Anyone have experience with squaretrade mack warranties ?

[wearetheborg]

I've seen vague references to them being a hassle, any concrete examples ?

[wearetheborg]

I've gathered a few horror stories at
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=142097

Unortunately with mack, I've not been able to find one good review (except for the one the owner for thinkpadsworld posted here.

[pipspeak]

Just more rumors from me... in the camera world the general advice seems to be to steer well clear of Mack warranties.

[tomh009]

In the camera world there are lots of stories pro and con.

But there Mack is generally as an alternative to the standard warranty, for gray-market imports, and the conclusion is that the factory warranty is better (duh).

But for used notebook systems, what's the alternative?

[wearetheborg]

Squaretrade seems to offer warranties on laptops too.
I have not done any checks on them ....

[acasto]

Red tape aside, with all the warranty horror stories we hear about any warranty repair service, it seems there could be money to be made if someone would just offer a reliable extended warranty that does quality work. I'm afraid the words 'reliable' and 'quality' are starting to become bad words as far as businesses go these days. The profit margins on the extended warranties seem to be ridiculously high to begin with, it doesn't seem like it would be that hard to actually honor them, especially if word got around and business increased because of that. I've started thinking maybe it'd be worth it just to get similar laptops for everything and collect broken units for spare parts.

It's a sad day when being honest and reliable sets you apart from 90% of the market.

[ajkula66]

And, if I'm not mistaken, squaretrade=mack....

[wearetheborg]

And, if I'm not mistaken, squaretrade=mack....

?? where did you get this from ?

Squaretrade seems to have some decent reviews:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/custom ... B000SB8QZW

I havent found one for a laptop yet..

Hello,

My name is Kord, and I am the Customer Experience Manager for SquareTrade.

I was reading these posts and thought I might be able to address some issues raised here.

RE: Covered vs. Not Covered

This one is pretty simple:

- Fully functioning items are eligible for coverage.

- Items that are not fully functioning are ineligible for coverage.

Often times eBay sellers use the wording "as Is" in their listings to avoid after-sales responsibility for the item in question. As such, the wording "as is" does not necessarily mean the item is non-functioning, and may only refer to cosmetic damage.

For our purposes we've identified 2 general reasons for sellers including “as is” in relation to items being sold on eBay. A careful review of the item listing description is necessary to determine which one best describes the item.

If the item is described in the listing as non-functioning, or is being sold for parts, or has not been tested, then we will not cover it. Generally, sellers will not offer a return policy on these items either.

If the item is described as being fully functional and the seller offers a return policy if the item doesn’t work, then we will cover it.

RE: Approved Claims

Actually, we have a pretty streamlined claims process. Warranty holders can file online by logging into their “My Warranties” account.

Once filed, their claim will be reviewed within 24 hours.

Approved claims are resolved within 5 days of the item being received at one of our Service Depots.

By "resolved" I mean that the buyer is either paid out (reimbursed in the amount of the item purchase price), or the item is repaired.

It’s important to note that for repaired items, the 5 days guarantee does not include return shipping to the buyer following repairs.

RE: Pre-existing Conditions

It is important to also note that we don’t cover pre-existing conditions or issues that happen in the first 60 days. This it true for ALL used and refurbished items, as well a new item with no manufacturer warranty.

If a seller ships an item that has an issue, we advise buyers to let their seller know, as they will generally refund or exchange the item. Under these circumstances we offer cancellation and a full refund of the warranty purchase price.

I am happy to assist anyone with questions about the SquareTrade Care Plan. I can be reached directly by writing to kordhelps@squaretrade.com