Complaint Review: Circuit City - Grand Rapids Michigan

I find it interesting that never once did you mention asking to see said "water damage" that was discovered in your computer. Why not? There are factory-authorized techs located in every Circuit City store. One of them could have opened your computer right then and there to physically show you the "water damage" without voiding your manufacturer's warranty by doing so. If you are so confident that there is absolutely NO water damage, why not proove it? Alternatively, you could send your computer to the manufacturer to determine the reason for product failure. Most will inspect the item and provide a written statement of the problem with no obligation on your part to pay for the repair (only the diagnosis). This could be used as evidence if you truly want to take this pathetic case to court. Remember, you will need evidence, and right now you have none - just one person's word against your own.

Glad to see PETER PONY gallops to the rescue of his beloved master! It is good to see the many and varied servile syncophants that CC is either placing on this website, or that we are witnessing the coorporate version of Stockholm Syndrome and the ethical version of flat earth science. Perhaps if CC put as much focus in ethical business practice as in defending the defensless, these issues wouldn't arise. Yes, Dean listen to what they are telling you. You need EVERYTHING in writing, because the salespersons on the floor are not reliable and may outright lie to you. Generally we can all agree that getting things in writing is a good practice. With CC, however, getting them in writing up front is a matter of survival. You see Dean, you can't expect somebody on the floor at CC to fairly and accurately represent what is already in writing! We are all fools if you think the warranty papers given to you during the transaction actaully reflect what the salesperson said. We can't expect that! How dare you expect CC salespersons to know what they are talking about..no...with each thing a salesperson says, you need immediate proof in writing, because as the Pony inplicitly admits (with a dusty wave of his hat, and a howdy mamm!): If you are stupid enough to listen to us, we will lie to you! Perhaps we should also get it in writing that the salesperson's IQ is above 90, that he will accurately represent the actual policies/warranties the store has, that he he has explained ALL of the various warranties germane to your purchase, he should read to you point by point the warranty explaining the varioius loopholes-I mean, exclusions and privleges CC grants itself to void the warranty, and finally sign a notorized honesty statement that voids the entire financial transaction if it turns out the salesperson has misprepresented any of the following steps. Finally, I am interested in this apparently common practice of CC claiming there is "water damage" so they can void the warranty. Spontaneous computer water damage seems to be a ubiquitous problem for people these days. This perposterous claim needs to be brought to task in court (I wouldn't be surprised if it were an industry wide practice)--I am sure the Pony wouldn't want to gallop on the this one: defending spontaneous computer water damage-who knows, ponies may walk on water! Dean: Can I use your case as I am beginning to gather data on cases of spontaneous computer water damage as it seems to be epidemic these days at CC.

Please explain what a random "serial number" has to do with the fact that historically, people who were issued loaners NEVER returned them. Also, please explain how all computers purchased at Circuit City are junk -- does Circuit City manufacture their own computers now? Your statements make absolutely no sense.

Regarding loaners, ever heard of a thing called a SERIAL NUMBER? That ensures that the computer that is being repaired IS the same piece of junk sold by CC and the loaner is probably a piece of junk as well!

Alright. First off let me just explain I am a customer service agent at my local Ccity. There are just a few things I have to say about this situation. You said that you took your computer to a local service center to have it fixed. BAD MOVE! Under ours terms of service for the City Advantage, you cannot have it fixed by an outside source besides the manufacturer or a certified repair center(deemed by manufacturer) you completely voided your City Advatage warranty and most likely the manufacturers also. Now about the loaner. A long long while ago circuit city thought it would be a nice idea to give out loaners to the customers so that until their product gets back they have a replacement. Even though we offered this a while ago, we don't have to follow this now. It says in the terms and service of our city advantage, TERMS SUBJECT TO CHANGE. That means that you agree to whatever the terms may change to be in the future. So your case about the loaner. Gone. About the spill damage, Lets say hypothetically that you didnt have it repaired at an outside source and voided your warranty. AGAIN in the terms of service. It states that damage is assesed and judged soley at the discretion of the administrator of the warranty. I.E. Circuit City. So it is up to them to asses the damage and say what it is. It most likely could have been spill damage, water evaporates, and then only leaves behind small marks of residue, if it does at all, those marks would be almost impossible to see in a picture. Please dont take this as me flamming you in anyway, but I am just trying to help you understand that you agreed to everything that I stated when you purchased that warranty. It is a very good warranty, but you most likely didnt get the one with Accidental Damage. That would have covered to spill damage that they said happened. There's a lot of things our Warranty covers that the MFG warranty doesnt. Laptop Batteries, Surge, Accidental damage(If Accidental Warranty is added) If you ever went to the manufacturer and told them "Oh I ran my laptop over with my car", they would tell you get lost. If you bought an accidental through us, we would fix, if not just give you a brand new laptop for that. I'm sorry that youve had such a bad experience with our warranty. Oh and as for the store doing a favor for you of taking 250 dollars off of a purchase for you, that was a manager being very very nice. We dont have to take anything off for you, he or she was extending you their sympathy to help you out. They could have just told you to talk to service about a replacement, and never offered you anything.

It will please you to know now that Circuit City DOES do our warranty work in store, in most situations. Most simple fixes and software problems can be troubleshot in stores with our certified technicians. In some rare instances, as with motherboard, screen, and battery replacement, we cannot do this in store because we simply do not have the space available to store every single battery, screen, and motherboard created over the last 4 years for every notebook and desktop weve sold. It confuses me as to why you believe the city advantage protection plan is a joke. Its lived up to everything that youve stated youve needed fixed and you simply denied our service because you want instant gratification. Im sorry, but rarely will you find a retailer that will be able to get your laptop back to you in less then a week. As previously stated with the loaner process, there are obvious reasons we dont give loaners. I do apologize for your problems however, but i assure you that if you do come back to a circuit city, we will give you the best experience possible and get you everything you may need for further computing experiences.

First off, regarding the "loaner," did you get this in writing? I can't imagine anyone taking such a verbal statement, if made, seriously unless it was backed up in writing. Why? Because it makes no sense. A person such as yourself could bring an old, obselete, broken computer in for service, and be given a brand new "loaner" while his old thing is out for repair. The store might as well say "bye bye loaner!" as the typical customer will never return the loaner and pick up their old piece of crap. Now, regarding the actual warranty itself, I cannot see how you claim that to be a rip off and how it "will do nothing for you." Circuit City was willing to honor the warranty and repair your computer. You, however, did not want to wait. Service repairs are NOT instant, and you need to wait along with all the other customers. Your taking the computer to some local guy with faster turn-around time was purely YOUR personal choice, and does NOT constitute a rip off by Circuit City. In closing, just a tidbit of information for you ... when you take something to a "local repair guy" to have it serviced, you are voiding your manufacturer's warranty. That is why Circuit City and other major stores have longer waiting times ... because most people take their electronics to FACTORY-AUTHORIZED REPAIR CENTERS so as to prevent the voiding of their warranty. Sometimes waiting a few extra days is worth it in the long run!