Complaint Review: Circuit City - Pennsylvania

Hi all, I am happy to report my previous laptop has been replaced in store as a result of me recieving a defective "new" laptop in the mail and having called three times to get a response on what to do with the defective unit. Its just a shame that it took me almost 2 months and several letters to get this issue resolved. Needless to say I did not purchase a warranty for the new unit(unfortunately I had to learn the hardway) even though the technical manager was trying to force it on me. I was also not allowed to take advantage of the rebate for the new laptop because the warranty company placed the purchase in their name which screwed me out of $150 which would have compensated me for remaining amount of my original purchase. They did transfer my original warranty to the new one which expires in feb 2007. I can honestly say Circuit City will never get anymore of my hard earned money. I just hope other consumers don't have to go through what I went through. Just a side note: Not once since this issued began have I recieved any type of apology from anyone at circuit city which tells me as a consumer Circuit City could careless about their customers. To Robin, I wish you would have responded sooner to my previous posts as you seem to be one of the good guys at circuit city and maybe my situation would have been resolved sooner. I appreciate your offer to help and welcome your comments.

Hi all, I am happy to report my previous laptop has been replaced in store as a result of me recieving a defective "new" laptop in the mail and having called three times to get a response on what to do with the defective unit. Its just a shame that it took me almost 2 months and several letters to get this issue resolved. Needless to say I did not purchase a warranty for the new unit(unfortunately I had to learn the hardway) even though the technical manager was trying to force it on me. I was also not allowed to take advantage of the rebate for the new laptop because the warranty company placed the purchase in their name which screwed me out of $150 which would have compensated me for remaining amount of my original purchase. They did transfer my original warranty to the new one which expires in feb 2007. I can honestly say Circuit City will never get anymore of my hard earned money. I just hope other consumers don't have to go through what I went through. Just a side note: Not once since this issued began have I recieved any type of apology from anyone at circuit city which tells me as a consumer Circuit City could careless about their customers. To Robin, I wish you would have responded sooner to my previous posts as you seem to be one of the good guys at circuit city and maybe my situation would have been resolved sooner. I appreciate your offer to help and welcome your comments.

Hi all, I am happy to report my previous laptop has been replaced in store as a result of me recieving a defective "new" laptop in the mail and having called three times to get a response on what to do with the defective unit. Its just a shame that it took me almost 2 months and several letters to get this issue resolved. Needless to say I did not purchase a warranty for the new unit(unfortunately I had to learn the hardway) even though the technical manager was trying to force it on me. I was also not allowed to take advantage of the rebate for the new laptop because the warranty company placed the purchase in their name which screwed me out of $150 which would have compensated me for remaining amount of my original purchase. They did transfer my original warranty to the new one which expires in feb 2007. I can honestly say Circuit City will never get anymore of my hard earned money. I just hope other consumers don't have to go through what I went through. Just a side note: Not once since this issued began have I recieved any type of apology from anyone at circuit city which tells me as a consumer Circuit City could careless about their customers. To Robin, I wish you would have responded sooner to my previous posts as you seem to be one of the good guys at circuit city and maybe my situation would have been resolved sooner. I appreciate your offer to help and welcome your comments.

Hi all, I am happy to report my previous laptop has been replaced in store as a result of me recieving a defective "new" laptop in the mail and having called three times to get a response on what to do with the defective unit. Its just a shame that it took me almost 2 months and several letters to get this issue resolved. Needless to say I did not purchase a warranty for the new unit(unfortunately I had to learn the hardway) even though the technical manager was trying to force it on me. I was also not allowed to take advantage of the rebate for the new laptop because the warranty company placed the purchase in their name which screwed me out of $150 which would have compensated me for remaining amount of my original purchase. They did transfer my original warranty to the new one which expires in feb 2007. I can honestly say Circuit City will never get anymore of my hard earned money. I just hope other consumers don't have to go through what I went through. Just a side note: Not once since this issued began have I recieved any type of apology from anyone at circuit city which tells me as a consumer Circuit City could careless about their customers. To Robin, I wish you would have responded sooner to my previous posts as you seem to be one of the good guys at circuit city and maybe my situation would have been resolved sooner. I appreciate your offer to help and welcome your comments.

Tonia, From reading your posts in another thread, it sounds like your problem is close to being resolved. I am glad for this, although I am sorry that it took so long and such a hassle for you to get results. I wish you the best of luck with your new laptop. I would also ask that anyone reading these posts doesn't use the store phone number and name that I posted unnecessarily. I only offered that information because of Tonia's proximity to the store that I work at. It is pertinent for the majority of issues to be handled at the closest store possible.

