(Updated) This morning there was some bad news from Circuit City HQ in Richmond, Virginia: The retailer is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The news wasn't entirely unexpected. Bad news relating to expensive leases and a downturn in the economy surfaced months ago, and The Industry Standard's prediction about the company's precarious financial situation drew mostly negative bets from readers after it was created last week.
Chapter 11 gives the company room to breathe while it restructures its operations and financial obligations. Stores will remain open, and shelves will be stocked with merchandise. In a FAQ sent to The Industry Standard and other media outlets, Circuit City noted that Chapter 11 would "provide the company’s vendors with assurances that they will be paid for merchandise the company receives post-filing so we can be sufficiently stocked for the holiday selling season."
However, there are questions about how the Chapter 11 filing will impact the sale of big-ticket items, such as a TV, PC, or other components. Transactions will be straightforward, but there are service-related issues that customers will need to think through.
If you've bought electronics from Circuit City, Best Buy, Sears, or practically any other chain retailer, you are no doubt familiar with the post-warranty insurance and service policies that staff attempt to tack onto every sale. The pitches are sometimes pushy, and no wonder: They are an extra revenue stream for retailers, and can be very profitable. To a lot of people, they also provide piece of mind -- what if that $1,500 LG HDTV goes on the fritz on the 366th day?
But the country is in the midst of a terrible financial crisis. What if the restructuring is not successful, and Circuit City shuts its doors before the warranties' terms have ended?
Circuit City's FAQ suggests there will be no problems:
"We have made no changes to our Circuit City Advantage Protection Plans. In fact, our Circuit City Advantage Protection Plans are insured by third-party financial institutions, so consumers can be confident their plans will be in effect based on the terms of the contracts."
That is reassuring, but it still leaves some uncertainty for consumers. If Circuit City were to go belly up, how would the insurers honor the extended warranty?
Circuit City told me that one of warranty insurers is GE Assurant. GE's Warranty Management Group was recently acquired by Assurant. I am trying to confirm whether Circuit City extended warranties are now covered by Assurant, and what it would mean for consumers holding them in the event of Circuit City shutting its doors for good.
Anecdotal evidence suggests getting some insurers to honor warranties from shuttered retailers could be difficult. Web complaint sites and other forums are already filled with tales of people who felt they were burned by extended warranties, even when dealing directly with retailers. But the complexities seem to be multiplied when dealing with an insured warranty issued by a retailer that's no longer in business. Garrick Hileman, the Industry Standard's director of strategy and business development, recently had to deal with GE Assurant when attempting to have a tweeter in a high-end speaker repaired. He had purchased the speakers in 2002 at Good Guys, a California electronics retailer that went belly up three years ago. His Good Guys' 10-year extended warranty was covered by GE Assurant, but he says the firm gave him the runaround when he first made contact.
"It was a nightmare initially until I could find the right department," Hileman says. Even worse, even though he had the original warranty certificate, his claim was initially rejected -- GE Assurant couldn't find a record of the warranty in its database. This issue that wasn't cleared up until an agent thought to check Hileman's old address in Seattle against its records. Even once they did agree to honor the
Comments
I remember CompUSA had the same problem, but instead of insuring the warranty, they simply offered to reimburse anyone with a warranty for the fraction of time left on it. Some customers found this to be a rip off, others the best possible of two bad choices.
To those folks that lost their jobs at Circuit City...Time to hit the employment sites!
www.linkedin.com (professional networking)
www.indeed.com (aggregated listings)
www.realmatch.com (matches jobs based on your skills)
Good luck!
I purchased a tv and a warranty from Good Guys a few months before them closing . I had no problem with GE when my tv went out 4-1/2yrs into the 5yr warranty. I just recently purchased a replacement at CC with an extended warranty and i trust GE will honor it.
If Circuit City goes belly-up, perhaps this is an instance where we, as consumers, should initiate a class action suit to force Assurant Solutions to honor all extended warraties purchased through Circuit City. Once again, consumers get stuck with the bill while CC goes away with all the extended warranty money we've forked out. Not fair.
I called Assurance and used their website (the phone number does not recognise ANY of my valid Circuit City ticket numbers) and the website refers you to web chat which does not launch. Everyone should bear in mind that Circuit City RECEIPTS FADE meaning that you won't be able to read your ticket number. And you won't be able to visit a store for the receipt if the company fails (very likely per business press). Initial indications and typical experience with Warranty Departments suggest strongly that Assuarnce WILL give people the runaround. I am contemplating opening a website ccwarranties.com to best advice customers on how to cut through the runaround. In the meantime, photocopy your receipts or call Circuit City for a copy of a receipt.
We just purchased a $1550.00 Samsung HDTV through Circuit City and hesitantly purchased the 3 yr. extended warranty. They only paperwork we got was the actual receipt. I am thinking of trying to cancel this and risk the chance of repair. Is it really going to be worth the extra $289.00???
Anyone?
@S Evers, extended warranty on electronics are one of the highest margin revenue for an electronic retail store. Just do the math ... $289/$1550 = 18.6% premium. There is only a very small percentage of buyers of extended warranty that actually exercise it (and that is AFTER having to go through additional hassle at the store). Nowadays, high tech electronics are generally reliable. Any typical failure will generally occur DURING the original product warranty. For an item like an HDTV that is normally not moved after initial placement, extended warranty is, IMO, not needed. That $289 amount alone will probably buy the same spec HDTV a few years later (at the rate that prices are dropping).
