My Laptop Hinge Broke, So Geek Squad Replaced My Hard Drive

The following is a cautionary tale about what can happen to a PC and perhaps what should not be allowed to happen to a PC and why the value of a VAR has never been better illustrated.

Earlier this year, my wife surprised me with a new Dell laptop for my birthday. The PC was purchased from Best Buy with a three-year "Black Tie Protection" warranty and for nearly six months, the machine worked great. But about a month ago, the hinge on the right side came loose, which caused the screen to wobble. So I brought my PC into my local Geek Squad desk in Patchogue, N.Y.

After a brief inspection by a technician, I was told they'd have to ship it out for repair and it could take up to three weeks. I thought that was excessive, but I knew it wasn't a simple component swap so I'd live with it. I said I'd like to take the hard drive with me, but they insisted it wasn't necessary. "They're not going to touch it," I was explicitly told. I begrudgingly let it go, even though I'd previously read reports of Geek Squad agents copying content from customers' PCs.

Last week, I got an e-mail that the laptop was ready for pickup. To be sure, I called the store to double-check first. And that's where the real trouble began.

The Geek Squad agent in the store said they had also replaced my hard drive because it was "defective," even though it was only six months old and had never exhibited any problems. I was given no notice on this action or even the option of declining that repair. As you might surmise, I was not happy.

The agent told me that the form I signed states that Geek Squad's repair policy says they are not responsible for data loss and I was basically out of luck. Note that I was never orally told this and I did not receive a printed receipt of the service order until after they completed the service order request. The disclaimer states: "I agree to waive any data loss or media loss claims, whether or not I have requested Best Buy to back up my data, against Best Buy as under no circumstances shall they be liable for any loss, alteration or corruption of data, or loss of any media from my product."

However, reading further in the small print, Item 5 on the Service Order Disclaimer has a seemingly contradictory point that states: "I authorize Best Buy/Geek Squad to notify me for approval of all service that will exceed the minimum approved amount stated on the service order before my product is repaired and to return the unrepaired product to the drop-off location if I do not approve such repair."

To me, that is a clear enough description that I should have been notified that they were going to replace my hard drive. The only possible loophole I see is if "minimum approved amount" means dollars and if the machine is under warranty (and it won't cost the customer any money), they can do whatever they want to the machine.

It was at this time that I started to wonder why Best Buy would opt to spend more resources to fix something extra under warranty if they weren't going to get paid for it. I came up with two possible reasons. First, it allows them to refurbish my original drive either to be resold or used as parts. Perhaps somebody's unfortunate "defective" drive is now my "new" drive, as I don't know whether Best Buy puts in a new or refurbished drive as a replacement. Best Buy executives could not be reached for immediate comment.

The second thought came to me after I received a cold call from another Geek Squad representative from Louisville, Ky. This agent told me that she understood that Geek Squad recently had to replace my hard drive and she asked if I would be interested in purchasing some of their data recovery services in order to retrieve the data on my old hard drive.

The proverbial light bulb burned bright. How easy would it be for Best Buy to boost its revenue through recovery services, more profitable than hardware anyway, by simply declaring hard drives defective, especially at a time when PC sales are declining industrywide?

Luckily for me, my wife and I had already complained enough (with my wife not-so-subtly informing the store manager that I was a reporter for a high-profile, high-tech publishing firm that occasionally writes about Best Buy) so that Geek Squad's repair center found my drive and the Hauppauge store was going to cover the cost of data recovery, if the data could even be saved (I'm still waiting to hear about that).

I did a quick Google search and found that I am hardly the only person who has had their seemingly-working-fine hard drives replaced by Geek Squad without approval.

Some examples:

On Best Buy's own community forum, one customer complained that his PC went in for an A/C jack repair and they replaced his defective hard drive too. Writes "stlsinger" on Best Buy's forum, "There were no specifics as to why this had happened, i.e. what malfunction or problem had been detected that necessitated replacing what had appeared to be a fine-working hard drive."

