peice by peice, he then said it had to be something from the comet website, so i replied they don`t carry anything even close to my spec (in a combi) and i`ll have cash please, he then said he`ll ask comet about the phillips for me :/

>:( >:( >:( >:( i`ll NEVER EVER use them again, no matter how cheap they are >:( >:( >:(

Quote:
i replied they don`t carry anything even close to my spec (in a combi) and i`ll have cash please,

I knew there was something else I meant to add to that post last night. If you go for a refund, don`t forget they are allowed to make a deduction for the use you`ve already had out of it. At 3yrs old you may find you won`t get much offered back, unless they do it as a goodwill gesture.

I`d stick out for a replacement if I were you, I would think you`d get more out of it.

i only said it to get him moving :) hopefully i`ll know tomorow, tho tbh i have reservations about buying/getting a phillips set, but tbh it`s the only one i realy liked the look of (even tho it "aparently" won`t accept ntsc) and i gotta say, everything bad anyones ever said about comet aftersales is true, the service is awfull :(

Quote:
knew there was something else I meant to add to that post last night. If you go for a refund, don`t forget they are allowed to make a deduction for the use you`ve already had out of it. At 3yrs old you may find you won`t get much offered back, unless they do it as a goodwill gesture.
Not in this case, it`s a warranty replacement and they have to replace with similar or better specification, or a voucher/money to the value thereof.

The reduction rule only applies in the case of the 6 year rule, or they have to do the same with the value of the cover, and basically do a refund on that too.

The chances of an actual refund are almost nil, the chances of a "voucher to use instore to replace the goods" is very very high.

Jimbo : oÞ