I too bought the protection plan for my new T.V. Does this bankruptcy mean I am not going to get it honored should I need the service. Oh by the way, they will tell you that on a dlp tv like mine that the warranty will replace the bulb until the warranty expires. Read the contract before it is too late. You get one replacement.
I had an appointment today for a Firedog tech to come service my 32" LCD under the Circuit City extended warranty. I even received an automated phone call last night confirming my claim number and the time frame in which the technician would be at my house. Well, that time has come and gone, and I'm on hold with the warranty repair line, but I don't think I'll be getting much help there either. Looks like my TV isn't going to be repaired or replaced without a lot of hoop jumping. And yes, it hurts to sit right now.
Good luck Mike, I'm in the same perforated boat. CC was out in Dec. and "ordered a new screen" for my Sony Bravia. Many calls later, I was told on Jan 5th the part would be in and replaced on Jan. 17. Guess what?? The Assurant web and phones are of ZERO help. Let me know how it worked out.
Sorry David, but I will have to disagree with your analysis on the reliability of new HD TV's. I have been doing TV repair for eleven years and can definitely tell you that newer TV's are not as reliable as most people think. Just ask anyone who has owned a lamp based rear projection TV for at least two years.Those are probably someof the most unreliable TV's ever made. Right now I am working on LCD TV's that are less than two years old by the boat loads. Right now our shop is operating at an eight week back-log. An extended service plan is always a good idea on any TV that cost more than $1200. I would advise consumers to buy their service plans from manufacturer and not from the store. The service is much faster and the plans are typically cheaper than the store plans. Consumers will find this information in their owners manuals. With manufacturer extended warranties you do have to deal with waiting for repair estimate approvals (which can take weeks) or with getting depreciated value for your TV when a repair is not economical.
Why Circuit City Went Out Of Business And Why You Should Not Buy Anything From Their Liquidation.
Toward the end of last year, I purchased a 50 inch Samsung plasma TV from Circuit City. I had to save and work overtime for almost two years to afford this TV. I knew that I could not just go out and replace it if it broke, so I wanted to get an extended warranty even through it was very expensive.
October 22nd 10:00 am
My Case # is 8946771.
I called Circuit City’s nationwide service (1-888-333-2333) about the TV not working. The screen would black out and the audio would pop loudly. Eventually you could not even get the set to turn on.
October 23rd 12:00 pm
Circuit City called me back saying that Heartland Audio and Video would be coming to look at TV tomorrow.
October 24th 9:00 am
Joe from Heartland came and looked at the TV. First, he said that it must be something I had plugged into it. Basically he was saying that it must be something I was doing causing the problems. Next, he said that it was a firmware issue and that it needed to be updated. I told him that it had been updated to the latest version and running fine with no problems until now. Finally, he said it was the main board after he could not get TV to power on anymore. He then explained to me that he would have to order the board. He said that he would get approval probably on Friday the 24th, but at latest he would get it on Monday the 27th. He said that it would take 2-3 days to get the board depending on which Samsung parts dealer it came from (east or west coast). I asked him if Samsung or Circuit City would cover the repair. He said Circuit City would call to see if it was still under manufacture’s warranty and they would go from there. He assured me that it would be fixed within a week which I went over with him again before he left. I felt satisfied at this point. Although inconvenient, a week seemed to me to be appropriate to fix an issue such as this.
October 29th 11:00 am
I called Circuit City to get an update. “You need to contact the technician” he said. “I can’t do anything for you until then”.
2:55pm I called Heartland back to see if the board was in, and to set up an appointment to install it. He told me “I have to get approval on it”. I said “I thought that was going to happen on Monday at the latest”. “I have to get approval” he repeated. “I will get it today and it will be a couple of days to get the part in”. I wasn’t happy, but I am reasonable and willing to wait another few days.
November 4th 11:47 am
I called Heartland to schedule an appointment to install the new board. No answer, so I left a message.
5:33 pm Heatland called me back. I was working so my wife talked to him. She said that he was very rude to her, and said the board was on backorder. It will be another 10 days for it to come in. She questioned why it would take so long, and she told him that this is our only TV. “We can probably do it in 7 days then” he said. She asked “If you could do it in seven then why would you say it would take ten”? “That would be the worst case scenario to fix the TV” he replied.
7:00 pm I called Circuit City Service phone number back. I gave them my information. She asked me to explain what was going on. After a long and in depth explanation she told me that I would have to talk to Circuit City’s Customer Relations department. “Why didn’t you tell me that before I explained all this to you”? “I will transfer you” she said. Customer Relations was of course was closed.
November 5th
I called Circuit City Customer Relations (1-888-615-8156) many times throughout the day. I kept getting a message that said “We are closed due to incremental weather”.
November 6th
I called Customer Relations many times throughout the day. I continued to get a message that said “We are closed due to incremental weather”. I am starting to wonder is this place actually exists.
November 7th
Again I called Customer Relations many times throughout the day. I continued to get a message that said “We are closed due to incremental weather”.
