Complaint Review: Circuit City Stores - W. Allen McCollough - President - Nationwide

Yes Circuitcity. Does resell used items they haled my sony big screen off. I went to there store 1 week after that and it was in there store for sale this I now this because it had the same scratches on it from my cats. as for ther warranty company it is a joke. I spent close to a day on the phone trying to get my tv fixed got hung up twice and gave up all the ohter times. I called corporate and talk a lady there she stated there wasnt a d**n thing she could due and hung up. I still have a hitachi big screen that will not fix it is less than a year old. I will never shop at that low life store agian. Said I have close to 10,000 worth of there s**t in my house I no this is a waste of my time. but had to let people know never ever shop at Circuit City , They could care less about ther customer. If there low life presidnt wants to help resolve this issue I am all ears. Thanks

I have bought 3 major items from CC. The 1st was a Compaq PC 6 years ago sold as "new". The PC burner would not successfully burn music CD's. I brought it back and was told I would have to pay a re-stocking fee. Only after arguing with them, did I receive an HP computer and not have to pay a restocking fee. The 2nd item was a Sony Handycam sold as "new" also 6 years ago. No problem there. The 3rd was a Samsung 40" LCD TV sold as "new" 1 month ago. The speakers were blown out and made a vibrating static sound (esp. when playing lower or bass sounds). I called CC and was told I had to pay a restocking fee (again for THEIR defective item). Only after speaking to a supervisor did I receive a fair resolution. Based on these 3 experiences, CC has not really shown me that they do not repackage defective items and try to resell them. I've bought many electronic items from many different retailers and none of them are batting as low as 0.333 and not one of them would insult me by asking me to pay a restocking fee for returning a defective item they sold me as new.

Look i worked at circuit city for 3 years i just got fired 1 week ago im looking for a numbe ron yahoo to get my paycheck info when bam i see this come up so let me explain something to everyone out thier who thinks circuit city does this. When excepting a return at circuit city thier is 3 things we can do either def it out which meens to send back to manafacturer if the item was returned do to the costumer bought the wrong item it is then ob if it is in 100% working order some times missing a remote or cable but price is adjusted do to these facts or its non def or non ob which meens we eat it and throw it out. The only people who do anything with the return is really just the employee. Managers really dont have any say in this unless its a big item and a customer needs a manager. Also all Ccity managers make salary so returned items be restocked as new doesnt change a danm thing they do circuitcity is a non commision sales floor only managers that meet their sales quota by the end of their month get a bonus thats it nothing else ok NOTHING ELSE. Also sometimes you might get an item that was retruned brand new in the box but opened previously because if anyone returnes anything to ccity unopened we first have to by circuit city ruels is open it to make sure it has not bin opened because some people are danm good at retaping and then literally placing a brick inside the box maybe even 2 if its a onkyo return but if the item is returned and was brandnew when returned we will retape the box and then put it back on shelf that is a only time otherwise never do we put repaired or used units back on the floor it thier are broken and if they are ob they are stated and will NEVER COME IN A BOX. One more thing i would like to say as a skilled pc tech my self that their is no way a repair person cann tell you that someone fixed a tv thier is no void tags their is no seal thier is no way that anyone can tell this even if a sotter mark looks different you still cant tell that could have bin thereason the tv doesnt work because when it was built it happened to maybe not get sottered right don you think out of a million products thay maybe 400 def ones isnt bad cause i know when people make doritos or chips or cookies or bottles or soda some are broke some are not filled all the way as some others i meen in the world we live it today and always nothing and no one including products are perfect.

First off, let me say that my opinion may be perhaps biased, being that I am employed by this paritcular companies rival Best Buy. However, before I was a Best Buy employee I was a customer at a local Circuit City down the street from myself and in response to all I have read here this is what I can tell you. I think the largest reason that Circuit City tries to sell open box products as new is because it protects margin, margin being the amount of money a company makes off of a product that they sell. I will not say that every Circuit City does this but the one in Aurora did however, and in fact I bought several defective items from Circuit City in the past, as well as some functional ones. Now this much I can tell you, sometimes when products are returned the Customer Service Rep may or may not examine the product and check for functionality, but I know at Best Buy we ALWAYS mark our open box down and if an open box turns out to be defective then not only do we take the return we also find a way to take care of the customer. My experience at Circuit was a little different which is why I never applied to Big Red. There are customers that do not shop at Circuit as well as Best Buy and guess what? It is retail we all have bad experiences and we all have good ones but my experience with Ciruit was less then enjoyable and I had to contact thier corporate office on 3 ocassions just to have action taken which to be hones with you was horseshit. Now you can all throw the website bestbuysux at me and I have been there and read the comments and I am well aware of the problems people have had and do I agree with how my company has handled the situation every time? No, but after doing some research I have found the same problems happen at CC and why? They sell similar products with similar service plans with similar accesories and this much I can tell you both service plans replace an item by its fourth trip to the store. Both service plans cover wear and tear and I am not sure if they offer it but BB is rolling out Accidental protection on laptops that cover, spills, drops and cracked screens. Now I ask you why does bestbuysux exist well lets think for a second. Last fiscal year Best Buy reported, I s**t you not, 56 billion in sales where as circuit city reparted 26 billion. BIG DIFFERENCE as far as traffic is figuring that wasnt all TVS and computers alot of that was 20 or 30 dollar cables. Also Best Buy has several more stores they are a label that owns Best Buy, Future Shop in canada as well as Magnolia Home Audio/Video. Also lets look at the Stock market. Best Buys stock not only shot up 40 dollars a share recently but afterwards had a 2 to 3 split and is still growing as best buy completely moves away from being a product centric place and rolling out a new style of buisness tailored to the customer with more affluent areas offering higher end products, college areas have the lastest and greatest and the suburbs having personal shopping assistant so that when mom comes in she can talk to somebody who can not only speak to every product in the store but can also set appointments so she does not have to wait to find somebodt and can be in and out. Tell me what circuit city is doing to combat this? If I were you I would invest my money elsewhere if not BBY then at Frys or at some other solid Electronics store.

I would like to know, if Circuit City does not sell used items as new, how my "brand new" phone already had numbers stored not only in the caller id, but also in it's phone book?

I am a sales associate who has been working at Circuit City for about seven months now. I cannot speak for the other stores, but at my store(#230) the open box items are never re-boxed. They're wrapped in clear plastic and on a square sheet of cardboard so you can see exactly what comes with the item. Some open box items don't come with the remote or maybe a certain cord because the previous owner didn't return that, and didn't get a full refund because of it. And the prices are usually only 10-20% off what a closed box item would be. Is it really worth losing a customer over that little? And part of this does come from the customers. I've seen so many people literally rip open a closed box item, dig through it like a little kid on Christmas morning, stuff the items back in the box in a disorderly way, and shove it behind a box bigger than the one they were looking at. What am I supposed to do with that: a perfectly good brand and new item that can't be packaged back together properly? For those who have been packaging defective items back as new items, they deserve to be fired. It reflects poorly on the company as a whole, especially on those of us who try to do things right. P.S. I love it when customers complain about us being "too helpful." What the hell is that about? That's like saying someone is excessively happy. If you don't need any help, say no.

