Any tips for getting Sony to warranty repair a TV?

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

I bought a KV30HS420 about 95 days ago, direct from Sony, financed through
Sony. I have been having problems this month with the screen turning blue
and then the TV turns itself off.

I called Sony today and have been told that they have no record of ever
selling me a TV and they won't warranty repair it without a bill of sale
(which of course I don't have, I only have an email confirmation of the
order). So, unless somebody has some tips they can give me, I am stuck with
a boat anchor and a large bill. I am tempted to just not pay them for the
TV but the last time I refused a bill on principle it ended up hurting my
credit.

Any tips are greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
--Dan

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

dg wrote:

> I bought a KV30HS420 about 95 days ago, direct from Sony, financed through
> Sony. I have been having problems this month with the screen turning blue
> and then the TV turns itself off.
>
> I called Sony today and have been told that they have no record of ever
> selling me a TV and they won't warranty repair it without a bill of sale
> (which of course I don't have, I only have an email confirmation of the
> order). So, unless somebody has some tips they can give me, I am stuck with
> a boat anchor and a large bill. I am tempted to just not pay them for the
> TV but the last time I refused a bill on principle it ended up hurting my
> credit.

Do you have the warranty card that came with the TV and the credit card
bill that has a charge from Sony on it? In most states that is all that
is required to get warranty service. That e-mail confirmation as well as
proof of shipping will probably be enough.

If they insist that you didn't buy a TV from them and they therefore
don't owe you warranty service, write them a nice letter saying that you
would like to understand why you owe them any money. The fact that they
are billing you is pretty good proof of purchase. If they don't bend,
take it up with your state's consumer affairs division or Attorney
General's office.

Good luck.

Matthew

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

I bought it straight from the Sony website, http/www.sonystyle.com They
had (still have) a deal going, 6 months 0 interest, no payments for 6
months, I took the bait and financed through Sony. I have the order #, I
have the tracking number, I have everything I could possibly have EXCEPT an
actual paper bill of sale which customer support says should have been
included in the packing list on the box the TV came in. Sony customer
support will accept nothing else as proof of purchase.

Yeah, it would seem like there is more to this story but there is not. I
have contacted (emailed) Sony Financial Services to see what they have to
say about this, because they send me a bill each month, they MUST know I
bought a TV through them. No reply yet, I sent the email a couple hours
ago.

Meanwhile, my chances at getting them to honor the 90 day parts and labor
warranty are slipping away.........I have a feeling they want to make SURE
by the time I get warranty coverage, its well past the 90 days.

--Dan

"Mack McKinnon" <MckinnonRemoveThis@tvadmanDeleteThisAsWell.com> wrote in
message news:BHcfd.26843$sO5.7144@fe1.texas.rr.com...
> Whom did you buy this TV from? Directly from Sony, via their website? Or
> from someone else? I have a feeling there is more to this.
>
> mack
> austin

 

[THUMPer]

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

On Mon, 25 Oct 2004 21:47:33 GMT, "dg" <dan_gus@hotmail.com> wrote:

>I bought it straight from the Sony website, http/www.sonystyle.com They
>had (still have) a deal going, 6 months 0 interest, no payments for 6
>months, I took the bait and financed through Sony. I have the order #, I
>have the tracking number, I have everything I could possibly have EXCEPT an
>actual paper bill of sale which customer support says should have been
>included in the packing list on the box the TV came in. Sony customer
>support will accept nothing else as proof of purchase.
>
>Yeah, it would seem like there is more to this story but there is not. I
>have contacted (emailed) Sony Financial Services to see what they have to
>say about this, because they send me a bill each month, they MUST know I
>bought a TV through them. No reply yet, I sent the email a couple hours
>ago.
>
>Meanwhile, my chances at getting them to honor the 90 day parts and labor
>warranty are slipping away.........I have a feeling they want to make SURE
>by the time I get warranty coverage, its well past the 90 days.
>