3:43 pm Finally I got an actual pick up at this number. He told me that they were closed due to snow. I guess the 24/7 support that it says on my plan only applies when the weather is good. He told that they would search other distributors to get the backordered part in earlier. He also said that the repairman should have never told me that it would only take a week to fix the TV. He said the average time is less than 30 days. My contract says typical time is 14 business days (at this point I have read every line of it). Either way at least by Thanksgiving at the latest it will be fixed. He also told me that after 45 days if there is no “light at the end of the tunnel” that they would replace the TV. He promised to call me back either Monday or Tuesday. He never called back and neither would anyone from Circuit City who promised they would. I guess I am stuck waiting for the part. I am feeling quite frustrated at the whole situation at this point, but what could I do besides wait?
November 12th 6:20pm
Joe from Heartland called to let me know that the part was in, and the TV would be fixed today. I couldn’t believe after all of this it was finally over. I told him that I would be home over most of the 1:30 to 5:00 time frame he gave me. He said “Well you need to be home to help me take the TV off of the wall”. I know that this shouldn’t be my responsibility, but I am willing to help if it will get this fixed, so I cancelled my appointment. This TV is 50 inches by the way. It is not light. He came, and I helped him get the TV off of the wall. I helped him take the back off of the TV and he replaced the board. We picked it back up and mounted it on the wall. It was hanging crooked because the bracket had slipped off of the screws. We had to take it back down again, and fix the bracket. We then put it back up on the wall. I thought finally it is right. It is fixed. He turned the power on….., and it did the same exact thing! Picture cut in and out to black until it wouldn’t turn on anymore. I wanted to either scream or cry at this point. It was a wrong diagnosis. He said he would have to take it to the shop to figure out what was wrong with it. We had to take it off of the wall three times in all. I then had to help him carry the TV out to his van. He put in between the two front seats, with no cover, support, or protection. I though about it bouncing back and forth there as he drove away. Is this the same TV that I was worried about getting finger prints on before all of this happened? I asked him how long it would take to fix. He said “I will have to figure out what is wrong with it”. “So you can’t give me any time frame on the repair”? “I will have to work on it”. He gave me no paperwork or anything else, and drove off.
November 19th 8:47am
I called Heartland and left a message on voicemail for them to call me back to give me an update on the repair.
Friday November 21st 8:42am
I called and talked to Patty at Heartland. It has been over a week now since he took the TV. She said that she did not have any information on it, but she would leave him a message.
9:05am I called Samsung to ask about my warranty service. They confirmed that TV was under warranty until January 13th 2009. I asked him how long the average repair time was, and he said 9 times out of 10 it can be fixed on the spot if the TV is made in last couple of years. This was one more mistake on Circuit City’s part that made the repair the mess it became. I am sure they voided the manufacture warranty by working on it.
November 22nd 8:47am
I called and talked to Patty at Heartland for an update on the repair. She said that she would leave him a message.
November 24th 9:01am
I called Heartland and talked with Patty. “Do you know this is the 4th time I have called and left a message”? She suggested that I call his cell phone, and gave me the number. She didn’t know why he did not return my calls.
I called his cell phone. No answer, it just rang. I left another message. I can not comprehend why after five calls, someone can not take the two minutes to pick up the phone and call me back.
9:07am I called Lori at Circuit City customer relations. She said she would talk to Heartland and give me an update. Otherwise there was nothing else she could do. She too promised that she would call me back after she talked to him. I asked her why Samsung wasn’t contacted for warranty service. She said that they thought warranty was only 12 months, so they never tried to call. Lori like the others from Circuit City promised, but never returned my call.
Nov 27th
Today is Thanksgiving. This is one of the biggest holidays to watch the Television. Traditionally people gather around to watch the big game or other holiday programming. My family instead is stuck staring at an empty wall mount with wires hanging out of a hole in the wall. Thank you Circuit City Advantage Protection Plan.
Nov 28th 5:00 pm. Joe from Heartland returned my repaired TV. I again had to help him bring it in and put it on the wall. He told me that it was a power board that was bad. I was so glad that this mess was finally over after a month of calling and arguing with people to do what I already paid them to do. He plugged in the TV…..and……it did the same thing. Joe said it had to be something that I had plugged into it. After about an hour of troubleshooting different things, he said to turn off the HDMI feature that allows the TV to communicate with other HDMI devices. This was a pain for me since things no longer worked the way they were setup to work, but I was willing to try anything at this point. I also switched to a new HDMI cable because he said that the cable could have a short in it. The TV seemed to work for now, so he left. Later I decide to clean the dust off of the front of the TV. I then noticed sever fairly deep scratches on the front of the TV (below the screen). This was just one more thing that shows how unprofessional this repair was.
Dec 4th
The TV started to turn black and then turn off. I would say that I got about six hours of viewing out of it since it was fixed. Furious is the only word that can think of for my reaction at this point.
Dec. 5th
The TV worked for part of day, but then got to the point it would no longer even power on (same as before).
6:02 pm I called Circuit City customer relations.
I talked with Aaron who told me that once again Heartland would have to come out and diagnose the problem. I asked him how many times they had the TV as being repaired. Under Circuit City’s program after three repairs, on the fourth failure they will replace the TV (no lemon guarantee). He said the TV was still only repaired once. How can that be considering how many times it has been fixed? He said that is the way it is. I asked him if someone else could look into repairing it since over 40 days had gone by and we are still having the same problem. He told me nobody else could come, and there was nothing more he could do for me. This is starting to sound familiar from the customer relations department.
