"prestige Protection" Extended Warranty

[Pepito]

I dont normally bother with extended warranties but when I laid out nearly $3.2K for an 86cm HD Panasonic CRT tv from a DSE Powerhouse in '04 I decided to get one.

Just as well I did because it has developed a problem where every few weeks or so it will lose its colour and go b&w (images keep moving and sound continues fine) and it must be turned off and on at the wall because it wont respond to the remote.

The extended warranty is with a mob called "Prestige Protection".

I've been warned by somebody they might be dodgy and so far my attempts to contact them has come up blank. Whenever I ring I'm put in a seemingly endless queue and twice I've requestd a callback after leaving my details but never heard back from them.

Has anybody heard of or dealt with these people before? thanks

[Scalpel]

I dont normally bother with extended warranties but when I laid out nearly $3.2K for an 86cm HD Panasonic CRT tv from a DSE Powerhouse in '04 I decided to get one.

Just as well I did because it has developed a problem where every few weeks or so it will lose its colour and go b&w (images keep moving and sound continues fine) and it must be turned off and on at the wall because it wont respond to the remote.

The extended warranty is with a mob called "Prestige Protection".

I've been warned by somebody they might be dodgy and so far my attempts to contact them has come up blank. Whenever I ring I'm put in a seemingly endless queue and twice I've requestd a callback after leaving my details but never heard back from them.

Has anybody heard of or dealt with these people before? thanks

Does the Dick Smith Powerhouse that you bought from still exist? I would be speaking to the store Manager and getting them to help you. Although the service is from the 3rd party, the contract was sold to you from DSPH, so they still are responsible for the sale of a working 'product' (ie the warranty, not the screen)

Good luck in your quest and keep us posted.

Make sure that DSPH and Prestige know you are keeping readers on a public forum informed (one of Australia's largest TV forums at that).

J.

[digitalhome]

I dont normally bother with extended warranties but when I laid out nearly $3.2K for an 86cm HD Panasonic CRT tv from a DSE Powerhouse in '04 I decided to get one.

Just as well I did because it has developed a problem where every few weeks or so it will lose its colour and go b&w (images keep moving and sound continues fine) and it must be turned off and on at the wall because it wont respond to the remote.

The extended warranty is with a mob called "Prestige Protection".

I've been warned by somebody they might be dodgy and so far my attempts to contact them has come up blank. Whenever I ring I'm put in a seemingly endless queue and twice I've requestd a callback after leaving my details but never heard back from them.

Has anybody heard of or dealt with these people before? thanks

Does the Dick Smith Powerhouse that you bought from still exist? I would be speaking to the store Manager and getting them to help you. Although the service is from the 3rd party, the contract was sold to you from DSPH, so they still are responsible for the sale of a working 'product' (ie the warranty, not the screen)

Good luck in your quest and keep us posted.

Make sure that DSPH and Prestige know you are keeping readers on a public forum informed (one of Australia's largest TV forums at that).

J.

I wish that was right but unfortunatly you are wrong Scapel. The extended warranty is not a "product" it is a "service" that is offered to the customer. Once the manufacture's warranty expires the contract between the buyer and sellers ends and if in the case with extended warranty, that is now between the customer and 3rd party insurance provider. This should be clearly stated in the extended warranty paperwork. But I agree that the store manager should be contacted at least to provide you the store's Prestige warranty rep's mobile number and to help you state your case. That's what any good manager should do for their customer's.

[drsmith]

There are a number of threads on extended warranty which can be accessed from here.

There is also a PDF document from the ACCC providing general information warranties and refunds which is well worth reading. It iccludes information on consumer's statutory rights and on extended warranty contracts. This document can be accessed from

here.

[Pepito]

Thanks for that J.

Yes, the store sure still is in operation (DSE PowerHouse in Maribyrnong).

I'll give them a few more days to get back to me, they might just be very busy.

[qurious]

The warranty is a "product". It just so happens that the "product" is a service, not a physical product.

The retailer who sold the product is responsible for it.

DSPH must help you or find the repairer or have it fixed. It doesn not matter that it is from a third party.

It is no different than the Pana TV you bought. Although the product came from a 3rd party - ie pana, the contract of sale is between you and DSPH. They must honour the contract of sale, and if the contract of sale is that the product has 5yr warranty and DSPH sold it to you under that premise then they are responsible ultimately.

EG - if the Pana TV failed, and you were entitled to a repair or refund, the repair or refund is not the reposnsability of Pana, as they did not sell it to you. The responsability lies with the seller, who then claims or has the issue adressed in conjuntion with Pana.

DSPH is ultimately responsible for what they sold you.

If you can not contact the extended warranty people then DSPH is legally obliged to honour the warranty they sold you, as they profited from it. Then probably made more money on the warranty they sold you than the TV itself.

[bacco|007]

I had this prestige protection on a mobile phone - it took 6 weeks for me to get anywhere and when they had finally accepted the phone for diagnosis they decided it was beyond economical repair and gave me a second hand replacement.

I complained to my local DSE store, the store manager said that many people have had similar complaints

[Pepito]

ok, 10 days later and I still haven't heard from them