File a claim in small claims court right away. Also have your
attorney send them a letter.
Thumper
>--Dan
>
>"Mack McKinnon" <MckinnonRemoveThis@tvadmanDeleteThisAsWell.com> wrote in
>message news:BHcfd.26843$sO5.7144@fe1.texas.rr.com...
>> Whom did you buy this TV from? Directly from Sony, via their website? Or
>> from someone else? I have a feeling there is more to this.
>>
>> mack
>> austin
>
>
>

To reply drop XYZ in address

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

Here is an update,
I called the SALES people at SonyStyle.com and told them my story. The lady
I spoke with looked up my name, asked if my address was correct, and told me
that if I didn't want to deal with the customer support people on the phone
anymore that I could just go to my nearest authorized Sony dealer and they
could send the TV to the manufacturer for repair. Not an ideal situation,
but I guess I'll take what I can get. Now I just need to find out if
anybody local is an authorized sony dealer.

--Dan

"Thumper" <jaylsmithXYZ@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:nmuqn0d6752irjpo7729pfamq4edhejvdl@4ax.com...
> On Mon, 25 Oct 2004 21:47:33 GMT, "dg" <dan_gus@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> >I bought it straight from the Sony website, http/www.sonystyle.com
They
> >had (still have) a deal going, 6 months 0 interest, no payments for 6
> >months, I took the bait and financed through Sony. I have the order #, I
> >have the tracking number, I have everything I could possibly have EXCEPT
an
> >actual paper bill of sale which customer support says should have been
> >included in the packing list on the box the TV came in. Sony customer
> >support will accept nothing else as proof of purchase.
> >
> >Yeah, it would seem like there is more to this story but there is not. I
> >have contacted (emailed) Sony Financial Services to see what they have to
> >say about this, because they send me a bill each month, they MUST know I
> >bought a TV through them. No reply yet, I sent the email a couple hours
> >ago.
> >
> >Meanwhile, my chances at getting them to honor the 90 day parts and labor
> >warranty are slipping away.........I have a feeling they want to make
SURE
> >by the time I get warranty coverage, its well past the 90 days.
> >
>
> File a claim in small claims court right away. Also have your
> attorney send them a letter.
> Thumper
> >--Dan
> >
> >"Mack McKinnon" <MckinnonRemoveThis@tvadmanDeleteThisAsWell.com> wrote in
> >message news:BHcfd.26843$sO5.7144@fe1.texas.rr.com...
> >> Whom did you buy this TV from? Directly from Sony, via their website?
Or
> >> from someone else? I have a feeling there is more to this.
> >>
> >> mack
> >> austin
> >
> >
> >
>
> To reply drop XYZ in address

 

[dizzy]

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

On Mon, 25 Oct 2004 22:30:00 GMT, "dg" <dan_gus@hotmail.com> wrote:

>Here is an update,
>I called the SALES people at SonyStyle.com and told them my story. The lady
>I spoke with looked up my name, asked if my address was correct, and told me
>that if I didn't want to deal with the customer support people on the phone
>anymore that I could just go to my nearest authorized Sony dealer and they
>could send the TV to the manufacturer for repair. Not an ideal situation,
>but I guess I'll take what I can get. Now I just need to find out if
>anybody local is an authorized sony dealer.

Just make sure you get proof that you dropped-off the TV with them...

"What TV?"

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

OK, if this were me, I would call someone at Sony and talk to them
personally. I would not be confrontational, but rather take the position
that I was trapped into an impossible situation because either the necessary
paper got left out or somehow got mixed up with the packing and really
needed help. Of course, point out all the other paperwork you have
absolutely proving where you bought the set but do it in a non-challenging
way. The key would be to have someone empathize with your plight and go to
bat for you. You are more likely to make this happen via phone than email,
which is too impersonal.