6:50 pm I called Heartland and left a message that we need to schedule another appointment to come look at the TV. Same problem as before.
7:34 pm Joe called me back. He said there were still things they could do to repair TV, but they would take more time. I told him it needed replaced at this point. If it can’t be fixed in 45 days, then that was long enough! He didn’t agree. He said that he couldn’t even look at it until he gets the ticket number from Circuit City.
December 8th
Heartland called to set up a schedule to pickup the TV again.
December 9th
Joe from Heartland came out. TV wasn’t acting up at that exact moment. He said he thought it probably just needed the voltage adjusted. We took it down, removed the back and he adjusted it. I also told him that the side inputs were not working. He looked at them, and said he didn’t know why they didn’t work. We put it back up on the wall. He said to call him directly from now on (don’t call Circuit City). After this my family went to visit family in California, so we were gone for two weeks. Since I could not watch the TV to see if it worked for longer than a couple of days, they closed the ticket out as the work being finished.
January 18th
The TV started to cut out like before. What did I do to deserve this? This is never going to end. I called Joe at Heartland TV, and he said that we needed a new ticket because it was closed.
I called Circuit City customer relations and service number. They were closed (24/7 coverage, remember).
January 19th
Circuit City announced that they are totally going out of business in the US. All stores are closing which is no surprise to me after the customer experience I have endured.
8:30 am I talked with Melissa at Circuit City’s nationwide service number. They are sending out Electra-sound (1-800-292-4200) to look at TV. My new case # is 031945567. I tried to talk with a supervisor, but she said that she could only refer me to customer relations.
9:10 am I talked with Lori at Customer Relations. By the way, according to them everyone you talk to at customer relations is a supervisor. None of them have phone extensions, and you can not talk to their boss or anyone higher on the phone. Lori had no resolution, but did have the same run around. She transferred me to “higher” voicemail, to get me off the phone. I left a message. No one ever called back.
10:00 am I called Assurant Solutions (who owns the service contract for Circuit City 1-800-852-2244). They are closed today.
January 20th
Press release came out: “Assurant Solutions, which is part of Assurant, Inc. Assures Circuit City Customers That It Stands Behind Extended Service Plans”. They will stand behind it, but you can not talk to anyone from there or contact anyone from there (they only transfer you to Circuit City’s same phone numbers I have called more times then I care to remember at this point). As far as I can see, Assurant is just as much, or more to blame for this since they are the ones ultimately responsible to make sure what you paid them for is getting fixed. At least I know I still have some kind of a warranty.
January 27th
Electra-sound came to look at the TV. He brought out the same board that Joe had already replaced. I even made a call to them to explain what parts had been replaced. They told me it was not the same parts. I am not sure why they did not have any information on the repairs that were already done, but they had nothing. After an hour or so of looking at the TV, the repairman told me he was not sure what the problem was. He would have to do some research, and possibly order more parts. He told me that the first repairman may have done more damage then good to the TV. He also checked the side inputs, and none of them worked. I asked him how long it would take, but he could not give me any time frame on when it would be looked at again. He said that they would be in touch. They also told me that from now on the TV would have to be on the floor when they come so that they can work on it. How am I supposed to get it down? Not their problem. When I bought the plan they acted as if things would be fixed instantly with no effort or time on my part.
12:05 pm I called Assurant and after explaining my warranty was from Circuit City, they transferred me to a recording. It said to call 1-800-878-1167.
I called and talked with Joe who gave no resolution. He said that they could take as long as they wanted to fix the TV. “It is a service contract, and we are servicing it” he told me. He also explained to me that since they closed out the first ticket, this is a whole new problem. A new problem means my time had started over, and the TV has only been broken for a week now. My blood pressure went though the roof. I was shaking at this point with frustration, and it took me the rest of the day to calm down. Seriously, how can these people treat customers like this?
12:32 pm I called Circuit City Customer relations and talked with Debbie. Same runaround, different day. They have to talk with technician. There is nobody higher to talk with. I can transfer you to a voicemail that nobody answers. My TV failed in October and in another two days it will be February.
So where am I now?
I am pretty much at square one. The original problem still exists. Over 100 days into this nothing has been accomplished except for me being inconvenienced in just about every way. My time, energy, money, strength, and emotions have been used. I have been extremely patient and giving in this whole situation. I have not lost my temper, although I have been stern. I have been lied to, given the run around, transferred, and abused. I can not believe that I paid for this! I spent hundreds of dollars for what Circuit City advertises as “the best possible choice for getting the most out of your new purchase. With the Circuit City Advantage Protection Plan, you can rest assured knowing your purchase is protected beyond the manufacturer’s warranty”.
