Warranty Hassle

[bass1175]

Hey guys, would like your opinion on whether these two issues qualify for warranty repair by IBM.

A little background on this machine, I have owned it for 2.5 years and carries a 3 years warranty with onsite repair.

Last week I came to close the machine and after it closed the lcd bezel split opened and seperated from the back of the LCD.

Identical to this gents problem, without the removal of the actual front bezel as he has in the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1k-QWX_VGI

Should this here be covered under the Warranty services? Is this a common issue?

[bass1175]

I decided to do this job myself, can someone confirm the T410 LCD backing is the same as the T420. Warranty is not covering it.

[netrunner]

You have to find parts exactly for T420. T410 has different display size and ratio (16:10), so bezel is not compatible.

[bass1175]

Thanks for the heads up, I would like to hear members opinion on whether such thing is user neglect or should be covered. I am only upset as I highly believe in this product and usually support this brand for its warranty and durability, my last other issue I had was a T43 Graphics card popping out of the MB. For IBM not to help out in this case is unsatisfactory and unreasonable. Would appreciate your opinion.

[Temetka]

If it were me, I would push for warranty repair. Maybe let it drop that you were considering extending the warranty but their customer service needs to step up.

If you treat the machine well then I would think it should be covered by warranty. But if I were your tech and saw obvious signs of abuse, I'd invalidate the warranty on the spot.

[bass1175]

Thanks for your input Temetka, the machine has onsite repair, so when I initially called, they were sending the parts out without a problem, its a wide range of discretion. I have escalated the case. I found many hinge issues online that match what occurred to my machine, and claiming neglect is not easy to prove when a hinge has broke free.

I also reported a USB issue with the left USB port, devices disconnect with the slightest movement, they also did not cover that. Something isnt adding up.

The people that report this info back to me is the billing department and they don't have much info to give , other then the depot is not covering it.

Waiting till Tuesday to speak with someone that is more aware of the case.

PS- I called again today asking them one more time what was the reason, and the tech blatantly said hes not sure why they aren't covering this and normally its no problem. Since he was siding with me, I got his name and he will try to get involved.

I hate haggling with a company over entitled services, and imagine how many other users who don't push the issue and just accept the $600 bill.

Will see what they say on Tuesday. Appreciate your feedback

[Temetka]

If it were me and I had a support person on my side, I would try and get that person to handle my warranty claim.

I wish you luck in getting this resolved. WRT to your USB issue it sounds like one of the USB ports has come loose from the motherboard. Which of course would mean a planar swap in addition to the other stuff you need repaired.

[bass1175]

That guy unfortunately had no decision making authority.

IBM was trying hard to get out of repairs, my issues described above are easily covered by other vendors. It in the end it wasn't about neglect as one rep stated, IBM states they simply stopped covering hinges and USB problems. What? Their exact words.


Also my USB issue is not a soldering issue, the four prongs inside the USB had turned flat with no springing action. It was resolved once by prying down on the prongs, but then it turned flat again, as its difficult to create the proper angle. It Should bend from the middle of the prong rather then from the end of the prong.

I had to file a complaint with the BBB , describing in high details the issue.

And now IBM is fixing everything.

Many will just give up and not call 5 departments going through the hoops. Initial call center that takes the case, The depot, the Finance Dept, the Escalation Dept. and now Customer Care. All have different numbers as well as opinions.

They have an escalation team that's specific for customers who disagree with initial warranty decisions. Many thanks

If someone can share the location of this warranty Policy as I cant find it.

Cheers

[Cigarguy]

With regards to your T410, what do IBM have anything to do with this? You do know IBM sold their PC division to Lenovo during the T61 generation.

[Temetka]

The squeeky wheel gets the greece. Good job on being tenacious about this, you paid for a warranty and they should honor it without the need for escalation. I am glad you are getting your machine repaired. I sincerely hope this is the last issue you have with this mahcine and it serves you well.

[bass1175]

Thanks a lot for the support Temetka. For the most part its a pretty robust machine and with an SSD installed, its hard to imagine needing anything faster and more powerful. I see myself using this type for a good while without any further upgrades.

