Is Harvey Norman Product Care Useful/ Worth Buying?

coolhead on 30/06/2021 - 10:55
Last edited 30/06/2021 - 11:40 by 1 other user

Hi guys - wanted to know if anyone has ever bought or experience Harvey Norman Product Care for a mobile phone?
I bought an iPhone 12 - 128GB and ended up buying 3 Product care / warranty for $225, originally prices at $549. The guy straight away gave 40% off but negotiated a little more.

Now thinking is it worth or shall i cancel it? He said it would cover any degradation in battery life or other fault that might happen over next 4 years (first year apple, & then HN warranty kicks in for next 3 years).

pls share your experience.

Mod: Added poll.

Poll Options

  • 2
    Yes, it is worth it in this case (keep it)
  • 62
    No, it is not worth it in this case (cancel it)
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Comments

  • Muzeeb on 30/06/2021 - 11:00
    +6

    He said it would cover any degradation in battery life

    Bollocks. So battery health drops to 99% and you can claim for a new battery or iPhone? Good luck with that.

    first year apple

    Pretty sure consumer law with apple is 2 years

    • FoxJump on 30/06/2021 - 12:35
      +1

      No bollocks. I got wife's motorola replaced under "battery is not as good anymore" after 2 or so years.

  • MagnamoniousRex on 30/06/2021 - 11:15
    +11

    I wouldn't buy anything from HN, they are the most crooked retailer there is. They will (profanity) you at every opportunity.

  • Sideswipe on 30/06/2021 - 11:17
    +3

    I would cancel it. Replacement cost of the battery is $109 if it's out of warranty. The chance of needing to replace the battery within 2-3 years? Next to none. If you're worried about cracked screens or whatevs if you drop the phone, get a good case (~$50)?

  • holdenmg on 30/06/2021 - 11:20
    +1

    HN site says you have 20 Day Free Look on Harvey Norman Product Care.

    Just buy a case, don't drop your iPhone and cancel if you can.

  • ssx on 30/06/2021 - 11:25
    +5

    Absolutely stay away, it doesn't cover battery or other "consumables". We received the same lies for "product care" for a projector at harvey norman and it didn't cover anything that the salesperson said it would. We ended up getting a refund from harvey norman after having a claim rejected from the "product care".

    Ergh. I hate harvey norman.

  • WookieMonster on 30/06/2021 - 11:30

    It really depends on whether you want to pay $225 for the piece of mind that you have a warranty to fall back onto during the three years Product Care is active.

    The neat thing about Product Care is that if the person at the Harvey Norman can replicate the fault with your product and you’re within the Product Care period and the fault doesn’t fall under their long list of exclusions (e.g. accidental damage, liquid penetration, rust, screen burn), you will either have the product replaced on the spot, or you will be issued store credit of the same amount as you paid for your iPhone. In my experience, I was issued store credit within about 10 minutes of the Harvey Norman salesperson verifying the fault and submitting a request to the Product Care team for store credit to be issued to me.

    I’m not sure if Product Care is worth it for iPhones or iPads, as Apple products purchased from Australian retailers (especially Harvey Norman) automatically come with Australian Consumer Law coverage. Apple products purchased from authorised Australian retailers are covered for a minimum of two years under ACL. If you go to the Apple store with a faulty Apple device, you may find that you will still be covered under ACL even after the two years have lapsed.

    Some people argue that these extended warranties are a rip-off, because you’re arguably paying for coverage you already get for free under ACL. I guess it depends on how prepared you are to argue with the retailer that your product does not meet the definition of “reasonable durability” if/when a fault arises. Personally, I wouldn’t get Product Care for Apple products, because when you pay for year 1 of Product Care, you will still be covered by Apple anyway, plus I have received ACL coverage from Apple directly for an iPad Pro more than two years after the purchase date (and it was not covered under an Apple service program). I probably wouldn’t expect ACL coverage more than three years after the purchase date of an iPhone 12, but as I said before, it depends on whether you want that piece of mind. Only you can decide that.

    • bobbified on 30/06/2021 - 13:36
      +1

      It really depends on whether you want to pay $225 for the piece of mind that you have a shit warranty…

      Fixed it for you :)

    • coolhead on 30/06/2021 - 13:48

      thanks for the detailed explanation and your views.. yeah its just piece of mind and thats why I ended up buying it in the first place.. but a couple of people I talked to were not really convinced so thought of getting more inputs.. cheers

    • Chandler on 30/06/2021 - 20:55

      Some people argue that these extended warranties are a rip-off, because you’re arguably paying for coverage you already get for free under ACL. I guess it depends on how prepared you are to argue with the retailer that your product does not meet the definition of “reasonable durability” if/when a fault arises.

      That's almost how I word it to people.

      You're not paying for warranty (you get that from ACL) - you're paying for the retailer to honour ACL without argument.

  • terlalu on 30/06/2021 - 11:38
    +1

    HN sales person sold me on Product Care when I bought my Samsung S10e. Said the same thing - come back and say the battery has deteriorated, they'll give credit to buy a new phone. I'ma waiting to see if that actually will happen in about 18 months…

    • SnoozeAndLose on 01/07/2021 - 11:05

      It is true,I got my Nokia 7 plus 2 years ago, the battery only last for 4-5 hours, raise a claim and conditionally approved and need to verify in store.
      Went in store they just process the credit without checking. Then they said I can call and get the credit deposit into my bank. I did and the money is in my my bank now.

      So I spend $25(I think the original price is $100,I said don't bother,then they reduce it) for an extra year of warranty and get $398 back. Not bad.

