Extended warranty claim denied - my play?

[wadea]

I'll try to make this as short as possible:

I have a year left on a three year extended warranty on my laptop (COMP USA - TAP). I sent it in to have two things repaired. (1) The fan has failed and is causing the computer to overheat, and (2) the network cable input jack is physically too big, resulting in play between the cable and the jack and an inconsistent connection.

A week later, I call to check the status of the repairs and find out when to expect it back. The customer service person informs me that the repair has been denied because they found "liquid damage". I tell her that (1) I am certain that nothing has been spilled on or near this computer, (2) I think they just say this to avoid making good on the warranty, (3) once they've done the work of opening the computer to identify the damage, it would have been no extra effort or cost to drop in a new fan, and (4) liquid damage is certainly not the cause of a network jack that is physically the wrong size or shape.

The agent tells me that my recourse is to call "corporate customer service" and gives me the number.

The corp. cust. service person tells me that once corrosion is detected, the repair guys don't repair anything. I tell her that I disagree that there is corrosion damage and ask her what I can do. She says, "There's nothing I can do for you." I ask who can help me and she replies, "There's nothing anyone can do." After much back and forth with me voicing disbelief and frustration, she offers to submit a formal complaint for me and says someone will call me about it within 72 hours.

60 hours remain. What is my plan for when they call?

Am I paranoid or might they really be denying almost every claim for corrosive damage or other bunk reasons?

I realize the these repairs are probably not costly or difficult, but I want them to repair the computer on principle. I should note that the computer functions fine and I've been keeping it on one of these cooling pads since the fan quit.

I suspect that the cost of the man-hours they will spend listening to me complain on the phone will exceed the cost of repairing the computer. Further, can the Better Business Bureau help me or should I threaten small claims court or something? The cost of dealing with me this way will far exceed the cost of the repairs.

PS - I know extended warranties are ripoffs. The salesperson knocked $200 off the laptop's price to get me to buy a $300 warranty. I would have still passed, except that the computer I selected was made by a manufacturer I had never heard of - Averatec.

[Rhett]

People are getting ripped off by this a lot. Usually at this point, they tell you that they'll fix your laptop for $2000 or they'll send it back to you for $80 without fixing it.

[Henry17]

I had a similar incident with Toshiba. Their laptops are prone to a loose AC adaptor. Even though the tablet was only 2 years old and still under warranty it was on it's second motherboard because of the loose AC issue.

The service centre refused to repair the tablet the second time claiming their was evidence of water damage. Trying to explain that the AC issue wasn't caused nor could it be caused by water damage to the front line people got me no where.

Contacted BBB. Filed a complaint. Two weeks later get a phone call from Toshiba. They paid for all the repairs.

[PLOlover]

go to small claims court maybe?

[Beavis68]

yep, small claims court.

[Freakin]

Definitely geta someone from corporate customer care on the phone and inform them that you are filing a complaint with the BBB and the state attorney general

if they say 'bfd', then file the complaints

[CORed]

This is a little off-topic, except as it relates to the whole extended warranty scam, but it was truly a WTF moment. A few weeks ago, I bought a pair of jack stands at an auto parts store. As I was checking out, the cashier asked me if I wanted an extended warranty. Now, the pair of jack stands was only something like $25, and there isn't much that can go wrong with them. The only moving parts are the height adjustment, and that's made out of heavy steel. Besides, if a jack stand does fail, the damage to the car (and yourself, if any part of your body is under the car) is going to cost a lot more than replacing the jack stands, and I'll lay long odds that the extended warranty doesn't cover that.

[Bremen]

I'm not familiar with laptops however with mobile phones there is a patch inside the phone that changes color when it comes in contact with water. If it changes color your warranty is void and they won't do anything for you. I'd assume its the same with laptops and other electronics.