Can someone suggest a way to get Lenovo to give me the warra

[mybellyisempty]

I recently purchased a Lenovo W500 off the outlet, on July 8th. It was a redistributed model, as I didn't want a refurbished model.

I originally had been looking at purchasing off the CPP, as I have the past half dozen Thinkpads I've bought, but ended up finding this W500 for $150 less, with twice the video RAM (didn't care about FireGL vs. Radeon), more RAM (which I pulled for a 2nd 2gb stick), a 5350 (which I only wanted a 5300) than a comparably configured T500.

I called up the CPP phone number to ask about a warranty, as there wasn't an option to buy one in the checkout process, and was told by the customer service person on the phone that once I had the notebook in hand and could give them the serial number and product number, I could go there and buy a warranty.

So, when my laptop arrived, I called them up, and placed an order for the 3 year accidental depot warranty that I had on my T61p. A week later (today), I got a call saying that the warranty I purchased (41C9334) was not compatible with my notebook.

This isn't a matter of the wrong socket type, the wrong voltage, or wrong interface, how can it be incompatible?

So, I called them back, and figured I'd just have it knocked down to the 3 year on-site 9x5 next business day warranty (41C9168) I had with my T61, T60, 2 R60s, T43, T42P, T42, T41P, T41, T40, X31, X30, as I have an HP that I take out and about with me, and the W500 could be used at home.

I was told that wouldn't work either, that any warranty I purchased would not take place until after the outlet warranty (1 year depot) was up. So, if I tried to buy the kind of warranty I wanted on this, I couldn't use it until July 2010...and by that time, I'll have probably moved on to the Calpella platform and given this notebook to my dad (and my old T60 he's using now would move down to mom).

Now, this just pisses me off. If I had been told this, I wouldn't have wasted my time looking on the outlet for a week and a half before buying the W500. But, they didn't tell me this, they said I'd be fine going for the CPP warranty after I bought the notebook. Now I'm stuck with a notebook that I'd either have to return to purchase new (and they won't match the pricing for the configuration, which means I'd spend and additional $340 + tax if I wanted the same configuration or $240 + tax for a suitable configuration, BEFORE THE WARRANTY), or a notebook that isn't covered in the manner that I want and expect for my primary system.


Who can I talk to to convince Lenovo to take my hard-earned money?

[RealBlackStuff]

Forum member Mark@Lenovo comes to mind. He has come to the rescue of many other Forum members already.

[Mark@Lenovo]

mybellyisempty,

So, when my laptop arrived, I called them up, and placed an order for the 3 year accidental depot warranty that I had on my T61p. A week later (today), I got a call saying that the warranty I purchased (41C9334) was not compatible with my notebook.

That's the problem, because the 41C9334 warranty part number is not a valid warranty upgrade P/N for the W500. Depending on the type number of your W500, the correct PN for just a 3 year depot would be 41C9170. Three year depot with ThinkPad protection would be under yet another part number. Here is a link with a list of part numbers for the type of service applicable for a particular system model type. http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... d=TPAD-WSU

Each system has a base warranty, and then can have ONE and only ONE upgraded warranty type associated with it at a time. One cannot "stack" different warranties - say 3 year depot, and then add 3 year ThinkPad protection. If you wanted 3 year depot with ThinkPad protection, there will be a unique part number for just that.

Also, these upgraded warranties start from the begining of the base warranty. So, if you have a 1 year base warranty, and buy a 2 year upgrade, you have 2 years, not 1 + 2 = 3. (I realize you didn't ask this, and may be well versed, but I'm trying to address a few other possible points of confusion for the benefit of other readers).

ThinkPad protection must be purchased within the first 30 days, while other types of service upgrades can be purchased at any time while the system is still under warranty.

I received your PM here. If you are still stuck, please send me another PM with your system MT and serial number from the bottom of the unit.

Thanks!

Mark

[mybellyisempty]

I've responded to your PM on NotebookReview.com

Thanks!