Broken Philips 50" Plasma- What to do?

[gregrorio]

I've been lurking this forum for a long time and searched quite a bit but can't seem to find a solution to my problem.

In early 2004, I purchased 3 Philips plasma TVs direct from Philips via an employee/partnership discount. Two were 50" and the other was a 43". Within the first 6 months, one of the 50" screens failed to turn on. After the local authorized repair facility tried for several weeks to get parts, Philips decided to replace the whole unit with a different model. Their customer service stinks, BTW.

After 2 years, the second 50" TV failed. Of course, it only has a one year warranty but I sent it to the local authorized repair center anyway. They tell me that the TV cannot be repaired because Philips does not make any repair parts. It is a replacement only model. BTW, did I say their customer service stinks? I have tried several times to work my way up the food chain within Phiips but no one sems to want to help.

My questions are
1) has anyone else experienced this problem before?
2) is yes to #1, what did you do about it/how was it resolved?
3) if no to #1, what do you think I should do?
4) do you think my credit card company (MasterCard) would do anything after 2 years?

Obviously, I find the thought of tossing a $5,000 plasma away after 2 years sickening. Thanks in advance
Greg

[JuniorBoy]

Sorry to hear about your problems.

I too had a problem with my Philips plasma (50Pf9630A). I got the red blinking lights and the tv would not turn on after only 6 months.

My dealings with Philips customer service was a nightmare as well. I was lucky that I was able to return the tv to Circuit City where I bought it from. The set needed a whole new display panel and Philips had it on back order for three months. Philips refused to do anything and told me that all I could was wait without a tv as long as they saw fit before they did anything.

I know fixing plasmas are expensive. I would suggest in the future you get a good extended warranty from a reputable company. I would not risk having to deal with Philips ever again.

[prodigalsa]

Pity you didn't accidentally drop it onto the floor while taking it off the wall bracket 'cos then you would be able to get a new one through your insurance company.

[cporter]

I'm an extremely dissatisfied customer of Philips and I own the Ambilight model (50PF9630A/37). Well, I kind of own it. I pay for it while it sits in the service center. I had it for 6 months prior to the recall of almost 12,000 Philips TVs with certain Ambilight parts in them. A technician came to my home to replace the faulty parts three and a half months ago and it's been in the shop since that day. I have been on the phone with Philips over and over throughout this ordeal while they've sent part after part after part to the service center, in failed attempts to get my television working again. Their customer service is horrible and they are adamant that they are going to do everything they possibly can to avoid replacing the unit, no matter how long it takes. I have been told multiple times by their "customer service" reps that there is NO TIMEFRAME in which they must complete a repair before finally deeming the unit unrepairable AND to top it off, my warranty will still expire at the date of purchase, even if they still have it in their possession at that time. Basically, if they keep it for two and a half more months and get it working long enough for them to drop it off at my house, I'm on my own. I'm not a plasma expert by any means, but I hope this helps you and anyone else that reads this forum in making an informed decision on atleast which brand NOT to buy.

[AlanBuck]

[QUOTE=cporter]I'm an extremely dissatisfied customer of Philips and I own the Ambilight model (50PF9630A/37). Well, I kind of own it. I pay for it while it sits in the service center. I had it for 6 months prior to the recall of almost 12,000 Philips TVs with certain Ambilight parts in them. A technician came to my home to replace the faulty parts three and a half months ago and it's been in the shop since that day. I have been on the phone with Philips over and over throughout this ordeal while they've sent part after part after part to the service center, in failed attempts to get my television working again. Their customer service is horrible and they are adamant that they are going to do everything they possibly can to avoid replacing the unit, no matter how long it takes. I have been told multiple times by their "customer service" reps that there is NO TIMEFRAME in which they must complete a repair before finally deeming the unit unrepairable AND to top it off, my warranty will still expire at the date of purchase, even if they still have it in their possession at that time. Basically, if they keep it for two and a half more months and get it working long enough for them to drop it off at my house, I'm on my own. I'm not a plasma expert by any means, but I hope this helps you and anyone else that reads this forum in making an informed decision on atleast which brand NOT to buy.[/QUOTE]

I would suggest that people buy plasmas at Costco, since they have an open-ended return policy that avoids messes like this. I also will NEVER buy a Philips product after reading this!

[PhilipsPhanatic]

[QUOTE=cporter]I'm an extremely dissatisfied customer of Philips and I own the Ambilight model (50PF9630A/37). Well, I kind of own it. I pay for it while it sits in the service center. I had it for 6 months prior to the recall of almost 12,000 Philips TVs with certain Ambilight parts in them. A technician came to my home to replace the faulty parts three and a half months ago and it's been in the shop since that day. I have been on the phone with Philips over and over throughout this ordeal while they've sent part after part after part to the service center, in failed attempts to get my television working again. Their customer service is horrible and they are adamant that they are going to do everything they possibly can to avoid replacing the unit, no matter how long it takes. I have been told multiple times by their "customer service" reps that there is NO TIMEFRAME in which they must complete a repair before finally deeming the unit unrepairable AND to top it off, my warranty will still expire at the date of purchase, even if they still have it in their possession at that time. Basically, if they keep it for two and a half more months and get it working long enough for them to drop it off at my house, I'm on my own. I'm not a plasma expert by any means, but I hope this helps you and anyone else that reads this forum in making an informed decision on atleast which brand NOT to buy.[/QUOTE]

Cporter, sorry to hear about your lousy experience with Philips CS -- how did your problem get resolved ?

I really would like to contact some higher-ups at Philips and let them know about the lousy customer service they have provided. When they find out how many repeat customers they lost simply because of lack of responsiveness and lack of speedy turnarounds, they may elect to get an ombudsman or someone to speed things up for us little guys. :)

[mfequity]

[QUOTE=cporter]I'm an extremely dissatisfied customer of Philips and I own the Ambilight model (50PF9630A/37). Well, I kind of own it. I pay for it while it sits in the service center. I had it for 6 months prior to the recall of almost 12,000 Philips TVs with certain Ambilight parts in them. A technician came to my home to replace the faulty parts three and a half months ago and it's been in the shop since that day. I have been on the phone with Philips over and over throughout this ordeal while they've sent part after part after part to the service center, in failed attempts to get my television working again. Their customer service is horrible and they are adamant that they are going to do everything they possibly can to avoid replacing the unit, no matter how long it takes. I have been told multiple times by their "customer service" reps that there is NO TIMEFRAME in which they must complete a repair before finally deeming the unit unrepairable AND to top it off, my warranty will still expire at the date of purchase, even if they still have it in their possession at that time. Basically, if they keep it for two and a half more months and get it working long enough for them to drop it off at my house, I'm on my own. I'm not a plasma expert by any means, but I hope this helps you and anyone else that reads this forum in making an informed decision on atleast which brand NOT to buy.[/QUOTE]

I would sue them ASAP in your local small claims court.