What do I have now that the Advantage Plan has taken care of me? What is Assurant’s warranty backing worth? I have over three months of wasted cable service, and Netflix that I paid for without even using. I do not have a TV that works at all. According to Circuit City my TV has only been broken for a week. I have an aching back from hauling my TV around. I have 75 plus phone calls on my phone bill. I have hours upon hours of my time and energy wasted on the phone and waiting for repair service that has never fixed my original problem. There is no light at the end of the tunnel. I bought my kids a Nintendo Wii for Christmas. I have no doubt they will not get to play it anytime in the near future. When they ask me why they can’t, I will tell them that it is because of Circuit City’s Advantage Protection Plan. At over a hundred days now, I think that the only thing that I can do to get this fixed is call a lawyer. My hands are tied and there is no one else to contact. It is not a surprise to me that Circuit City filed for bankruptcy in November, and are in the process of liquidating their remaining stores as they are now completely out of business in the US. Their customer service is quite the opposite of a service and more like a nightmare. Hasn’t this gone on long enough? I urge you not buy anything from Circuit City in their liquidation. Believe it or not, they are still offering the third party backed, best coverage Circuit City Advantage Protection Plan on purchases. This is the worst buying experience I have ever endured, and I am afraid that it is far from over.
I bought a laptop computer from Circuit City in October 2007 with a two year extended warranty. I died in January 2009 and I took it to Circuit City on 1/9/09 for repair. I was told I’d have it back in two weeks. And in the meantime they would contact me and tell me what was wrong with it. The next week Circuit City announced their closing. Since then I have not been able to find out anything about my computer. I called 1-800-555-4615 and was on hold for an hour only to be told it had been sent to Central Depot and I would have to call 1-866-780-7257 to find out any more. When you call Central Depot the message tells you to press 1 for Circuit City extended warranties. If you push 1 you get a message telling you to leave your name and number and they will call you back. If you don’t press 1 you will be on hold and disconnected after 30 minutes. I left 3 messages last week and waited on hold 4 times and have yet to talk to anyone. I’ve even talked to the manager at Circuit City and he was no help. I did manage to find one of the Firedogs and he told me some people have been getting their computers back unrepaired.
It’s been 3 weeks and I can not find out anything about my computer. I’m beginning to think I will never see it again. This is the worst customer service I have ever seen.
Yes your contract will honor because it is under written by a company called Assurant Solutions and or AON.
AON insurance is a company that takes care of contract before December 2006. Assurant steps in December 2006 and beyond.
I know this because I am in Customer Relations Department for Assurant.
in reference to c Feb 05 2009 I find it hard to believe you. I have been trying to contact Assurant for the last 4 weeks. I have two LAPTOPS THAT ARE BROKEN and the ins runs out today. I even emailed the company on 3 separate occassions and still no response.
If you work for Assurant maybe you can answer some questions for me. First, why doesn’t Assurant return phone calls. I left several messages asking about the status of my repair and did not get a reply. After several weeks of calling I did manage to talk to someone. They told me that my computer had physical damage and would not be repaired. I was told that the right rear corner of the case was broken because it had been dropped. I have not dropped the computer and pointed out the area in question to the Firedog team when I took it in. They agreed with me that it looked like the damage was caused be heat because the plastic was warped outwards. Plastic cracks when dropped it does not warp like this. I was also told that there was liquid damage even though I have never spilled anything on it. It has been in Assurant’s care for the past month though and I don’t know what may have happened to it during that time. The tech I talked to was looking at pictures of my computer and I asked him to email them to me so I could see what he was talking about. He said I would receive an email the next day with the pictures. Well it’s been a week and still no email.
Two days later I received a received a phone call to verify my address and was told I would receive my computer in 7-10 days. When I asked if it had been repaired I was told it had either been repaired or replaced, that no more information was available.
The next day I checked your website and the status of my repair has finally been updated. It lists my computer being received on 1/12/09 and an order to ship an empty box to me on 2/7/09.
I am now waiting 7-10 days to see what I get. Do I get my broken computer back, a repaired computer, a new computer, or an empty box?
My questions to you are:
1. Does your company not return phone calls?
2. Do the employees of your company communicate with each other?
3. Does anyone at this company know what is going on?
I can’t believe a company with such terrible service is still in business. I will never again buy a warranty from Assurant.
Same problem as everyone else here. I bought a 52" LCD and it statrted having problems back in November. I have been tring to get it fix ever since. Several phone calls to all the places and numbers listed above with no avail.
Hey if you are a customer rep why don't you explain to us what is going on and why no one will answer the phone calls or return them? I've even sent fazes to the 312 395-9898 fax number. This is a huge rip off and if anyone has taken legal action or knows where to start let me know Sdavies3062@yahoo.com.
Scott
need my ps3 service i'm on hold trying to talk to somebody ., My warrenty is good until 12/01/2009 , so what do i do , if they dont answer the phone , Sony wants $150.00 to fix it. Been on hold now for over 20 mins...........................................!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I"m on the computer trying to find out where I can get my big screen t,v, (Samsung) repaired. We bought it from Circuit City about 8 months ago. I really hope we don"t have any troubles getting it fixed, like the nightmares I have read about online just now. I'm agreeing with the letter writer about Circuit City and how they treat their customers. No wonder they're out of business. Good Riddance, They have screwed enough people.
I just read all the comments that have been written about the nightmares people have been running into,trying to get repairs done. Wow. We bought a 67' Samsung from Circuit City in july 2008. We haven't had any problems with it until now(2/9/09) I just was on the phone with Assurant(who owns the service contract for Circuit City) I was told they couldn"t locate a service provider in our area, that they would get back to me when they locate someone to help me. It better be someone that can work on it in my home. My T.V. is not leaving my house. I hope the problem is simple. It just lost sound. I wonder how long I'll be waiting for them to get back with me?
