IBM Support India dilly-dallying over warranty MB replacemen

[t43hot]

IBM Support India dilly-dallying over warranty MB replacement

Hello everyone,
I’m writing to ask your opinion on a warranty replacement issue I’m facing.
I have T43 machine type 2668 that was purchased in USA in 2005. I also purchased the 4yr TP Protection+ Depot warranty. Last year I extended the warranty for another year and upgraded to the onsite warranty plan.
Here is my current warranty status according to the Lenovo website:
Description: This product has a one year ThinkPlus maintenance offering. This product is entitled to parts and labor and includes on-site repair service. Service is available Monday-Friday, except holidays, with a next business day response objective. Customers may call their local service center for more information.

Problems started when I was getting the blue screen intermittently when I turned on my wireless card (73P4304 IBM 11A/B/G WI FI WIRELESS). The problem became worse periodically. The machine would shut down intermittently and I would get Error 1802 on startup. Now the machine does not enter the BIOS and the Access IBM button does not work either.
I also get the following error:
Error Resource Conflict – PCI Network Controller in slot 01, Bus:0B, Device:02, Function:00

I was too busy to call IBM support as I was always travelling. Then my job was shifted to India and I brought the laptop here so that I could get it fixed by IBM in my spare time.
I called the US support number from my VoIP line and phone support could not resolve the problem. They advised me to call IBM support in India to get onsite service. IBM India sent out a tech with an Intel b/g wireless card on May 27th. He replaced the card but it did not solve the problem.

They said I needed a motherboard replacement and sent it out on May 29th.

All was going well and the tech was opening up the laptop to replace the MB.
The problem starts when he says that there is a burn mark (brown spot) on a plastic covering on the MB right under the PCI slot on the left side of the machine. He calls his Supervisor and says that there are burn marks on the MB.
I correct him saying there is only one spot that is brown and that too on the plastic covering. To me it looked like it was caused by overheating. I have NEVER used the PCI. The tech asks his Supervisor what to do.
Within a minute of his previous statement the tech tells his supervisor that there are burn and spillage marks on the laptop and asks him what to do. I continue to correct him saying there is one brown spot and there is no evidence of any spillage. The tech agrees with me but continues to tell his Supervisor the same lie. I have NEVER spilled anything on my laptop, I don’t eat or drink near it and I literally baby it

I now speak to the Supervisor and ask him what the problem is. He tells me that since his tech says there are burn and spillage marks they cannot replace the MB.
They will send another tech out the next day (takes 30-45 min to disassemble and reassemble) to take a picture of the brown spot and send it to IBM’s technical team for review. Once they get their approval they will come out and replace the motherboard.
I tell him that I have the Protection Plus plan and it covers spills (although there has been no spill). He tells me that this is the procedure he has to follow once the tech has said that there are burn and spill marks. I ask him why he sent the tech with the MB if he doubted my claim.
He keeps repeating his previous statement and asks me to cooperate. Then he has the nerve to tell me that when I renewed my warranty I merely upgraded from the standard warranty to the onsite warranty and it does not mean I have the Protection+ plan.
What rubbish!! I know exactly what I purchased. And he also asks me to email him the warranty purchase invoice.

I am frustrated speaking to the tech and his Supervisor at this point and send the tech on his way.

Apparently Lenovo follows the guilty-until-proven-innocent approach in India and I’m thinking of getting the MB replaced when I come back to the US instead of following these nonsense procedures.

I would appreciate any suggestions on how to deal with this situation.

[Harryc]

Sounds to me like it will cost you 30 minutes the following day and a fax, plus the eventual downtime to replace the systemboard. I guess it depends on how badly you want to get it fixed. The customer service over there sounds questionable, but I can't think of a way to fight it unless you are willing to escalate...more time, more calls, etc., etc. IMHO, having IBM Techs examine burn marks or anything out of the ordinary is not an entirely bad idea. What if there was a potential fire hazard or safety hazard that they might discover? Far fetched, but you never know.

[t43hot]

Thanks Harry, I understand what you are saying but I just don't like being plainly accused of sabotage. I know the procedure in the US would have been to replace the MB first and examine it later.
It seems they are also confused on the type of warranty I have.

[Harryc]

Well, I was not there, but based on your description of what transpired, they weren't really accusing you of anything. They offered to investigate further. The worse case of what transpired that day is that you got a lazy tech who did what he needed to get out of an hours work. So now what? You either do what they ask or you escalate. You can try posting this on Lenovo forums and send a PM to Mark there. Maybe he can help..but he's a very busy guy.

[irus]

in india u have to purchase tpp separately which is not extend able beyond the original warranty of the machine. i'm surprised how they sold tpp to you. my purchase of the same was declined and money refunded and i got a call explaining their policy.

if there are burn marks it could be covered under either warranty or tpp depending if it was a voltage problem or not. did they check the serial number of the motherboard too?

[t43hot]

I have asked IBM support for clarification on the type of warranty I have, they haven't gotten back to me yet.
I purchased my extended warranty in USA, so maybe they follow a different procedure here in India.