Circuit City Refused a return for defective camcorder Grandville Michigan

first off, unless you purchased the stores protection plan the store is not liable for defective products (they did not make the product) the manafacturer is. The manafactuer gives you a limited warrantythat would be used in a case like this which you finaly figured out. You are offered a plan at purchase for circuit city to give you protection on the product in which case circuit city or any retailer will take responsibility of repairing and replacing the product. Also on every receipt the return policy is clearly stated. So if you do buy something that does not work right away, you can get your money back. It does not matter who you shop from the rules are the same just the length of time and form of payment given back are the only varibles. I am not saying you are an idiot I am just saying you should know return policies of any store before you make a purchase. By the way that open box has the same manafactures warrenty as a new unit.

first off, unless you purchased the stores protection plan the store is not liable for defective products (they did not make the product) the manafacturer is. The manafactuer gives you a limited warrantythat would be used in a case like this which you finaly figured out. You are offered a plan at purchase for circuit city to give you protection on the product in which case circuit city or any retailer will take responsibility of repairing and replacing the product. Also on every receipt the return policy is clearly stated. So if you do buy something that does not work right away, you can get your money back. It does not matter who you shop from the rules are the same just the length of time and form of payment given back are the only varibles. I am not saying you are an idiot I am just saying you should know return policies of any store before you make a purchase. By the way that open box has the same manafactures warrenty as a new unit.

first off, unless you purchased the stores protection plan the store is not liable for defective products (they did not make the product) the manafacturer is. The manafactuer gives you a limited warrantythat would be used in a case like this which you finaly figured out. You are offered a plan at purchase for circuit city to give you protection on the product in which case circuit city or any retailer will take responsibility of repairing and replacing the product. Also on every receipt the return policy is clearly stated. So if you do buy something that does not work right away, you can get your money back. It does not matter who you shop from the rules are the same just the length of time and form of payment given back are the only varibles. I am not saying you are an idiot I am just saying you should know return policies of any store before you make a purchase. By the way that open box has the same manafactures warrenty as a new unit.

first off, unless you purchased the stores protection plan the store is not liable for defective products (they did not make the product) the manafacturer is. The manafactuer gives you a limited warrantythat would be used in a case like this which you finaly figured out. You are offered a plan at purchase for circuit city to give you protection on the product in which case circuit city or any retailer will take responsibility of repairing and replacing the product. Also on every receipt the return policy is clearly stated. So if you do buy something that does not work right away, you can get your money back. It does not matter who you shop from the rules are the same just the length of time and form of payment given back are the only varibles. I am not saying you are an idiot I am just saying you should know return policies of any store before you make a purchase. By the way that open box has the same manafactures warrenty as a new unit.

I am glad to hear that Sony took care of you. Usually with a store like that they just have to end up sending it out to Sony anyhow so by cutting out the middle man you should get faster service.

As for the going to Best Buy part, they can be just as bad if not worse than Circuit City. I Think they have a rule here about not suggestiong other companies to go to, But I am sure there is another store in your area that sells this type of stuff. Every Retail store however will have it's share of problems that will vary depending on the individual store. If they treat you right there then go for it.

Jon,

Thanks for your helpful suggestions. Here is how this story ended. Sony stepped up to the plate and fixed the camcorder for me at no charge, even though it was beyong their 90 days limitation on labor. They also paid for shipping to and from their repair facility. Circuit City lost a great customer (I am an electronics nut). Will shop Best Buy from now on.

Returned merchandise laws do vary from state to state. Here is California's for eample:

"Unless the merchant's specific return policy is conspicuously posted near the cash register, store entrance, order forms or on product tags, state law requires that consumers are entitled to a full cash or credit refund, and equal exchange, or some combination of these. The customer may return merchandise for at least seven days following purchase, if it is returned with proof of purchase.

"We do not dictate what the return policy is for a retail establishment. Most businesses are really good about their return policy, because they want repeat business. They don't want to shut customers out. Most require an exchange within the store," said Russ Brown with the California Department of Consumer Affairs (www.dca.ca.gov)."

If you lived here and the item in question was know to be "open box" at the time of purchase, it would fall into the same catagory as a "new product".

Basically here the sate will only give you 7 days unless otherwise posted in the the store (most are 14 days or more). This is under the assumption that 7 days is a reasonable amount of time to decide if a product is working as intended or needs to be replaced.

These laws do vary from state to state. A Google or Yahoo search should be able to tell you what the laws are in your state.

Now on the other hand if they sold you this item knowing full well it was defective, that would fall into another catagory wich would constitute legal action if not resolved. However, proving they knew this would be easier said than done.

Brad, sounds to me like everyone associated with Circuit City is responding, and of course they are going to disagree with you.

Here's my opinion on your Rip-off report and the rebuttals:

Your report is justified since they have your money, and you have a product that's defective and can't use, and they have failed to correct that problem. Right now, you are out a lot of money.