Circuit City Warranty... A big Fraud My warranty# is 32 4560436. Our TV Audio stopped working and we called warranty service on 8/12/04. We were told that some one will call after 2 weeks on september1. Someone did call on Sept 1 and stopped by the next day. He said that he is going back to order some parts and once he receive the parts, he will call us back. No one called us waiting for another 2 weeks. We called the same technician after 2 weeks. Peter ( Technician (Ph# 301-418-2652) said that all the parts are still not in and once all the parts are in, he will call us back. A week later we called him back and he said all the parts are in nowand will be coming the next day. Tchnician did not call us or showed up. We called him again 3 days ago and reminded him that he was suppose to come and he said he will definately come on saturday morning Oct2, 2004. When we did not hear from him Saturday morning, we called him again. He said he will come between 4:00 to 6:00 Pm. Now he called and said he lives in Baltimore ( Maryland.. differnt state and 70 miles away) and it is too far for him to come up here. and cannot service you. Circuit City warranty stinks. This is the most despicable service I ever had. 2 months later with a service warranty, I am without television. Shame on you all. You are total fraud. I am going to write to Better Business Bureu, FBI and Washington Post for warranty fraud investigation. There must be thousands of other users who buy your warranty and don't get the service.

I am a Customer Service Lead. I'm one of the people that stand behind the front counter and tapes up all the defective merchandise... Right.... that's what I want to do with my time... then I will be able to have MORE customers. Seriously though... it all comes back to customers... how HONEST are you? So how many of you in the past year have bought something, brought it home and decided you didn't like it. When you came back... did you tell the CSA you opened it? Or was it just a simple "I just want to return this?" "No hassle" returns mean just that. We're not going to hassle you. How about making peoples life easier and telling us it's defective? Or that you've opened it?? I've actually seen a "brick in the box" before. So before we start bashing an entire company... lets take a look at what sketchy PEOPLE do first. Yes, there are bad people out there who would open a box and steal a part then return it... so that is why when we do returns we open EVERY box to make sure all is complete. If it's all there and not damaged or opened... yes we sell it as new. If you don't like it... tough. Don't come complaining when you open your new camcorder and find a brick. Think about it.

I am an employee of Circuit City. I have written comments twice before. I went back to work at Circuit city in November. I have worked in Merch, Customer Service and now Computer (Tech) sales. I read all of the entries above and did some research on complaints. How many people take the time to log on to this website to let you know they had a good experience at Circuit City? Not many. I did a search on Lowe's, Truegreen Chemlawn, service masters and Sears. I had bad experiences with all of them. What did I find? Pages and Pages of unhappy customers and very few satisfied customers. The difference is in the way you resolve the problems. In my case, I was corrected the problems with all except Sears. Lowe's messed up 1200.00 french doors, I wrote the corporate office and ask for help. I have new doors and they have been back twice to adjust them and gave me $300.00 back in merchandise. Truegreen charged me $40 for a treatment but could only do about half of my back yard due to my koi pond. I wrote to the District Manager and only paind $18 for that treatment. Service Masters blew out an electrical outlet in my home and refused to pay to fix it. I have a check for the cost of the repair after sending the corp. office email. I don't let things go. I can't speak for other stores, bad managers and employees as well as honest mistakes can cause issues. I will tell you that CC has the computer system system set up to prevent the selling of returned products. I worked as a Customer Service Rep for several months and have experienced customers who bring old merchandise in, claiming they purchased it from us that we have NEVER sold. Some facts: First, All the commisioned sales people were terminated in Feb, 2003. The biggest complaints we get are "We don't help a customer enough or We help a customer too much". I have customers every day who push past me with a frown as I ask if I can help them and later complain they can't get help. Also, Some customers ask for information about products, for example computers and when you give it to them they argue with you. Any of you who know anything about computers will get a laugh out of things I have been told over the last few months by customers. For example: Windows ME is the best OS ever made and Celeron processors are as good as Pentium 4! Wireless Routers are unsafe and you will get hacked. I have decided that the old joke about a lady who was too dumb to own a computer might just be true! All Tech people know that ME was the worst OS Microsoft ever made and Celeron is ok if you have plenty of time and only do one thing at a time. I caught a customer last week with a telephone out of the box and all the packing and parts on the floor. Yes, it was put back in the box and taped up as it was still new. So sometimes something taped up has not been used. My suggestion to you folks is as follows: Wait until you are cooled down and think about it, make sure you are in the right. Some people don't think strait when they are mad (I know cause I am one of those people) 1. Ask to talk to a manager if you have a problem 2. If management can't resolve the problem, get the number for the "Corperate Hotline". 3. If that fails, file a complaint with the BBB. or call your local televison stations and see if they have a program that makes the public aware of problems and help resolve them. As far as warranty work, Laura - Baltimore, Maryland was off base. First, we have a GE Zurich contracted to take care of computer repair. It provides in home service for Desktops and Mail in service for laptops. It may not be the same in all states as some have tech folks to do repair. The restocking fee has been put back into service, you have no idea how many people buy a pc or tv on Friday, and return it on Monday and just "Don't Like It" after the football game or school project if over. The City Advantage does have one thing that most people don't understand. If you buy a computer, the first 12 months you MUST call the Manufacturer first. If they tell you you are not covered for example due to a power surge, we cover you. After the first 12 months, you call us and on desktops it provides for in home service AFTER you call them and troubleshoot with the help desk. It is possible to get a computer that has been repaired if you buy Open box. It comes with the full warranty and City advantage is available. I bought City Advantage on my computers and printers and when the printer broke, I was send a gift card that paid for my new one. Yes folks, you can have problems with anything, and many people will get online and complain instead of writing someone who may be able to resolve the problem. If you read receipt information, you have a site listed where you can tell Bizrate how you felt about your CC experience as well as voice your opinion of the product so others can see it on our web page. And for those of you who had REAL problems with Circuit City I am truly sorry. I wish you had been in my store so I could have taken care of you.

I am an employee of Crcuit City and I strongly dissagree on this Rip-Off issue. I cannot believe how some people have NO LIFE whatsoever and go to the internet and write all this bull s**t. Honestly MR. whatever your name is that wrote this... Do you have such shitty life that you have to start gossip about a store that maybe you wanted to work for but never gave you a chance because you're an idiot? You're life must be so pathetic and lonely. Maybe what you need to do is pick up a hobby such as.. o I don't know.. not being an a*s and an idiot! I strongly dissagree on every word you have said on this report IT'S ALL BULL S! you worthless pathetic a-hole. Move on with your life, let it go... Do something better than talk s**t. Be a man and talk to the store directly, you hipocrite. Thank you all for taking the time to read my reply... and everyone, Circuit City is not a rip-off... Our goal is to put the customer first in everything we do and that is exactly what we do... Thank you all who are faithful Circuit City customers, for those who are know that at Circuit City "We're with You" we're here to serve you and put you first in everything we do. Thank You.

