Circuit City And GE-Zurich Warranty Management Inc. Extended warranty is a ripoff! You might as well set fire to the money you paid. Holland Ohio

I purchased a computer from Circuit City in July of 2002. At that time, the salesman brought up an extended warranty. He said it would cover absolutely anything that happened to the machine. The cost was $190, but I figured it would be worth it. The paper that was given to me at the time of purchase said it would cover any hardware, power surges, etc. It also offered guaranteed replacement if it can't be repaired, and a technician will come to your home to fix it.

Well, the on/off button on my tower broke. It acted like it was stuck and the housing that holds it came loose when I tried to push it in a second time. So I called GE-Zurich and tried to get it fixed.

I was told it was a physical defect and it was not covered under the warranty. Oh, stupid me! I thought that was why I was buying the warranty. I didn't think it was right, so I kept going up their chain of command only to be told the same thing over and over.

I took the computer to be fixed in my home town. The guy that fixed it said it was a mechanical defect in the machine and nothing that I had done. It took about 20 minutes to fix.

So I tried going through the Circuit City people. I called their "cool line" customer service. I called the store where I purchased the computer and spoke with the manager who directed me to their corporate number. Finally, after about 10 hours on the phone I'd had enough, so I called Circuit City and told them I wanted my money back.

But did you think that would happen? OF COURSE NOT! I was informed that they would return my money after they prorated it. They will only give back about $130 (I paid $190). They said it was in my contract. Well, let's see, after both companies ripped me off, they apparently want me to pay for the pleasure. I was contacted by someone in their corporate office and he said there was nothing I could do about it and offered to give me a number to call at GE-Zurich. I told him not to bother.

What really ticks me off is some of the rebuttals I've read on this site. They said I should have read the paperwork before I bought it. Well, I did read the paper I was given at the time of purchase, and I heard all the glowing comments about how wonderful this warranty was from the Circuit City salesman. I didn't realize that two nationally known companies would refuse to honor what they sold me. They are making money off customers even if they cancel their warranties because you don't read the part of the contract that says they'll pro-rate it until after you buy it.

I will never buy anything from either one of them again. Please, if you read this, save yourself the aggravation and money. Like I said in my opening line, you might as well set fire to the money. I would have come out farther ahead.

Shannon
Wauseon, Ohio
U.S.A.