PS Pros, www.ps-pros.com, 360-pros.com, J G Consumer Electronics, Sandi Paige, Ashley B, www.electronicspros.com, Kelli O. Trainwreck of a company does not respond to emails, hold repair products hostage Long Island City New York

I sent a PlayStation 3 to this company for repair on December 11th. On December 13th I was billed for the repair, for the amount of 122.99. The company claimed a turnaround time of 1-2 business days before I was sent my product back. 

After 11 days went by I emailed the company to ask what the status of my repair was. 

I received an automated response signing me up for their online support center.  But no response to my question.  A week later I sent another message to them, this time using their online support page.  Still no response was received. 

I was left with no choice, nearly a month later, to file a complaint with the New York attorney general and the BBB. On January 5^th I filed my complaints. 

Now I finally received a response.  On January 9^th I received the following message:

“With the repair services we perform, we have historically been able to fix over 95% of the systems we receive.  Unfortunately, we were not able to achieve success with your system.  We apologize, and completely understand that you may be frustrated."

Fair enough.  They provide my choice of options.  I can 1) Buy a refurbished model for a small additional charge.  2) Buy a brand new PS3 for a small additional charge.  3) Ship back my console and issue a refund.  Or 4) “Dispose” of my broken PS3 and issue a refund.

I reply and ask what the prices are for the new and refurbished models. 

On January 12^th they respond with prices.  The prices are in line with what you would pay anywhere, but they come with this disclaimer:  “Please be aware that both types are on an extended back order.” 

So I am now left apparently with two choices.  Either give them my PS3 and get a refund or get my PS3 back and get a refund.  Naturally I want back my broken PS3 and my money back, since they could not fix it.  

I respond with the following on the same day (January 12):  “Thank you for the reply.  Considering these are on extended backorder, and the prices are similar to what I can find here, I would like to request that my PS3- that you could not repair- be returned to my home address and my credit card refunded in full.” 

I get no response.  

On January 17^th I email again:  “I have not received a refund yet to my American Express, nor have I had my PS3 returned.  Please update me on the status of my order.”

I get no response.  

I had enough of playing games with these people.  It was nearly two months since I tried to get my PS3 fixed, and they were incapable of communicating with me or fixing my product.  I dispute the charge with American Express on January 27^th.  On January 29^th I received a complete refund from PS-Pros. 

Now I want to get my PS3 back.  I email on Friday, February 1^st:  “Thank you for the refund. Now I would like more information on when I can expect to have my broken PS3 sent back to me.”

A person by the name of Sandi Paige responds, the next day amazingly enough:  “To have your console returned you will need to send a certified check for the return shipping and charge back fee.  Please send a certified check in the amount of $57.99 to the address below.” 

Ah ha.  So now they want me to pay the fee AmEx charges them for the dispute, plus super expensive shipping charges that NOWHERE on their website they state you will have to pay.  After all, they couldn’t fix it.  It’s not my problem they were unsuccessful.  Now I am charged for their incompetence?  I don’t think so.

So I respond, the same day (February 2): “You will send me my console back at no charge. Nowhere on your website does it mention paying a return shipping fee.  In fact, the first line that appears in your Frequently Asked Questions section is:

“Prices vary depending on the labor and parts required, which is why we provided a free diagnosis by a trained technician. Remember, there is no charge for an estimate or if we can't repair your console.”

Sandi responds, the same day: “I apologize for any confusion.  As stated on our website there is no charge for an estimate or if we can't repair your console; however the estimate and repair does not including shipping.  You have been refunded the repair cost of $99.99.  Payment for shipping will be required before your console can be shipped."   

Sure.  I respond one more time, offering a truce.  I will give them a prepaid shipping label, using my own FedEx account, and they can send back my PS3.  I receive a response, on April 16^th, from someone named Kelli O:  “I apologize for the delay in your response. At this time, you will need to have a certified check sent in in the amount of $57.99 to have your console shipped back. Your payment is for the $22.99 for return shipping and handling, and the $35 charge back fee. Once your check is received, your console will be shipped right out to you. Please send your check to the following address:”

So they are still insisting I pay the fee AmEx charges, plus shipping.  At this point I give up, but not before doing some background research on this company.  After reading on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, the BBB and numerous other sites it appears that no one actually gets anything fixed by this company.  That is not exaggerating one bit.   Every situation that referenced PS Pros brought up the same story I had.  1) Bad communication 2) slow shipping 3) unable to fix.  

The conclusion that I came up with is this company is clearly running a Ponzi type scheme.  This is how it works:  1) They get people to send them their broken video game systems.  2) They respond and claim they cannot repair the system.  3) The person says what can I do?  4) PS-Pros offers to send back the system for a high fee or sell them a refurbished system 5) The customer either buys a refurbished system, or tells them to keep their broken system, they don’t want to pay for return shipping.  6) If the customer says keep the system they actually fix the system, and sell it as a refurbished system to another unsuspecting customer. 

It’s really a brilliant system.  They don’t have to pay for one system, yet they have a revolving door of customers giving them systems for free AND buying other systems.  Look, this part is purely speculation, but I bring it up because I hope to save any future customers from dealing with the headache that is PS Pros.  Stay away at all costs!  If I can give one piece of advice- use a local shop near your home that is capable of repairing game consoles.  Even if it is more expensive.  There is nothing worse than trying to deal with an uncooperative company that is 1,000 miles away.  And this company is uncooperative to a level I have never witnessed before.