SquareTrade 3-Year TV Protection Plan ($500-$600)

• 3-year coverage from date of purchase: hardware and electronic failures
• Free in-home service for TVs 37" and larger
• Free 2-way shipping for smaller TV repairs
• Your TV is fixed or you receive full replacement cost
• Cancel anytime-full refund in first 30 days

I've been getting SquareTrade warranties for some time now, since they are much less expensive than the store ones (the store ones don't hit my price 'sweet spot' and are more than I want to spend).

I recently got a solid black line down a 2-year old plasma TV. I called ST and the next business day a technician showed up, examined it, and said the plasma was shot. Two days later, I got an email saying that the original $1200 had been deposited in my PayPal account. I went out and bought a new one (much better than the original because TVs improved in the last 2 years). I like the $1200, but I like better that it was so painless.

P.S. I talked my daughter into a iPhone warranty included if you destroy it yourself. Sure enough, her daughter stepped on it and she also wound up with a new one.

BIG TIP!!: Before using it for a large item, get a warranty for something very small (like a $10 item). This puts you on their list and you get 20% discount on the next purchase.

Buy SquareTrade 3-Year TV Protection Plan ($500-$600) Now

I had to file 2 claims with Squaretrade over the past few years & they tried every conceivable way to argue out of paying even wanted to send out parts for ME to repair my computer and, on another claim, TWICE denied receiving my emailed receipt. They eventually paid, but it was NOT an easy or pleasant process, and they did not live up to their 5-day service claim (but claimed it was my fault). BE SURE to read the details of the contract, including exclusions, before you buy. There have been changes in recent years that are NOT the consumer's favor.

Squaretrade is NOT required to pay you the "original" purchase price. Their contract has many qualifiers such as "in most cases" and "up to the purchase price." If they don't repair it or replace with a refurbished unit (that's right, and not necessarily manufacturer refurbished), they are only required to pay you the replacement value AT THE TIME OF THE CLAIM. Four years down the road the "replacement" value of your now nearly obsolete TV will be a LOT less. They can also "replace the Product with a new, rebuilt or refurbished product of equal or similar features and functionality." That's a direct quote from one of my Squaretrade contracts.

If it fails 3-4 years from now, it is doubtful you will get your original purchase price to buy a new one with all the latest features. Squaretrade can replace it with the then-current LOW-END product, even a refurbished one, or just pay you to buy such a product. Of course it would have features equal to or better than your 3-4 year old TV, but certainly not what you could have gotten if they had refunded the original purchase price. Squaretrade gains from technological advances and you lose.

So beware. Read the contract and know what you're getting for the money (maybe worth it for you, maybe not). It's NOT your standard extended warranty contract, and in my experience Squaretrade has been very deceptive about that fact.

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This is not a real extended warranty. They only cover you up to the amount you paid including all the potential service calls. So if you have several service calls you may end up using up all your warranty and still have no TV. If you are lucky and the TV is not repairable on the first try you will get your money back. If you get a repair then you only entitled to what is left after the repair. So for example for $500 TV after a $200 service call you will be left with a maximum of $300 for all future repair or replacements. It maybe cheaper, but you get what you paid for.

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(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)I decided to purchase this warranty shortly after we ordered a Mitsubishi WD-73737 73-Inch 1080p 120Hz Home Theater DLP HDTV from Amazon, because Amazon recommended this service.

In the end, I went for the SquareTrade 4-Year TV Warranty ($1500-2000 LCD, Plasma, LED) plan but the 3 year is in no way different from the 4 year plan other than the cost and the coverage duration. I decided to take the 4-year plan because the coverage is transferable and, on a per-year basis, the extra cost for the extra year is well justified keep in mind that, with a manufacturer's 1 year warranty, a 3-year plan only has 2 years worth of coverage from SquareTrade while the 4-year buys 3 years of coverage from them.

