I am a victim

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(stanlwyjohn @ Feb 16 2007, 07:38 PM) [snapback]391796[/snapback]</div>

Hi Stan, Now that really sucks. Obviously an inside job. Perhaps they could track the serial number of the KDS to verify that it is one that was theirs and when they received it.

 

yikes, they had better take that back! i think next time we buy something expensive in a sealed package we're gonna open it too. i've never heard of that!

we always use our credit card when making a big purchase, just in case we have trouble. they don't let us take crap from anyone should something go wrong.

anyway, good luck.

 

A couple of weeks ago I bought a DVD from Best Buy, and when I got it home there was a blank CD-R in the case. It was shrink-wrapped perfectly. Had to be an inside job too. To their credit they exchanged it. Good luck.

 

First thing in the morning put a stop payment on the check. I would not have left without getting my money back, they could have called the higher up on a cell phone. In the future you might want to consider a charge card that increases the warranty period. Many cards do that, you might already have one. Consider Costco, they have a super return policy.

 

That's a more and more common scam. My brother bought a $300 air mattress that had bells and whistles I never realized air mattresses could have. When he got it out of the box, there was some cheapie $20.00 air mattress in it. He had no problem returning it to Target.

I think next time I make a big-ticket purchase, I'll open the box when I'm right at the cash register.

 

Why should you pay for their lack of warehouse security?

Tell them they can provide the merchandise you bought or they can give you a full refund. You are not going to pay for the their employee theft problem.

I agree you should not have left. There isn't only one supervisor. There are plenty of them. If one is gone, they can call another, and another. They can call the manager. They can get someone there in person or on the phone. For $400 the guy can get in his car and drive back to the store.

But no way should you be paying for this.

Be firm.

If you don't get satisfaction, leave the merchandise there and then call your bank and stop the check.

BTW I agree that you should have used a credit card for this instead of a check. For all very large purchases I do this. For something I consider 'fragile' like a TV or Monitor in a box, you better believe I open it there and check to see that everything is present and in perfect order.

Of course, when I'm standing at customer service I'm quite polite, but I'm also not hesitant to make a very big, loud, attention gathering stink if they try to pull a fast one. Forget the Better Business Bureau if it comes to that. But if you have a 'trouble shooter' on the local news, you can consider telling Circuit City that you'll be contacting them and CC will be on the nightly news very soon. Certainly try to resolve everything quitely and politely. But....if they are a$$holes, don't hesitate to get tough.

 

Oooo, bad.

I'll use the debit card at the grocery store or the gas station, but if I'm buying a $400.00+ flat screen TV I'm using a credit card. No way I'm paying cash. And using a debit card is like cash.

Be firm and stand your ground. If you don't get satisfaction, ask to see *his* superior and keep moving up the food chain. Be polite, but be firm.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(koa @ Feb 16 2007, 07:33 PM) [snapback]391853[/snapback]</div>

I think the issue here is not the store's return policy, as some are suggesting, but convincing them that the box did not contain the correct monitor. No store is going to accept a return if they believe the merchandise was switched.

However, if this is becoming a common occurance, as some have said, then the store managers will be aware of that, and more likely to accept your word.

Best of luck to you in getting an exchange for the correct monitor, and thanks for the heads-up about this. I had not heard of it previously. Though now that you mentioned it, I have often bought something and the sales person or checkout clerk opened the box to make sure all was right. I always thought that was odd until now.

 

Dang, I never heard of this before either. Best of luck to you! And thanks for letting us know about this!!!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(stanlwyjohn @ Feb 16 2007, 08:13 PM) [snapback]391877[/snapback]</div>

That depends ... some merchants apply the same credit card protections to their debit cards (even though they are not obligated by law to do so). See the article at http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/cc/20010706a.asp for how VISA and MasterCard debit cards allow you to challenge a retailer. You don't have the force of law behind you, but the company's policies could help you out.

But the first step is to talk to the supervisor at the store. This kind of thing happens all the time in retail sales, so I think he'll probably sense that you are being truthful and realize that's what happened. They can also check using the serial number on the box to see if that monitor was returned by a customer who did the switch. Some of the larger stores even re-shrinkwrap things returned by customers; it looks exactly like the new packaging (I know Best Buy does this, as I have opened shrinkwrapped boxes there and found less expensive items inside the packaging). They have the "switch" problem happening from both their customers and their employees.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(fshagan @ Feb 16 2007, 09:24 PM) [snapback]391901[/snapback]</div>

Given how much crap I buy at Fry's it's amazing that this hasn't happened to me more often.

The worst was when I bought an Epson inkjet cartridge, opened the package at home, and found a used, empty cartridge inside. That made me so mad that someone would do that. I'm now a lot more careful about checking boxes when I buy something at Fry's.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(priusenvy @ Feb 17 2007, 12:34 AM) [snapback]391907[/snapback]</div>

I remember Fry's. Maybe if it happens you can have one of the helpful and knowledgeable salesclerks there help you.

 

That sucks. I one time bought a tube of branded medicine and got home to find the store brand inside. That was only a few bucks. Stand firm. BTW - did the KDS look new? That might help too. If it's a monitor from 2002 that has never been used, then it seems pretty long odds that they could accuse you of buying a monitor, holding onto it for 5 years, then doing a switcheroo.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Godiva @ Feb 17 2007, 12:01 AM) [snapback]391888[/snapback]</div>

I refuse to even have a "fake credit card" Visa/MasterCard debit card. Way too dangerous and they have NO federal laws protecting them like a real credit card. Someone gets ahold of that number and will wipe out your checking account before you know it. All while other payments bounce all over the place. And then you are completely at the mercy of the bank when you find out and report it to them with no legal rights at all.

I only carry a non-branded bank ATM card that always requires a PIN code for use.