[Brad]

Glad to hear the situation was resolved to your satisfaction. In my opinion you should not have had to go through all that you did. Instead of looking for anyway to deny a claim Lenovo should be looking for every way to satisfy their customers.

I suggest extending the T410 warranty if you plan to use it for a good while longer. Or maybe pickup a good working spare for that money.

Brad

[ajkula66]

With regards to your T410, what do IBM have anything to do with this? You do know IBM sold their PC division to Lenovo during the T61 generation.

They are the ones who are still in charge of on-site repair within U.S., and the Atlanta call center still belongs to them.

[bass1175]

The safest way as it appears now, is to include accidental protection coverage which costs $269 for 4 years according to Lenovos site, not sure if this includes the 3 years that already passed and 1 for the new year or for a total of 4 new years. I still have 114 days to decide before my 3 years are up. Might give Lenovo a call, would love to hear the lenovo warranty sales reps answer on whether hinges and USB's are covered.

I have the T420 BTW sorry for the confusion above. Was trying to get a T410 backing to fit my T420. Its a pretty solid machine, probably the best I have owned and like it more then a T430s I once owned.

Right now I am using another T420 we own, and the irony is it has hinge free-play of about an inch, the warranty expired on the machine yesterday and I wasn't going through this again.

[ajkula66]

The safest way as it appears now, is to include accidental protection coverage which costs $269 for 4 years according to Lenovos site, not sure if this includes the 3 years that already passed and 1 for the new year or for a total of 4 new years.

Yes. The warranty counts from day # 1. In all fairness, $269 for one additional year is a horrible deal IMO.

I still have 114 days to decide before my 3 years are up. Might give Lenovo a call, would love to hear the lenovo warranty sales reps answer on whether hinges and USB's are covered.

It all gets decided on a case-by-case basis.

I have the T420 BTW sorry for the confusion above. Was trying to get a T410 backing to fit my T420. Its a pretty solid machine, probably the best I have owned and like it more then a T430s I once owned.

I lost you here...

[bass1175]

I had mentioned above that I was trying to get a LCD Back off of a T410 to fit the T420 thats at the depot now. I own a T420 not a T410.

[RealBlackStuff]

Any warranty (or extension) always goes as off date of first sale.
So if you buy 4 years now, it's in reality only a 4th year, which is just an extension of 1 year after your first 3 years.
T400 and T410 are 16:10, T420 and up are 16:9, so lids (and their parts) are not compatible.

[ajkula66]

I had mentioned above that I was trying to get a LCD Back off of a T410 to fit the T420 thats at the depot now. I own a T420 not a T410.

16:10 (T410) vs. 16:9 (T420)...no go...

[bass1175]

Just received a call from a higher official expressing their concern with the situation, extremely professional and willing to do everything in his means to help. They are also repairing my second T420 and extending its warranty period an extra 6 months, this machines warranty expired yesterday and also has hinge issues. A breath of fresh air indeed.

[Brad]

Great to hear.

Brad

[Temetka]

This is good news indeed. I am glad to hear about Lenovo stepping up and backing their warranty. Let's hope you don't have any more issues with your machine(s).

[RealBlackStuff]

Write down the info and names(s) of the people involved, and keep it for future reference. May come in handy one day.

[Theokretes]

Strange... I've never had any issues calling Lenovo support to get various thinkpads fixed. Sometimes we get thinkpads DOA or with problems out of the box. Lenovo was so eager to get an IBM technician onsite to fix an issue that turned out to be a false positive (I cancelled the onsite before the tech came).

IBM still seems to do hardware parts returns as well. A replacement thinkpad keyboard FRU we got came from IBM.

[bass1175]

when I initially called, they were sending out new hinges and a new Motherboard to the onsite repair tech without questions. I then thought it would be a better option to have it mailed in, as the screws came out of the back of the LCD and may require more parts then just hinges. That's when the ordeal started.

There are other folks that went through the same.

http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/W-Series-Th ... d-p/630091
http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/General-Dis ... d-p/578049