Putting the 'limited' in limited warranty

Welcome to my consumer nightmare. And welcome to the fact that there's nothing as limited as the limited warranty that one of the world's best-known consumer electronics companies offers to customers like me who naively expect it to stand behind what it sells.

The company is Toshiba. The nightmare involves the tiny +/= plastic keycap that you see in the picture accompanying this column.

When that cap fell off my Toshiba Satellite laptop shortly after I bought it, I figured that I wouldn't have a problem because the computer came with a one-year warranty.

Foolish me. When I showed up at my local Best Buy less than three months after buying my Satellite there, I figured the Geek Squad would stick the cap back onto the key (which I had been unable to do), or glue it on, or send the computer to Toshiba for a quick fix at Toshiba's expense. Foolish me again.

The Geek couldn't reattach the keycap, and said that using glue would void the warranty and possibly destroy the computer. He also told me that Toshiba wouldn't pay for the repair, which I found shocking.

The Geek said I would have to get a new keyboard because there was no way to get a new individual key, and that if he sent my Satellite out for repair, I would have to wait weeks (which I didn't have) to get it back.

I couldn't believe it. So I called Toshiba customer service, but the rep who took my call said politely there was nothing she could do to help me. I appealed to a supervisor, who politely told me it was my problem, not Toshiba's. She gave me a list of places near my home that could do a same-day repair: at my expense, of course.

What enraged me - and should enrage anyone who's had a similar problem - is that Toshiba's limited warranty is so limited that my defective keycap is specifically excluded. In fact, I wouldn't have had coverage even if the keycap had been missing when I first took the Satellite out of its box on May 27. "Faded or missing keycaps" and "replacement of missing parts" are among the numerous warranty coverage exclusions.

Don't believe it? Under a section called "What Does this Warranty Not Cover?" the document cites, among many other things "preventive maintenance, cosmetic damage or wear and tear (e.g., scratches, dents, or scratched, faded or missing keycaps or keyboard cover." Read the full warranty for yourself here: http://bit.ly/1VHiRd6.

It cost me $250 (plus sales tax) to repair the computer, for which I had paid $599 (plus tax). So a tiny defective part cost me more than 40 percent as much as the computer did. The same-day repair was done by a Toshiba-recommended firm, Cavalier Technical Services of New York City, which told me the cost was so high because Toshiba charged $150 for a new keyboard. Appalling, isn't it?

I forked over the money because it was cheaper and easier than buying and setting up a new computer. I could have lived without use of the +/= key. But I do a lot of math (though I rarely use that key), and having that cap missing would irritate me.

I spent days trying to get Toshiba to give me its side of the story on the record. Alas, it declined to do so. It wouldn't even tell me if I was reading the warranty properly, or why on earth the warranty doesn't cover keycaps.

And in case you're wondering - no, I didn't try to get Toshiba to give me a better deal as a journalist than it had given me as a customer. In the initial e-mail that I sent Toshiba from my Washington Post account seeking comment, I said that I wouldn't accept compensation of any sort under any circumstances. I didn't, I haven't and I won't.

My bottom line: Although I like my computer, I won't be buying anything else from Toshiba until the company decides to stand behind its products instead of hiding behind its gibberish-filled warranty document. .