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Warrantech (ITI) Preferred Service Plan Extended Warranty Review

16K views 21 replies 5 participants last post by  Sonnie 
#1 ·
Back on August 8, 2008 we purchased a Samsung HL67A750 HDTV from Home Theater Store out of Houston, Texas. We got a package deal with a 5-year extended warranty. Sunday morning we learned our HDTV set is sick. The remote will not work the set, nor will most of the buttons on the side of the set work. The channel up/down button does work. We use the HDMI and Component inputs and once we hit the channel button on the side, it changed the channel to the Cable input and we are unable to get it back to HDMI or Component. Either way, there is an issue and it warranted calling on our extended warranty service for repair. This thread will be a review of the warranty service so that anyone desiring to purchase this warranty or a warranty serviced by Warrantech, will have a reference.

The front of the brochure is labeled as follows:

Home Theater Store

Preferred Service Plan
Service Contract Administrator/Obligor:
Warrantech Consumer Product Services, Inc. (WCPS)
P.O. Box 1189 Bedford, TX 76095
Telephone: (800) 336-9879

Here is a copy of the brochure/plan.

At about 9:30 AM on Monday morning (3/14/11) I called the number above and spoke with a gentlemen in Customer Service at Home Theater Store who stated he would contact the warranty company (ITI) and have them contact me. He stated if I had not heard from them in an hour to call them and gave me their number, along with a Repair # and Validation #. About 2:00 PM I had not heard from anyone concerning the warranty, so I called the number he gave me, 888-248-8923. I held for quite a while and finally had to leave a message. I had not heard from anyone at around 5:00 PM, so I called Customer Service at the first number I called. Another gentleman advised it usually takes 24-48 hours for someone to make contact.

At 5:42 PM I missed a called from the warranty company, but was left a message to call them. I was extremely busy on Tuesday and ended up missing the opportunity to call them. None the less, I did receive an email at 3:48 PM from a representative at ITI.

My name is Lusyna Kim, and I am your customer service representative for the Samsung TV repair. If possible, please give me a call so I can confirm some information with you on the work order. I need to verify the address, TV model, serial number, and if the TV is wall mounted or not. My contact number is 1-888-248-8923.
Thank you

--------------------------------------------------------------------- -----
Lusyna Kim
Customer Service Representative | ITI - Indusys Technology, Inc.

210 Baypointe Parkway, San Jose, CA 95134
P: 888.248.2708
WWW.ITIWORLDWIDE.COM
I am not certain of the relationship between ITI and Warrantech.

This morning I had full intentions of calling, but was working outside on the tractor and unable to wait until they opened to call them (2 hours time difference). However, Lusyna did leave me a messages stating she would keep me updated every few days on the progress.

She also found my wife's number and contacted her to ask a few questions about the set. My wife was advised that it would take a few days to get approval and someone would contact us.

So... I am now up to date on the progress of the claim. I will try to update the thread as events transpire.
 
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#4 ·
Response from contact:
There is no need to send a tech out on site to your home to take a look at the TV. ITI is able to determine what parts are needed based off the problem description on the work order. There are only 4-5 boards inside these TV's that could actually be replaced. Right now, your work order is it in its final stages for diagnostics, and once that is complete ITI will be submitting your case for approval to your extended warranty company. Please keep in mind that it can take your extended warranty company anywhere from 3-5 business days to approve or authorize any repairs, but I will keep you updated between 2-3 business days.
 
#8 ·
That part they have not told me yet. If I am understanding it correctly, they have parts shipped to ITI and then locate a service tech to ship the parts to for the work to be done. It seems like there are too many people involved.
 
#9 ·
Well... my contact has called me a couple of times over the last week or so and informed me the parts are all in and the tech just has to come out to install them. The tech called me Tuesday or Wednesday... can't remember exactly, and advised he would be at the house Friday. I took off work to do a few things, but he never showed up or called.

3/14 to 4/8 would have been 25 days, now I suppose it will be sometime next week. May as well make a month out of a warranty claim.
 
#11 ·
Unfortunately I did not even think to get his company name when he called... and I deleted my recent calls from my phone, so I don't have his number either. He may have told me, but I just don't remember. I emailed my contact and hope she will contact him to have him call me back again at by Monday to setup another appointment. I will get his company name then.
 
#12 ·
I got a call from Anthony, the tech from Fix Tech (Montgomery, AL) who was suppose to be at our home Friday morning to fix our set. Apparently he actually never received the parts. He apologized for not contacting me about missing the appointment.

I further got an email from my ITI contact:
Hello William,
thank you for letting me know. I just got off the phone with this tech and he just advised me this morning that he never received the parts, in which I advised him that parts were received on 4/5. I let him know that due to the fact that he barely called you this morning and did not contact you BEFORE your appointment on Friday 4/8 which is unprofessional and not how ITI conducts business, ITI will reassigned your work order and I will speak to my Supervisor to see if we can get another set of parts out to the tech as soon as possible. I apologize about the inconvenience and I will work on getting this taken care of for you.
Thank you
I called the tech back to find out if he actually got the parts and he claims he never got them. He says he gets parts in all the time and assumed he had them since ITI has advised him they had been delivered, but when he went to look for the parts, what he needed was not there. Obviously he does not have a system setup to pair up parts with work orders.

At any rate... the question now is who received the parts? Where's the tracking number? :dontknow:
 
#13 ·
Seems like this is taking too long. Customer service makes a company & surely they realize the notoriety afforded in this site. I'm thinking they are trying to get the set repaired but are not so good at it. We will see. Was this the only extended warranty plan or was there a manufacturer option? Thanks for posting this Sonny.
 
#14 ·
Yeah ... agree... too long.

I have now been informed that ITI sent the parts to the tech's "old" address and he is trying to retrieve the parts. I should be updated by the end of the day.

I was not aware of any other extended warranties offered by the Home Theater Store when I purchased this one, but going forward I will definitely ask and investigate a bit more.
 
#15 ·
Another update:
Hello William,
I wanted to provide you with an update for your case. I received notification from the tech that he was unable to retrieve parts. per my management since this tech did not inform ITI of the parts issue and also did not contact you to advise you that he was not going to make it on site due to the fact that he did not actually receive parts, ITI is going to locate another tech and place another set of parts on order so we can get this issue resolved for you as soon as possible. ITI feels that the way the technician handled your case was unprofessional, and I will work on getting another set of parts to the new tech. I will keep you updated on the status between 2-3 business days and again and I truly apologize about the inconvenience this may have caused you.
The tech blames it on them shipping the parts to his old address and they blame it on the tech. Regardless, we will be out probably another week or so. So much for a positive review. :whistling:
 
#17 ·
Tell me about it... and I am generally a pretty patient and forgiving guy.

The tech was able to retrieve the parts from his old address on a second attempt this morning, so he is scheduled to be at my house at 8 AM tomorrow morning. Let's keep our fingers crossed.
 
#19 ·
Sorry... been catching up on watching TV... :huh:

The tech showed up and replaced the part (board) and all is well. :T

I would still rate the overall experience below par... probably a 4 out of 10. There were too many hoops to jump through causing it to take too long.
 
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