http://www.pinnycohen.com/2007/03/27/marketing-wisdom/case-study-why-compusa-is-losing-the-battle-for-computer-and-electronics-sales/

A widow and her son took an e-machine PC to CompUSA for repair, The PC was working fine except it flickered a little on the monitor. Not knowing what was wrong, they thought CompUSA would be the right choice for them.

The service guy took in the PC and told them they needed to pay $179.99 plus tax (total to $196.63) to fix the problem. Not knowing what they were in to, they paid the service and repair charge. Three days later CompUSA called the widow and told her that she needed to pay an addition of $250 to repair the PC. She was surprised and when to the store to find out what was that about. They told her the charge was for diagnostic and not repairing. She was dissapointed but to ask back the PC. They wouldn’t refund her money that she had paid. Worst of all, the PC they returend to her no longer worked. They told her that the motherboard was burned and the powersupply was defective. What on earth was that?

That afternoon, I accompanied the widow to CompUSA and tried to reasons out why they charged her without fixing the PC. Also, why the PC wa completely out of order? They manager told me that they had done their part and it was up to the widow if she wanted to fix it or not. The charges were for diagnostic and not fixing.

I checked the service contract and advertisement on paper and online. They was nothing about diagnostic charges. In fact CompUSA should not charge and customer before knowing what was wrong with the PC. Diagnostic is FOC!

Now, the widow has lost her money and PC. CompuUSA would not take complains. I would like to write a letter to the head office about this but I could not locate the address. Also, compUSA has cheated the widow for being ignorant. They had conned her!

CompUSA should be named and “CON-USA” as conman USA. Buyer Beware!

Help! Any suggestions on how I can help this widow?

Thanks.

Kok Hai

Anybody know of a class action suit against CompUSA so we can pursue closing their corporate offices as well?

First, contact the State Attorney General’s office and since the manager is swearing thinga “can’t happen/can’t be done” then scream “FRAUD!!!” to the AG and Department of Consumer Affairs.

Secondly, there absolutely HAS TO BE a major market/large share Radio or TV consumer advocate close to you somewhere. Need I say more?

Finally, *DON’T* blindly depend on your bank! Unless you have made good personal contacts there in mid to upper management, you may well still get screwed even if the signature in question (if it exists at all RE: “Oh, we CAN’T FIND IT SO SUE US…”) looks like John Hancock signed it personally.

Your most effective (and cheapest) shot is a public forum combined with government advocate pressure!

I don’t think I’ve ever seen people open items in-store… while you technically have the right to do so as soon as the sale is completed, doing so before hand I’d have thought would be likely to get you escorted out by security.

Keep in mind one other thing: CompUSA isn’t Uncle Ned’s Used Cars, at least in POPULAR opinion. There’s a reasonable expectation that a large store has a name to protect and isn’t looking to do anything that would harm their reputation. Despite many contrary examples, there’s still the general expectation that the larger a business, the more you should be able to trust it. Hey, they had to do SOMETHING right to get this big… right?

I’ve got my own problem with CompUSA that started earlier this month. I picked up a wireless router and wireless USB network key, one of which was in the discount rack. As they were rung up, after I swiped my card I noticed on the screen that one was 54Mbps, the other 108. I decided to cancel, so I told the cashier so, took the items back and left, end of story, or so I thought. I’d go online later and get both cheaper.

Last night trying to pay for dinner I got an insufficient funds message. A friend covered for me, but when I got home and looked up my account, I found I was VERY in the red. CompUSA had turned my suposedly cancelled ~60-70 purchase into a completed purchase of $409.78. This put me barely over zero in this account. To make matters worse I use the check card connected to this account regularly. I ran up 9 $35 overdrafts without realizing it.

While I realize the overdrafts can’t be considered wholly CompUSA’s fault, I should check my account balance more often, I had NO reason to suspect there would be a sudden drop in it. Certainly not one several times the size of my purchase.

Today around lunch I went by to get this resolved. After starting at the Customer Service desk this was quickly bounced around until it reached the high manager on duty who printed an account of the transaction, which listed my two canceled pieces of equipment, a monitor and a memory key with an instant rebate and one other item I don’t remember at the moment.

Per the manager, I completed the sale, because to get the rebate I had to swipe my card a second time (which I didn’t) and he said they had verification of my signature, which I never gave. I asked him to bring up this supposed signature, which he claimed he couldn’t do. He stood fast claiming that I clearly bought the rest of this stuff, since it wouldn’t have gone through without the extra card swipe.

I stormed out, told everyone I could at work immediately and after talking with my bank started the claim dispute process. I’ll be getting paperwork in the mail soon to handle this, which I was told after being forwarded to their fraud unit will involve a police report. I never thought I’d be involved in legal action personally, but I can’t back down over something that’s cost me over $700 (400 charge and 9 35 overdrafts) when I bought nothing.

There’s two possibilities so far:

a: They combined me with the next customer (which the manager insists is NOT POSSIBLE)

b: There is a way around that second swipe and the cashier put several items on my card

Once the bank fraud unit looks at the signature, I’ll know. As bad as mine is, and as wildly as signatures vary, it WON’T match mine if someone forged it. If it’s someone else’s signature, it was an honest mistake, but one that’s gotten much bigger than it needs to be.

Either way, I can’t afford to be short $700 about now, so since the manager refuses to do anything and has essentially called me a liar to my face (though not specifically using those words) I’m happily letting the bank take care of it. This happened on 6/12/2007 at the Augusta, Georgia CompUSA. I’ve never had problems with them before, but this is too big to forgive and forget.

While I didn’t think of it at the time I should have suggested looking at the cameras. When I left there was no one else at the register, if there’s any sort of timestamp on the footage it would have shown me walking out empty-handed. You could walk out w/o a memory key showing, but a MONITOR? I don’t know if they keep the tapes though.

Lessons:

1. Avoid the Augusta, Georgia CompUSA at least. If you have a problem they may refuse to fix it and call you a liar. Mentioning that if they didn’t fix it I’d have to start a claim dispute with my bank he said “Do what you have to.” I will. I’ve been encouraged to take it up with the regional manager by people at work.

2. Check your account balance regularly. The investigation is just starting, I may be refunded the $300 in overdraft fees I shouldn’t have had, but I could see the bank taking a “you ought to watch your own account” stance.

3. If you want to cancel a transaction, WATCH to make sure it’s closed, or force it canceled by concluding it with a pack of gum giving you a receipt you can point back to. (No sale = no receipt = no proof in my hands. If I’d bought the networking equipmen and the extra charges went on I could at least point to them not being on my receipt, IF I had kept it, which for 2 $35-40 I probably wouldn’t have botherd on. I won’t make that mistake again.

4. Use cash. Handing over bills can’t cause an overdraft. Pulling too much out of an ATM can, but had I taken out money once, then used that when I bought things, I wouldn’t have had to deal with as many overdraft fees. (One max, either from CompUSA or the ATM) Easy for now, part of the clam dispute process involves canceling my debit card and sending me a new one.