I will not tell you what all stores will do or not do. I only know that the computer system is set up to insure that anything defective is returned to the manufacturer and not resold. I worked as a CSA for a while last year. I know that when I return something, the computer prints out a defective lable. It would not be worth the time and effort to try and package it back into a box (if we had one) to try and resell it. I returned to work at Circuit City after quitting for five months. The reason I returned to the "mini store" in OKC was the way they take care of customers. Things have changed since Feb, 2003 when most of the commissioned sales staff was terminated. We have a new manager, sales manager and operations manager. I don't like some of the changes but such is life. In the past two months, out manager has replaced several computer systems due to problems getting them fixed. Even after 2 or more years when CityAdvantage was purchased he gave customers a gift card with the total amount of the computer so they could buy something new. I have watched dishonest people return DVD movies and get credit refunds and sent them back as defective when I know the movies was good. Many people who have not worked in retail will never understand the kind of things that go on. People will cause damage to products just to get a new one, or lie about things not working correctly. Last week, I had a person want to return a computer system because her password on Compuserve was not correct and the top of the computer and keyboard was covered with cigarette burns. That we did not do and I'm sure she is mad. Folks, I am retired from a big corporation, and I work at Circuit City because I like people and know computers. All I can tell you is that people in general are good. You can find a dishonest person in almost every job and walk of life. The store where I work takes care of it's employees and customers. I can't explain what goes on in different cities around the world.

I am currently an employee of Circuit City. I am a product specialist in the video/audio department. First off let me say that CC is a large corporation and therefore not every store will be the same. I am sure there are bad managers out there...as well as bad employee's just like with almost every other large corporation in the world. I find it ridiculous that most of you that are complaining are going off because of one single bad experience. WE ARE HUMAN TOO....just because we work for CC does not mean we dont make mistakes. All day long when dealing with customer problems I have to put myself in your shoes to try to resolve the problem ...at the same time i dont feel that any customer has put themselves in mine while cussing and making obserd comments. I have also read so many comments about how "the associate didnt know what they were doing". Well belive it or not...we have new people too...did you know everything about your job when you first started? No I dont think so. Please try to have just a slight bit of patience when dealing with us. Having such a negative attitude only makes things worse for us both....would you want to help resolve someones problem that is screaming in your face? No....and neither do I. I suppose my bottom line is that some of you need to not hold such a grudge from ONE bad experience. Nobody is perfect nor can everyone make everyone else happy.

On January 8, 2004, I ordered a Toshiba Notebook computer AC adapter from Circuit City via Amazon.com's website. The merchandise was for store pickup at the Bolingbrook IL store. When the Circuit City employee brought the adapter to me, I noticed the box had been opened and pointed this out to him. He went and got another identical item and it had been opened, as well. Got the usual corporate rhetoric about how this situation never happens and they could order me a new item. Wait a minute...I did order a new item in the first place! Evidently, inconveniencing the customer is not a problem for them. Beware. Check all merchandise before leaving the store. This is a very unethical company.

I've never had any of the above problems. I bought an HP notebook computer for my wife last year, got it home, and found that it had two pixels on the monitor that were defective (always lit, and very annoying, like tiny "eye magnets"). Returned the computer the next day, showed it to the Customer Service rep, who cheerfully took the computer and replaced it with a new one, which worked flawlessly. As for the "re-taped" boxes comments, I've seen this in a number of stores, and it's from customers who rip the boxes open to take a peek. Use your common sense here. If the box has been retaped, but the item is securely packaged in the plastic sleeve (unopened) and fits correctly in the cardboard and/or styrofoam packing, chances are that someone just opened the box to take a peek. If the plastic is opened, or the product doesn't appear to fit correctly in the styrofoam, it's probably been returned and is working. I've seen this happen, but they've always been marked as "open box" and discounted.

It surprises me to read that items are reported rewrapped for resale as new merchandise. This practice is not unusual and another large retail outlet was discovered for the same reason several years ago. I buy a modest amount of electronic goods from Circuit City and have never found evidence of the practice from C.C. In fact, I've had to return an ink cartridge and it was replaced without complaint. Your help has always been courtious, understanding and knowledgeable. This is saying a lot in view of the illtreatmentI've experienced at your major competitor. The only problem I have is trying to register for the $10,000.00 prize on the internet. Seems quite hard to find the right doors. By the way,my entry number is 6QY CJ2J VLTX. I give up, let me know if I win. So Far, All Is Well, and I hope it stays that way, or you will be receiving a rebuttle to this complimentry letter.

OK, I really hope this is a joke. Uhhh..."Somethings to an employee are not obvious new person." The number is "lock in the bosses filing cabinet." What the hell....? I guess I really shouldn't be so surprised. Welcome to the new Circuit City. You will no longer be helped by a professional when selecting your merchandise. The new "sales" staff are trained only to get you to buy the warranty. Ask about the product- I DARE you. The employees at this store now have access to the internet on every terminal and are encouraged to use it because they have no knowledge of the products they are selling. Customer service is no better. All of the senior associates have been let go. Have a problem returning merchandise? Ask for a manager. Of course you can wait your entire life and a manager will never show. Have a problem with the financing of your credit card ? Ask for a manager and you will never see a manager(they like to sit in the backrooms talking about farts and naked women). A once reputible company has become an industry joke. Please do not patronize this pathetic company.

this is to Kevin - Warren, Ohio Some employees do not, I repeat do not question their bosses in fear of losing their job. They do what they are told. Period! I don't know but does circuit city have this number posted on a poster on the wall in the break room or is it in a book as you stated lock in the bosses filing cabinet? When people start a new job and are told to do something they do it. Maybe unless it putting merchendise in the managers car. Somethings to an employee are not obvious new person.

While it is true that SOME customers do lie, others may not. Ultimately it is the responsibility of the store to perform routine checks and returned merchandise before reselling it to the next person. How does the store know if the item in the "Factory-sealed box" is in perfect new condition, or if that factory-sealed box was dropped from a second-story window and then returned to the store for a refund? Whenever a product leaves the store's hands and then is returned, it should be checked out completely before reselling. Bravo to Brian for recognizing that sometimes customers DO lie! IT is nice to see someone in touch with reality on this site, rather than everyone believing they are goody too-shoos and should be entitled to anything at all that they want.

