NewEgg: My Own Personal Nightmare Rude customer service that have made wild claims that a UPS rep stole my item and substituted another Whittier California

I wanted to share my own personal nightmare in my dealing with NewEgg.com, adding to the multitude of other dissatisfied customers. This opinion does not reflect upon this site or message board and is merely my own experience over the past month. I'm sharing this for consumers to be aware when purchasing and for those who have had similar challenges to be a bit of a guide regarding suggestions for resolution.

On December 5th, I signed up with NewEgg as a preferred customer with their BillMeLater service. On sales Order: 85517841 I purchased an Intel QX9775 Processor for a computer I have been putting together as a Christmas present.

On December 10th I received the item and upon opening it, realized I had mistakenly ordered the wrong one. This was clearly my error. I correctly received what I had bought. I called immediately after realizing this and spoke with a rep in customer service believing this would be an easy thing to fix as I hadn't even been billed yet for the order.

The rep on the phone first told me I should've read the description more carefully and suggested I sell it on EBay as they'd charge me a 20% restocking fee. Having managed customer service for 10 years I couldn't believe what someone was telling me.

I asked to speak to the supervisor and explained the situation to Maury Santamaria. He agreed to waive the restocking fee once it was confirmed that the item had been returned. As Christmas was coming, I offered to pay for the overnight shipping via UPS at my own expense so we could resolve this quickly. In turn, I told him I did not want my money back at alldidn't care about the price difference, just wanted to swap this for the item I needed, an Intel QX9770. I did as I promised and on December 11th I provided him with the tracking number: 1Z0394E12540791123 I tracked the item myself and was relieved to see the item received and assumed all would be well. It arrived and was signed for on December 11th.

I heard nothing until December 17th I was sent an email care of the RMA Inspector that after reviewing the package it was believed that the item received back did not match the serial number of the processor that they had sent me. The box was for the QX9775, but the item they were saying was sent back and is inside the box is the QX9770.

This to me was ironicas it was the item I was trying to swap it out for this item they are saying I sent back. I along handled the package to UPS and was sure of what I was returning to them. After calling again and speaking with Thomas in customer service, he was as puzzled as I was and said he would look into it for me. For good measure, I forwarded my emails to both the RMA Inspector & Maury to keep him in the loop. Thomas stopped their warehouse from shipping it back to me while they investigated. Thomas put me on hold a few times and came back to ask some odd questions:
1. Have I ever seen that type of processor before?
2. If I received the wrong one, would I even recognize it?

I'm not sure where he was going with thishe never said. I never heard back anythingand as I knew NewEgg was shipping the package back to me, I called again Thursday, December 18th to try and resolve this.

The third customer service rep I spoke with said I returned an item they didn't sell to me, all but accusing me of lying, and attempting to defraud NewEggwhich was offensive to say the least. After 40 minutes on hold and speaking with him, I asked again to speak with Maury. He assured me they had pictures of a used processor with fingerprints all over it (the QX9770) and even though it is the item I have been trying to swap the QX9775 for, the item has been modified in some fashion and has been used. I was puzzled and frustrated that this absolutely was not the brand new, unused item I returned to them and thus, not only was I not getting the item I need, I wouldn't get back even the item I returned or my money.

After Maury was unable to help I appealed to the CEO, Tally Ciu who assured me I "would be taken care of". I was pointed in the direction of Vincent Aguilar in Customer Service at NewEgg who spoke with me Tuesday evening, December 23rd...who asked a few simple questions and said we would clear this up by the end of the day or Wednesday morning at the latest. Refunding my money would be the easiest option he said.

When we spoke on Wednesday, a few of the things he said caught my ear. He had been under the mistaken impression (and after rereading my email I know I was clear...not sure how he was confused) that I was insisting I was shipped the wrong item to begin with. I was not...from the beginning I said I received the right item, shipped it back to NewEgg and after doing so, the RMA inspector said the processor wasn't the item they originally shipped...that it was substituted for another. Once I corrected him and asked him to reread my email while I was on the phone, he said he'd need to call me back. He said that the box was tampered with in transit from UPS and this wasn't NewEgg's problem. He said he would speak with management and get back to me.

In due diligence I called UPS and spoke with my preferred customer care & account manager Martin Rug (as luckily for me, we have a corporate UPS account to handle things like this.) They opened a damage/trouble ticket and arranged for an onsite inspection of this claim at NewEgg. Because of the price of the item I took out additional insurance upon sending the item overnight to them in the event the item was somehow lost/damaged in transit during the busy holiday season. When they investigate these matters they require the original box, item received and need to speak with the actual receiver or receivers to determine if the box or item appears tampered with by a UPS employee. UPS was contacting Vincent Aguilar to arrange for this appointment and I informed I had done this as well.

On Christmas Eve, December 24th Vincent Aguilar called me back and said they would not honor a refund or replace the item. I reminded him that I had been honest and corrected his misunderstanding of the situation. If I had been dishonest and pretended that he was correct, I would have my money back by now (perhaps I should've lied from the beginning???) He agreed to send over pictures of the item, a write up of the denial of the RMA & would meet with the UPS rep on Monday, but insisted the problem wasn't theirs. Additionally he stated he had reviewed camera & video footage, but was unwilling to share this to me. There are a good number of business days between when the item was signed for and when it was inspected, at this busy time of year to me it was possible for some sort of mix-up. He informed me that they didn't have the box I shipped the item back in and UPS wouldn't be able to inspect it.

