Most Helpful Customer Reviews
238 of 244 people found the following review helpful: 3.0 out of 5 stars Accurately Described (Mostly), But Beware Customer Service, November 29, 2011 This review is from: 2-Year SquareTrade Warranty plus Accident Protection for Kindle Fire, US customers only (Accessory) As with all warranties, make sure that you read the fine print as soon as you get it. If you don't think it's worth it, cancel it. You can cancel this warranty in the first 90 days for a full refund (provided you haven't made any claims). You can also cancel any time after that and get a pro-rated refund based on how much time is left in your coverage period. This seems generous, so I'll give them kudos.
It will cover your "oopsies"... but only the main ones: like if you drop it, step on it, or drop it in the pool/bathtub/sink/toilet. So that last one probably isn't common (I hope), but you get where I'm going with the dropping-in-water concept.
Since you can't see much else besides what they write on this page, I'll highlight a few points that you might want to consider. If you read the fine print, you'll see that you're up a creek without a paddle if it's fried due to things like rain (or anything else that could be classified as "exposure to weather conditions"), battery leakage, or problems with electrical or power supply (like a power surge during a storm). These "oopsies" aren't covered at all. And then there's the vague, catch-all clause that excludes coverage for any "act of nature or any other peril originating from outside the product." If you think that this language can apply to a lot of different situations, you've pretty much hit the nail on the head. Also, if there is cosmetic damage but the product still works, they won't replace the product. As with most warranties, if you alter your Fire (i.e. root it), the warranty is void entirely -- seems very reasonable to me. So if this is in your plans, don't even bother purchasing the warranty.
Now, as an accident-prone klutz, the main "oopsies" are entirely within the realm of possibility for me. In fact, they're within the realm of possibility for just about anyone. If you have any doubts about the damage that dropping your Fire might do, take a few minutes to search the drop test that someone did with it. The results are not pretty!!! So in the long run, this is completely worth it based on the reality of everyday accidents.
My main beef has been customer service. I've been on the horn with Square Trade five times since I received my Fire (just two weeks), and I wouldn't be surprised if there are more calls in the future.
The first issue I had was with binding the warranty to my Fire. I pre-ordered two Fires, and after receiving them, my Amazon account kept showing that there was an error connecting one of the warranties to one of my Fires. Call #1 to Square Trade: I was told that while my warranty number was in the system, they had not yet received the serial number for that specific device. They did have the serial to my other Fire which was correctly bound to the corresponding warranty. The representative told me to wait several days for them to get the serial number and that the problem would resolve itself. Three days go by, problem persists. Call #2 to Square Trade: I was told to turn on and register my Fire. Didn't really make sense to me since it was already registered to my account, but whatever, I'll go through the motions. The next call really ticked me off and sparked my distaste for the company.
Call #3 to Square Trade: I was told that my Fire wasn't eligible for coverage. Alright, dudes, I pre-ordered the device and have had it in my hands for only four days. I ordered the warranty in October, a month before the device was released. You sent me an email telling me that my coverage had begun. What do you mean ineligible? Even if that was the case, shouldn't that have been the first thing you told me before you charged my credit card? Anyway, the representative was obviously disinterested and unwilling to discuss this issue with me. He asked me if I'd read the warranty and saw anything that would prevent my device from being eligible for coverage. I told him that yes, I had read it and that as a lawyer, I would have definitely picked up on anything that disqualified me. His response: well, our system says it's ineligible. Nothing else. I had to press it by saying that wasn't going to work and that something needed to be done to resolve the issue. Eventually, they simply told me to call Amazon.
So I called Amazon (whose representatives were rockin' and uber-helpful), and they pulled all strings possible. Amazon managed to link the warranty to the device on their end; however, it still didn't reflect as much on my account page. Soooooo, I put in Call #4 to Square Trade. Finally, I was connected with a representative who knew what he was doing and had the device and warranty bound relatively quickly. Knowing the problems that I'd encountered, I requested that he mail a copy of each of my warranties citing the serial and warranty numbers to my home just to ensure that I had a backup.
Contrary to my request, I received a generic copy of the basic warranty without serial or warranty numbers included. Furthermore, it listed the start date of my warranty as the date that I purchased the warranty (October), making my coverage term October 2011 - October 2013. Square Trade ensured to all pre-order customers that start dates for Kindle Fires would begin on the date that the devices were received (mid-November); they had chipped a month of coverage off of each of my devices. This contradicted an email that I had received from them when my Fires were originally shipped which stated my coverage dates were November 21, 2011 - November 21, 2013.
So Call #5 to Square Trade last night: I requested mailed specific copies of the warranties (again) and had them change the start dates on both devices. I am glad to report that the representative was VERY friendly and helpful. She changed the start date for my personal Fire to the date that I received the device and the date for the Fire that I'm giving as a gift to the date that I'm giving it. She didn't give me any problems at all in changing the start dates, but that isn't a slip-up that should have been made in the first place. Reading other reviews, I don't seem to be the only person to have experienced this problem. I wonder how many people haven't realized that their warranties will be ending 1+ month earlier than originally promised by the company.
Since Call #5 was made last night, so no word yet as to whether or not I will receive the paper copies that I actually requested.
UPDATE: The paper copies I requested in Call #5 were NOT delivered. First of all, they only mailed me one of them, and that copy still didn't have the serial number and the warranty number listed. Priya from Square Trade, who commented on this review, was finally able to resolve the issue and sent the exact information I had requested via Fed Ex. Thank you, Priya!