THE PURCHASE EXPERIENCE

Getting the warranty was relatively easy. I had a few questions because our TV is a DLP, not an LCD, Plasma or LED but, to my surprise the off-shore persons answering the phone and it was easy to get to talk to a human were able to intelligently search their knowledge base, find the definition of DLP, determine that my TV could be covered, correctly answer my question regarding the DLP's replacement lamp (no, it's not covered) and made a note in their system that my TV was a DLP.

Shortly after I actually completed the purchase at Amazon, I received an email from SquareTrade that had a printable copy of the service agreement/contract.

I was told over the phone that I had to get a userID/password at their site in order to be able to manage my coverage information. Once that completed, I was able to log in and retrieve my contract number and instructions on how to send SquareTrade my proof of purchase simply paste Amazon's invoice into an email that has the contract number in the subject line.

SquareTrade then sent me an email that acknowledged me sending them my proof of purchase and advising me to keep the original because they were not going to actually verify my purchase until I made my first claim.

COVERAGE

It may be interesting to understand how coverage works without spending time on the phone with the company reps so, here it is.

There is a 60-day full refund upon cancellation provision so, if you don't like the service agreement, it's easy to cancel.

This coverage is concurrent with the manufacturer's warranty. In other words, this 4-year coverage begins on the day you sign for it but SquareTrade won't be taking claims from you while the manufacturer's warranty is still in effect. If your manufacturer has a one-year warranty on your TV, SquareTrade will cover it for years 2, 3 and 4.

The value of coverage is limited to whatever you paid for your TV. This is important so, let me provide the full quote from the agreement:

[The total amount that We will pay for repairs or replacement made in connection with all claims that You make pursuant to this Service Agreement shall not exceed the purchase price of the Product, less taxes. In the event that We make payments for repairs, which in the aggregate, are equal to the purchase price or replace the Product with a new, rebuilt or refurbished product of equal or similar features and functionality, We will have no further obligations under this Service Agreement.]

There is a 'no lemon' provision in the agreement which states that if the same item is repaired 3 times for the same defect within a year they will replace your TV with an equivalent product, at which time the warranty coverage ends will not cover the replacement.

If your TV is damaged by a power surge and you had a power surge protector they may ask you to send it over to them for examination (probably to see if they can get some money from the power surge protector manufacturer).

Any time we are talking about replacements, they reserve the right to ask for the defective item to be sent to them and they will provide the box and the shipping label.

They will help arrange for in-house repairs and pay the repair company directly.

They do not cover scratches or cracks.

They do not cover any damage cause by you doing terrible things to your TV like leaving it out in the rain.

There is no deductible.

They will allow for the agreement to be transferred if you sell your TV can do it at their Web site.

MY RATING

I haven't made any claim yet but, since Amazon stands behind this company and based on the service agreement and on my experience in dealing with the people at the call center, I am confident that this is a company worth doing business with so they get a 5-star.

I never thought I would be one of those reviewer types, but, I just figured I would spread the word about my experience. I purchased a TV online just over a year ago. I was given the choice of purchasing a warranty on the auction website where I got the TV. The link sent me to Squaretrade's site where they offered a very nice price for their one year service. In one of my smarter moments, I decided to get it 'just in case'. During the purchase, a pop-up asked if I would like a second years coverage for a greatly reduced amount. It was such a good deal that I opted for that too. Thankfully! 1 year and 1 month later, the 42" DLP HDTV (big name) craps out. It won't do anything but buzz and reset itself over and over. I filed a claim with ST and in under a week had my FULL purchase price back in my Paypal account. I have dealt with Best Buy and Circuit City on claims before and let me tell you, this was by far MUCH easier. I was contacted by a claims specialist and given very basic instructions on what to do for the claim. I filled the claim out, emailed it back, sent a fax (only because my email wouldn't attach the PDF file properly), and got a refund 2 days later. I was told to expect it in 3-5 business days! Not only will my next TV be covered by Squaretrade, but also my wife's Ipod we just bought and my next computer system as well as anything else I buy electronic. No more store warranties for me. Ever. Do yourself the favor AND save some money.