[vox] Best Buy / Geek Squad told a customer installing Linux voids warranty

[Bill Kendrick]

There was some recent discussion on vox-tech about computer repairs,
and then I saw this via a friend on Facebook:


"Geek Squad Wouldn't Honor My Netbook's Protection Plan"
http://consumerist.com/2009/12/geek-squad-wouldnt-honor-my-netbooks-protection-plan.html
By Phil Villarreal on December 16, 2009 10:15 AM   16891 views

  An anonymous reader said a Best Buy manager refused to replace his
  broken laptop and threw him out of the store twice when he tried to
  argue. The reader had even gone so far as to purchase an $80 extended
  warranty.

  ...
  "The manager of the Geek Squad informed me that installing Ubuntu
  Linux on my machine voided my warranty, and that I could only have it
  serviced if the original Windows installation was restored.
  Furthermore, he insisted that the touchpad and power adapter
  had been broken because I installed Linux. Another employee ridiculed
  me for insisting that Linux couldn't cause a hardware issue, saying
  'Sure, I don't know anything, I just work for Geek Squad!'  The entire
  department was hostile, acting as if I was now a problem rather than a
  customer."
  ...
  [the reader then re-installs Windows & returns to the store]
  ...
  "The Geek Squad manager [...] said that Linux had permanently voided
  my warranty, and again insisted Linux had caused the computer's
  hardware problems."


Yikes.

-- 
-bill!
Sent from my computer