Purchased a 52 Mist DLP in Jan 07. Having what appears to be minor issues with sound quality, as well as the picture going black for a milisecond when watching DVD's only. It has a bit of yellowing in faces with some DVD'sas well. Found the Assurant phone no. via the web link here to assurant solutions. Since my tv is over 27" I called 800-878-1167 and they picked up in about 1 min. The recording said for sets under 27" to call 800-555-4615. I gave them my address and phone number for my previous address as I've moved and they found me right away. They gave me my contract number as I could not find my original documents. After a couple of weeks via email with Circuit City customer service they did provide a copy of my receipt via mail. All in all ok so far, I hope my outcome will be better. I have a scheduled service tech coming to check it on Mon. They gave me the name and number of the local tech and a conf. no.
i'm in same boat as the guy who wrote the diary/book.
46" sony bought 3 years ago
8 months ago bulb went out (proj style tv)
after 1 month i asked where bulb was, CC said they already sent
BS i said i never got it, did you send to my apt or the complex offic like i directed you to?
they said "oh, oops, we sent to your apartment"
I said "well, duh, idiots, you send it there you might as well leave it on the corner of Martin Luther King Blvd and Crackhead Lane"
so they sent me another, got it in 3 days
put it in, and my tv turned on, says "the lamp is nearing end of life, please replace"
ummm... so they sent me a used bulb, so of course i pitched a fit about that
in the midst of me pitching a fit and cc service giving me runaround... they decide to go bankrupt due to the "bad economy"
so here's my plan, and i hope it helps you guys out
I am taking my 6 foot 4 ex-football player friend to my local circuit city store's "going out of business sale"
with my tv, receipt, and warranty.
I am going to drop my tv off there and walk out with one of equal value.
If they don't like it they can call the cops, and if they do, i'll show the cops my copies of the emails, my receipt, and my warranty, and the old tv. then i'll inform the guy with the 2 year degree from the community college (aka the cop) that this is none of his business, it is a civil matter, i am not stealing, that actually if the police intervene then they will be promoting grand theft by circuit city. i paid 2000 for my tv and warranty, since i'm not getting a warranty on my new tv i should get one worth 2000 dollars. it's circuit city honoring their warranty, officer, not theft. it's only theft if you intervene and get me stolen from.
you'll probably see me on the news, but it's the only fair way to deal with these jagoffs
i'm in same boat as the guy who wrote the diary/book.
46" sony bought 3 years ago
8 months ago bulb went out (proj style tv)
after 1 month i asked where bulb was, CC said they already sent
BS i said i never got it, did you send to my apt or the complex offic like i directed you to?
they said "oh, oops, we sent to your apartment"
I said "well, duh, idiots, you send it there you might as well leave it on the corner of Martin Luther King Blvd and Crackhead Lane"
so they sent me another, got it in 3 days
put it in, and my tv turned on, says "the lamp is nearing end of life, please replace"
ummm... so they sent me a used bulb, so of course i pitched a fit about that
in the midst of me pitching a fit and cc service giving me runaround... they decide to go bankrupt due to the "bad economy"
so here's my plan, and i hope it helps you guys out
I am taking my 6 foot 4 ex-football player friend to my local circuit city store's "going out of business sale"
with my tv, receipt, and warranty.
I am going to drop my tv off there and walk out with one of equal value.
If they don't like it they can call the cops, and if they do, i'll show the cops my copies of the emails, my receipt, and my warranty, and the old tv. then i'll inform the guy with the 2 year degree from the community college (aka the cop) that this is none of his business, it is a civil matter, i am not stealing, that actually if the police intervene then they will be promoting grand theft by circuit city. i paid 2000 for my tv and warranty, since i'm not getting a warranty on my new tv i should get one worth 2000 dollars. it's circuit city honoring their warranty, officer, not theft. it's only theft if you intervene and get me stolen from.
you'll probably see me on the news, but it's the only fair way to deal with these jagoffs
hey neil did it ever cross your mind for one min that these lamps have a meter in them that is fairly easy to reset and those messages are on a timer to go off and if you don't reset that timer it will continue to go off. Or was your only thought those "jagoffs" sent you a used bulb it is your tv maybe yous should know a little more about it. I take calls all day from people that want to complain and moan about the srvc they get but what people don't understand is we can't snap our fingers and fix your tv's there are channels we are forced to go through as well and we are at the mercy of the companies that make the tv's to get the parts to us to do the repairs.
Well it feels good to know it's not just me.... but it still does'nt change the fact that it's wrong! I was one of the ones who bought into the 300.00 extended warranty. Yeah it hurts, and makes you NOT want to trust anyone else. But unfortunate, in this world we live in, you have to trust someone! My warranty I was told would not end until 2012. Well it's 09 and they're out of business. I bought a laptop from CC and it was 650.00. and I payed an extra 300.00 after being promised if ANYTHING AT ALL happened to it, just bring it back to the store. (Flint) And I was PROMISED a new battery every year for the next 4 years. Well, N--O--T!!!!!!!!! So, sorry to all those who were done wrong and lied to as I was!!!!!!!!!!
so I guess you won't buy extended warranties for the following companies since they are handled by Assurant: Staples, Radioshack, Home Depot, Circuit City, CompUSA, Sears, Future Shop, and Best Buy Canada.