I contacted UPS on Monday, December 29th to find out if the inspection was still on course, I was told that Vincent Aguilar called UPS after speaking with me Christmas Eve to request the item be picked up, inspected by UPS and returned to me. None of which he told me, and is an attempt to return an item that doesn't belong to me, that I did not pay for and isn't nearly the retail cost of the original item I bought. I changed that with UPS and demanded an onsite inspection to validate the claim NewEgg had made that the box was tampered with in transit. Additionally, I emailed this to Vincent Aguilar and told him he had changed it, I didn't want the item returned to me as it wasn't mine. He confirmed that UPS would be inspecting the item on-site.

On December 31st I received an invoice from NewEgg listing a no charge Intel QX9775 (the original item I bought) on it as repair and listed as being shipped to me. At first I was delightedas even if they were just shipping me another of the original item I bought at least I could resell the item on item, get back some of my money and then buy the item I actually need. Believing it couldn't be this easy, I contacted NewEgg customer service via e-chat to have documentation of the conversation. I spoke with a representative who stated they were shipping me back a QX9775. I asked for confirmation and if she was 100% sure this is what was being shipped back to me. She later said it wasn't and was another item in the box I had sent back to them. Obviously still some confusion there. She told me that the item is now being shipped back to me from NewEgg via FedEx and UPS has been unable to inspect the item onsite. The item listed on the invoice to be shipped back is the QX9775, the original item I bought. NewEgg did not wait for the investigator or for the inspection and is now sending this used, damaged item back to me.

As such, UPS will have no item or box to investigate, and as such, I highly doubt will honor the insurance I took out on the box in sending it back. They would require evidence to prove the claim made by NewEgg as they were the other half of the party involved in the shipping & delivery of this package. Vincent Aguilar confirmed that afternoon of the 31st that he spoke with his UPS rep and they said they didn't require the box or item and that it wouldn't hamper their investigation. As of now I am verifying if this was said. From past company dealings with UPS they require actual evidence and need to review with the party that signed for and handled the package.

On January 2nd, I received a follow up call from Alex Villarino at NewEgg who assured me Vincent Aguilar had done everything in his power, etc. He admitted that even he assumed that UPS would require the item or box to complete their investigation. Additionally, he was unclear how to respond when I suggested that if the item that has fingerprints all over it, was actually finger printed, I would bet my life that none of those fingerprints even belong to me. I called and followed up with UPS preferred customer service and asked to speak with a supervisor.

I spoke with Andrew Larson, manager of UPS preferred customer care and he was able to give me clearer details regarding UPS' investigation of the claim made by an agent of NewEgg. On December 26th UPS had made a notation that they have been trying to arrange an inspection of the item in question. Normally an on-site inspection isn't necessary for items of marginal valueobviously with a $1600.00 item this is not the case at all. Contrary to what was stated by Vincent Aguilar, there were no notations at all to what he had mentioned. According to Andrew Larson, under no circumstance would UPS be able to conduct an investigation without the item in question and twice over this case was changed to a non-transportable, in which UPS would be picking up the item to return to me (additional notions include the names of Paula Wilson & Rebecca Felix), not the onsite investigation I had asked for to verify this claim made by an agent of NewEgg.com. UPS did, in fact, attempt to collect this item for inspection on the 30th and Andrew additionally stated that the item should not have been shipped back to me under a separate tracking number before inspection as this will delay and further hamper their investigation. NewEgg is clearly being deceptive in verifying the claim they have made and appear to be trying to make the matter go away by denying my claim and sending me back this used item.

UPS policy (((ROR redacted)))

One January 7th, UPS will attempt to deliver a used, modified Intel QX9770 that I didn't purchase and I am refusing the package. I will not accept an item I didn't pay for of lesser retail value. NewEgg has been noncompliant in proving to myself or UPS any of the claims they have made. From the first call NewEgg was attempting to get me to resell an item I bought from them on EBay as opposed to allowing me to return to them. I am happy to incur a 20% restocking fee as to be fair, I made the initial error of ordering the wrong item. I want my money back.

Lastly, as a thoughtNewEgg's own customer service people told me this is their busiest time of year and their RMA department has been handling a large volume of requests. No system is perfectand ask yourself if mistakes cannot be made. People make mistakes all the timeI admitted my own stupidity for ordering the wrong item but I am awaiting some sort of acknowledgement from NewEgg that I am indeed a Preferred Customer and that this situation has been handled poorly from the start.

As NewEgg has not at all been willing to resolve this matter between us, and has taken the additional steps at sending a used item that I did not purchase back to me, I have filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, Federal Trade Commission, The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and the nonprofit group Call for Action. I am refusing the package, and as the investigation will be stalled until once again until the item is received by them, my patience in resolving this has come to an end. To date, the most polite, professional person I have spoken with at your company has been their CEO.

Shoppers beware. In the past 12 years I have been building & refurbishing computers, this is the first time I have purchased from a major online e-tailer. Previously, with EBay & Pricewatch at no point did I ever have an issue purchasing or receiving a new, functioning item. For me, this has been a lesson to sticking to what you know. NewEgg, like most corporations has become the largest purveyor of goods in their market that certainly appreciates your dollar until you have a problem. Additionally, it is interesting to note that they have setup multiple websites under their umbrella that focus on creating an online, word of mouth culture of Kool-Aid drinking in which their own employees talk about how wonderful they are. They also surf message boards and sites to find situations such as this and post their own opinions in response in an attempt to curb public opinion as quickly as possible. Lastly, if NewEgg is a flawless, faultless corporation, why do they need to employ one person, Alex Villarino, whose sole responsibility is in maintaining and monitoring their corporate image by overseeing the online negative chatter regarding NewEgg?

CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.

Kenneth
Newburyport, Massachusetts
U.S.A.