It may have been an "open box" purchase, but unless you bought it with an understanding it was "as is" merchandise, or the receipt was marked, "as is", you should have recourse against them.

They sure didn't help you by having you purchase even more merchandise to try to correct the problem. Why should you spend your money to fix their defective merchandise?

And you certainly shouldn't have to spend more of your money on some sort of store "warranty", since defective merchandise is usually covered under state law.

And thanks a lot to all you people who try to dumb the consumer down by saying it was beyond the store's return policy. A store can state anything it wants to in the store or on the receipt, but that doesn't make it legal.

The real deal is most states have laws about defective merchandise. The product must work for it's intended purpose is the principle of the law.
If the shoe doesn't fit, you get your money back!

If it doesn't work as intended, as in your case, you should be able to get the problem
corrected to your satisfaction, or get a full refund. Best to check with your state's attorney general about the laws in your state.

There are several things you could do:

Make another good faith effort at the store to get a repair or refund, make a record with dates, times, and names.

Contact the manufacturer and see if they will fix the problem. Unfortunately, you might not have a warranty on the product since it might have been a returned item, but try anyway. Again, take notes with dates, times, and names.

If you still don't have the problem resolved, contact the Better Business Bureau and file a complaint. They may be able to help, and if not, the store will have an unresolved dispute on file.

Contact your state's attorney general and file a complaint. They should try to get the dispute settled. They will have a record on this store, and if they get enough of them, they might take legal action against the store.

As a last resort, if the amount of your purchase justifies it, you could sue the store in your state's small claims court. There's usually a statute of limitations of one year from the date of purchase.

There's usually only a small filing fee. This is where all your notes come in, since the court doesn't want to see you there until you've exhausted all your other options, and you will have a track record to show you really tried to resolve the problem without going to court.

The bottom line is a store can not sell you merchandise that doesn't work as intended, and then stick you with it. It doesn't matter what they say on their receipt, or what's posted in the store, that's all irrelevant in the case of defective merchandise, unless the sale was "as is", then it's "caveat emptor".

Don't let them dumb you down, and hang in there, it takes time, patience, and work; you must decide if it's worth pursuing, and that's usually decided by the cost of the item.

Good luck.

all these retailer off one thing very bad product and crappy service but theremost to the story there our more horror store about all 3 company about how to screw with the consumer

a convicted fellon work at bestbuy kill a man
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best buy is getting sue
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compusa facing lawsuit
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best buy and compusa being sue together ?
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another compusa horror story
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another bestbuy circuit city conspiracy
http://www.startribune.com/stories/535/5015987.html

circuit city trouble
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/retail/circuit_city_rebates.html

is one giant conspiracy !

they are evil VERY evil

Ok I work at a Circuit City. The person who sold you the camera told you about our City Advantage plan which covers completely cleaning the camera, repair/replace the camera from power surges/lighting strike and blah blah blah... Also the return policy is printed right there on the front of the reciept so if you didnt see it thats not our fault.

You people are all morons!!!!

All you have to do is read the back of the reciept. That gives you all of the answers to your questions. We are not your babysitters, we are in a business to make money.

Act like you have some sense, and take the time to know what you are buying. Honestly, I see people take more time buying a piece of fruit at the grocery store, than when you people are buying a 2000 dollar laptop. Or in your case, an expensive camera.

Here is an idea, think for yourself. If the camera wasn't working properly, and you know the return policy is expiring soon, return it.

i've had nothing but good service when it comes to returning items at circuit city. in fact, returning an item is often easier than purchasing one.

Purchasing "open box" items is a dangerous game in my opinion. The item was either returned by another consumer for one reason or another, or was used as a store display. I am sure you got a price break for it being an "open box" item, which makes those purchases attractive to a lot of people.

You say that the head cleaner worked for a while but the problem returned, and it was after the 14 days they allow to return or exchange a camcorder. Have you tried the manufacturer? I'm quite sure the manufacturer's warranty is still valid, so you should be able to get the camera either repaired or replaced through them.

You shouldn't have placed a rip-off report on Circuit City for following the rules. This sounds like retaliation for not getting your way. Is their return policy printed on the back of your receipt? Was it printed anywhere in the store? Were you aware that you had 14 days to return the camera for exchange or refund? If so, you should not have tried to return the camcorder to the store and called the manufacturer instead to have it taken care of through their warranty.

This website is supposed to be RIP OFF REPORT.com.
You are complaining because you were past the return policy, a return policy that is displayed in store? Thats not a RIP OFF sir.
You knew that there was a return policy of 14 days on electronics.. and you admit you attempted to return after this date.

If there is a problem at this point, my suggestion would be to contact the manufacturer for assistance. They typically have some sort of warranty on thier products.