- Report: #930352
Complaint Review: Rent-A-Center - Roanoke, VA 24012 Internet
Reported By:
Jeannie -
BLUE RIDGE, Virginia, United States of America
Submitted:
Updated:
-
Author Confirmed
Why?
Rent-A-Center
3506 Williamson Road NW, Roanoke, VA 24012, 24012 Internet, United States of America
Phone:
540-366-4000
Web:
www.rentacenter.com
Categories:
Business Rating:
(0)
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Rent-A-Center THERE ARE LAWS AGAINST THIS..., Internet
Soooo.....I speak to Sales Manager Jeff on the phone, as he has responded to my online application. I had received an e-mail stating that there was a MONTH-LONG-SALE (August) on some items. I told manager Jeff that I wanted a particular washer, the Westinghouse 5500, and I wanted a NEW one, not used. He quoted me the sales price which was fantastic....$56.21 per month, for 18 months. Since he did not have one in stock, we were waiting for one to come in stock to pay. We went in to their physical store on August 10, taking in our required documents, and I signed what was purported to be MY CONTRACT....but I was not given a copy, I was told a copy would be given to me at the time of delivery.
I had not heard from Jeff, so on August 18 I called the store and was told he was on vacation. I told the clerk that I wanted to go ahead and put a payment on that contract....and was told they did have new machines in stock. So I gave them my credit card number. The clerk told me that they don't process payments on the weekends, so it would go in on Monday. We then set a date for delivery: Tuesday, August 21st, between noon and 2pm. I'm a happy camper at this point.
On TUESDAY, August 21st, I get a call from Jeff, who has told me that "Management" has canceled my contract, as they decided to end the sale, and that they have the right to end the sale at ANY TIME (it's in the fine print). However, they will still give me one, but the monthly payment will be $63.52, for 29 MONTHS. I was spitting nickels....."but I have a contact!"..."No, you don't, that was just a sales order"...."But I have a confirmation number for my payment!"...."It's worthless, management has ended the sale. But I can still get one to you today at the new price! I was on vacation and didn't know they ended the sale. Whirlpool actually ended the sale, they can do that" BLAH BLAH BLAH
So here's what I think: How many of these high-end machines are sold NEW at that sales price? I think maybe one or two. They want to rent USED machines, or lower-end units. This is classic bait and switch, and I think my attorney will be amused......
And the worst part: I HAVE NO WASHER. We moved it out yesterday and sold it, in anticipation of our new washer. I am screwed.
I had not heard from Jeff, so on August 18 I called the store and was told he was on vacation. I told the clerk that I wanted to go ahead and put a payment on that contract....and was told they did have new machines in stock. So I gave them my credit card number. The clerk told me that they don't process payments on the weekends, so it would go in on Monday. We then set a date for delivery: Tuesday, August 21st, between noon and 2pm. I'm a happy camper at this point.
On TUESDAY, August 21st, I get a call from Jeff, who has told me that "Management" has canceled my contract, as they decided to end the sale, and that they have the right to end the sale at ANY TIME (it's in the fine print). However, they will still give me one, but the monthly payment will be $63.52, for 29 MONTHS. I was spitting nickels....."but I have a contact!"..."No, you don't, that was just a sales order"...."But I have a confirmation number for my payment!"...."It's worthless, management has ended the sale. But I can still get one to you today at the new price! I was on vacation and didn't know they ended the sale. Whirlpool actually ended the sale, they can do that" BLAH BLAH BLAH
So here's what I think: How many of these high-end machines are sold NEW at that sales price? I think maybe one or two. They want to rent USED machines, or lower-end units. This is classic bait and switch, and I think my attorney will be amused......
And the worst part: I HAVE NO WASHER. We moved it out yesterday and sold it, in anticipation of our new washer. I am screwed.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Jeannie
BLUE RIDGE,Virginia,
United States of America
SOLVED.....for now....
#2Author of original report
Mon, August 27, 2012
Thank you to the anonymous employee.....I talked to the District Manager, Brad, today. The call was NOT headed in the right direction, because he was defending his employee in the following manner:
1. Sales Manager Jeff has been there six months and is not entitled to vacation, and was there the entire week of August 13 to 19, 2012.
2. Sales Manager Jeff would have NEVER quoted me that price for a new machine.
3. The store never took a payment from me, because all confirmation numbers begin with a letter "A", and mine is just six numbers.
I told him Jeff was a liar, and that I had all the conversations recorded in my cell phone (thank you Auto Call Recorder, a free Android app!). District Manager Brad told me that was illegal, and I told him it was NOT illegal, only if I tried to enter it in a court case and did not have the permission of the other party to record the call. I CAN RECORD ANYTHING I WANT, ANYTIME, IT'S A FREE COUNTRY.
Then I said, look: This call is getting us nowhere. As a District Manager, your job is to make the client happy, not defend your lying employee. He agreed that was so. So we agreed on the same monthly price for a NEW unit, transfer my file to a nearby store where manager Jeff will NOT set foot, and I agreed that three extra months can be added to the length of the contract.
For now, I am happy. Hopefully I will have my new washer soon.
As a former Paralegal, I suggested that District Manager Brad do the following: Take Sales Manager Jeff into another room, where there is no distraction, and tell him the things I said. Ask him if he told me he would be on vacation all week and watch his demeanor and eyes. I can tell if someone is lying, and Brad said he could do that as well. I STRONGLY SUGGESTED THIS, as he will then know that his employee has not told the truth. That is important for their store's reputation.
Moral of my story: Record all your calls!!!!! That would catch the snake in his own lair :)
Kids: DON'T GET RIPPED OFF! Don't let "The Man" get you down! Fight back! You know what is right and true....don't embellish the truth, and don't tell lies, and your life will ALWAYS be good.
Love and Power to all Consumers!
RAChelp
USAI work at Rent-A-Center...
#3UPDATE Employee
Wed, August 22, 2012
Hi I work at RAC and Im very sorry to hear about what has happened regarding your washing machine. We take pride in providing customers with the right information they need to make the best purchase decisions. Its hard for me to know exactly what happened without seeing the details of your account, but if you would please contact Customer Care at 1-800-422-8186 theyll escalate this issue to your stores district manager who can help address the situation. Hope this helps!
