Hats off to Warner

[Louisville Slugger]

Not sure where I should post this but a few weeks ago I was reading over at the AVS Forum about "disc rot" on a HD-DVDs, mainly ones from Warner. I have a small HD-DVD collection that I sometimes watch because it wouldn't be worth the money converting to Blu-ray. I have about 30 Warner HD-DVDs in my collection. Over the last few weeks I tested each disc by playing it from beginning to end. I found four discs that gave me the dreaded "408bc504" error code about half way through each movie. I tested the defective discs in three different HD-DVD players; all gave me the error code at the exact same timestamp. Each disc looked flawless so they had to be defective.

The movies I found to be defective are: Superman Returns, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Forbidden Planet, and The Adventures of Robin Hood.

I contacted Warner on 01/04/13, left a message, phone call was returned on 01/09/13. The lady was very helpful of my situation and agreed to send a pre-paid label so I could ship the movies back for Blu-ray replacements. I received the return label on 01/17/13 and everything is ready to be sent out. I’ve put copies of all my receipts in the box as well as a nice letter of appreciation.

Warner customer service has been superb. Their contact information can be found below:

Warner Home Video
4000 Warner Blvd
Burbank, CA 91522
(818) 954-6000 - this is NOT a toll free number.

If anyone still has any HD-DVDs I suggest people test out the Warner discs and do as I did.

Thread over at AVS:

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1332907/ha...er-hd-dvds/300

I don't think it is required to have the receipts. Some of these movies I bought over 5 years ago. I just keep all my receipts in case I ever have to do an insurance claim or something, but that's just me. The letter Warner sent me specifically stated:

Please note that you also need to enclose: (1) a copy of your receipt, (2) a brief note stating the problem and (3) your return address. In the event you do not have a receipt, please identify in your note the store it was purchased from.

[sk33tr]

gotta agree with the "hats off".

very good of them to do that when they simply could've said, "sorry, it happens. you'll just need to re-buy them on blu-ray."

good to know there are companies that still care about the consumer.

[meremortal]

I also read about that and decided to just use my HD DVDs as trades for BB U&S. Very cool you got them to cooperate with you.

[Louisville Slugger]

They received my HD-DVDs on January 22 and my contact at Warner said the movies would be shipped out this week, but...

I received a bill from FedEx on Monday for $43 and change for a bunch of surcharges including shipping and handling. I was pissed so I immediately called the number in the envelope (FedEx Revenue Services at 1-800-622-1147). I explained my situation to the lady I spoke with. I told her I sent back some defective merchandise using a pre-paid label from the manufacturer. She told me the vendor on the account refused to pay the surcharges because they didn't have proof they were supposed to receive my package, therefore they invoiced me. After I hung up with FedEx I immediately contacted the person I spoke to at Warner and left a message. She called me back later and I explained what FedEx told me. She was pretty angry too, (1) at the amount they charged me, and (2) for the fact this happened.

I scanned a copy of the pre-paid label from Warner as well as a copy of the FedEx bill and e-mailed them to her as .pdfs. She said I was not responsible for the bill and it would be taken care of. She also said if I received anything else from FedEx to call her immediately.

The bill is due on February 16 and I would rather get it taken care of sooner rather than later. I DO NOT want to deal with a collection agency.

I don't want any headaches.

Anything else I should do to protect myself? Basically I don't want FedEx coming after me.