Complaint Review: Comtrad Industries

I wanted to buy a Zenith CD Player/Clock-Radio for Christmas. I went to the Zenith site and found the appropriate item, Zenith 2253 W. I clicked on "Buy". A new window opened in the browser. It was for "Comtrad Industries" in Midlothian, Virginia. There were two sets of boxes at that Comtrad site: one set to buy the black version and one set to buy the white version, which I wanted. Price was $99.95. Shipping was $12. Total price for the CD Player/Clock/Radio should have been $111.95. It was paid for by my "Discover" card.

When the merchandise arrived, it was billed at $193 and change. An overcharge of more than $80!!! I called them up. "Sorry! Our Customer Service Office is closed. Call back next business day between 9:00AM and 5:00PM!" Ok. Next day.

I called. I went through the hassle of trying to explain to the rep that the Zenith CD/Clock/Radio is not some special model and because it has a CD player they have to charge extra. I explain to her that their own Web page lists it as $99.95 plus $12.00 shipping and handling. I saw that I was getting nowhere. Clearly, she was not very smart. I asked to speak to a supervisor. I told her the story. She did not believe me. I bullied her into finally looking at Zenith's site and the Comtrad page which is a part of it. She saw that I was right! She said words to this effect: "Sir, you are right. We will reduce the charge on your card to the proper amount! I will take care of it."

I was happy! But when I finally got my Discover statement, the charge was still a little over $193, still an $80 overcharge. The billing period had maybe fifteen days until closing, so Comtrad can't claim a change didn't have enough time to go through. I reported the gross overcharge to Discover. They are investigating.