"Pegleg" has singlehandedly undermined the entire purpose of this website. He/She/It infers that customers lie. He/She/It infers that customers will return a product and lie about its condition. If we are to assume this is true, how do we know the customers posting here are telling the truth? The companies listed on this site put up with ALOT of BS on a daily basis. Beginning with "Pegleg" it seems people are finally realizing that sometimes the customer is to blame. The next time you try to return a product without a receipt or try to get over a company policy/guideline remember the type of customer "Pegleg" described. Some people lie, cheat, and steal to get what they want. Unfortunately, this gets passed on to the honest, hardworking customers who shop with any retailer. The next time you scream and threaten because a business cannot honor your request remember the liar/cheat/thief in line before you.

"Pegleg" has singlehandedly undermined the entire purpose of this website. He/She/It infers that customers lie. He/She/It infers that customers will return a product and lie about its condition. If we are to assume this is true, how do we know the customers posting here are telling the truth? The companies listed on this site put up with ALOT of BS on a daily basis. Beginning with "Pegleg" it seems people are finally realizing that sometimes the customer is to blame. The next time you try to return a product without a receipt or try to get over a company policy/guideline remember the type of customer "Pegleg" described. Some people lie, cheat, and steal to get what they want. Unfortunately, this gets passed on to the honest, hardworking customers who shop with any retailer. The next time you scream and threaten because a business cannot honor your request remember the liar/cheat/thief in line before you.

"Pegleg" has singlehandedly undermined the entire purpose of this website. He/She/It infers that customers lie. He/She/It infers that customers will return a product and lie about its condition. If we are to assume this is true, how do we know the customers posting here are telling the truth? The companies listed on this site put up with ALOT of BS on a daily basis. Beginning with "Pegleg" it seems people are finally realizing that sometimes the customer is to blame. The next time you try to return a product without a receipt or try to get over a company policy/guideline remember the type of customer "Pegleg" described. Some people lie, cheat, and steal to get what they want. Unfortunately, this gets passed on to the honest, hardworking customers who shop with any retailer. The next time you scream and threaten because a business cannot honor your request remember the liar/cheat/thief in line before you.

Why does Circuit City not test the merchandise that is sold as open box, display, or repaired? They just take the customer's word for it and put it back out on the sales floor? What is wrong with them? Do they have such little pride and responsibility for their actions that they will sell someone something whether or not they are sure it will even work??? Circuit City deserves the rip-off of the year award!!!!!!

I have been with the company for several years and I have seen many, many returns. I cannot state that any of the previous stories are true or untrue. At the coporate level the ideas are all good to be fair and honest with the customers. How these acts are carried out at each individual store is independent to each store depending on the management at that store. If anyone was found committing these fraudulent acts in my area they would be fired on the spot. As far as open box issues go, read the reciepts, it says right on the bottom roughly translated, open box merchandise is either used returned product, repaired product, or an old display. Sometimes customers return something defective and say nothing is wrong with it, so in turn it gets re-sold open box. It is possible for a defective unit to make it through to the sales floor, it happens sometimes, the system is not 100% effective. If this happens to you bring it to the store within the 30 days or so and have it exchanged or refunded. If it is not taken care of at the store (which it should be) call the 1-800-THE-CITY line immeadiately. I am a employee of CC and I know they care for their customers. I am not of high rank in the company I am one of the low level store employees, at my store we see that everyone is taken care of fairly and it should be the same at each and every store. If not call the line and have it taken care of, the company does not want to lose customers over return issues, regardless of cost of the item. I am not recieving any benefit for this posting, I am just posting because it angers me to see the hard work of all my fellow associates to provide good and fair customer service just to be smashed by these online articles. Your issues should be taken care of at the store if it is not then something is wrong, notifying the corporate offices will help you solve your problems and hopefully prevent these from occuring again. I hope this fits in the guidelines of a rebuttal, I am just trying to help the people who feel they have been ripped off. Circuit City IS a a company who cares for it's customers which is why I am taking the time out of my day to post this because I believe it deserves to be recognized. Deal with the C.O. explain yourself calmly without yelling and you will be taken care of. I hope this helps someone.

After working for Circuit for 12 years, I have to say that most of the complaints I read are rediculous. Has the box been opened and resealed? That happens. The reason is that all returned items, even if the box "appears" factory sealed, have to be opened and inspected by the CSR's. The reason for this is that some dishonest customers will purchase a new item, remove it, then insert their old defective product, which is sometimes the same model (defective and out of warranty, and of course they didn't purchase an extended warranty, and they had already tried to exchange it unsuccessfully!), or sometimes a completely different product or a brick wrapped in newspaper or bubblewrap, in a box that appears to be unopened, (usually within a few hours of their purchase, so we wouldn't have a reason to inspect the box). We call this the "brick-in-the-box" scam. I have seen this happen many times, selling a new product, then getting a call from my customer telling me there is a 10 year old VCR in a box that appears to have never been opened. If, after the CSR opens and inspects the return and finds that it is a brand new item that truly never been opened, then we will tape it back up and sell it as new, because it is a new item! Chances are, if one buys an item at Circuit City in what appears to be a factory sealed box and finds an obviously used unit which turns out to be defective, then the CSR trusted the customer who returned it "as a new, unopened item" and didn't bother to open it and inspect it as their job requires. It was not a malicious attempt to defraud a customer, but rather a successful attempt of a previous customer to rip-off Circuit City, resulting in the subsequent resale to people like the ones who filed the complaints I read above. In 16 years of retail experience, I have seen this happen many times, that is why corporate loss prevention requires that all returns be inspected by the CSR. If it appears to be re-taped, then it was a new product, returned as new, opened and inspected for all parts, or it was opened by a sales associate to make a copy of the owners manual or see what accessories were included with the product at a customer's request. This is still a brand new product which has never been even plugged in, so why should it be sold as anything less? Items that were opened by the customer, (used or not)are always returned as open box, assigned a specific inventory number, and priced with a markdown based upon condition (good, fair, or poor, and usually priced as poor condition at store level even if it is in mint condition with all parts and accessories). Defective merchandise is returned as defective, and also assigned a specific inventory control number. Depending on the type of product, it can either be returned to the vendor (for full credit, less any missing accessories, but still more than open box items usually sell for), or the manufacturer requires that the unit be serviced by the Circuit City service department. Once the unit is serviced, it is certified by the technician as repaired, labelled as such, then returned to the store for resale as open box. There is no logical reason with this system in place for Circuit City to try and misrepresent any open merchandise as new. As of Febuary 2003, the entire sales force is non-commission, so they make the same money whether they sell you a new or open box item. Open box gives the customer an opportunity to save money on an item with the same warranty as a new one in a box, and with the subsequent savings, extended warranties are easier to sell, which keeps management off the employees' back, so it is a win for the customer and a win for the sales associate. If an item "slipped" through the cracks, and was actually defective, full refunds are issued of the purchase price, and the sales associates and managers are prevented for making new sales or assisting other customers as they try and get the unhappy customer into a comparable product. Why would they deliberately sell a defective product as new when it can be returned to the manufacturer for credit, or it will just be returned again creating a "fire" to put out preventing them from taking care of new customers trying to buy things while they are putting out the "fire?" If you bought something as new, opened the box and found a used defective DVD player in the box, then you were probably the 2nd victim of the "brick-in-the-box" scam, Circuit City was the first. Their only mistake was to trust the friendly, smiling face that returned it to them without inspecting it, comparing serial numbers and model numbers before giving the thief their money back. In all my years with the company, if this ever happened, we always gave the customer their money back or exchanged the unit. Just my 2 cents--

