On February 24 I made an online purchase of a refurbished Lexmark C750 printer from Compu-America for our non-profit animal rescue organization. I also purchased a two-year extended Service-Net warranty through Compu-America. One of the primary reasons we purchased this printer is because of this warranty that is promoted by Compu-America on their website. Compu-Americas website states. For just a few pennies a day, your system will be totally covered in your home or office for a period of three years. They go on to state You won't have to wait days on end for a technician to show.
In June of '07 the printer began having problems. Realizing that I had never received a copy of the warranty I purchased, called Compu-America to obtain the number for Service-Net. On my first call to Service-Net they stated they could find no record of my warranty. I had to make several phone calls between both Compu-America and Service-Net before the warranty was finally acknowledged. Three weeks later I finally received a copy of the warranty from someone named Christina. Although I paid $124.00 for the warranty, the warranty I received listed a Retail Contract Price of $50.00. Reading the back of the warranty I realized that it sounded nothing like the wonderful plan promoted on Compu-America's website. Subsequently, when I tried to set up an appointment with Service-Net, I was then told that my warranty had been cancelled by Compu-America and that I must contact them for any problems. I again contacted Compu-America and spoke with someone named Miguel, who managed to get my warranty reinstated. Next, on my return phone call to Service-Net I was told 'We found your warranty and have issued you a new certificate number, but it will be 24 hours before the new number can take effect.' I inquired as to what had changed in my warranty that required the issuing of a new number, and was told Nothing, the warranty is exactly the same as the original. I asked then why a new number, and was told That is the only change in your warranty, you've been given a new number and will not be able to schedule a repair until the new number takes effect in 24 hours. I waited the required 24 hours and called back and was then told by someone named Morgan 'We cannot honor the warranty we sent to you because you did not have a 90-day warranty with Compu-America first. I again made numerous calls between Compu-America and Service-Net attempting to rectify the problem. FINALLY, Service-Net agreed to schedule a repair and told me someone would call or come out within the next 24 hours. Three days later, after no one contacted me or showed up, I called back and was told by someone named Marilyn We have decided your problem is a consumables issue and therefore isn't covered.
I then contacted an independent printer repair company and obtained proof that the issue was not with consumables. After numerous calls to Service-Net supervisors with threats to contact the BBB, someone named, Suzanne from Service-Net Enhancement Team finally called on a Friday afternoon and stated that someone would be coming to fix the printer on the following Monday. She told me to please call her back if no one contacted me or came out. No one called or showed up that Monday, or the following Monday. Suzanne did not return any of my calls during that seven-day period. Then, almost two weeks later and completely out of the blue, someone showed up unannounced to look at the printer. Without even opening the lid he determined that the problem was a maintenance kit which, ironically, was not covered by Service-Net (despite the fact that Compu-America promises a totally covered system). At this point in time over five weeks had passed since I first reporting my printer problem to Service-Net. This five-week wait caused a loss of revenue to our all-volunteer, not-profit organization.
Service Net is one of the biggest rip-offs I have ever encountered. I have also reported this company to the BBB, the TX Attorney General's Office,
the IN Attorney General's Office and the Texas Board of Licensing and Regulation.
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