mack
austin


"dg" <dan_gus@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:Vvefd.9944$6q2.3270@newssvr14.news.prodigy.com...
> I bought it straight from the Sony website, http/www.sonystyle.com They
> had (still have) a deal going, 6 months 0 interest, no payments for 6
> months, I took the bait and financed through Sony. I have the order #, I
> have the tracking number, I have everything I could possibly have EXCEPT
an
> actual paper bill of sale which customer support says should have been
> included in the packing list on the box the TV came in. Sony customer
> support will accept nothing else as proof of purchase.
>
> Yeah, it would seem like there is more to this story but there is not. I
> have contacted (emailed) Sony Financial Services to see what they have to
> say about this, because they send me a bill each month, they MUST know I
> bought a TV through them. No reply yet, I sent the email a couple hours
> ago.
>
> Meanwhile, my chances at getting them to honor the 90 day parts and labor
> warranty are slipping away.........I have a feeling they want to make SURE
> by the time I get warranty coverage, its well past the 90 days.
>
> --Dan
>
> "Mack McKinnon" <MckinnonRemoveThis@tvadmanDeleteThisAsWell.com> wrote in
> message news:BHcfd.26843$sO5.7144@fe1.texas.rr.com...
> > Whom did you buy this TV from? Directly from Sony, via their website?
Or
> > from someone else? I have a feeling there is more to this.
> >
> > mack
> > austin
>
>
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

In the end, you will have a lot more fun taking any Sony products
you have out into the yard and smashing them up with a baseball
bat than you will trying to get support from sony. Sony is one
of only two companies that have made it to my lifetime, "I'll never
buy anything else from you no matter how good it is" list (mainly
due to my support experience with them .

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

In alt.tv.tech.hdtv, dg <dan_gus@hotmail.com> wrote:

> I called Sony today and have been told that they have no record of ever
> selling me a TV and they won't warranty repair it without a bill of sale
> (which of course I don't have, I only have an email confirmation of the
> order). So, unless somebody has some tips they can give me, I am stuck with
> a boat anchor and a large bill. I am tempted to just not pay them for the
> TV but the last time I refused a bill on principle it ended up hurting my
> credit.

I have had horrible times with Sony's customer service and warranty
repairs. I am at the point where I will no longer buy any Sony product.

Since they would do NOTHING for me over a lousy $199 PDA, I have
purchased a Panasonic HDTV, a Panasonic DVD player, two Apple iPods and
numerous other non-Sony devices.

IMO, Sony has very good engineers, even better marketing, and lousy
customer service.

--
....I'm an air-conditioned gypsy...

- The Who

 

[curmudgeon]

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

Guess it's all in how you ask.

I bought a refurb'd sony vaio desktop and a week later the power supply went
out. They had me an on-site service repair man with a new supply in hand in
TWO days!!! Absolutely the best service I've ever gotten from anyone!!

Remember, this was a refurb!!


<EskWIRED@spamblock.panix.com> wrote in message
news:clkb05$4g3$2@reader1.panix.com...
> In alt.tv.tech.hdtv, dg <dan_gus@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>> I called Sony today and have been told that they have no record of ever
>> selling me a TV and they won't warranty repair it without a bill of sale
>> (which of course I don't have, I only have an email confirmation of the
>> order). So, unless somebody has some tips they can give me, I am stuck
>> with
>> a boat anchor and a large bill. I am tempted to just not pay them for
>> the
>> TV but the last time I refused a bill on principle it ended up hurting my
>> credit.
>
> I have had horrible times with Sony's customer service and warranty
> repairs. I am at the point where I will no longer buy any Sony product.
>
> Since they would do NOTHING for me over a lousy $199 PDA, I have
> purchased a Panasonic HDTV, a Panasonic DVD player, two Apple iPods and
> numerous other non-Sony devices.
>
> IMO, Sony has very good engineers, even better marketing, and lousy
> customer service.
>
> --
> ...I'm an air-conditioned gypsy...
>
> - The Who

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

In alt.tv.tech.hdtv, General Schvantzkoph <schvantzkoph@yahoo.com> wrote:

> I've bought my last Sony also.

Me too. Sony customer service is horrible.