Tonia, I am addressing this reply directly to you because I am hoping we can solve your problem. I work at the Portage Circuit City store, and we've dealt with things like this before on several occasions. One big problem is that our service center is not directly connected to the staff of any Circuit City. We don't know who they are and vice versa. It is frankly very easy to dismiss someone over the phone, and a lot of times we will get the runaround about products that have been sent into service. They are currently looking at authorizing our PC technicians to do these types of repairs in store, which would be infinitely easier and much less hassle for the customer. Of course, that doesn't help you now. You are right about Circuit City's extended warranty policy. If we have to send a product in to service twice, it should be replaced, hands down. I've worked there for a year and a half, and that policy has never changed. My solution for you is this. If you have not already contacted the other stores in your area, do so. They may be more willing to help than you might initially believe. We can directly contact our service center and inquire about customer products. It might not be a pretty conversation, judging from the treatment you've received so far, but hey, that's what we're paid for. If the other stores in your area are not helpful, call the Portage store (269-323-0191, then press 0) and ask to speak to me, Robin. I work at the customer service counter. If you call with your receipt number (we can look it up in a number of ways, so don't worry if you don't have the receipt handy), I can look at the plan you bought and clarify the terms so I can speak to the service center in a confident manner. Then, if an in-store replacement is the solution, we can take care of you by contacting the nearest Circuit City and letting them know you will be in to get a service exchange on a laptop. We can also do it at our store if it makes you feel more comfortable. Unfortunately, you will have to come in to a store, because we would have to have the defective unit in order to make the swap. If you still wanted coverage on your new laptop (and I honestly wouldn't blame you if you didn't), you would have to pay for that coverage upfront, but we would refund you the prorated amount that remained on your former plan. We have to do it this way because in all likelihood, you would get a newer model of laptop, since we probably don't carry the exact same one you bought anymore. The prorated checks usually take about 2-3 weeks to come in the mail. Normally we wouldn't exchange an item out like this in the store, but due to the problems you've had, I think the situation warrants it. I hope that this reponse has helped you, and I hope we can solve your problem without too much more hassle.

Its a good thing I didnt hold my breath. I would have suffocated by now. Sorry to hear about your troubles Tonya. But from the general attitude of the posts here, and the way they have treated you for so long, I'm sure you were ready and used to it by now. I fully agree that its time to goto small claims. From what I know, CC's warranty deal has a clause like "If an item is sent in for repairs XX amount of times in XX years....it will be replaced". From the sound of it, you have already tried to get CC to honor that, and they wont. It should be an easy case for you other than the hassles of setting it up. Also, from what I have seen and heard, CC has an extreamly poor record of even showing up for small claims cases. Which will make it an instant win for you at the full amount. Not a total win scenario because of your hassles. But at least you will be done with CC and that lemon computer. Good luck! 8)

Unfortnately I am here to file another complaint against circuit city. Here are the facts I sent my Compaq 2105us in on 2/ 10/2006 to circuit city's authorized repair service as per my 4 year computer support plus agreement. The issue which was to be address was my notebook screen flickers without warning and goes completely black and was freezing up without warning. At the time of my service request I was told by representatives at Circuit City's repair line 1 8005554615 that my notebook screen would need to be replaced. When my notebook came back to me it operated without problems until 4/21/2006,at which time I called back in and requested service for the same issues. I sent my notebook back to Circuit City's Authorized repair provider on May 2,2006. Once my computer left my possession it went unaccounted for 9 days by circuit city. I contacted the Circuit City on 5/6,5/8,5/10,5/12 regarding the status of my repair and the whereabouts of my notebook and each time I was told they could not tell me if in fact my computer had been recieved or whether or not it was being repaired. I tried contacting their service provide Service Electronics during the same timeframe and no one answered the phone. I was finally told on 5/12/2006 that my computer had been sent to another Provider called Central Service Depot repair. This is the same company who repaired my notebook during october 2005 whom sent my notebook back to me with liquid running out of its case and with a busted battery pack an incident I reported to Circuit City immedately and was told would be noted. I finally recieved my notebook back on 5/17/2006 and on 5/24/2006 my notebook began flickering and displaying various colors and my keyboard was not functioning properly. When I notified circuit city's warranty company of this, their Rep Eric #iD7310 became verbally abusive and told me I had to pay for the repair of my screen myself because it had been damaged due to something heavy being placed on it. As I questioned him about this, he screamed at me saying my screen had been replaced back in february, when I advised him that calista on april 21 told me the screen had not been replaced , Eric then retracted and stated "we didn't feel it needed to be replaced". When I advised him that my computer began experincing screen problems after the 10/2005 repair Eric responded so what. I also advised him per one of his coworkers I was told my computer was properly under a pile of other notebooks waiting to be repaired when I called in on 5/06/2006 . Eric's response to this "so what" and "that's not our problem". My notebook has been repaired 5 times in the past 24 months: I have had "the logic board replaced, the motherboard replaced, the dc jack replaced twice. Circuit city is now refusing to repair or replace my notebook even though it definitely a lemon. Circuit City has sunk to real low. Needless to say I am going to be filing suit immediately in small claims court. I have had it with circuit city.

