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Circuit City

Circuit City is rapidly rising on my list of places to never deal with again

Last Sunday, Laura and I went to Circuit City and purchased a new tv. I had a 10% off coupon from AAA, and we've been talking about getting a new tv for over a year now, so we decided to do it. We found a 40" Polaroid LCD 720p HDTV that was on sale, and because of the sale and the 10% off coupon, was within our budget. We talked to a couple of representatives about a few different tv's, and although they steered us away from a few brands they carried, they said Polaroid would be a good choice for a low budget HDTV, so we went with it. We bought it, along with the 3 year service plan (Which includes in home service, and if they can't replace the tv they'll replace it with a comparable model, among other things... these are key for this story).

We got it packed up in the car, carried it into the apt and set it up. I sat down on the couch and hit the power button on the remote, looking forward to being able to take advantage of the HD channels we have access to... but nothing happened. I hit the power button again, nothing happened. The power indicator light on the front was flashing between blue and red. I played with it for a little bit, changed outlets, checked connections, etc... but nothing. I called Polaroid to find out what the red/blue blinking meant, since it wasn't in the manual. The lady I spoke to said that means it's dead. She said we could either send it to them for repair, or bring it back to Circuit City since we had the extended service plan. I chose the latter.

So I then called Circuit City back and explained to them how they sold me a dead tv, and they told me to pack it up and bring it back in and they'd replace it. I told them the service plan I brought includes in home service, he said "well, that doesn't mean... *pause*... you're going to have to bring it in to us". After exchanging a few choice words with him, he basically told me he understands, but shit happens.

So Laura helped me lug the damn thing back to my Explorer, and I drove it back to Circuit City to exchange it. When I got there, they informed me that they had no more of that tv. I asked about the replacement part of the extended service plan, and he told me to go have one of the tv salesmen help me find a tv of comparable value.

Because of the sale, the tv priced the closest to the one we purchased was the 42" Polaroid... it was basically identical to the one we had purchased, except it was 2 inches bigger, and 1080p instead of 720p... but it was still cheaper than any of the other brands. So the salesman gave me a tag to bring back to customer service. I get there and he informs me that I owe him $180. Wait, what!? He then explains to me that even though the service plan says they'll exchange it for a tv of comparable value if they can't replace it, since it's still within the original 30 days after purchase, it's still in the "exchange period"... which means I need to pay the difference in any tv I pick out. After fighting with him for about 10 minutes on how I just spent $100 on a damn service plan that included in home service that apparently means "Circuit City's home", and a replacement guarantee that apparently means "Only if you break your tv a month from now, not if we sell you a piece of shit", he told me I could pay the difference or he could credit my card back for the original tv. By this time I'm completely fuming... and since if I return the damn thing we'll have lost our 10% off coupon and have to pay full price next time we come shopping, I went ahead and paid the difference.

This tv was NOT dead out of the box, thank god. But after a week of using it, it has developed it's own issue... occasionally there will a very loud buzzing noise coming out of the back of the set. I'm aware that the backlight of some LCD's creates a buzzing noise... but this buzzing is loud enough that we can hear it over our surround sound while seated 8 feet away... obviously a problem. So I guess I get to call Circuit City back on Monday.

Yay

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