    • Zviar on 19/03/2023 - 11:20

      @teralu would you mind sharing what happened next

  • SF3 on 30/06/2021 - 11:39
    +2

    100% profit for NH

    • Duff5000 on 30/06/2021 - 17:21
      +1

      90% (used to work there)

    • SnoozeAndLose on 01/07/2021 - 11:07

      Not true for me,used phone for 27.months and got refunded. Total cost for me is $25 to buy the product care for extra year of warranty

  • Switchblade88 on 30/06/2021 - 11:49
    +3

    I'm sure HN will care for your products just like they care about their staff and their audience on Twitter

  • Hithere on 30/06/2021 - 12:03
    +2

    It's a con job.

    Australian Consumer Law covers you for free.

    • Duff5000 on 30/06/2021 - 17:23
      +1

      I don't know if ACL would cover you in the 3rd and 4th year. Still, for the most part I wouldn't worry. Most issues with a phone are going to be not covered after that age. Will probably have been dropped a few times.

  • djones145 on 30/06/2021 - 12:18
    +2

    title really should be
    Is anything in Harvey Norman Worth Buying?

    • coolhead on 01/07/2021 - 10:14

      well some time you do get a good deal there.. This iphone 12 128 gb i looked everywhere was $1429.
      OW had it cheaper but no stock..
      went to chadstone HN, & got iphone for it for $1278. the guy said just today the offer came up & its cheaper..
      and now down to $1259

  • Drakesy on 30/06/2021 - 12:27
    +2

    Just another trick they use to bump up their commission, preying on people emotionally attached to their new purchase, or those uneducated.
    Cancel it and get your money back. Australian consumer law will cover you for most things.

  • netjock on 30/06/2021 - 12:51
    +1

    Junk policies. It has been proven over and over again that is the case.

  • coolhead on 30/06/2021 - 13:39
    +1

    Thanks all for the feedback… looks like cancelling is the way to go. Its just like insurance where you are not sure if i will get / need the benefit..

    • Duff5000 on 30/06/2021 - 17:26

      ACL will cover you for the first couple if years at least.
      Will you even have the phone in years 3 and 4?

      When I used to work there, cost was about 10% of the original claimed sell price for the warranty. It you want to keep it say either cancel it entirely or do it at $50. They will probably take the offer.

      • coolhead on 01/07/2021 - 10:08

        Tried that they are not reducing any further. Thanks

  • Ziaina on 30/06/2021 - 13:51

    For peace of your mind, yes. I have recently got a new replacement for a 5yr old $1299 front loader washing machine with this product care.

  • DJR9000 on 30/06/2021 - 14:33
    +4

    Ask them to pay it for you with their ill-gotten Jobseeker payments. Profit up, yet they claimed it and won't pay a cent of it back. Then there's the twitter thing. Then there's the GST impost on overseas purchases even though it's uneconomic. Then there's the "professionals" on ozbargain (although that was humourous). Thanks Gerry Harvey you <ultimate profanity>

  • coolhead on 01/07/2021 - 10:11

    So i called them up yesterday and got it cancelled.. will get the money on my card soon.. also the iphone price went down by $19 since i bought so the salesman was happy to refund that amount as well
    Now need to get some good cover & tempered glass…

  • IceCreamBandit on 01/07/2021 - 11:11

    I've had positive experiences with it.

    Bought a Galaxy Tab 1 years ago with it, and when the battery died a few years later (within the Product Care period but after normal warranty), they inspected it and gave me store credit equivalent to the original purchase price to buy a new tablet.

    I recently bought a laptop and got it as well. The HN guy was saying he gets a new iPhone every 12-18 months and just pays for Product Care to get it. He said he just uses it until the Battery Health reads 90%, and he knows he's eligible for a replacement.

    • coolhead on 01/07/2021 - 13:07

      thats good..

  • photonbuddy on 01/07/2021 - 22:03

    This was a few years ago, and not a phone, but …

    My Dad bought a $400 fitness watch about 6 years ago, and got suckered into paying for an extended warranty. It developed a fault within the manufacturers warranty period..

    We took it back, and they said they could handle it with warranty, but would have to be sent back etc. and could be up to 4 weeks, or they could replace it on the spot with their product care.

    Seemed like a good deal, until they clearly stated (have to give them some credit for that!) that if we used the product care, it would be terminated.

    Don't know about others, but I thought that was idiotic. It was in the T&C's though …

    Sucks, because I know they would have returned it and got a new replacement to sell.

    I always consider these types of offers, but they seem to have gotten more and more expensive. Haven't bought one for years now.

    • Duff5000 on 01/07/2021 - 23:56

      "It developed a fault within the manufacturers warranty period…We took it back, and they said they could handle it with warranty, but would have to be sent back etc. and could be up to 4 weeks"

      At this point you would be within your rights to say you want it replaced or refunded under warranty. You dont have to accept a 4 week wait.

      https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/consumer-rights-guarantees…

      And just an FYI for anyone that come across this. If you threaten to contact ACCC harvies will do pretty much anything to avoid that. Really just threaten to call head office is enough. Complaints to HO are a stat that as tracked against the franchise. ph 02 9201 6111

  • Zviar on 19/03/2023 - 13:35

    Just checking here,
    HN guy says, if we taken care plan for 1 year, they will be happy to take Samsung phone back after 2.5 years, and return a full credit, even if the phone is doing OK and working normal. All they is customer report, phone is performing poor.
    Can that be trusted? it sounded unrealistic. Because how can HN just give away a full credit for no reason, after 2.5 years?

    Any similar experiences.

    • AssociatedGOMOOTYPRO @ Harvey Norman on 20/03/2023 - 11:46

      That's 100% not correct. Which store was this from?

  • yummypinacolada on 20/03/2023 - 03:53

    I personally never take it, but I know that most sales person there will try to push you to get the Product Case for additional commission for them. Based on the feedback of people who have bought it here, I'd probably try it next time I'm buying something from HN as long as its still priced under 10% of item value.

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