Customer service has left a LOT to be desired. However, I've still gotta say that this was a wise purchase. Again, it covers more than what you would be getting otherwise. And it's reasonably priced, which is usually the case based on what I've seen and previously purchased from Square Trade.
Just be sure to:
a) take good care of your device since the added coverage is limited (albeit better than the basic, Amazon-provided warranty),
b) read the fine print within the first 90 days to make sure this is acceptable to you (as should be done with all warranties), and
c) play hard-ball with customer service and follow up to ensure that your requests/inquiries are satisfied.
460 of 479 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars **UPDATED**Would not consider anything other than Square Trade, October 14, 2011 This review is from: 2-Year SquareTrade Warranty plus Accident Protection for Kindle Fire, US customers only (Accessory) Had to stop and review after seeing the low two star rating for Square Trade. I initially found Square Trade on ebay when purchasing used electronics. Square Trade offers warranties on used items purchased on that site. It sounded too good to be true so I did some research and after which I realized that I had been wasting my money purchasing warranties at Best Buy and other retailers. Square Trade has been rated across the board as excellent, recently winning a 2011 customer service award. I am now a Square Trade customer for everything that they offer a warranty for and I list it in my ad if I am selling used electronics (I sold my kids Wii and all games and accessories listing Square Trade as a warranty provider).
Items in my home that are currently under warranty with Square Trade; Breville Juice and Blend, 2 flat screens, 1 laptop, Kitchenaid stand mixer and a bunch of smaller ticket items. I have had one occasion to contact Square Trade for an item under warranty and received excellent customer service throughout speaking with a real person without having to hang around on hold for an hour or more.
I would hate to think that anyone would hesitate to purchase a warranty through Square Trade based on one customers negative experience with billing. I have purchased more than a dozen warranties with Square Trade and never had one problem. In fact if anything I found Square Trade to be over accommodating to achieve customer satisfaction (one time I called for a warranty quote and had a code for a discount not realizing that it had expired a few days before, Square Trade allowed me to receive the discount on my warranty purchase).
I recommend Square Trade to family, friends and acquaintances all the time. I believe in the service/company and based on my experience know that if I did have a problem that it would be resolved to my satisfaction. Square Trade is slowly becoming the standard in warranty providers with even Costco now offering Square Trade extended warranties for their tvs.
*****UPDATE*****
I went ahead and purchased my three warranties today 10/30/2011. One transaction for three warranties (another reviewer had mentioned if purchased together that the warranties were somehow tied together--not the case)and shortly afterwards received three separate confirmation emails from Square Trade, one for each Kindle. This is the message from them:
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Please read this information so you know how your pre-ordered Kindle warranty works:
* You have already been billed for this warranty. If you do not want to pay for this warranty now, just cancel it & repurchase the warranty up to 30 days after your Kindle ships
* Your coverage will not start until after your Kindle ships, this ensures you get a full 2 years of coverage
* You will not receive your warranty welcome mailer until after your Kindle ships
We will also send a final confirmation email when your device ships. Both the email and mailer will contain your coverage start date.
If you have any questions, please call us at 1-866-374-9939, 6am to 10pm PST.
Sincerely,
The SquareTrade Team
............Then at the bottom of the email they address postponing the start of the warranty if you are purchasing it as a gift for someone else........
If you've been very generous and purchased this warranty as a gift for somebody, call us at 866-374-9939, 6am to 10pm PST to transfer the care plan to the recipient.
You can also call to update the start date of your warranty to the day you plan on gifting your Kindle.
446 of 518 people found the following review helpful: 1.0 out of 5 stars Check Your Charge Card Policy Before Buying, November 10, 2011 This review is from: 2-Year SquareTrade Warranty plus Accident Protection for Kindle Fire, US customers only (Accessory) Many consumers do not know this, but many charge card issuers such as Discover, Visa and Master Card have an extended/replacement warranty policy for just about any items manufactured with a USA warranty. This coverage is totally FREE. The only requirements are is that you purchase the item on the specific card that has this coverage AND the entire purchase must be made on the card as one transaction. These card issuers will at least match the original manufactuers warranty exactly as stated by the manufacturer. For example,if the original manufacturers warranty is one year parts and labor, then you will automaticlly receive another year of parts and labor coverage totally free. If the product breaks after the first year, the charge card company will either pay for the repair up to the price of the item OR they will either issue a complete cash refund or a credit on your charge card towards a new purchase. Diferent cards issuers have different refund policies. The only requirement is that you will have to retain proof of purchase such as your monthly charge card bill, and you will have to produce a written copy of the manufacturers original warranty. Not all Discover/ Visa/Master Card/American Express account holders have this extended/replacemnt warranty policy. You must contact the respective corporation that issued the card (NOT the bank that issued the card) and supply them with your account number(s). The representative will inform you as to whether or not you have this extended warranty policy coverage on your card or not. You will also be able to question the representative how to file a claim, what's covered and what's not covered, etc. The numbers for Visa , Master Card, and Discover Card to verify if your card has this policy are 1-800-VISA-911, 1-800-MC-ASSIST and 1-800-DISCOVER.
As a previous writer reported, the cost of this extended warranty is 25% of the cost of the item. In addition, you are only buying ONE additonal year because I believe the reader comes with a one year parts/labor warranty from the factory.
The last time I checked,I verified that I still have this coverage on my own charge cards. Of course, certain damage such as droppped off the desk, the dog ate it, etc. would not be covered UNLESS, I believe, the original manufactures warranty has these things written into their warranty. Hope everyone finds this information useful.
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