New LCD television how reliable

[Peter Duncanson]

"mashine"? How did that get there?

[Scott M]

Zanussi WMs do this. And bloody irritating it is too! They beep at the end of the cycle (so far so good) but, if you don't go and acknowledge it, it'll just carry on until the end of time at short intervals.

[Adrian C]

Returning items you've tried and don't like in Costco is a revelation.

Me: I'm returning this Them: OK, here's your money.

As opposed to (in Currys)

Me: I'm returning this Them: Why? Me: It's .... Them: Have you tried Me: No, I just don't like the ... Them: It was that displayed in the store Me: Yeah, but when I took it home ... Them: Ah, we can exchange it for ... Me: I just want my money back! Them: Hang on, I'll call my supervisor Me: (drums fingers on counter, queue of customers builds from behind) Him: Hello, how may I help? Me: I'm returning this Him: Why? . (later) . . Him: Hello, Sir, please can you remove your hands around my neck? I can't seem to breathe!

I'm expecting 'Best Buy' to be much the same as Costco, based on my shopping experiences in the states.

Thing that I don't like about Costco, is their an 'anti-riff-raff' policy on selecting only trade or professional status UK customers. I don't see evidence of that in their American stores.

[Alan Whit]

I ask them do have so little faith in the reliability of the product that they think I need it. Some get very cross when pressed for a 'yes' or 'no' answer. =20

--=20 Alan White Mozilla Firefox and Forte Agent. Twenty-eight miles NW of Glasgow, overlooking Lochs Long and Goil in = Argyll, Scotland. Webcam and weather:-

[R. Mark Clayton]

Depends who it is and how much.

Some makers have longer guarantees - e.g. LG have three years on their small ones (which are also monitors) - so not worth paying 10% for another two years in three years' time.

Similarly if you buy from Richer Sounds, their extended warranty is only 10% or £9.99p, whichever is more and in some cases you can get the premium back if you don't claim in some cases.

[Norman Wells]

Have you ever claimed on your house insurance, I wonder? Mine's just come up for renewal and I can't recall ever making a claim in 35 years except one in 1990 for a relatively small amount of damage caused by a couple of ridge tiles being dislodged by high winds.

The house is unlikely to collapse or hit an aeroplane, so what's it for exactly? What are the most common claims?

[Mark]

Our Zanussi tumble drier does the same.

[Invisible Man]

A very long time since I was involved in household business. Theft Burst pipes Storm Accidental damage - spills on carpets etc. All risks - loss of jewellery, specs, dentures etc. Fires caused by chip pans, smoking materials, electrics underground pipes accidental damage to sanitary fixtures etc. Impact by vehicles Flood Malicious damage subsidence glass

I think I have personally had 1 claim for impact to a front wall and 2 for loss of specs

[r.bartlett]

Who in their right mind would want to watch an LCD TV for 5 minutes let alone 5 years- when Plasma offers a far better picture..

Cheers

Richard

[Invisible Man]

Certainly used to be the case for larger models. Which? seem to be scoring top LEDs and top LCDs above top Plasmas now though.

[Peter Duncanson]

I have made 2 claims in the 40 years I've lived in this house. One was for the replacement of a window and window frame damaged by someone breaking in. The other was for the replacement of a post and rail fence at the front of the house which had been comprehensively demolished by a stolen car. In both cases I could have managed to pay for repairs myself if I hadn't had house insurance.

[The dog from that film you saw]

you could always see what the john lewis price is - you get 5 years as standard with them

[Norman Wells]

So, just one claim on house insurance and two minor ones on contents. You've obviously made a substantial loss on premiums overall then, as I have.

I'm thinking of not renewing mine (£300 quoted) as I think I'm relatively low risk. You are too, so why do you pay to keep it going?

[Clive George]

You talking buildings or contents?

I've got buildings, because should something go wrong like a house fire, I simply can't afford a full rebuild. The chance is very low, but I'm prepared to take a loss on the bet because the potential loss of not taking it is catastrophic.

I'll agree contents is closer to optional, but again, take the house fire example : there's a lot of stuff to cover. I could probably start again, but it would be very tight for a while.

Contents also gets you third party insurance when out of your house, which is potentially useful. My parents claimed on it for a bike crash I caused when I was a kid.

[Peter Duncanson]

There are low risk but costly events that are worth insuring against. The most obvious one is fire.

[Adrian C]

With the exception of maybe detail in dark scenery (think goth like horror films) the need for Plasma, 1080P etc... is very overstated, and needless confusion for folks just interested in something to watch normal programmes like Coronation Street.

Some just love turning the subject into a VHS/Betamax "wrong alley" debate, and the timid run away - confused.

And at the other end of silliness, some get recommended the the top end Sony thing that someone else has (or wants) - and haven't got a real clue why it's oh so complicated to use. The worst is one of these sets never seeing a decent HD source and spending a lifetime instead showing SD Coronation Street...

[The Natural Philosopher]

Theft.

Fire.

Theft I claimed about £6000 off. Had a real battle with teh loss adjuster who claimed all my second hand junk furniture bought for a couple of hundred was worth thousands of pounds, so wanted to adjust my loss downwards.

Lost some garden machinery to the moonlight boys from the traveller camp,.. Claimed a couple of grand on that. Thst conetnts of course.

Fire can take the whole house. That's house insurance. I cant see I would ever need it, but storm damage can run into a lot as can flood damage. Neighbours had an oil line split under the house. Whole ground floor up, and about 200 cu meter of 'contaminated' soil removed and replaced..cost 50 grand plus, and took 18 months. Elfin safety innit?

Ditto subsidence. Anyway, unless you buy cash, insurance on house is mandatory.

[Ivan]

Why don't the government simply make all electrical retailers do the same Aldi and Lidl, i.e. an automatic three year warranty (without affecting your statutory rights) on any electrical item sold, my daughter returned an electric rice cooker that I had purchased (and given her) for the princely sum of £9.99, this was almost two years after I had bought it, they didn't have one in stock so refunded the money without batting an eyelid, I hasten to add that she didn't return it for the paltry £9 99, it was just that she liked it so much that she was hoping to get a replacement and was disappointed when the refunded the money instead. I've recently purchased a laptop computer from Aldi which has a three year comprehensive warranty on it, Argos was selling a very similar model and wanted £149.99 extra for a 3 year insurance contract.

[Mark Opolo]

if its not too much YES...

[Invisible Man]

We pay £180. I am retired and don't have £1/4M+ to rebuild and replace the contents. That is why we have house insurance, not for day to day small losses. Fire, lightning, storm, subsidence and impact can easily run into 5 figures. £180 is a small amount to pay for peace of mind. Contents insurance usually includes personal liability insurance so if you poke someone's eye out with an umbrella, injure someone with a non-motorised bike etc the insurance company pays. Going back to the original topic we have a Sony KDL-52Z4500 which at the time cost £2100 from Digital Empire but I have not felt a need to take out any guarantee or specific insurance on that.