You folks that are saying you were told by management to repackage used and defective items as new are pretty pathetic! There is a number for "loss prevention" in the corporate phone book. Why didn't you call it anonymously and report all of this supposed fraud and deception? I'm sure a thorough investigation would have had heads rolling! Managers and employees deserved to lose their jobs if this happened. You're just as bad as the people who told you to do these things and if they did happen, you deserve all the grief the customer caused when they came in screaming and yelling. I can't speak for other stores but as a 6-year CC employee I can honestly say that I've never seen any attempt to defraud the public by repackaging merchandise. And no, we don't have boxes in the warehouse to put this stuff into. All display boxes are crushed when the display is put out. We'd need a second warehouse just to hold all the empty boxes! Use your head people!

I had to shake my head when reading this report. I own a company that does warranty repairs for major manufacturers. As Circuit City is a major seller in the area, we get quite a few units in from customers who have purchased them from Circuit City. Examples of outrage: Customer #1 Had purchased a laptop which had a failure right out of the box. He was told by CC to take it to us for warranty repairs. The unit had a significant spill and NOT covered under warranty. The customer provided a sales receipt dated for the previous day, BUT the unit was 6 months old AND the spill had corroded on the system board. Customer #2 Purchased a laptop from Circuit City and brought it in for warranty repairs. The unit was over a year old - and when this happens, we have to get a copy of their sales receipt for warranty verification. The customer had the unit for about 2 months, sold as new as per the receipt, and it was in reality over a year old. In the computer business, there is no such thing as a year shelf life on a notebook computer. Customer #3 Purchased an extended warranty from Circuit City SPECIFICALLY an ON SITE policy because the customer was in a wheelchair and unable to cart the computer back and forth. Well, the CC sales rep who took their address (it is required) failed to mention that their contract does not include ON SITE in certain areas which included hers! If you read the fine print, et hem, it states that if there is no service center within x miles, then it must be brought in. However, since the sales rep KNEW she wanted on site and the city they were in did not qualify for on site - why were they selling ON SITE CONTRACTS???? We used to do work for their warranty contractors (the extended warranty company) BUT we terminated our relationship with them because they wanted us to engage in dishonest business practices. For example, instead of replacing parts with new parts, use scrap parts from discarded machines. In our industry, there are certain "wear" parts that should NEVER be replaced with used parts. Other dirty tricks were sending customer units out for 6-8 weeks to have major repairs "componenet level repaired". We are a legitimate company that does honest work - and I would NEVER EVER treat customers like that. So needless to say, I wouldn't buy diapers there and I feel sorry for people who get suckered into buying anything there. If you must, DON'T BUY THEIR EXTENDED WARRANTY. Just as an aside, Best Buy has the same predator type practices. We terminated our relationship with them too. If you read Best Buy's extended contract, they don't guarantee WHEN they will fix your unit. We have had many many many customers who come to us and get their computers fixed and pay out of pocket despite the "service agreement" because they cannot wait 6-8 weeks for service on their laptop.

I have worked for Circuit City for over 5 years. Let me tell you darling, it is true that returned merchandise is repackaged and sold as new. Also it is true that defective merchandise is sold as open box! I remember the service desk returning a tote of cordless phones to my department. There were probably 50 opened cordless phones in the tote, all loose and rolling around. We were told to shove as many as we could into boxes or plastic bags and sell as new. They told us to tell the customers they were previous display models and have never actually been used. On more than half the phones there were DEF stickers which means they were defective and even the service dept could not fix them. We were told to remove these stickers so the customer would not know. Also there were problems with nearly all the other phones in the tote, some had been chewed up by peoples dogs with tooth marks all over. Others had been dropped in the toilet and had blue Tity Bowl stains on them or water marks. It was disgusting. I have also seen where they charge people a 15% restocking fee on computers and then repackage and resell them at full price. Often the original buyer's computer files are still on the computer. This little old lady came in once in a rampage because she found some pornography files on her supposedly new computer. Also with returned items, the employees have quite a bit of fun damaging them even more. For example it is not uncommon to find employees playing hockey with a portable cd player in the mornings before the store opens. My boss once instructed us to take a key and scratch the lenses of the CD players so they would not play anymore, in hopes that the manufacturer would allow the store to return the units for credit. Guess what -- the manufacturers didn't go for it so the store just re-sold the scratched broken units to unsuspecting customers! Then when the customer attempts to return defective merchandise they are given the run around and are attacked by high-pressure sales people like myself who are forced by management to try to upgrade them to something else at the expense of good honest sales person techniques. It is a deplorable, horrible, astoundable situation. And my heart goes out to all of the wonderful customers who have been unfairly taken by Circuit City. God Bless!

I used to work for Circuit City for many years and I have friends that still work there. We received tons of returns and did our best to repackage the returns to look like new. If we couldn't do so then we sold it as open box. This is a common practice. Why sell something that looks new for 20% less and lose your commission and the company money? Managers and store managers are aware of this of course.

I've seen customers tell people the item is still new, when in fact it has been opened, repacked, and re-taped. They tell the person doing the return that the item was never opened, the return person doesn't check, and the item gets returned, the re-sold as new. Bad employee there. I've also seen people do this after 'stealing' the merchandise inside the package. Bad consumer there. I've also seen where a package comes open during shipping, and needs a little tape to re-seal it. Also seen where, as mentioned earlier, the manufacturer opens a box, replaces something (software, manual, remote), and re-tapes the box. Best bet is to check the package when you buy it, before you leave the store. In front of an employee, if you have a doubt. Neither CC nor any other retailer should be willing to get a bad rep by purposely defrauding the consumers in such a manner.

I spent several years working for a major printer manufacturer, and there were times we would get units from other plants that needed some reworking - usually just software upgrades or an additional inspection. When that happens, the manufacturer has to open the boxes, remove the unit, then reseal that unit in it's box. There were some models that had to go through multiple inspections, so they may have multiple layers of tape on the box.

