Complain about a product or service

Emerson TVs

BJ of Williamston, SC October 4, 2009

We bought a 32 inch Emerson digital tv from Wal-Mart costing around 600. We had the tv for about 15 months. We turned the tv off one night before going to bed, the next morning the tv would not come back on. After calling the Emerson tech support, the guy simply stated "sounds like a broken unit".

We took it to a repair shop and was told it would cost 400 to repair the 600 tv (not to mention the 30 deposit for the repair guy to even look at the unit) I am not happy about this.

My family & I are now out of a tv because we cannot afford to pay that much to repair the tv nor would we even if we had it. Who's to say that even if we had this defective product repaired that in a few months something else might break on it causing yet another problem. No thank you.

It seems unfair to me that this multi-million dollar company can take advantage of consumers this way. Obviously reading the other complaints, this product is definitely a defect on the company's part, not the innocent consumers! We shouldn't have to eat this cost.

Hong of Brentwood, TN September 24, 2009

I bought a Emerson 32 inch digital/analog LCD color TV (model LC320EM81)on December 30, 2007 from a local Wal-Mart store in Germantown, Maryland. On September 15, 2009, this TV set was shut down automatically and suddenly when it was being used to watch a TV program. After that, it was never turned on again as described online by most customers who bought this kind of TV set and experienced the same or similar problem. In terms of the fact that there have been many customers had the same probelm with this kind of TV set, its design and manufacture should be deadly defective. The damned company should be responsible for the loss of the customers, including their refunds and worst feelings due to such a horrible experience. The same product should be withdrawn from the market and the company should be sued for its worst product quality and postmarket service. The USA is well known for its strict legal system, why can this company still survive well without any penalty? All the affected customers should be united together, yell for help loudly, sue the damned company, and get our money back.

Darrell of SANTA FE , NM September 22, 2009

I bought a 32-inch Emerson television from Walmart on February 6th of 2009. Late in August of 2009, my television turned itself off shortly after I turned it on. At this point I had no reason to suspect the TV was failing on me, because I have minor nerve damage in my left hand, and sometimes my fingers get twitchy. I figured that perhaps I inadvertently hit the power button one too many times, and so I put the incident at the back of my mind and didn’t pay it any more attention.

Starting roughly on the weekend of September 5th 2009, my television started turning itself off again. It would stay on from anywhere between about two minutes to an hour or so each time, but it would invariably and inevitably turn itself off. Concerned, I began to look for my receipt. However I couldn’t find it, so figuring that I had no way of getting the matter resolved without one, I tabled the issue until I came across it a little over a week later on September 16th.

Curious about what options I had available to me to get the situation resolved, I jumped online. That’s when I found this site and read page after page of horror stories about Funai’s terrible craftsmanship and equally terrible customer service. As a frequent visitor of The Consumerist, I went there to see if they had posted any stories about how to get the issue resolved, as they generally include alternate methods with which to get your issue resolved when all else fails. I found a post there sent in by a couple who had problems with…you guessed it, their Emerson-branded 32-inch LCD TV which met a similar fate to my own a mere few months after they purchased it, and their inability to get anyone at Funai to pay attention to the problem they were having with it. In the end they were able to get a refund for their set, but it involved starting up a Twitter page to boycott Funai. This concerned me, as I don’t enjoy being made to feel like a sucker, and given the frequency with which this issue occurs, coupled with Funai’s apparent lack of regard for its customers when it happens, that’s exactly what I was left feeling like.

I went ahead and filed a warranty inquiry on Funai’s website, which went ignored for three days. I know that doesn’t sound like much, but let’s be realistic here. Given the number of folks on this site alone who Funai ignored in the hopes that they’d just go away, along with the couple whose success story has to be tempered with the very real possibility that they’d still be waiting for Funai to get back to them had they not used Twitter to their advantage, I had no faith in Funai to get a hold of me at all. In fact I’m willing to bet that I’d still be waiting had I not been proactive about the issue.

Tired of waiting and growing more anxious by the day, I went ahead and nicked the level-2 customer support e-mail address from the boycottfunai Twitter page, and contacted the customer service representative listed there by the name of Mr. G. He had resolved the issue for the couple who ran the boycottfunai initiative, so I figured that it wouldn’t hurt to see if he could help me out too. He ignored my e-mail, but a lady by the name of Candace responded the next day with an e-mail asking for my phone number so that she could quickly resolve the issue for me. Unfortunately I work from 8am to 4pm every day, and cannot take calls while there. I don’t get home until 5pm most days, which I would imagine would be too late for her to reach me, so I called the phone number Candace included in her e-mail on my lunch break in order to speak to her.

Upon getting through to customer service, I asked the gentleman who answered the phone if he would transfer me through to Candace. He refused. He said that she couldn’t offer me anything that he wasn’t likewise entitled to offer me, and so sending me through to her would be pointless. I insisted that I be allowed to speak to her, but he continued to insist on being given the opportunity to help me himself. Being that I didn’t have much time on my break for a pointless back and forth, I gave up trying to get through to Candace and asked him what they could do for me as Level 2 customer service that filing an inquiry on the Funai website couldn’t accomplish for me. He launched right into explaining the terms of Funai’s warranty to me, and told me that the only avenues I had available to me would be to either send my television to them for repair, or to take it to a certified Emerson repair center, but that being that I’ve had the TV for more than 90 days, I’d have to pay for labor.

