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Genesis Media Labs - Home Theaters The remote to our home theater was broke and we cannot replace it Cypress, California
My husband was coming out of a bar where two guys were in a van with the name of an audio company on it approached him with "the deal of a lifetime". They showed him a truck loaded with electronic equipment that he could buy real cheap. They showed him a home theater system that sold for $3,000.00. The showed him the bar code and the MSRP, which reflected that amount. They stated that they needed to sell them quick in order to make room for the newer line coming in. My husband ended up paying $300.00 for the system. I cannot say that the system was defective, because it did and still does work. My problem is that the remote was destroyed in our bar and the system sits high on a shelf so we have to climb on a chair, sometimes asking people to move, just to adjust the volume or turn it off when we have entertainment. I was very troubled when i went thru the "owners manual" and found no phone number to contact them. I was even more troubled when I tried to contact them on thier website, only to get a bunch of crap. It did, however lead me to your website where I was very surprised (in a way) to read how many people have been ripped off from this company. This is so unamerican and dispicable. I cannot believe that our government sticks thier noses in so much of our business, but nothing is being done to prevent this kind of crap.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
drmartin
Palo Alto,United States of America
Genesis Surround Sound or Divinci Surround Sound
#2Consumer Comment
Fri, January 22, 2010
As a medical professional I deal with a number of elderly patients. I am absolutely disgusted that this scam is still taking place.
We need to focus in on this scam and report it immediately to local authorities. Whether you find these systems on craigslist or in front of a major electronics store (i.e. BestBuy parking lot) call 911.
It's a serious crime and people are getting ripped off all over the country. I was heart broken when one my patients came in with her husband and the wife started crying telling me that they had bought their grandson this high end stereo system only to find out it didn't work. They spent $800 on it.
I can't believe that there are people out there that are willing to prey on the elderly. One day they will be old to and I seriously believe in karma. What goes around comes around.
Please pass this information on to loved ones especially those that are older that may fall victim to this scam:
The White Van Scam
The typical white van speaker scam involves one or two or three individuals, who are usually casually dressed or wearing uniforms. They drive a SUV, minivan or a commercial vehicle (usually a white commercial van, which may be rented inexpensively) that often displays a company logo. To find suitable targets, the van operators set up their con in moderately-trafficked areas such as parking lots, gas stations, colleges, or large apartment complexes. Alternatively, they may target people driving expensive cars and wave them down. The marks (victims) are usually affluent young men, college students or elderly people.
The operators often claim they work for an audio installer and that, through some sort of corporate error (warehouse operator mistake, bookkeeping mistakes, computer glithc, etc.) or due to the client changing the order after supplies were purchased, they have extra speakers. Sometimes, it is implied that the merchandise may be stolen. For varying reasons they need to dispose of the speakers quickly and are willing to get rid of them at "well below retail" prices. The con artists will repeatedly state the speakers value as anywhere between $1800 and $3000, prices often purportedly verified by showing a brochure or a magazine advertisement. They will usually also have an official looking website verifying their claims.
If the mark declines the offer, the scam artist uses various high pressure negotiation sales tactics. The con artist will almost always lower the price significantly. Some con artist will even suggest that since the customer got such a great deal he should pay a little extra as beer money for his supposed benefactor.