Way off base... Sorry, no valid e-mail address, no REBUTTAL. EDitor's Staff

I am a former sales counselor and later sales manager of a Circuit City store. I worked at the same store for approximately four years. The Circuit City system has seen two or three changes in character since I was a manager, but these are my impressions and suggestions. First, having worked for two district managers, three store managers, five operations managers and running the store during a store manager crisis of a few weeks; I can say that most of the management people I've met in training or through store visits would rather lick a toad than be dishonest with a customer. Especially one that makes repeat purchases (be it computers or the weekly CD shopper.) Second, I removed sales counselors from the sales floor and personally apologized to any customers that I believed had been mislead or caught in the act of bamboozaling. Third, at the beginning of my career with Circuit City 'lets make a deal' was fairly common. Towards the end, prices were fixed unless a competitor was running a special or the district manager had allowed us to create a package deal. Yes, we did shop all four of our major competitors and also kept abreast of what the Mom and Pops were doing. Finally on the positive side, most of the several hundred sales and customer service people I have met with Circuit City honestly like to help people find what they need/want. On the flip side: I know of several managers and employees that were fired by loss prevention for doing shady things in stores ranging from returning defects to stock to outright stealing. I knew of some sales managers that would do most anything to 'make the numbers.' All of them are no longer with Circuit City. If you can't train your employees to perform at a consistently high level, Circuit City did not want you. I also lost several thousand dollars over those four years to people that got mad about something and decided to return product without talking to me so I could try to fix it. I sold approximately 2000 computer systems a year at one point, I had 5 come back that year because someone thought I had mislead them. Four of those purchased other systems from me because I had misunderstood them the first time around. Advise from both sides of the tracks: First, try to remain calm when talking to the customer service person behind the counter. Odds are they had nothing to do with the situation and are trying to help. Second, if you do not agree with the customer service associate's resolution for your problem, ask if you can see the customer service manager, store manager, operations manager or sales manager in that order. If none of the above are available and won't be within the next half an hour, get the store manager's name and call the 800 number on the sign behind the counter. Third, call the number and state that you where at this store, on this date, with this problem and none of the management team would talk to you to try and resolve the problem. At this point, you have corporate's ear on things. Fourth, be realistic in your expectations. Nothing was more painful for me as a sales counselor or as a sales manager than a customer who was angry about the store having to follow the listed and posted policies regarding returns. Even when I desperately wanted to help someone, sometimes my hands were tied, simply because the customer refused to allow me to follow the proper procedures. Finally, if all of the above fails, the only other option that I have seen work is to clearly and calmly write a letter to the CEO of the company include copies of any documentation you may have. Do not demand satisfaction, do not threaten the store or the company; simply ask if they would be so kind as to look into the matter and if possible respond with complete details of where the breakdown was. I dealt with local newscasts and their 'help when no one else can' lines and their 'I have a complaint about a company and can't get it fixed' departments. I never had one that couldn't have been fixed simply and quickly if the customer had been willing to listen to the store's side and not get angry. One time I got a copy of a letter from the CEO's office and was instructed that I had 48 hours to provide all necessary documentation, the store's version of what happened and if there was any stock on the product left. Three days later the customer came in to receive their new product that was at least equivalent in function and value. Outside agencies never had that kind of response. Sorry for the rambling. I hope my suggestions help some other people avoid getting caught in what they consider a Rip-off.

I recently purchased a set of head phones from circuit city. When I tried them at home a few days later they failed to work. I came back to store with my receipt demanding replacement for this defective merchandise. Do to some strange mystery the store clerk could not explain they no longer carried that brand of panasonic head phones. The store clerk refused to let me exchange them for another brand...and then to abuse me further would not refund the purchase price. He told me to call the manufacturer..after several calls this went absolutely nowhere. My advice never shop there period.

John, your Way Off Base!

Don't you think consumers who come to the Rip-off Report have already exhausted most other possible avenues including contacting the Circuit City store they had problems with? Look at all the other 150 Rip-off Reports on Circuit City, not to mention all the other complaints all over the Internet with whole web sites dedicated to the exposing of Circuit City nefarious activities. Rip-off Report also has over 700 e-mailed complaints on file. Circuit City is your typical corporate bully who's day will come soon just like Enron and all those who thought they were untouchable.

For those victimized by Circuit City, I suggest a picket in front of their store while handing out a copy of your Rip-off Report, and, also take them to small claims court, they will most likely not show up and you can then get a default judgment. Then send the Sheriff to their store to lock up their cash register at the end of the day, till they pay you.

You should know, Rip-off Report has dealt with the main offices and the CEO on several complaints including selling used merchandise (open boxed returns) as new. They couldn't be bothered. The President of the company was nasty and unprofessional.

ED Magedson
[email protected]

It would make no sense to resale defective merchandise. First off obviously it would get returned again. Being a commissioned company means that the person selling the item would lose money on the return. We don't make money unless the customer keeps the merchandise.
Therefore your claim is without justification.

If merchandise is found opened on the floor it is moved to Open Box right away after its inspected to check for its completeness. If its not complete it gets either parts ordered for it or written off.

We do sell Open Boxed merchandise at a great discount. The merchandise is either returned because the customer changed their mind or because the item is a display or the last one.

Defective merchandise is either return to the vendor or sent to a service center to be repaired, but never repackaged and sold as new.

Circuit City prides itself with providing exceptional Customer Service. Rather than putting deceptive messages on "Rip Off" you should have talked with the store manager with your concerns. They are very receptive to customer comments as they get paid in part on customer satisfaction.

Consider one more element. We are Circuit City Customers also, we know the frustration of buying a new item and finding it to be defective. But that issue deals strictly with the manufactures quality controls, not the
retailer.

In closing I'd like to add:
We make money by selling electronics, not by making customers upset about their experence in our stores. We go way out of our way to satisfy the customer. Thats why we've been in business for over 50 years

Circuit City has no restocking fee...(comment to previous rebuttal) RANT: People also hear what they want to hear not what we (sales counselors) explain to them.

I have to explain our policies over and over to my family and friends because they only hear what they want to hear. They want to believe that our service plans will magically fix any problem they are having... though i've told them a million times exactly what we can do for them. The same goes for customers.

If my family and friends ignore what I explain to them hundreds of times then think about a customer who just hears me once... after having a product for over a year its hard to remember details. I understand this, a practice I have adopted is making absoultely sure that I give each customer a copy of our service policies and I circle our return policy on each receipt. (SC's if you don't do this then start it will save you a lot of grief)

There is also a customer service questionair on the receipt www.cc.bizrate.com so if someone has a bad experience they can tell us about it, same with good experiences. If your experience in Circuit City was horrible I suggest you contact the store manager if that doesn't help make sure you get names and write a letter to the store and to corporate. As well if you have an above your expectations level of service I also suggest you write a letter to the store and to our corporate office about the outstanding employee. These practices help us commend good employees and get rid of bad ones!

As far as open box is concerned, Open Box is usually marked down so low (in our store) that it doesn't pay as well as new products and most sales counselors don't push it anymore (policy used to be different and managers could up our commission on OB so if they pushed it in the past thats probably why but now its all set by the system and we get screwed) They only OB we usually sell now is to customers who are looking for a "deal" and as far as reboxing units, impossible in our store all demo boxes are destroyed daily and yes the fire department would be angry if we had hundreds of boxes laying around.

