Circuit City - Warranty

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Jeremy of Charlestown IN (12/21/03):
I purchased 4 cell phones and four replacement warranties from Circuit City. On Dec 11 i called to follow the warranty procedure on one of the cell phones that was damaged. The customer sales rep said I will send you one out as soon as we get one in stock. He also told me if I didn't receive a phone in a week to call back because there was none in stock. The policy states that the will ship one in one or two business days. So on Dec 17 I called to see if they had one in stock and the rep told me no and they didn't know when, so I asked if the could please put me in another Sprint phone and I would pay for the upgrade and he told me no.

I talked to Kathy the store manager the same day and she said she could not help me with the phone but if i wanted to take my business elsewhere that i could receive the refund on my warranties. So on Dec 19 I went to the store with my receipts and they told me that they could not figure out the refund and could not help me until she came in at 3:00. So I left a copy of the 4 receipts and a message to call me.

I received no call and I went down to the store to demand the refund. I asked for the store manager Sean and he refused and asked me to leave. I than asked for his manager to call me and he asked me to leave. Then threatened me with the police.

So, outraged by the service I called Sprint and reported my problem and the said hold on we can help. The are sending me a replacemant and offered me the same no-hassle warranty. All I want from Circuit City is my money back.

Jeffrey of Macon GA (12/15/03):
In February 2003 I puchased an Archos MP3 player. On December 12, 2003 the display stopped functioning for no apparent reason. When I purchased the unit the store personnel informed me that it would be a good idea to get the extended warranty as I could get a replacement within 2 years if something went wrong with the device. Sounded good to me, so I took that deal under that impression.

I contacted the toll-free phone number on my receipt and they told me to return the unit to the CityAdvantage center (via UPS, FedEX, etc. insured of course) for a gift card of $243. This is the total for the unit and the tax. If I take this option, I'm still out $55 for the "warranty", and the I no longer have the Player as Circuit City no longer carries this unit. If I request my prorated "warranty" fee back, I will get only approximately $25 yet still will have a dead player. Circuit City should refund this total amount to me as they can not replace the device $298.

Vivian of Villa Rica GA (11/30/03):
I purchased a Compaq Laptop at Circuit City in Jan 2003. I had to take it in for repairs on Oct. 27, 2003. I have called and called to get information on status of repair. It is now Nov. 30, 2003 and I can not find out any info on this product thru customer service on the internet nor by phone. I bought a warranty on this product and I think that they are slowing around waiting for my warranty to expire.

I am a realtor and I purchased this laptop to assist me with my daily worktask. Due to my not being able to use for 1 month has cost me thousands of dollars and its so close to Christmas and I have children and grandchildren for which this money was needed to purchase Christmas.

Colleen of Orlando FL (10/29/03):
I was suckered by Circuit City’s so-called extended warranty. I bought a cell phone and got the 36-month extended warranty. The salesman told me it would cover just about anything, even normal wear and tear. I foolishly believed him and the warranty pamphlet he gave me backed up everything he said. I still have it and it clearly states it covers any malfunction due to “normal wear and tear.”

Well, I was very careful with that cell phone and even now, a year and a half later, it hardly has a scratch. I can’t even ever remember dropping it. But a few days ago the antenna fell off for no reason. I called the 800 number about the warranty and explained the situation. The rep, Stacy, told me that since I’ve informed them the antenna came off, the phone is now considered “broken” and my warranty is voided. I couldn’t believe the absurdity of that. We went around and around in circles but she wouldn’t budge. She said there is absolutely no way the phone will be repaired or replaced; it’s considered damaged.

I asked for a manager and was told they are not available. Yeah, right! She said a manager would call me within 24 hours but of course no one did. So I’m screwed. Circuit City will NEVER get another dime of my business. I hope they go bankrupt.

James of Seaford NY (10/29/03):
I was lied to by a salesperson. They told me a warranty I purchased for a phone would cover ANYTHING, and the phone would be replaced. The antenna broke, and they said there's nothing they can do. All I hear from the millions of people they make me call is "I'm sorry there's nothing I can do", but that doesn't make it right.

The consequences are that I have a $350 piece of junk, and no one wants to do anything about it.

Jerry of Galion OH (10/5/03):
8/20/01 I purchased a HP laptop for my son for college. It was a returned computer but he salesman assured me that it carried a new warranty. I purchased it and the salesman offered me a 3 yr. extended warranty which would fix or replace the computer. He made it a point to tell me that a screen replacement alone would cost over $600. Since my son was going away to college it seemed sensible to buy the extended warrany to last his 4 years of college.