--
....I'm an air-conditioned gypsy...

- The Who

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

In alt.tv.tech.hdtv, Mack McKinnon <MckinnonRemoveThis@tvadmandeletethisaswell.com> wrote:
> OK, if this were me, I would call someone at Sony and talk to them
> personally. I would not be confrontational, but rather take the position
> that I was trapped into an impossible situation because either the necessary
> paper got left out or somehow got mixed up with the packing and really
> needed help. Of course, point out all the other paperwork you have
> absolutely proving where you bought the set but do it in a non-challenging
> way. The key would be to have someone empathize with your plight and go to
> bat for you. You are more likely to make this happen via phone than email,
> which is too impersonal.


This plan usually works, but not at Sony. I went up and up the chain of
command, and every person who was higher up was a worse jerk than the one
before. I ended up speaking with the VP in charge of customer service,
who was the biggest jerk of all.

What was most interesting was that he used phrases that had been parroted
by his underlings. My impression was that to get ahead in Sony customer
service, you needed to kiss up to your boss, and to act exactly like he
does. And the big boss is a total jerk.

I wrote a letter to the President of Sony USA explaining the problems I
had experienced. I got no reply whatsoever. I expected my letter to be
shuffled off to some underling who would send me a nice form letter
cooing about how sorry they were and how they hoped I'd still be a loyal
Sony customer. But I got nothing. They don't care.

I will never again buy a Sony product. There are plenty of other
companies that make good products.

--
....I'm an air-conditioned gypsy...

- The Who

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

In alt.tv.tech.hdtv, Thomas A. Horsley <tom.horsley@att.net> wrote:
> In the end, you will have a lot more fun taking any Sony products
> you have out into the yard and smashing them up with a baseball
> bat than you will trying to get support from sony. Sony is one
> of only two companies that have made it to my lifetime, "I'll never
> buy anything else from you no matter how good it is" list (mainly
> due to my support experience with them .

Who is the other?

--
....I'm an air-conditioned gypsy...

- The Who

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

>> ... Sony is one
>> of only two companies that have made it to my lifetime, "I'll never
>> buy anything else from you no matter how good it is" list (mainly
>> due to my support experience with them .
>
>Who is the other?

Intuit for their foisting of untested "activation" software on unsuspecting
beta testers (i.e. otherwise know as "former customers") in Turbo Tax.
The year they did that, I installed Turbo Tax, activated it, did my taxes,
submitted my electronic tax forms, then when I came back to the very same
computer the very next day to see if my forms had been accepted, Turbo
Tax told me I hadn't activated the software (and naturally when I tried
to activate again it told me it had already been activated on another
computer and I must be a software thief .
--
>>==>> The *Best* political site <URL:http/www.vote-smart.org/> >>==+
email: Tom.Horsley@worldnet.att.net icbm: Delray Beach, FL |
<URL:http/home.att.net/~Tom.Horsley> Free Software and Politics <<==+

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

"dg" <dan_gus@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:GKufd.10155$6q2.4561@newssvr14.news.prodigy.com...
> Yep, thats exactly the impression I got when I stopped by my local Sony
> dealer. They said no way, they don't handle ANY service related issues.
> Even if I bought the set from them, they said they do not handle service.

But there is a local TV repair outfit in your city that handles SONY
warranty work. Here in Austin, there are at least two, one north and one
south. I would think you could get the name(s) of your local warranty
service provider from a Sony TV dealer, then go there directly and see what
they say.

mack
austin

 

[Poldy]

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

In article <10nqjh0ha862t35@corp.supernews.com>,
"Matthew L. Martin" <nothere@notnow.never> wrote:

