Westinghouse Frustration

I ordered a refurb Westinghouse 19” tv from eCost in February. When it showed up it had a problem. The tv would turn off by itself every minute or so. I called eCost and their policy is to have the customer send the tv to the manufacturer. So then I called Westinghouse. The emailed me a RMA number and I shipped the tv to them at my own expense. They said it usually only takes a week or two for repair or replacement.
This is when the nightmare starts. I called Westinghouse a week after sending the tv to check the status as they told me to. There was no status update so they requested one. I called again a week later on March 23rd. Same thing, no status update from the repair center and they would request one again. I know they signed for the tv on the 16th since I sent it via Fedex. I called again on March 31st and they said usually it would be done by now but there is still no update. This time she said she would request a corporate status update that should get things figured out and I could call back in 2-3 days for the results.
I called back on Friday April 3rd and there was no response from their corporate office. I expressed my frustration since they had the tv in their position for so long and didn’t even know where it was. I called back on the 8th and they still had no status and they said they would resubmit a request to the corporate office.
On Tuesday April 14th I called again and there was still no update. I asked to speak with a supervisor at this point. The customer service rep said the supervisor would say the same thing he did, to call back in 5 business days. I told him I still wanted to speak with a supervisor and he said someone would call me back.
Later on Tuesday I received a call from Corry, a supervisor. He said that he checked my status and there is nothing else he could do.
At this point I decided to call eCost since they had my money. I spoke with a rep and explained the situation. He said he would call Westinghouse while I was on the line. A supervisor Kelly pretty much said the exact same thing. I asked if they could send me a different refurbished tv and she said they couldn’t. I asked if they would call me when the status changed and she said she couldn’t. I asked if there was someone higher to talk to and she said Corry was her boss and there is nothing they can do.
I am completely frustrated at this point. I can’t get my money back from eCost since I can’t send the tv back to them. Westinghouse is useless in helping me. What is the point in having a customer service supervisor that is powerless to help the customer. Having the supervisor agree with me that it is ridiculous doesn’t really make me happy either.
I have no idea what to do now.
| Print article | This entry was posted by michael on April 15, 2009 at 12:31 pm, and is filed under news, product, technology, television. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site. |







about 1 year ago
Tell them you’re taking them to small claims court.
about 1 year ago
Did you pay with a credit card? If so, contact your credit card company, explain the situation, and dispute the charge.
If not, at least file a detailed complaint with the Better Business Bureau.
about 1 year ago
The problem with disputing the change is the company I purchased the TV does not have it, nor do I.
This guy has a similar problem with westinghouse. http://briancarper.net/blog/westinghouse-do-they-suck
about 1 year ago
Quote from brian carper.net:
Heads up for everyone ever trying to deal with a Westinghouse RMA.
I “currently” work for the call center for Westinghouse. It is not our fault the service center will not ship you a tv, or even tell us why. Our database only lists information that has been typed in by other tech support reps, and occasionally things like a logged reciept, tracking number, or RMA number. And yes, it is true that we cannot transfer you to a manager, they do in fact have to call you back. Also, we literally do not have access to any contact information for the corporate office or the RMA center in any way, and even if we did, we are expressly forbidden from given it out. You’d have a much easier time searching for the contact on Google. We also have no way to change any of the Warranty policies, or give you free shipping labels for RMA. Those don’t even come from a “manager” at the call center, that all is done through corporate.
Basically, 95% of all of the RMA issues arise from the fact that a)the Westinghouse corporate warranty policy does not allow us any deviation on our level and b)the RMA center is the slowest, shittiest facility I have ever dealt with. Last I heard, there were litterally 5 people working there. Also, the fact is, there are far more returned RMA tvs than there are available to ship back to customers, and that is causing most of the shipping problems. But please don’t call us at the customer service and expect us to be able get you a tv faster. We are in NY and ME, and the service center is in TX, we cannot “walk downstairs” like some people would like to think.
If you do want to buy a Westinghouse tv for some reason, please PLEASE purchase it at Best Buy. We have an exclusive deal with Best Buy that if your tv breaks during the warranty period, you can call us to get a return authorization and bring it back to the store directly and get an exchange/store credit, even 11 months 3 weeks and 6 days after you bought the tv. Other than that, DO NOT buy one online, and I’m sorry to say it but, even at Woot, E-Cost, or any other online discount store. ESPECIALLY if it is a refurbished television.
And also, please, everyone, read the warranty policy on ANY expensive item you purchase, especially TVs. You’d be surprised what isn’t covered under most electronics companies warranties. Almost every major TV manufacturer requires you to ship a defective tv back to them at your cost.
For all I know I can get fired for posted this online, but to be honest at this point, I could give a shit. Sorry everyone who has had to deal with a Westinghouse RMA, but please remember that if you have to call the tech support line, it really is not our fault, and there is almost nothing we can do.
Oct 23, 2008 09:53 PM PDT
about 10 months ago
I,m have same problem,I sent back a TV that didn’t work and Westinghouse me back one that didn’t work.
I will be writing the Attorney General and Better Business Bureau and if all that fail SMALL CLAIMS COURT.