Unbelievable

Not that it matters to Sir Howard Stringer http://www.sony.com/SCA/bios/stringer.shtml, but for the past month or so I have been fighting to get Sony to honor an extended warranty for a television set.  My advice to readers is:

1.) Do not buy Sony.
2.) If you must buy Sony ( I cannot think of any good reasons to do so), do not buy an extended warranty.

I have always felt that extended warranties were a way to bilk customers out of money.  The warranty sold to my Mother (which I recommended because the TV she was purchasing has an integral bluray player- a combo I would generally oppose) for over $150 by the Sony representatives at the Sony store in Riverhead NY is just that- a way for Sony to gouge more money from you at time of purchase while abdicating all responsibility for supporting the product they have sold you.  There are even discrepancies between what is printed on the contract of insurance and what the RECORDING that the underwriter says once you call them as to the nature of your coverage.  Basic business law 101 nonsense.  I am disgusted.  I will not buy Sony again and am considering ways to offload the vintage stuff I have worked so hard to maintain.  As a result this blog's existence is in question at the moment.  I will forward this link to  the hacks and know-nothings that manage the company now and think about where I will go from here as far as gear is concerned.  Another nice story- popped into magnolia which is carrying Marantz now, and saw they had a new ES multichannel receiver.  The sales guy quickly came up to me as I looked at it and said:

"Don't buy that one.  A lot have come back.  In fact our 1st floor sample didn't work when we tried to set it up."

Sad.