On 02/09/08 I purchased a 32â�� Polaroid HDTV (TDA-03211C) with DVD player built in. It was our first new TV in more years than I care to remember and was replacing our old 19â�� main TV that had just gone out. It seemed to be a good buy, although previously I did not know Polaroid Made TVâ��s, first red flag.Â
We had it just over a month when we first noticed that it had a vertical line in the image. It seemed to be a random issue, but always appeared in the same place. It also seemed to happen more often with cartoons, but with 5 kids in house we watch a lot of those.:)  Specifically, the line was just to the left of the center mark and it was a shade off the color that it should have been. So if an area was blue, then in that line space it would be aqua blue or maybe greenish. It wasnâ��t a really bad issue; the image was still ok, but considering the TV was less than a couple months old we opted to call in and find out our options. I called the original store and they informed me I had to go to the manufacturer. So I called Polaroid and finally got to a customer service rep. They were very helpful and informed me it was a rare, but known issue. They let me know they had to pass it on to the tech department and I should receive a call shortly about getting an exchange set up. A day or two later I got a call from a tech and he needed me to get the serial number and also take photos of the issue in progress. I let him know I only had a cell phone camera and that it may take a day or two because the issue came and went. He gave me an email address and a few days later I sent images of Family Guy with the line in it. 24 hours or so later I got a call and was informed the exchange was approved and a few days after that a TV arrived at my home.  Packed well, we broke it open and got it set up.Â
Within a week we had the same issue reappear though, in the exact same location. {Insert most of paragraph one here.} This time we opted to wait on calling as it wasn�t that bad and random. After a couple weeks though we were watching TV and a loud knocking noise started to come from the TV. I narrowed it down to the DVD-drive. I tried to eject a movie that had been left in there, and it wouldn�t pop out. I had to unplug the TV, reconnect it and then press eject on the TV to get the DVD back. The DVD was incredibly hot to the touch. We decided that this was enough and called in the next day. When I called this time and challenged the whole rare issue statement, I was told by the CS Agent that he had never seen this specific issue. I offered up that this was two in a row for me.  I had taken new pictures already as I expected them to ask and I sent the info off to the same email address with the new ticket number. A day or so later, I was called by the tech support guys and I asked again how often does this happens and they informed me it was pretty rare and very interesting that I had it happen twice. They ran me through questions about how it was set up in-house making sure I had plenty of room to prevent overheating, I do. They set up another advance exchange.
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A few days later a new replacement TV arrived. We opened this one and found that they had only used the bottom half of the Styrofoam �clamshell� container and that the top just had bubble wrap. I thought that was an interesting way to ship an expensive TV, but went with it, setting it up even though they forgot to include the stand screws this time, so I had to scavenge from the previous unit. As I was connecting inputs, I noticed there were multiple scratches and a large crack in the outer frame of the TV. I paid for a non-broken TV and decided this was getting ridiculous. They again had me take photos and send them off. Two days later, I got a call from tech support informing me that the exterior damage was not something they could cover and that I would be denied a replacement. I was very unhappy and ran over the packaging style that had been used and that the shipping box was still in good condition, so I knew it wasn�t a shipping issue if it wasn�t packed correctly in the first place. I explained that it had bounced around enough to crack the case and that it there was very little likely hoods that it didn�t have other issues internally. He agreed and set up a third advance exchange.
At this point I was getting frustrated and spoke with someone in CS in regards to a refund. I was told in no uncertain terms that I would not be approved for a refund as they had not done everything possible to fix it. I asked what that would take as I was now going on my fourth TV. She told me she has never seen one refunded prior to the 4th. I tried to force the issue with a supervisor, but other than an attitude I got nowhere.
So yesterday I received the fourth TV. It arrived packed the same as the 3rd (poorly) and this time I took pictures of it in the box before removing it. I then took picâ��s of the Styrofoam that had been destroyed because of the TV running lose in the box. This one had even more scrapes and dings in the edges in more than one location. The plastic had been deformed from an impact. Note the shipping box was in good condition with nothing obviously wrong with it. I had the RMA stuff set up so I figured I would trade them out and then set up another trade or ask for a refund. I got the 4th TV in place and it wouldnâ��t even power up. I reset everything and still got nothing with the remote or the PWR button on the TV. I re-boxed it and put the cracked one back up since itâ��s at least watchable.Â
I called in and asked for a refund and I�m told it takes 30 days to process, and it doesn�t start until they get the TV back. So I have to go without a TV for up to 30 Days if I want to get a Refund.
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