Circuit City Took payment for repair, then returned item unrepaired Ripoff Newport News Nationwide

Wow, so this was a long time ago. That said, I think it is important for the audience to hear/read about the final outcome. In this case, Circuit City acknowleged a communication error between the receiving store and the repair center in Atlanta. Once this problem (and the real one with the camcorder) was identified, customer Dan in Hampton, VA received a gratis repair and apologies for the communication gaps.

 

Friday 08/11/2006 Circuit City's repair center contacted me, claiming the repair would cost me $599! I was livid, and told Charlie Ridge, the manager (x335) that I hoped that this was unacceptable and that I hoped that this was his company's idea of settling out of court because I intended to sue. He told me that he was going to do some 'research', and would contact me further regarding the status of my camera.

Saturday, 08/12/2006 I was contacted but missed the call. Mr Ridge informed me that he had managed to talk down the repair cost to $299 and would apply the cost of the previous repair to it, leaving me with a balance of $167 and that if I declined, I would be refunded the money. In the meantime, I was contacted by the client I had hoped to do business with and told that he would be going elsewhere for his freelance video service, on account of my company not having equipment that worked.

Monday, 08/14/2006 I contacted the Circuit City repair center in Georgia 1(888)333-2333 and was directed (upon my inquiry) to Jenie Stooksbury (x301), Mr. Ridge's boss. I told her that I was willing to settle and approve the repair, on two conditions. One, that the work repaired be warrantied for 180 days, and two that the old parts be sent back along with the camera. I was informed that neither condition could be met, as the manufacturer was unwilling or unable to warranty the new parts for any longer than ninety days, and that old parts were sent back to the manufacturer in exchange for 'value' (I assume this means a dollar amount yet unspecified). This left me wondering which is greater value, the cost of a board or the cost of a customer.

I asked Mrs. Stooksbury what guarantee she had that I wasn't getting ripped off, that the specified problems were what was really wrong with the camera. Her response was that Circuit City was a reputable comppany and would never lie to me. I rebutted her statement by saying that I'd heard that same ham and jazz from lots of politicians, and I had lost faith in her company due to it's previous failure to perform and my susbsequent losses as a result. Mrs. S told me that her subordinate, Mr. Ridge, had lowered the cost of repairs (I'm assuming that the $300, approximately, that had been shaved was the labor but I've no proof of that) to help recover my faith in Circuit City.

Too little, too late, I'm afraid, I replied, and asked her what objective evidence she could provide me that would clearly indicate that the problem with my camera had been fixed and that the board was indeed what was wrong with it. She said 'none', claiming that such a request was 'overkill'. At this point I told her that I would have to think this over, and decided to go up the ladder one more rung and take the battle to corporate. I again contacted the center and asked if Mrs. Stookesbury had a boss, and if so what their contact info was. I was informed to contact one James Stacia, at (804)527 4000. At around 4:16 EST, he was not available for contact, so I left a message.

Once I hear about him, the chronicle will continue.

The problem with the camera was that it would not connect via firewire to the computer. The computer was just repaired recently, therefore it was my first time attempting to test said camera in the capacity needed. Taking it home signifies acceptance, so does taking my reciept, but on the receipt it says that there's a 90 day period of warranty on the repairs.

As a follow up, I was able to return the camera and have it sent back out for repairs free of charge. However, I did have to postpone a meeting with a client to review tapes, and this bungle may have caused me to loose good faith of a long standing customer, and that's no good. Pursuant to such, I've also lost time that I'll never get back, and time is money. Taking money and not rendering service for such is a violation of federal, state, and local laws not to mention the UCC.

I am curious why you didn't test your product when you picked it up to make sure it worked? If you found out while in the store that it was still broken, they would've sent it back out for proper repair. Paying for the repair and taking the product home indicates acceptance of the work that was done. Taking it back to the store now demanding it to be fixed (again) at no charge is likely going to be a difficult task to accomplish.

I am curious why you didn't test your product when you picked it up to make sure it worked? If you found out while in the store that it was still broken, they would've sent it back out for proper repair. Paying for the repair and taking the product home indicates acceptance of the work that was done. Taking it back to the store now demanding it to be fixed (again) at no charge is likely going to be a difficult task to accomplish.

I am curious why you didn't test your product when you picked it up to make sure it worked? If you found out while in the store that it was still broken, they would've sent it back out for proper repair. Paying for the repair and taking the product home indicates acceptance of the work that was done. Taking it back to the store now demanding it to be fixed (again) at no charge is likely going to be a difficult task to accomplish.