Timeline to frustration

January 5, 2005: purchased iPod 4G 20GB

March 16, 2007: purchased Dynex Universal iPod 5-in-1 Docking Station with Remote

March 17, 2007: plugged iPod into Dynex docking station and Dynex USB wall wart. iPod battery quickly discharged; iPod now gets very hot when charged. All attempts to rectify problem fail. iPod will no longer play music or sync. Displays Apple logo, then low battery icon.

March 26, 2007: installed new Kokopelli battery (Kokopelli Music, USPS tracking # 9101805213907506306046). iPod gets hot when charged. iPod plays for about 30 minutes.

March 27, 2007: iPod battery discharged. iPod gets hot when charged. iPod will no longer play music or sync. Displays Apple logo, then low battery icon.

I took the dead iPod to Best Buy in West Lebanon, NH. Explained problem to Geek Squad supervisor. He attempted to call Dynex, but after being on hold for over 20 minutes, he asked me to call them myself. He said he'd be in on Thursday and would call them again. He said he was hoping to get Dynex to pay for repair or replacement of my iPod.

March 29, 2007: I called Dynex (I was sick on the 28th) and spoke to Logan and explained the problem. He put me on hold for a long time (the entire call lasted 16 minutes) before coming back on to say that a supervisor would call me back.

During this call I discovered that Dynex is essentially a subsidiary of Best Buy, so the way I see it, Best Buy is responsible for their product and the damage it caused.

I spoke to the Geek Squad supervisor and he said he'd follow up on it and call me back on Sunday (April 1).

April 2, 2007: Since I hadn't heard anything from either Best Buy or Dynex, I stopped by the Best Buy store and asked to talk to the Best Buy supervisor. I was told he wasn't there, but the Geek I talked to called the supervisor and said he'd call me back the next day.

April 3, 2007: I got a call from Sophie at Dynex. She left two messages. In the first one, she said I should send the docking station to Dynex, along with a certificate of repairs or a receipt of purchase and a certificate of damaged caused by the docking station. In the second call she clarified that a certificate from Apple saying the Dynex dock broke my iPod would be required.

I looked up iPod repairs on Apple.com and found that the diagnostic fee was $100. Since I can buy a working used 4G iPod on eBay for $120, this didn't seem like a very viable option.

I called Best Buy and asked to speak to the Geek Squad supervisor, but was told he was gone and would not be back till Thursday. I asked to speak to his supervisor. I got a return call from Ryan, who left a message saying that the GS supervisor would call me Thursday.

At this point my iPod has been dead for 18 days. A few days ago I started using my Treo 650 to listen to podcasts, and the other day I borrowed an iPod to use while I attempt to get Best Buy to resolve the problem their product caused.