I took my computer into circuit city about two mounts before they closed. i purchased a compac wireless and i was having problems. they said it was fixed so i brought it home and when i took it in is was window vista and is now window vista starter and my product key says it is being used and my windows is counterfeit. i called circuit city and they said they were not doing repairs as they were closing. i had purchased their warrent y good until 2009. i need help
I took my computer into circuit city about two mounts before they closed. i purchased a compac wireless and i was having problems. they said it was fixed so i brought it home and when i took it in is was window vista and is now window vista starter and my product key says it is being used and my windows is counterfeit. i called circuit city and they said they were not doing repairs as they were closing. i had purchased their warrent y good until 2009. i need help
omg i wish i would have read reviews before i bought the warranty for my 65 " phillips I ALSO got from CC i called asurion very quick to get me assigned to someone to come out and get the tv so i wait and wait for them to come and no show called the company and they said oh we will call u when we decide to come a hour before ok..TERRIBLE customer service called asurion back and asked about the company they are letting representing your business and she called with me on hold to the co and they magically told her we will be ther to pick it up on sat this was thur.they showed up to pick it up which my husband did not want it to leave in the first place very angry they had to take it so the company said we will have a diagnosis on it in three days so we give them 5 call them and they say its on a techinician desk and it is open..give us a call back in a few days so i do so on fri and they said the were trying to figure out what the problem was they cant figure out what is wrong with it so my husband told them ok thats fine just bring my tv back the guy wanted his money so he was begging us please just give us a few more days to diagnose it and we will have it back as we speak it has been a month that they have had out tv and told us 2 day it was goin to be another month bc the part was back ordered amazing huh..so my husband said ok just bring it back no problem and the man said if we bring it back you know it cancels your warranty. so i called asurion and got the same run around oh please be patient with them they are trying to work on it i said no they are trying to have a 65 inch tv for march madnnes and they do not know what is wrong with it they have told us numerous times they didnt know and i demanded to speak to someone higher then her and she gave me the number to GM 1800 437 3783 which she told me we had the option of renting a tv with reimbursment of 50 per week or buying a tv and being reimbursed 100 dollars but she wanted to call the company first and ask what the problem was and why they were waiting to fix it come to find out they never ordered the part cus she had it in stonk she overnighted to them today and said they told her our tv would be ready by the endo of the week next week if not sooner i will give u guys a update thanx
I have a SAMSUNG Model # HLP4663L # C1060139450 that I purchashed an extended warranty on 12-12-08 Ck# 2027 in amt of $363.86. I need to contact a tech in order for this unit to be repaired. Please call at 804-453-7644 or email @ rdevivi@nucps.net
Richard A.DeVivi
those of us ,whom trust in what were told and sold ,as far as companys and warrantys go are easy pickings for them....
In My dealings and experence we want to trust and
We believe the hype that no matter what ,"we'll stand behind our warrantys", that is until you give em a claim or an out..
Like being honest!
According to what I read so far you really don't know what happen , but in your attempt to make sense of a claim ,you agree to a fabrication that gives them an out , like yes your dog could have done that.
I'm sure he could have, may have, or he did, but that's not the issue .. The issue is you bought a protection and the cost of repair was more than the repair,time and effort it would have cost to resolve the issue verse the assurance price.
It became more of a loss issue for them and as we know ,the companys whom offered most warrantys doesn't want a loss.
There not in that business.
It appears to me ti be setup / permitted to occur that in certain claims/ or companys whom back warrantys, to make you Feel as even if you Wade thru the obstructions in your claim process, " sure there's allot of others with cash to offset your claim", but they can block, delay and even ignor you, hoping you'll give up and go away...
Seems quite to often to me they try to let you absorb it ,look for exceptions , outs, loose print/ small print, and * provisions burried somewhere in side the agreement....
As for us,
We, (my Wife Lisa and Myself), bought our 17 year old daughter a $700 pc Laptop, as a Xmas gift.
Since we moved to a new city and took here away from here friends , Feeling a bit guilty and this laptop Gave her the ability to keep in touch with her friends better, verse textin' ,phone
At Point of sale The warranty was presented and offered to my wife and I as an accidental replacement warranty,"from a now defunct Company Circuit city in November"! .
As back ground Info..for our Story To This Issue:
I've Been Using home PC since the Early days Of Atari pc's (70's/early 80's)
, Know some Stuff about current computer issues and how to correct them.
Talk to numerios Reps via phone , online and chat session over the last 30 years resolving things such as;
Trojans , virus, reg keys Bla Bla Bla...
How I can Get Virus protection if I want to pay for it for $30., but why when it's included with my comcast subscription...
bla bla bla ,<--- sale pitch from stores and the techy guy behind the counter:
how to Reformat my drive, Reinstall my windows,
Go out get all my updates free through MS,
Logon to all My second party software progams manufacters sites, update...
Update My drivers, and go to Hp update my Bios, motherboard, chip sets.