In March of 2002 my son said that 2 small dots appeard on the screen but that it was still readable. My son said that at the time he couldn't be without it as he is a journalism major and that during summer break he'd bring it home and we'd contact circuit city. When we contacted them they had us ship it to California for repair. A week later the laptop came back totally unreadable with colored lines covering the entire screen. With the computer was a note stating that the cost to repair was over $600 and wasn't covered under warranty because of abuse.

My son assured me that he did not abuse the computer as he used it every day for homework and that he couldn't be withoutit. I steamed about it for quite sme time until I decided to e-mail the Circuit city customer relations website. I received an e-mail that I may be entitled to a prorated settlement on the ammount of the extended warranty. This is not what I paid the extended warranty for. I e-mailed them back stating that that wouldn't suffice and that I was going to contact The Ohio attorney Genrals office,the B.B.B. and Consumer Affairs and I was sure that at least one of these would be contacting them.

All I want is the warranty work done or to have the purchase price of the laptop applied to the purchase of one equal to or of greater value as the salesman explained the warranty to me.

Jean of Haverhill MA (8/15/03):
Bought a Compaq Computer at the Salem Store and the EXTENDED Warranty. First year service was good (through Compaq). Circuit City had a service site in Billerica that was convenient and personnel helpful but they closed it. The latest issue of US News says that the keyboard is the most often repaired component. This has never been fixed on my computer (it has been in 3 or more times for that) and now I cannot get service. They hold me on the phone (GE Now runs the service) and tell me they will not authorize service... that I must have dropped it, or spilled food on it ... etc (1/2 hour of this type of harassment). And yet, this is the same problem that others buying the laptop have complained about, otherwise it would not get into U.S. News.

Service Department at Circuit City in Salem NH is not responsive. Took me 1/2 hour to get someone who could speak English and tell me the Billerica service center was closed. Took 1/2 hour of arguing with GE to get them to honor the service agreement (Extended Warranty).

Deborah of Prospect KY (8/12/03):
I purchased a digital camera and the City Advantage Plan. It was explained that if I have any problem with the camera from the DOP it would be replaced or serviced by the local Circuit City location. Unfortunately I have experienced a problem. Per CC Customer Service if I bring the camera into the CC Service Dept. I will be turned away and have to deal with the manufacturer. Furthermore, Customer Service explained the manufacturer will not deal with CC directly. I found that odd due to the volume of business generated by CC and GE. I felt confident making a purchase that has the GE backing I would only receive the highest level of service.

Janet of Lees Summit MO (8/7/03):
My daughter purchased an extended service plan from Circuit City for $270.00 in June, 2002. In July, 2003, the "C" key fell off of her keyboard as she was typing. Because the manufacturer's warranty had expired, we were told by Circuit City that this would not be covered by the 270.00 warranty either because it was "cosmetic"!

We then contacted GE Zurich (the service warranty company), and they told us it wasn't covered because, if the key fell off when we were typing, then typing would be considered misuse or abuse because it was a "physical" issue. Just a warning. I will never shop at Circuit City again -- once they sell you the warranty plan, they act as though they are absolved of any responsibility for whatever actions the service plan company takes.

Jeffrey of Cincinnati (8/6/03):
Two years ago my wife bought me a laptop ($1100.00) for Christmas at the Western Hills Circuit City. The salesman (David Eades) wanted us to buy a three year extended service warranty ($289.99) and we turned it down. He then said if my then one year old son threw it down the steps it would be covered. A friend of mine was with us can attest to everything that the salesman said.

Three weeks ago my 16 month old daughter dropped the laptop shoving the wireless network card into the laptop damaging the motherboard. I promptly called Circuit City’s Extended Service number and was told the extended service did not cover accidents. I reiterated the story about what the salesman said and was told that somewhere in the warranty information that it says the warranty cannot guarantee what the salesperson tells us. (We never received a copy of the warranty description, and even if we did that seemed like a strange way to allow salesman to say whatever they want to sell the warranty.)

My wife talked to the operations manager at Circuit City (Laura Crowley) where we bought the laptop and told her the story. She told my wife to bring it in and they will do what they can to fix it. So she brought it in. The damage was $1554.00, almost $400 more than the original cost of the laptop. What's more is they decided that they weren't going to fix it or replace the laptop as the warranty stipulates. All they would do it refund the service warranty pro-rated. She called the next day when we found that out and talked to the director Michael West. He told her that he spoke to the salesman at the time and he said that that was a moral issue and he would never have said that. We called customer service back and was told by Alicia that it was up to Laura to get the laptop fixed, replace it, give us a discount on a new one, or a full refund of the extended service money.

She offered a refund of the warranty payment. I think they should give us the service we thought we paid for or a new laptop. They refuse.

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