One of the dog’s reasons for continued success is the warranty programs that BHD attaches to 3rd party equipment. Providing an additional year, 24-hour replacement on another manufacture’s warranty is highly unusual. In fact, fifteen years after BHD instituted such policies, to date; a competitor has not offered the same. “It’s not our intention to upstage our manufacture’s warranty programs but BHD is highly selective of its catalogue of products," states BHD President Mick Malaney. "We have bench and field tested each component and have complete confidence in the performance of the products we sell to our customers.” Malaney adds, “Yes, we even loan our recommended components to customers who purchased their gear from another vendor in order to keep them up and running until they can purchase new equipment.”

The aforementioned is background to the following story and it’s why customers continue to purchase their technology needs from BHD. The Following article was found off www.foxbusiness.com. Enjoy.

FOXBusiness
Ken Sweet

Sony refuses to do a warranty repair on one of its Playstation 3s because the console is “too dusty,” according to the owner.

The Los Angeles-based gamer said Sony Computer (SNE: 48.65, -0.27, -0.55%) would not honor its 1-year warranty on his $500 console because the game system arrived at its technical support center with “excessive dust in it.”

“When I learned that Sony wouldn’t replace my Playstation because it was too dusty, I paused for a minute because it seemed so ridiculous,” said Reid Godshaw, the owner of the dusty Playstation.

The dirty Playstation story has flown around the blogosphere – especially on The Consumerist, a consumer-affairs blog where the story originated. The posts regarding the PS3 have gotten more than 150,000 views and have received more than 600 comments from readers.

Godshaw said the Playstation, which was a gift, stopped working last month. Because Sony (like console manufacturers Microsoft and Nintendo) has a 1-year limited warranty, he called the company after the malfunction and asked for a replacement.

“At first, it was no problem – they said I just had to send it in and it would be back to me in a few days,” Godshaw said.

After he put the PS3 in the mail, Sony called him to let Godshaw know that it had arrived in “good condition” and Sony would go ahead and diagnose the problem.

That’s when the trouble began, Godshaw said.

He said a technical support representative by the name of “Neil” called him back later that day to let him know that technical support had looked at the console, and determined that it was too dusty to replace. The decision was final.

According to Sony’s warranty on the PS3, the console is covered by “material defects in material and workmanship” but the warranty would be void if damaged by “acts of God, misuse, abuse, negligence, accident, wear and tear, unreasonable use or by other causes unrelated to defective materials or craftsmanship.”

Dust isn’t mentioned.

According to Godshaw, Sony’s technical support said that dust was related to negligence and therefore the console was not covered by the 1-year warranty.

“The guy said there was nothing they could do except either mail me my broken PS3 to me, or I would have to pay $150 for an out-of-warranty replacement,” Godshaw said.

However, in a recording that Godshaw made that he posted on The Consumerist, a Sony representative said specifically that dust is not a reason why Sony would not replace its console – sending mixed messages about dust.

Sony Computer Entertainment was not immediately available for comment.

Godshaw said his main issue with Sony’s dust argument is that video game consoles, like DVD players, stereos and other electronic equipment, sit in entertainment centers and tend to collect dust.

“I’ve heard stories from my friends and people I’ve spoke to on the Internet that PS3s are dust magnets,” Godshaw said. “I don’t move the console around, it sat there like it’s supposed to.”

While the general customer service representatives, who usually don’t have the authority to make warranty replacement decisions, told him that the situation was ridiculous and it should be replaced – the people on the technical side were incredibly rude, Godshaw said.

Godshaw said one manager by the name of Daria Woo told him Sony took pictures documenting the dust was inside the PS3, but would not share them. The pictures were “property of Sony,” and would have to be subpoenaed if Godshaw wanted to see them, he said the manager told him.

This leaves Godshaw in a customer service “Catch-22.” Sony’s technical support said the console is too dusty and won’t replace it, but Sony won’t show him. Like many electronic companies policies, customers are not allowed to open the inside of these products because it voids the warranty. He’ll have to take Sony’s word that excessive dust killed his toy.

“It’s been frustrating to say the least,” Godshaw said.

Video game companies have been plagued this console generation by defective products. Microsoft set aside $1.5 billion this summer to replace Xbox 360 parts after hundreds of the consoles began to break down because of overheating.

According to consumer affairs experts, Sony traditionally has had a good reputation for honoring warranty problems. Representatives at the Better Business Bureau said they had not heard of issues with Sony regarding dust and its warranty.

“I was surprised to hear this story actually,” said Carey Greenberg-Berger, an editor with The Consumerist.

The Playstation 3 is in last place in sales in the next-generation console war, according to consumer research firms.