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

[Darth Borehd]

I can confirm that I was told this as well.  In fact installing ANY
operating system, even another windows one, voids the Best Buy warranty.
Their computers do not come with reinstall disks but most have a hidden
partition to re-image the main partition back to the factory installed OS.



2009/12/18 Michael J Wenk <mjwenk at ucdavis.edu>

> I'd try doing a bit of research and if it shows what I think it would,
> small claims court.
>
> Mike
>
> ________________________________________
> From: vox-bounces at lists.lugod.org [vox-bounces at lists.lugod.org] On Behalf
> Of Bill Kendrick [nbs at sonic.net]
> Sent: Friday, December 18, 2009 11:01 AM
> To: LUGOD
> Subject: [vox] Best Buy / Geek Squad told a customer installing Linux voids
>     warranty
>
> 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
> _______________________________________________
> vox mailing list
> vox at lists.lugod.org
> http://lists.lugod.org/mailman/listinfo/vox
> _______________________________________________
> vox mailing list
> vox at lists.lugod.org
> http://lists.lugod.org/mailman/listinfo/vox
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.lugod.org/pipermail/vox/attachments/20091218/83d17311/attachment.html