Hi all, Just to let you know, the notebook was finally repaired after much struggle with the company and after their repair people destroyed my battery. I was in fact given a new battery. Circuit City still provides lousy service and I still WILL NOT RECOMMEND ANYONE TO BUY ANYTHING FROM THIS COMPANY.

For once "chris" it sound like logical information you gave. But..... Lets see now if CC actually lives up to it. Something tells me.....they wont. AND YOU KNOW IT! People learn from past experiences. Why dont you do another search on this webpage for Circuit City and take a gander again at how CC responded when people have done what you suggest. I dont think its very pretty. But lets see how this turns out. I'm not going to hold my breath.

Unforntuately the store I purchased my notebook from was closed last year,(Southfield, Michigan store). The next store is quite a few miles away. I contacted other stores in my area and despite my being nice all continue to give me the 800 number and tell me there's"really nothing we can do".

Unforntuately the store I purchased my notebook from was closed last year,(Southfield, Michigan store). The next store is quite a few miles away. I contacted other stores in my area and despite my being nice all continue to give me the 800 number and tell me there's"really nothing we can do".

Unforntuately the store I purchased my notebook from was closed last year,(Southfield, Michigan store). The next store is quite a few miles away. I contacted other stores in my area and despite my being nice all continue to give me the 800 number and tell me there's"really nothing we can do".

Unforntuately the store I purchased my notebook from was closed last year,(Southfield, Michigan store). The next store is quite a few miles away. I contacted other stores in my area and despite my being nice all continue to give me the 800 number and tell me there's"really nothing we can do".

Get your claim number and go to the store in which you purchased your laptop. Be curtios and ask to speak to the store/tech manager. Just tell them your situation and ask if there is anything they can do to help you. Most of the time they can just use their manager/manager numbers to get the issue resolved. Sometimes they will just offer you a swap out in the store. Despite your experiences CA is still a good idea on laptops and you made a good decision getting it (sorry if that sounds like a sales pitch). What they can do is just put the price of the laptop on a giftcard and you can get something else. Store directors understand that CA is the bread and butter of our business. They want to make customers happy and create repeat business. I have some pretty stubbern managers but everytime there was an issue with CA they backed the customer, every time. As long as you arent demanding and are willing to work with them you will be fine. I hope this helps and be sure to let us know what happens. This sounds silly but just remember to be nice! I have bent over backwards for customers simply because they were understanding people.

Hello, The issue has yet to be resolved. I am indeed the same person who filed this report and have respond previously to comments from the employee who is posting. I have gone through all the proper procedures in order to have my notebook "repaired" sitting on the phone for over an hour having someone tell to reformat the hard drive, etc. Which on all occassions have been a complete waste of time. I just want circuit city to honor the warranty I purchase and replace the defective unit.

In response to your quote.... "I dont know why you are calling me a troll. I have helped many consumers here, have you?" You troll along every Circuit City post. EVERY SINGLE POST YOU MAKE is to support Circuit City. You have dont NOTHING to help anyone. You always immediately point the finger back at the consumer and blame them. So tell me "chris", how have YOU helped anyone? You accuse people of trying to rip off Circuit City at every turn. When someone complains about getting a broken or defective product right out of the box, you blame them for breaking it. When someone has an issue with something breaking after purchase, your quick to say "our obligation to you has ended" (DIRECT QUOTE!). When a person has an issue with something breaking after purchase and CC wont honor the warranty purchased with it, you tell them to go find another repair shop if they dont like CC's service (what an insult!!). When someone complains about outrageous restocking fees that were not disclosed at the time of purchase in an OPEN MANOR, you say tough luck! The only entity you help "Chris" is Circuit City! You have helped NO consumer here. Only insulted them. So when you ask me if I've helped anyone, I can easily say YES! I'm warning people to not pay attention to you because you will do nothing but blame them, and try to make CC look like a bunch of saints. Your input is worthless and insulting. And to be honest, I really hope I've insulted you. Because you deserve it after the way CC has bilked these poor honest people, only to have you respond the way you have. I will attack you at every chance just like the shmuck that posts on the Just Brake threads.

