Complaint Review: CONN'S

On December 17th, 2008 my husband and I went to Conn's on Cherry Ln in Fort Worth, Tx. We picked out a 52" Sony Bravia lcd tv. On December 18, 2008 we picked up the tv at 10:00pm.(we did not get it delivered because it was going to take over a week) We are both in retail and were unable to attempt to install it until December 20, 2008. The tv failed within 2 hours of being turned on.

We checked the cables and replaced them, thinking that they were the problem. We turned the tv on and watched a movie, which stopped working mid-way through watching it. We have a bose entertainment system and thought it might have been the problem.(never thought it could possibly be the brand new tv) We went back to work (in retail over the christmas shopping season) and tried it again when we were on vacation.(December 23) The tv failed this time within 10 minutes.

We called Conn's and spoke with Billy (mngr) who said we could not return the tv. He said we have to have service come look at the tv. My husband who was very upset then called Sony who said they have a 30 day exchange policy for defective merchandise. We called back several times over several days and were treated rudely by everyone. Finally our sales person Carlos called us to let us know we had a service appt for January 5, 2009 from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. My husband took off work and sat at home until 6:30 pm with no one showing up.

I called Conn's and spoke with Van (mngr) who hung up on me no less than 5 times. I called the service center (turned out to be the payment center) and I was hung up on repeatedly. One lady that refused to give me her name said I should have bought at Best Buy.(helpful advice after the fact) At 9:00 pm, the service man called to say he was on his way to our house. He finally arrived after 10:00 pm with no tools and looked at our tv for less than 5 minutes. He stated we needed a new video card and would call us the next day.

On january 7, 2009, we had heard nothing and called into the service center and were asked if we wanted them to repair it. (seriously?) We said yes and were told the part the part would be in within 3 to 5 days. January 14, 2009 we called to check the status of the part and were told 1 of the 2 parts were in but the second part was on back order until January 26, 2009.

We were of course shocked to learn our brand new tv needed an LCD PANEL and a VIDEO CARD. My husband who is an electrical engineer and has worked on SONY parts could not understand this. These components cost more than the tv. (LCD PANEL cost $2,500 and the video card costs $800) My husband called Sony and again we were told Conn's should replace the tv. It is now January 17, 2009, and we have no idea when our tv will be repaired. I have filed complaints with the BBB as well as the Attorney General office and am waiting on a response.

I am not stupid, nor will i just keep waiting for more empty promises. If I have to, I will file a claim with the small claims court. I am considering getting a permit and protesting with the few hours a week I have off. No one should have to go through this. If anyone can take anything of value from this complaint, please do not buy at Conn's.

ASHLI
fort worth, Texas
U.S.A.