You are viewing this reasonably, and it's appreciated, speaking as an independent service tech (never worked for a manufacturer or repair center, just liaison you'd meet at the big box store, past occupation, glad to not be in retail anymore).
Many many many folks have accidents with their devices (sat on laptop, ran over SLR camera bag, ...dropped anything), and I do, too. It's unfortunate. I will tell you that PSPs, PPPs (product service/protection plans) are sold as a product, and as products, they generate revenue, and as revenue, the vendors of the insurance coverage do make some profit. That's capitalism & generally not a problem. However, many many folks expect more benefit from their coverage than was purchased. There are instances where a claimant's issue should be covered under the strict finely printed terms of an insurance plan, but are refused. That's where you'd get a 3rd party involved, IMHO, but you're going into this situation with eyes open & armed with information, so at least it's not a worst case scenario for you.
What ruins the whole deal is when folks do take advantage of insurance for issues that weren't covered or shouldn't be covered. I was in the position of selling those plans in two different retail jobs (no commission, by the way), buying those plans for my own personal gadgets, and I still find it a tough choice to make, when it comes down to bottom line cost. So I empathize.
I can tell you I've seen these real-life examples first-hand:
$800 laser printers junked for replacement value when a $12 part was not easily obtainable.
$90 device covered completely with no cost to customer, which had more than $100 of replacement parts plus expensive labor.
Expensive equipment (I believe it was a Sony or Canon SLR cam) refused for service coverage with returned labor charge to a customer when sent for mechanical repair 2 years after a beach vacation which exposed its internal h2o sensors to salty humid air.
And in my own history as a consumer, my covered laptop went through 3 motherboard replacements for faulty design that caused issues over time, while one of my own clients had his laptop of same model (bought a month after mine) replaced with a company check worth twice the purchase price instead of its first motherboard replacement. Yeah, that burned a little.
So is it always fair? Obviously, no, it isn't. You are as consumer at some point ultimately at the mercy of whomever receives the damaged/failed device, their assessment of cause & subsequent repair or replacement coverage, if any. I would not like to be that guy. So I left retail & for the most part only have to be the middleman up to the point of helping my clients decide which way to go.
But I think you have your bases covered (CYA as some would abbreviate), and you're making an informed decision. Be prepared for an alternate outcome if you send in a damaged device, some gamble and lose, others win, but there's almost always some cost involved.
Now, I'd love to own a waterPROOF smartphone with eternal battery which would also always fail to impact the ground, hovering even just an inch above the sidewalk/floor/table everytime I happen to drop it. Or I could just never drop it. That was actually what a customer told me they would do instead of buying the protection plan once upon a retail sale. I won't digress any further (at least on this post) about how my last 3 bluetooth headsets met their demise, all not covered of course except my original. And I do mean *last* three, I don't wear a headset anymore. Consequently I run the risk of dropping my phone more often, I suppose.
K
Oh, and good luck in your situation! We all hope it works out well.
End Transmission from battle-worn R2-D2.
Many many many folks have accidents with their devices (sat on laptop, ran over SLR camera bag, ...dropped anything), and I do, too. It's unfortunate. I will tell you that PSPs, PPPs (product service/protection plans) are sold as a product, and as products, they generate revenue, and as revenue, the vendors of the insurance coverage do make some profit. That's capitalism & generally not a problem. However, many many folks expect more benefit from their coverage than was purchased. There are instances where a claimant's issue should be covered under the strict finely printed terms of an insurance plan, but are refused. That's where you'd get a 3rd party involved, IMHO, but you're going into this situation with eyes open & armed with information, so at least it's not a worst case scenario for you.
What ruins the whole deal is when folks do take advantage of insurance for issues that weren't covered or shouldn't be covered. I was in the position of selling those plans in two different retail jobs (no commission, by the way), buying those plans for my own personal gadgets, and I still find it a tough choice to make, when it comes down to bottom line cost. So I empathize.
I can tell you I've seen these real-life examples first-hand:
$800 laser printers junked for replacement value when a $12 part was not easily obtainable.
$90 device covered completely with no cost to customer, which had more than $100 of replacement parts plus expensive labor.
Expensive equipment (I believe it was a Sony or Canon SLR cam) refused for service coverage with returned labor charge to a customer when sent for mechanical repair 2 years after a beach vacation which exposed its internal h2o sensors to salty humid air.
And in my own history as a consumer, my covered laptop went through 3 motherboard replacements for faulty design that caused issues over time, while one of my own clients had his laptop of same model (bought a month after mine) replaced with a company check worth twice the purchase price instead of its first motherboard replacement. Yeah, that burned a little.
So is it always fair? Obviously, no, it isn't. You are as consumer at some point ultimately at the mercy of whomever receives the damaged/failed device, their assessment of cause & subsequent repair or replacement coverage, if any. I would not like to be that guy. So I left retail & for the most part only have to be the middleman up to the point of helping my clients decide which way to go.
But I think you have your bases covered (CYA as some would abbreviate), and you're making an informed decision. Be prepared for an alternate outcome if you send in a damaged device, some gamble and lose, others win, but there's almost always some cost involved.
Now, I'd love to own a waterPROOF smartphone with eternal battery which would also always fail to impact the ground, hovering even just an inch above the sidewalk/floor/table everytime I happen to drop it. Or I could just never drop it. That was actually what a customer told me they would do instead of buying the protection plan once upon a retail sale. I won't digress any further (at least on this post) about how my last 3 bluetooth headsets met their demise, all not covered of course except my original. And I do mean *last* three, I don't wear a headset anymore. Consequently I run the risk of dropping my phone more often, I suppose.
KOh, and good luck in your situation! We all hope it works out well.
End Transmission from battle-worn R2-D2.