I dont know why you are calling me a troll. I have helped many consumers here, have you? I have never jumped on any of your posts yet you do it to me all of the time. As for the name change, I told you why. You kept confusing me with another Chris. The poster didnt reply which makes me think the problem is solved so I dont see what the big deal is.

Well for one... he is an employee and he's just defending his company... second... no matter what store you look at, they all have policies i'm sorry that our friend chris here just likes to state them the store does have an option at any time to stand by, or disregard its policies... over 95% of the messeges on here are just problems with the store/company standing by their policies if you don't like it... shop at wal-mart, if you are willing to stick to policy, as i am, then shop at Circuit City...

Well for one... he is an employee and he's just defending his company... second... no matter what store you look at, they all have policies i'm sorry that our friend chris here just likes to state them the store does have an option at any time to stand by, or disregard its policies... over 95% of the messeges on here are just problems with the store/company standing by their policies if you don't like it... shop at wal-mart, if you are willing to stick to policy, as i am, then shop at Circuit City...

Well for one... he is an employee and he's just defending his company... second... no matter what store you look at, they all have policies i'm sorry that our friend chris here just likes to state them the store does have an option at any time to stand by, or disregard its policies... over 95% of the messeges on here are just problems with the store/company standing by their policies if you don't like it... shop at wal-mart, if you are willing to stick to policy, as i am, then shop at Circuit City...

Dont even bother to read posts from OMeSSiaHo. His real name is Chris and he trolls these Circuit City threads to bash the consumers every chance he gets. He thinks that Circuit City walks on water and can never do any wrong whatsoever. Do a search on Circuit City on this website and you will see the many posts he has made. Warranties mean nothing to him nor does good business practices. Usually he will either ignore the fact a consumer purchased a warranty, or just flat our accuse them of lying or an attempt at "ripping off" Circuit City. His typical responses are.... 1. "You must have broken it yourself....Circuit City would never do that." 2. "Your problem lies with the manufacturer, regardless of any warranty you bought from Circuit City" 3. "A restocking fee is completely justified regardless of the reason for your return, even if it was broken right out of the box" (See #1 above!) 4. "We couldnt make repairs on the item, nor can we take it back, nor will we or should we do anyting at all......because we were out of stock at the time." He has loads of them. Of course he never has the one that could make things better like.... "Gee, I guess we goofed or the product was broken. Would you like us to fix it, replace it, or give you your money back? After all we are the RETAIL establishment you puchased the product from. You DID purchase a warranty from US instead of the MANUFACTURER so that means you want to deal with us HERE...LOCALLY, rather than deal with phone calls and letters to some company on another planet." Well, OMeSSiaHo or Chris or whatever you want to be called now.....GET A LIFE....WORK FOR A RESPONSIBLE COMPANY! BTW, the closest store to my house looks like its closed already from the lack of cars in the lot. Keep dreaming that bizzare dream of yours. Because thats all it is.......a dream. CC is on its way out.

First of all, It would be stupid to have the computer repaired by an alternate company. If the company is giving me attitude about replacing the unit, they will definitely give me the runaround on trying to recoup the costs of the repairs. Secondly, maybe circuit city should take more responibility given the fact the I have had the unit repaired twice. I have read over and over again about circuit city's lack of concern once these contracts are purchased. Do I think suing the company is a solution: hell yes and anyone else who is having the same problems should do the same. Best buy would never give you such a hard time especially since the unit has been "repaired" twice. Given the fact the company is probably using refurbished parts when doing their so call repairs the company should have the balls to replace the unit as stated in their brochure and contract. I contacted hp and even though they didn't have to respond to me they did, which is something circuit city would never do. I shouldn't have to repair this computer again, I should be able to take it to the store and have them replace it on the spot. It obvious that the warranty company is incapable of providing sufficient repairs given the fact I stated it was repair in March 2005 and is still having the same problems. Actions speak louder than words and circuit city's lack of action speaks volumes.

Probably because he isnt happy with the service that was already done. Its quicker to not have to ship it off plus its nice to be able to contact the person working on your computer. I dont see what the big deal is, either way he isnt paying for it.

The author of this report got the 4 year warranty with the computer, so why should they have to pay to get it fixed and then bill the warranty company? That makes no sense, the computer should still be fixed or replaced at no expense to the customer. That's why the 4 year warranty was purchased!

HP told you to sue CC?! Not to sound like an a*s but that seems a bit extreme. The warrenty company gave you an option and I would take them up on it. Have a smaller shopt fix it and then bill the company for it. Chances are they will take the time to go through and see what all of the problems are. You can always get your batteries replaced with CA so that should be easy to solve. It does sound like you can use the no lemon thingy so give that a try as well.