Circuit City Dishonest practices, promises not honored Rockville Maryland

I have purchased a 46-inch LCD Samsung from Circuit City in April of this year. Being that this is not a light purchase, just to be on the safe side I also purchased an extended warranty. The TV was working fine up until October 24th.

On October 24th, the television started having problems - it would not turn on and was making clicking noises. I called the Extended Warranty department and a technician was scheduled to come out and look at the TV on October 31st. The technician determined that the problem was a bad plate, but they did not have that part in stock so it had to be specifically ordered.

The week of November 10th I was called that the part had come in, and the technician was scheduled to come to replace it on November 14th, between 1-3. I took the day off work, however, around noon I got a telephone call from the tech stating that they "could not find the part". I called the warranty department and spoke with a representative named Danisha, who could only offer me an apology and that "she is sure they are looking for a part". When I requested to speak with a supervisor, I was t old that no one was available. I asked what hours the supervisor works and was told the same hours that everyone else, 8am - 10 pm, however there is no one available right now and I should call back. She also offered to escalate the issue, which meant someone would call me within 24 hours, to which I agreed.

Unfortunately nobody from the supervisor department has called me back I called the same department 15 minutes later, and spoke with a different representative, who was very professional and determined, got in contact with the supervisor of the technician who could not find the part, and assured me that according to the supervisor, "They will find out who signed for the part, and that person will be held responsible if the part is not found. Furthermore, if the part is not found they will rush it, so it will be here Monday". She also informed me that supervisors are available, but t he representatives are trained not to allow customers get through. This was also mentioned on a recorded line, the customer service representative was named Paulette.

A few hours later I received a call from a dispatcher to let me know that they can't find the part. This person also promised to call me back to tell me that they will order a part. No call back was made. Not having heard from anyone by Monday I called the familiar number to the Extended Warranty Department, and was told that apparently a technician was at my house on November 14th. When I asked how come I did not see him, I was finally transferred to a supervisor, who told me, and I quote, "Parts get lost, haven't you ever lost something before?" Aside from that, he was also able to tell me that they ordered the part, and offered me the phone number for the Chief Executive office. I called the Chief Executive Office on November 19.

After being transferred around, a representative named Angela was finally able to tell me that they part will be shipped today, however they could not tell me if it will be expedited, and while this individual did use the words, "We made a mistake", once again, on a recorded line, she did not seem to pay any notice to the fact that due to this "mistake" I have not had a working television for over four weeks. There were no attempts at expediting the service call, and all this individual could offer me was the same basic apology, and absolutely no guarantee of any kind of a satisfaction. I was told that if I call back later that day I should have a tracking number.

I did call back later on November 19th, and spoke with yet another representative, who informed me that there is no tracking number on the part, and that it takes 7-10 business days for the part to arrive. I asked her whether the part was rushed, and was told, I don't know that. When I told her that I was told the part was supposed to have been rush shipped, every subsequent time she referred to the part being shipped she referred to it as rushed. When I asked whether the part was actually rushed, the answer rapidly changed to yes. I called the Extended Warranty department on Saturday November 22nd, and the representative could once again tell me that the part is on order, and refused to provide any more information.

I called once again on Monday, November 24th, and the representative was finally able to give me a tracking number for the part that was on the UPS truck out for delivery, having been shipped Friday. The representative whom I spoke with the morning of November 24th could not provide any more information on when I would have a working television. When I requested to speak with a supervisor, I was told that none are available on Mondays. It is unfortunately apparent that in addition to being trained in not providing customers with any helpful information, the customer service representatives in the Extended Warranty Department are also trained to lie to customers, because as I have mentioned previously in this email, Paulette, in the conversation on November 14th explained to me that the representatives are trained not to allow customers to speak with supervisors. When I mentioned this to the person I spoke with the morning of Monday November 24th, she agreed with me, but still refused to connect me to a supervisor. Having the tracking number for the part (1Z1W866V0337026186), I checked with the UPS website. The part was delivered around 2 PM, and the person that signed for it was listed as JARRETT.

At 3:30, I called the Extended Warranty department yet again, and the representative I spoke with actually yelled at me, and refused to even look into the case and get information about it. I also sent an email to the corporate office chief executive office, chief_executive@circuitcity.com the evening of November 24th. The morning of November 25th I called the Extended Warranty Department yet again, the customer service representative told me that someone would call me within 24 hours to schedule the appointment to come and fix the television, that they are unable to provide any more information. When I asked to talk to the supervisor I was once again informed that none are available.

After I repeated ocne again that I know the representatives are trained not to allow customers to talk to supervisors, I was told that they can escalate my case, but the escalation department and supervisors do not come in until 12. I agreed to have my case escalated. After finishing that call I called again, trying to reach Corporate office, and after speaking to several representatives my call was finally answered by CJ Richardson, who said he was a supervisor. This was at 9:30 am, EST, whereas the representative from the Extended Warranty department stated that they do not come in until 12 pm EST.

I once again detailed my case to CJ, who promised to call me back within half an hour. An hour and twenty minutes later I received a call from CJ who stated that they could schedule me for December 5th. When I replied that this was not acceptable, I was asked, and I quote "What is the solution in your mind". I replied that a solution is to have a technician come out and repair the television, like I was promised by each and every customer service representative and supervisor I spoke with over the course of last 10 days in an expedited manner as soon as the part came in. CJ told me that he will see what he could do and told me he would call me back.

At 3 pm I have not yet heard from CJ, so I called back. When I finally reminded CJ who I was, he told me, "Oh yeah, the only way we can have a technician come out tomorrow is if there is a cancellation, otherwise it has to be December 5th". When I once again said it was unacceptable, he asked me to hold, and a few minutes later came back on the line to tell me that the technician who services my area was on vacation and he is the only technician in the area. Interesting, when a few minutes earlier I was told that if there was a cancellation I would be provided with service. CJ also stated that he will be the first to admit that Circuit City made a mistake, but there is nothing they can do to rectify the situation.

I called the Chief Executive office, as my email there went unanswered. When I spoke to a representative named Bonnie, I was told that they received my email, they're not sure why I was not contacted, and that she would transfer me to the lady who will be able to help me. I spoke with a person named Tracey, who stated that she handles the calls when the CEO himself is not in the office, and he was not in the office when I called. She apologized for the delay in the service to me, but said that there is nothing they can do and the service date has to be December 5th. Despite numerous appeals on my end to the fact that a number of supervisors and representatives have promised expedited service, and that the part was supposed to be here on November 17th, Circuit City's Chief Executive office refused to honor any and all of those promises, all of which are apparently on recorded conversations.

Circuit City and their representatives have provided misleading and untrue information. It has been a full month since I made the call about a broken television, and there still does not seem to be a resolution. Circuit City lost the original part that was ordered for the television, and every subsequent customer representative that I speak with makes a promise that is not kept. My case was supposedly escalated twice, each time someone was supposed to have called me back within 24-48 hours. Neither of those times did anyone call me back.

November 27th is Thanksgiving holiday, I am having family over, and I do not have a working television. According to the Circuit City website, At Circuit City, we understand how important your electronics are in your life. The Circuit City Advantage Protection Plan gives you peace of mind that your new purchase will continue to perform beyond the standard manufacturer's warranty Unfortunately, in my situation, I have had no such peace of mind for over a month at this point, and I am not certain about Circuit City's understanding of the importance of a working television. I am quite certain that you will agree with me that waiting for over a month for a 6-month old television to be repaired is more than unacceptable, as is Circuit City losing the part that was ordered.

S
City, Maryland
U.S.A.

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