> dg wrote:
>
> > I bought a KV30HS420 about 95 days ago, direct from Sony, financed through
> > Sony. I have been having problems this month with the screen turning blue
> > and then the TV turns itself off.
> >
> > I called Sony today and have been told that they have no record of ever
> > selling me a TV and they won't warranty repair it without a bill of sale
> > (which of course I don't have, I only have an email confirmation of the
> > order). So, unless somebody has some tips they can give me, I am stuck with
> > a boat anchor and a large bill. I am tempted to just not pay them for the
> > TV but the last time I refused a bill on principle it ended up hurting my
> > credit.
>
> Do you have the warranty card that came with the TV and the credit card
> bill that has a charge from Sony on it? In most states that is all that
> is required to get warranty service. That e-mail confirmation as well as
> proof of shipping will probably be enough.
>
> If they insist that you didn't buy a TV from them and they therefore
> don't owe you warranty service, write them a nice letter saying that you
> would like to understand why you owe them any money. The fact that they
> are billing you is pretty good proof of purchase. If they don't bend,
> take it up with your state's consumer affairs division or Attorney
> General's office.
>
> Good luck.
>
> Matthew

First of all, Sony's warranty is 1 year parts, 90 days labor. So you
may be out of luck.

On XBRs, especially over 30 inches (I think all XBRs are like that),
they have 2 years parts and labor and in-home service.

If you used a gold credit card, you would have the 90 day warranty
extended to 1 year. If you have the CC statement and receipt, you
should be able to go to your CC company.

 

[Poldy]

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

In article <clkbgh$4g3$4@reader1.panix.com>,
EskWIRED@spamblock.panix.com wrote:

> I will never again buy a Sony product. There are plenty of other
> companies that make good products.

Kind of inflexible isn't that?

They still innovate a lot.

Their warranty is poor unless you get an XBR.

But you should at a minimum buy with a gold credit card so that you get
a full year on labor instead of the 90 days (which BTW is what a lot of
other companies offer).

I mean in Consumer Reports, Matsushita products (Panasonic, Magnavox)
have the best reliability. But those products are not always the best
in a given category. I say that as the owner of a Pansonic analog TV
and a Sony XBR HDTV.

 

[Poldy]

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

In article <GKufd.10155$6q2.4561@newssvr14.news.prodigy.com>,
"dg" <dan_gus@hotmail.com> wrote:

> Yep, thats exactly the impression I got when I stopped by my local Sony
> dealer. They said no way, they don't handle ANY service related issues.
> Even if I bought the set from them, they said they do not handle service. I
> asked what other brands would have better warranty service, they said all
> are about the same, and I just need to call every day and eventually I will
> get service.

Well if a Sony authorized center gets reimbursed from Sony for warranty
repair, assuming they honor the warranty, then they should have no probs.

There are shops which do nothing but repair. May be best to look for
one of those which are authorized Sony repair shops.

The chain stores will not be eager to help you since you didn't buy from
them and since they have their own extended warranty programs they're
trying to sell.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

In alt.tv.tech.hdtv, poldy <poldy@kfu.com> wrote:
> In article <clkbgh$4g3$4@reader1.panix.com>,
> EskWIRED@spamblock.panix.com wrote:

> > I will never again buy a Sony product. There are plenty of other
> > companies that make good products.

> Kind of inflexible isn't that?

I can't argue with that. It is a totally inflexible stance. And it
would represent a case of biting off my nose to spite my face, if Sony's
offerings were unique.

But so far, I've done fine with my Panasonic HDTV, my Palm PDA, my
Canon digital camera and my HP laptop. Each of them were bought after
Sony screwed me over a $200 Clie. I used to really like Sony's products,
and I still think they have great engineers.

> They still innovate a lot.

Yes they do. But they also use proprietary formats, which is bad for
consumers.


> I mean in Consumer Reports, Matsushita products (Panasonic, Magnavox)
> have the best reliability. But those products are not always the best
> in a given category. I say that as the owner of a Pansonic analog TV
> and a Sony XBR HDTV.

I don't really trust CR, but that is a differnt topic. If ever Sony has
a product that I feel is unmatched anywhere, I might take a chance with
them again. I haven't run into that situation yet, however. I find
other products that are competative with Sony, and I buy them instead.

--
....I'm an air-conditioned gypsy...

- The Who