Toshiba Faulty TV components won't acknowledge problem Nationwide

In response to 'Robert' from Lansing Michigan:

My story is identical to yours. Bought a 50HP66 in Jan '07 from Best Buy. Paid 1699.00 for it, didn't get the extended warranty, figuring if I got 5 years out of it I'd be happy. Yesterday (6-23-08) my set popped and the screen went black. Tried to troubleshoot it with the owner's manual but there was no similar problem listed so I tried online. Turns out everyone with LG, Zenith, Vizio and Toshiba 50" plasmas has this issue as the Y-sustain board is manufactured by LG. I spent all morning reading numerous forums and even had one that listed a name, "Dave Thompson" as a Toshiba customer service specialist. I called Toshiba and asked for him, the rep I had said the nam sounds familiar, then he looked in his directory and said Dave Thompson didn't exixt. He said since the warranty period had expired, there was no need to start a file. He recommended I bring the set to an authorized Toshiba repair shop--for a fee. Based on the 2-3 hours of reading, I was sure I didn't need to waste my time and money, I already know what the issue is. So I asked for a supervisor. I told this rep that there was so much on the net about it, he couldn't possibly tell me he'd never heard of this issue. After placing me on hold for 15 minutes, he came back and said the supervisor needs a diagnosis from an authorized repairman before he could get on the phone. I argued I wasn't going to pay one so "Patrick Williams" got on the line (the same guy the other poster spoke to 4 days ago). Williams said he never heard of such an issue and that the forums were loaded with inaccuracies aimed at sabotaging Toshiba's reputation. He also acknowledged that Dave Thompson DID exist and that he was a low level supervisor who held a lesser title. So now I have 2 people that definitely do exist and definiotely have heard of this issue more than once yet Toshiba is ignoring the problem completely. Would like to start a class action. I called a TV repair service that did a FREE house call and the tech knew exactly what the problem was in 5 seconds. His estimate was 650.00 with a 90 day guarantee. Not worth the risk. Also, Toshiba's authorized repairman wanted to charge me 95.00 to drop it off. I got the guy to break over the phone and admit that he was well aware of the issue, and he quoted me 800.00 over the phone. It's bad enough Toshiba ripped me off once, now they want to try to get another 95.00 out of me. Anyone want to start a class action stay on this thread.

Charlie
Bayside, New York
U.S.A.