The post continues to explain that since the machine was in warranty, there "really was no minimum approved amount," to be authorized by the customer.

"Does this really mean that BB does not need to notify me of repairs beyond the one listed on the service order?? The fact that the laptop is under a warranty means you can wipe my computer out for no reason without my approval, when I only sent it off to have a jack repaired? This is ridiculous," wrote stlsinger. "I have been told by the Geek Squad that they can get my data off my old hard drive but that I will have to pay a few hundred dollars for it. I don't think so. It was removed without my approval or notification. I would like my data recovered and given back to me at no charge. That isn't asking a lot." In what appears to be a reply by a Geek Squad technician or representative, "Agent Aaron, [a] Geek Squad Community Connector" wrote, "If any hardware failures are detected beyond the originally diagnosed problem, it is then Best Buy's responsibility to address those failures and ensure that defective parts are replaced under both factory warranty and service plan coverage. While our service centers may attempt to contact customers in these circumstances, they are not required to do so."

At another Web site, complaintsboard.com , a Best Buy customer writes that Geek Squad replaced a hard drive after the customer brought a Mac Book Pro in to fix a keyboard problem.

"With an issue as important as destroying the hard drive, I THINK THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN MADE CLEAR TO ME, VERBALLY! I lost very important data which cannot be retrieved," writes "Terrie." "I realize that I am equally responsible for losing my data because of my stupidity for not backing it up. But I also think they should have taken the time to contact me first."

At a third site, Ripoffreport.com, a Windsor, Va.-based customer complained about Best Buy replacing her hard drive without notice. "Jo" writes about item No. 10 on the agreement, "First it states that I waive any claim against the loss of any data and photographs. I asked the Geek Squad Agent to define 'data' and if it included programs. He stated 'NO' that it included documents and photographs. I told him that No. 10 therefore, does not apply to me. He then stated that at times 'data' does include programs. When asked how a customer is to know when it does and does not -- he had no answer.

"Furthermore, not one person at BB or Geek Squad could tell me what was wrong with my hard drive. They simply stated that every computer is put through a 4 point diag. test and that their best guess was something came up that said it needed to be replaced. But that if I had not had the warranty/PSP then I would have received a phone call regarding what was wrong and to receive authorization to replace the hard drive."

A reply to the complaint by "flynrider" opines that people are too lazy to back up data that is supposedly valuable to them.

"Whenever you take any computer in for repairs, there is the possibility that the fix could involve a format of the hard drive. Personally, I wouldn't let Geek Squad touch one of my systems, but they're not the bad guys on this issue. People who never back up their data are the issue. External hard drives are cheap and easy to use. There's really no excuse for data loss these days."

But flynrider misses the point. Even if a customer had backed up his data on multiple external drives immediately prior to bringing it to Geek Squad, the customer still has to restore all the data on the new drive, or pay someone to do it. It's a process that takes time and money and, seemingly in some cases, is totally unnecessary. To me, the situation is akin to dropping off your dog at a veterinarian for a stomachache only to find out the dog died during a brain surgery they performed without approval because something showed up in a test. I have several questions I'd like to ask Best Buy regarding my PC, but I have even more questions about their no-contact, no-info policies regarding replacing people's hard drives. For example, what happens to these drives? Is Best Buy taking proper disposal procedures to ensure that customer data cannot be found or stolen? So far, I haven't received an answer.

I hope VARs will forward these anecdotes to their customers. Not only does it illustrate the need to back up your data, but more importantly it shows how key it is to have complete trust in your service provider. Many VARs have long established their roles as trusted IT advisers. In an economy where many consumers and businesses are looking to cut a few corners, it's especially important that customers understand a strong partnership is worth more than saving a few bucks.

Now it's your turn. I want to hear your opinion. Have you or your customers had similar experiences regarding PC repairs? Do you find that customers don't put a lot of time or thought into examining their service contracts? Or is Best Buy within their rights to service warranted PCs any way they see fit? I look forward to your comments and will post a follow-up soon.

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