RANT TO CUSTOMERS... please don't come in expecting to play "lets make a deal" PLEASE don't come in and learn all about the product and then go down the street because they have it $10 cheaper...We have a low price guarantee and if you find a lower price within 30 days we will give you back 110% of the difference.(I Believe we are better than the other stores) PLEASE if you need help then ask don't just stand there like a lump on a log... you know how it is at your work (stressful) well we have to deal with hundreds of personalities every day. If someone seems to ignore you they probably aren't they may be tired,stressed, depressed, they are human too (no excuse but it does happen to them as well as to you I wish these things didn't effect people but they do) or helping someone else and it just seems they are messing around. (example: we have a computer connected to the internet and many times I have to pull up info on a product for a customer, who is hanging out by the product not with me at the computer...

Another customer will walk up, some nice some rude, but with the impression i'm playing on the computer when infact i'm busy helping another customer... still I will not turn them away I will get someone to help them or at the very lest point out the section they are looking for)PLEASE listen to us when we are explaining service plans (they will save you in the long run especially on expensive Items, Big Screens, Laptops, Car Stereo)
PLEASE get angry but not belligerent, handle yourself in a respectable manner... maybe the reason someone didn't want to help you is because you were making a fool out of yourself, cussing, screaming, insulting, whatever. If you don't get help, or see unfriendly service (group talking or joking) write down names (we have name badges) and the time and date... our corporate info can be found on www.circuitcity.com.

RANT TO EMPLOYEES: PLEASE Do not tell customers that the service plan will cover anything because it doesn't... its better than the MFG warranty but it doesn't cover everything. PLEASE remember the customer pays your bills. PLEASE do not stand around and talk in groups I know things get slow sometimes but it looks really bad.
FINAL RANT: Circut City has adopted a few new policies that help to keep the customer first in everythig we do.

Our store does local shops to keep prices low. Our managers are scheduled to be on the sales floor actually selling and helping customers side by side with employees. We got rid of that terrible restocking fee. Our store requires every one to be "full floor" so that when the customer needs something the sales counselor doesn't have to go find someone to help them, occasionally a sales specialist (fancy for stocker) will have to hand a customer over to a sales counselors but because even they are required to take the basic courses and they stock our shelves they should know where products are and could probably answer a lot of the customers questions. (by the way they wear the same uniform as the Sales Counselors but there is a huge training difference about 80 courses and 20 in depth personal not computer, training and exams that we have to complete to be able to even sell different types of products) I know of no other retail electronics store that educates(actually have to study at home) their associates as well as Circuit City does.

Thank You and if you have had a bad experience remember not all stores are the same I dare you to come to our store and have a bad experience... it just won't happen.

I am a sales manager for a Circuit City store and I can whole heartedly say that the accusation is false. Circuit City as a company puts the customer first in everything. You complain about having to have a product break three times to get a new one; if you had a warranty from another company you would never get a new one . . . just the same one over and over and over again. Let's not forget the fact that if it is replaced when the unit is no longer made, then you get a better unit. Some people will do anything to get something for free. It is the customers that try to scam that are the RIPOFF'S.

I read all the responses for this report. Has anyone noticed that Mr. Paul A. Watson of Oklahoma City does not have one fact in his report? Everything in it is gossip (what someone else told him). I am an employee of the Corporate office. I handle consumer complaints. When things like this happen, do these customers go to the management to resolve the issue? NO. They write stupid stuff like this..thinking it will help the issue at hand. I deal with screaming customers all day and they have it in their head that "we" do not care about their issues. This is not true. "We" go out of our way most of the time to try to make the customer happy. I have been in the Consumer Affairs department for a while now...and have never received a call about this subject. Maybe the person that posted this information doesn't know what they are talking about. Hmmmmm. If this is really happening I want all customers to call the Consumer Affairs department as soon as they discover the situation. If you need company contact information then check out the website, CircuitCity.com. Thanks for your time..have a beautiful day!

AJ

I have only worked at Circuit City for 7 months.
I am not a Sales Counsler, Manager or Customer Service Associate. I am a Merch Specialist.

What I know is this:
The inventory can not be done correctly unless everything is accounted for. Even Displays and Open Boxes are counted. When I set up a display, I destroy the box. The fire department don't want any extra boxes in the warehouse.

When a item is returned, I watch the CSA's take it out of the box, place the accessories in a bag and the computer makes a new label for it.
In the store where I work, the managers have been very good about making sure everything is done correctly. I do Cycle counts on different items daily and could not balance it if items were not placed correctly.

I did observe some customers return things that gifts or not wanted that they said were not opened. After inspecting them, the CSA determined they had been opened and marked them defective and sent them back.

I have seen many large containers of items being shipped back each week and know that in my store it is being handled correctly.

Thanks - JW

It's amazing how all of the employees and former
employees of CC that are responding stating that
the claims of the customers of the Atlanta, GA CC
work or used to work at stores in other parts of
the country.

I believe one is employed in CA.
How do you guys know that these customers weren't
sold returned products as new? Because of some
rules established by CC's corporate headquarters?

As we know with some people, rules are only made
for one reason: to be broken. I think CC has alot
more to lose than the customers. The customers
weren't trying to sue CC, so why would they lie
about this incident?

CC is the only store that I know of that charges customers a restocking fee for returning items. If I am wrong about thisassumption, please would someone correct me. That is one reason I don't like shopping at CC.

If I had gotten a gift that came from CC and it was the wrong thing, if I were to bring that item back, I would be charged a restocking fee. What a farce!

I was shopping a department store and I was returning my dvd player because it was giving me problems. They didn't even wait until I got out of the store before they printed a price sticker that was way higher than what I paid for it! $40.00 higher to be exact... that sticker also said CLEARANCE! They didn't even look at it.

Re: Circuit City / or any other retailer for that matter...

I went shopping (RETAIL CHAIN STORE) with my sister recently, and she did not even blink as she ripped open a large box and riffled through it.
I asked her why she opened it, and she said,
" I always do...everyone opens the box, and checks things out."

I do not open boxes of products. I see many packages and boxes that appear to have been opened then re-taped.

If a broken or non working item is resold...that is wrong, however, if the store did not retape the thousands of packages, and boxes that people like my sister so rudely opened and then didn't buy...well they would be in big financial trouble.

Should they sell the item as if it were new? only if it never left the store, and all parts are there. And, yes...I have bought products that have been re-taped.

Sincerely,

Debbie...in Indiana

I was a CC employee for 2 years. I never saw any opened returned items ever repackaged and sold as new. All of my managers stated that this was strictly against comapny policy. All non defective returned items were sold as "open box". The salesmen loved these as you usually got a higher commision on an open box as opposed to the same item new (go figure).

