I ordered a replacement remote control from this company. The first remote control they shipped was defective. I contacted the company and was told to return the remote and that it would be tested and if found defective a replacement would be sent.
I sent back the remote and had to pay $4.30 for return shipping charges. A second remote was sent to me a few days later. The second remote functioned properly. I emailed Missy Smith, whose name was on the email I received from this company that confirmed the order, requesting a refund of the shipping charge. I never received a reply.
I emailed a second time about two weeks later again requesting the refund. Again no reply and no refund. I called the number listed under Missy's name - it was the WRONG number. I went to their website and obtained the correct number and now incurred a long distance charge to call this company to request a refund for the third time.
I initially spoke to Jana and she then transferred my call to Paul. He advised me that their company policy does not allow refund of shipping charges, even if the charge was incurred due to the return of a defective product. He said they don't make the remotes and that the manufacturers warranty applies to defects and that they offer the exchange as a courtesy. He tried to use the example that if I bought a defective television from Wal-Mart that I would have to return the television to the manufacturer and not Wal-Mart.
I advised him that this is not true; that if I purchased a product from Wal-Mart that was defective out of the box, they will gladly refund or exchange the item. I told him that while $4.30 was not that much money, when applied to the $19.95 price that I paid for the remote (unit price plus shipping) it represented almost 20% of the purchase price and that this was significant.
Paul kept reiterating that they are not the manufacturer and will only exchange or refund less shipping charges. I then advised him that I bought a refurbished remote from him and asked him if they tested their refurbished products. He advised that they did. I then stated that his company should then be liable for the products they test. He said they are happy to exhange or refund the purchase price of the product but not shipping charges. I said this is a bad business practice and asked him if he was willing to let $4.30 stand in the way of me doing future business with him. He said he was.
My complaint is this - a customer should not have to incur ANY expense for a product that is defective out of the box. Regardless of a company's stated policy, it is ALWAYS the best policy to satisfy the customer when their request is fair and reasonable. This company needs to modify their policy on paying customer's return shipping charges and definately needs to learn how to SATISFY the customer.
Yes, this company does have a published and stated policy that says the customer is liable for return shipping charges which includes warranty returns and exchanges. It is on their website and you have to go looking for it. I did not read this policy prior to my purchase which was my mistake. Had I been aware of this policy I probably wouldn't have purchased from them.
I have a problem against any company who is going to charge me return shipping for a product that is defective upon receipt. My advice is - DON'T DO BUSINESS WITH ELECTRONIC REPAIR SERVICE or NewRemoteControl.com! If you happen to have no problems with the products you buy from this company then everything is fine. But be prepared to incur return shipping charges should you receive merchandise that doesn't work when you receive it and accept the fact that the personnel of this company doesn't care about fairness or earning your satisfaction.
Dave
Savannah, Georgia
U.S.A.
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