Do basic repairs:
If Need be, replace: Memory cards,Drives,Fans, boards And yes replace a LCD screen, if, IF.... I didn't want to void My Warranty!
But why should we, (as a family), whom bought a warranty just for this ?
We are People Whom obtain assurances, Why should we hafta do this to?
a few years ago it was difficult to convince us that adding an Extended or accidential Service Contract to our purchase was a smart idea, today we ask for it at the store.
Yes, surprisingly enough, we are always asking for complete, competent and convenient extended service protection for most high end Electronic purchases we make.
We want complete coverage,including accidential damage without hassles---and we want it fast. just like most common sense people do!
So Believe US (My wife and Myself) would only have bought an accidental Assurance just for these reasons!
At time of purchase, Our daughter was 17, it was an unopened, unreceived $700xmas gift .
Knowing problems occur with handling and performance and just thinking what happens when you offer this to Kids you forsee...
they drop, spill and have accidents. We are aware of thIs...
We didn't need, want or was interested in a basic coverage.... The manufacturer does that for Us.
There was no attraction to this basic bare plan !
The Associate assured us at point of sale, that
ADVANTAGE PROTECTION PLAN " Now Handle Thru
ASSURANT SOLUTIONS of ALANTA,GEORGIA
This plan would cover optional accidential coverage and "as a bonus" handed us a Booklet from Circuit City called a
Acc pckit2 as an Additional $200 value for purchasing this assurance ,(Not Inssurance Plan), Assurance plan....
plan that included "optional accidential coveraged as stated on back"(PC KIT )
Please Note Carefully:!!!!!!!!!
It Had listed all the
ADDITIONAL CIRCUIT CITY ADVANTAGE PROTECTION PLAN BENIFITS:
and even Optional accidential damage coverage as stated on the back and we were sold...
I'm Not attempting to get over.
Pull a fast one,
deceive you ,
Skew this mail or any conversation we might have.
I'm simply dis-satisfied with service and difficulty in resolving an issue that was promised to be a non exisiting concern at the time of purchase.
This was 1 month before they went into chap 11 in December. Then out of the blue , Late December, they claim they were closing all their stores and liquidating... Damn
So anyhoot They close ,
someone Else ,
(Assurant Solutions Of Alanta Georgia) purchased all the warrantys from the holder to CircuitCitys warrantys..and claim They would Stand behind them..
Guess what 7 months later my daughter pc developes a crack in the LCD.
As a Parent I know Kids, I got two, grew up with 6 brothers and a sister
I try to come to some kind of understand as to why it happened?
I grill my daughter..I said they just don't crack... LOL something must have fell on it.
So I think what the hell, I got A warranty just incase So it's a no biggie , no brainer just call and the warrany holders would shower us with Love and perfect service..., but I was upset having to deal with it whether it was her fault or not...Sorry Honey!!!
To finish the story Assurant Solutions after several Unanswered calls. (It took over a week maybe two I called so many times and held), of finally calling being on hold over 1/2 to 45 min each time I try and repeadily being disconnected,
sending several request Via an un responsvive E-mail... and finally several contacted attempts for assurant solution to claim their records don't jive with what we were told and sold.
They' re not ponying up to fix our daughteras pc because as with this issue you break and the cost is more than the warranty,
most people don't want the hassle so they let it slide.
Ask for a warrant refund and guess what they'll give it to ya....probly pro rated at that
If you yell thats what I was sold, the warranty claims customer damage, or that the selling Company lied to you to get a sale,hoping you never claim against it.
They all should be asshamed ..
Should be held accountable..
Sorry for the next line but,You should have filed a complaint with your state BBB, Atty General and State Insurance carrier whom their listed with....These people will call on your behalf to investigate now to seek settlement....
I still would...
If anyone else has a similar experence ,they should tell these people listed and keep records...
Or else they,(Those whom offer these plans), all still do the same ole same ole and snagg others, whom are just as trusting.....
paul, hi! omg...same exact scenario here. i have no laptop or anything to show for bc i turned my laptop in to repair *(firedog) the week before closing...WHAT DO I DO????? it was my brothers, who recently died..it has sentimental value to me.ive called, no one has records of my work order numbers and i even have proof it was shipped to ga for repair from fed ex!! where is it my brothers laptop people? SOMEONE HELP ME PLEASE?!
I had a couple people ask me what happened with this, and if I ever got the problem fixed. My post was the long one from Jan 31 2009.
In the end, I did get it fixed. Most of the problem was the person that they sent to fix it in the first place. He has no clue what he was doing, and ended up messing the TV up more than he fixed it. The second company came one time, and then ordered parts. The ordered everything, but only ended up using a new power supply. That was the whole problem. They changed it out the second time they came out, tested everything, and no problems since then.
Assurant also attempted to contact me with an email. Apparently they can not seem to pick up the phone either. I never got back with them since the repair had already been made.
If anyone finds themself in the same situation I was in, I suggest that try to have patience. Keep trying all the options, and don't give up. Make the calls, send the emails, and post the comments. If you get a bad repair man who can't fix it, then let it go for a couple of weeks. That way it will become a new problem (through the plan at least), and they can send out a different company for repair. That is the only reason mine got fixed.
Thanks for all the positive comments, and feel free to email me if I can help.
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