If a store is doing this and CC corporate finds out, believe me the offendsers will be fired on the spot!

I bought a 35 inch tv from dow and got floor model discount and was told it was a close out modle 3 days after my extended warrantee expired the tv quit working...When i took it to fast tv in lakeside he informed me the tv had been repaired before...i told him i never had it in the shop before he said that it is very evident that soderjoints had been tampered with in the same area he had to repair ...I paid the repair bill but did complain to the tv manufacture..mitsubishe ? they said if i had any other problems with the set they would replace it for free and contact dow re their practice to do such a thing.... tv still working 3 yrs and a house fire later...jeff
WHOS TO KNOW?

I bought a 35 inch tv from dow and got floor model discount and was told it was a close out modle 3 days after my extended warrantee expired the tv quit working...When i took it to fast tv in lakeside he informed me the tv had been repaired before...i told him i never had it in the shop before he said that it is very evident that soderjoints had been tampered with in the same area he had to repair ...I paid the repair bill but did complain to the tv manufacture..mitsubishe ? they said if i had any other problems with the set they would replace it for free and contact dow re their practice to do such a thing.... tv still working 3 yrs and a house fire later...jeff
WHOS TO KNOW?

I bought a 35 inch tv from dow and got floor model discount and was told it was a close out modle 3 days after my extended warrantee expired the tv quit working...When i took it to fast tv in lakeside he informed me the tv had been repaired before...i told him i never had it in the shop before he said that it is very evident that soderjoints had been tampered with in the same area he had to repair ...I paid the repair bill but did complain to the tv manufacture..mitsubishe ? they said if i had any other problems with the set they would replace it for free and contact dow re their practice to do such a thing.... tv still working 3 yrs and a house fire later...jeff
WHOS TO KNOW?

There is absolutely no incentive at a store level to repackage merchandise as new. First off we would get nothing but hassle if we were to repack defective merchandise and resell it. It would obviously come back.

And secondly the discount on selling something open box is generally 10 to 20 %. Considering the amount of open box items sold, there would not be enough difference in profit to be worth a store managers job to try and resell it as new. Because he would be caught eventually and would be fired. Corporate Circuit City has a stern hand with it's employees. You either have integrity or get promoted to customer.

Last, if a store manager could get away with this the difference in profit might effect his bonus by say $100 a month. Is that worth it?

It's a shame that people have problems with their products. But one thing is a fact i know of is that products returned as defect aren't put back onto the floor. I work as Customer Sales Associate, or as you know me the guy behing the counter doing returns. I've seen the way returns are done and it doesn't allow for them to be resold if they are defective.

When you come in and tell us that the product doesn't work, (and obviously you've opened it), we have to put the product as Def product. In the process of the return, it tells us where we will be shipping the return to and 9 times out of 10, it's back to the manufacturer. And that 1 time when it's not, it's a Circuit city product and it's sent back to where it came from.

I know my store sends of 2 large totes a day of returns from people not wanting the item to the items not working. I, in my time working there, have only put 2 things as an open box and it was because we opened it do help a customer. Advice for next time, if the package looks like it's been opened, don't buy it and save yourself the trouble in the first place.

It's a shame that people have problems with their products. But one thing is a fact i know of is that products returned as defect aren't put back onto the floor. I work as Customer Sales Associate, or as you know me the guy behing the counter doing returns. I've seen the way returns are done and it doesn't allow for them to be resold if they are defective.

When you come in and tell us that the product doesn't work, (and obviously you've opened it), we have to put the product as Def product. In the process of the return, it tells us where we will be shipping the return to and 9 times out of 10, it's back to the manufacturer. And that 1 time when it's not, it's a Circuit city product and it's sent back to where it came from.

I know my store sends of 2 large totes a day of returns from people not wanting the item to the items not working. I, in my time working there, have only put 2 things as an open box and it was because we opened it do help a customer. Advice for next time, if the package looks like it's been opened, don't buy it and save yourself the trouble in the first place.

It's a shame that people have problems with their products. But one thing is a fact i know of is that products returned as defect aren't put back onto the floor. I work as Customer Sales Associate, or as you know me the guy behing the counter doing returns. I've seen the way returns are done and it doesn't allow for them to be resold if they are defective.

When you come in and tell us that the product doesn't work, (and obviously you've opened it), we have to put the product as Def product. In the process of the return, it tells us where we will be shipping the return to and 9 times out of 10, it's back to the manufacturer. And that 1 time when it's not, it's a Circuit city product and it's sent back to where it came from.

I know my store sends of 2 large totes a day of returns from people not wanting the item to the items not working. I, in my time working there, have only put 2 things as an open box and it was because we opened it do help a customer. Advice for next time, if the package looks like it's been opened, don't buy it and save yourself the trouble in the first place.

It's a shame that people have problems with their products. But one thing is a fact i know of is that products returned as defect aren't put back onto the floor. I work as Customer Sales Associate, or as you know me the guy behing the counter doing returns. I've seen the way returns are done and it doesn't allow for them to be resold if they are defective.

When you come in and tell us that the product doesn't work, (and obviously you've opened it), we have to put the product as Def product. In the process of the return, it tells us where we will be shipping the return to and 9 times out of 10, it's back to the manufacturer. And that 1 time when it's not, it's a Circuit city product and it's sent back to where it came from.

I know my store sends of 2 large totes a day of returns from people not wanting the item to the items not working. I, in my time working there, have only put 2 things as an open box and it was because we opened it do help a customer. Advice for next time, if the package looks like it's been opened, don't buy it and save yourself the trouble in the first place.

They filed the following rebuttal to the above Rip-Off Report:

Their email: [email protected]
Their name: Brian Mailman

Their relationship to the company: Consumer Suggestion

Rebuttal:
I moved to Atlanta five years ago and went through the same Selling Returned Merchandise As New issue. I bought an Onkyo Receiver, ( I thought was new) and had to bring it back for issues with No Sound. Go figure. Thankfully I bought the extended warranty thinking it would be to my benefit. I later found out that the receiver had to go through three technical fixes before it would be replaced. Even when it gets replaced
you have to purchase another extended warranty, they refused cash return of the unit. Each time the unit came back the sticker read it was fixed. When I brought the unit back I found out that it was never fixed. Needless to say I am on my third Receiver with Circuit City. I was even told by an in-house technician he and others are not trained enough to be considered
an authorized technician. Although, the only way I ever got the time of day was to call the corporate office and go right to the top. The employee's in the Atlanta stores are far from customer service savvy, do not know corporate escalations, and don't have a vested interest in my happiness. With that in mind I would NEVER EVER do business with Circuit City again. When I walked in with my unit all ticked off a sales ripoff rep walked up to me to sell me something, I screamed at him and told him to back off and get his manager.

Brian
Atlanta, GA