2-year Technical support and protection plan ($400-$499)

Comments about Federal Warranty 2-year Technical support and protection plan ($400-$499):

Needed warranty replacement of bad battery for laptop which my daughter had away at school. Warranty required that the entire laptop must be shipped off to be repaired (even though the computer was telling her the battery was bad.) She needed the computer for school and could not ship it off. By the time my daughter finished her classes, the warranty had expired, and the 3rd party protection provider was no longer the official Staples provider. Started the process over with the new provider, but was rejected because it was past the warranty date and it had been "too long" since the original complaint was registered. Staples personnel were not at all helpful in resolving and deferred to 3rd party provider. Eventually, I got exasperated with the process and ordered a new battery so my daughter would have a functioning laptop to return to school(of course, Staples tech staff gladly SOLD the battery to me after trying to get me to pay for them to run diagnostics on the laptop that was clearly telling me the battery was bad.) I can guarantee you that the cost of this incident incurred by Staples and the 3rd party provider in personel salary alone WELL EXCEEDED the cost of the replacement battery. And in the process, a lot of ill will was created, from a customer service standpoint. I am a huge Staples fan and will continue to shop there---however, I am done with their tech support department. I had purchased this protection to make things simpler for my daughter should she have problems with her laptop while she way away at school. At the time I purchased the protection plan, I understood that if there were a problem, she could take the laptop to a nearby Staples for repairs. NOT SO. The process is a major incovenience. I will NEVER purchase a protection plan again, and will NEVER recommend this "product protection" to anyone.