This was problematic for two reasons. The first being that it exposed something that may have affected my decision to buy the TV had I known about it earlier. If I had known that the 1-year warranty only actually covered parts and labor for 90 days, then just parts thereafter, I wouldn’t have bought the damned thing in the first place. That sort of warranty speaks to a lack of faith in the product on the part of the company that manufactures it that it will perform over the long term. The second reason being that I had read more than a handful of stories here from folks who paid anywhere up to a third of the purchase-price for the TV in labor fees to get it fixed, only to have their TV exhibit similar symptoms anywhere from a week to a couple of months after repairs were completed.

I wasn’t comfortable with paying them additional money over the purchase price in order to fix a problem that absolutely should not be occurring just a little over half a year after the set was purchased. Had the TV cost 100 bucks, then perhaps it could be treated like a piece of cheap, disposable merchandise, but for just under half a grand, there’s no excuse for why this TV should be exhibiting issues like the one so many of us are experiencing so soon after we’ve purchased it, nor is there any reason why we should be asked to pay to get it working when it dies within warranty. I explained that to him and told him that I would not be happy with anything short of a refund, and he told me that his hands were tied. I thanked him for his time, and then terminated the call.

I immediately e-mailed Candace back and asked that she call me at home at around 5pm if possible. I related my experience with the rep to her, and told her how disappointed I was about how the whole ordeal had been handled by Funai up to and including that point. I urged her to contact me only if she was prepared to offer me a full refund for the cost of the TV, and predictably enough, I haven’t heard back from anyone from Funai in the week since.

I e-mailed her today and made her aware of my intention to file a complaint with the FTC, as well as the Attorney General located in the state in which Funai’s US operations are located. I told her that I also intend to send my story to any consumer advocacy site on the web that will hear it, and that I will post my negative experiences on every social networking site available to me. If I can keep other people from being suckered in to buying a Funai TV set by its comparatively inexpensive prices, then maybe something of value will have come from this experience.

mark of rockdale, TX September 16, 2009

bought 32" emmerson hd flat screen. Bought it 9-2008 and today 9-15-2009 its got the blue line on the left side of the screen. I HAVE DECIDED TO NOT EVER BUY ANYTHING AT WALMART. Its anywhere you go and for 12 months of service all at once its going to go out. After reading other people with the same problem Im glad I didn't buy the warranty. this needs to stop. we were our 327.99 + tax. not fair at all. I will join in a class action suit just to get this kind of rip off stopped.

Magdalen of Plymouth Meeting, PA September 15, 2009

I purchased a Emerson 32" Digital/Analog TV, Lc320EM8A from Walmart on June 11, 2007. I don't watch the TV much so I didn't notice the problem for a while. Then I started noticing these lines at the top of the screen that started coming down the screen. Other people have also had that problem. The lines haven't gone away and have increased in number and length on the screen. I'm preparing for the time that the TV won't be viewable at all. Of course the warranty is up. The cost was a little over 500 which is a lot. My last tv which wasn't Emerson lasted about 15 years, so I expected the same here. Not so!! It appears that these TVs are all coming out of Walmart. I'd be willing to join a class action suit.

Alex of Freeport, NY September 11, 2009

I purchased an Emerson LC302EM82S from walmart in 03/08 for my birthday as a self treat a HDTV now come to find today that it does not work and Funai Corp that company that builds this line of tvs also builds alot of walmart brand electronics like durabrand and theis emerson TV was only sold at walmart a TV is supposed to be designed to last. i contacted funai for them to tell me that they cannot do anything to help me because i am out of warranty and let alone didn't even offer me an out of warranty repair.

Valerie of West Columbia, TX September 1, 2009

I have a Emerson LCD TV 32" that I bought from Walmart in January of 2008 and when I turn the TV on it automatically turns off, it will not stay on. I was reading some of the complaints here and it is obvious that Emerson sent out many defective TV's to Walmart or Walmart purchased them knowing that they were refurbished or defective in some sort of way. This is really a sad thing for the consumer and for Emerson because I am like the last person, I know I won't ever purchase another Emerson Product ever.

Daniel of Fort Worth, TX August 29, 2009

I bought an Emerson 19 inch Widescreen LCD HDTV from Wal-Mart back in March 2009 and now in August of 2009 its on the blink and I can't find the receipt but I still have the box with a shipping tag on it. I just called Wal-Mart and talked to a manager and he said to contact the manufacturer. so I got online and ran across this complaint site and see its not going to do me any good after spending hard earned money in these trying times. I'll never buy another Emerson product again if they don't do right by all of us!

Carol of Bluefield, VA August 28, 2009

I bought an Emerson TV from Walmart in March of 2008. On 8/21/2009 the tv started turning off by itself. Then it wouldn't turn on at all. I have my receipt from Walmart and did contact them; they told me to contact Emerson which I did. They told me the tv was out of warranty and couldn't be repaired by them. This is the same problem that alot of other people have had with the same tv set. They should be made to repair or refund the exact amount that was paid for these tv's (i paid over 500.00)

Rita of Chicago, IL August 14, 2009

I bought an Emerson HD television from wal-mart 5 months ago with my tax refund. I also purchased the warrienty. About a month ago a blue vertical line appeared on the left side of the screen and a red line on the right side. Its on every channel station. The T.V. is on a stationary surface. I no longer have the reciete, could my purchase be reserched by the warrenty purchase?

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