Complain about a product or service

RCA

Scott of Aubrey TX (02/11/07)

Purchased a RCA 32"HDTV 8 months ago came home and it would no longer turn on, was told by the repair place that this is a common issue with the RCA televisions. The cost of the repair was more than I paid for the TV and that’s with the part (power supply board) being under warranty.

I find it hard to believe that there are products that are made to last less than a year, and I find it even harder to swallow that a company such as RCA would allow it to go on without making it right to the consumers. I will never purchase from this company again. I have a 32" TV for a paper weight in my garage.

Boothe of Caulfield, MO November 4, 2006

Boothe of Caulfield MO (11/04/06)
June 4, 2005 my son purchased an RCA Home Theater receiver (RT2380) for my father's day gift. The unit worked about 2 months, then would lock up (no response to remote control or unit pushbuttons). After unplugging it and letting it sit, it would reboot and work for a while. I contacted RCA via email and was referred to a customer service phone number. It took several calls and extended waits before they told me I would have to return it to the store I bought it from for service. They informed me that they no longer performed service and would send it to a service center in Oklahoma. It took several months to get the unit back. It failed in the same mode again after about a week and a half. I returned it for service again (5/3/06) the second time and I'm still waiting for repairs in November 2006. RCA builds junk, boycott Thomson / RCA.

I'm hard of hearing, so my son bought this for me so I could understand what is being said in movies and on TV. So the consequences are inconvenience, frustration and a couple of hundred dollars wasted.

Stephanie of Bristol, PA August 16, 2006

Stephanie of Bristol PA (08/16/06)
I bought an RCA television in March. It unexpectedly stopped turning on in June. I sent RCA an email, and never heard back. I called them, and was told I could mail my television to Texas and they would be happy to mail me a new one, as I was well under warranty. My television weighs over 100 lbs, and I was quoted a 150 shipping charge at UPS. This is ten dollars less than I paid for the television. I called back and asked if there was a better solution, as the shipping cost was equal to the worth of my television, but to no avail. I talked to four different people who all told me that this was the most efficient way of dealing with the warranty. Efficient for who?

Sherri of Stella, NC June 13, 2006

Sherri of Stella NC (06/13/06)
We purchased a brand new television, 52 HDTV RCA Thomson Brand at an INCREDIBLE steal through a reputable furniture store. Regularly selling for 2200, we walked out of the store for 1399.99 - and were anxiously awaiting it's arrival. The television entered our home on 11/11/05 - and on 12/22/05 I made my first phone call to RCA. We were experiencing a very high-pitched squeal from the unit. It was so loud our dogs would howl and we would get migraines from the frequency, even when it began to get too high for us to hear.

After repeated phone calls, we spoke to Chris number one and had an appointment set up for a repairman to come to our home and see what the problem was. This was 04/17/06 by the time the repairman actually showed up. Three hours after being in our home, wiggling and fiddling with the back cover off and a screwdriver poking around - he replaced the back of the tv, without screwing it on. This would prevent the screeching sound, as the back was too tight, he concluded and admitted RCA uses cheap silicone glue now and that parts will vibrate at a higher heated frequency and there wasn't much to be done. (Hhhhm, I'm not too technical - but BS sort of rings through my head on that one.)

Soon thereafter, a bubble appeared in the screen of the television, where it bows out, the picture is stretched and distorted. The picture automatically began changing itself from stretch to zoom. Our coloring exploded and we couldn't get any normalcy to skin tones at all! The final thing to go on the television was powering up - it would take almost 5 minutes to get a picture. FINALLY RCA sent out a repairman to pick up the television.

We've been waiting for almost 3 weeks to have it repaired and sent back only to hear the following. 1) The part was sent out on June 1, it will take 4 weeks to be delivered and then 2/3 weeks to be repaired - getting us a tv in August. 2) The part has been searched for nationwide and can't be found - therefore we will be receiving a new tv of equal or greater value. 3) They found the part again, and it will be in the shop by June 16, 2006 and we should have the tv back hopefully around the 26th of June.

Now let's add in two more important factors to this story. My husband has very poor visions - and my mother is legally blind and can not see a regualr television. She needs very large pictures to make anything out - my husband's condition is deteriorating into the same situation -so the reason for me buying this model was NOT for status. I don't need it, and don't even care if we have a tv - I did it for him and my Mom. Now, he hasn't been able to enjoy his programs, and with mom coming in a week and half - who knows if she'll be able to enjoy television while visiting. I've never been so disappointed with RCA and have never had such a horrible experience all the way around. From poor customer service, poor communication and a poorly manufactured product - I will do my best to research all affiliations to RCA and Thomson - and COMPLETELY steer clear of purchasing them.

Kim of Knoxville, TN May 16, 2006

Kim of Knoxville TN (05/16/06)
I have previously written in about my RCA tv going out after three months. The service center has had my tv for over a month. They say the module board has gone out. I asked the service center if this was unusual and they said no.He informed me that RCA is not worth buying anymore and everyone should boycott this company. He said that they cannot even get hold of a person to talk to. They have no idea how long it will take for this part to come in as the distributer is out of this part. I have tried on numerous occasions to get hold of a person to talk to about this problem. You cannot get to a person to talk to. I was told that they are getting by with this type of service to the consumer because they are still living on the good reputation that RCA use to have. The service center told me that everyone should report them to the better business bureau and that is what I intend to do.

Kim of Knoxville, TN April 30, 2006

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